And after seeing the prequels, I liked them. I did. But I quickly realized that something was missing from the movies. Here is what I came up with:
·
First and foremost was the near complete lack of
individual character charm or camaraderie. There were few and far between
believable or worthwhile interpersonal relationships that tied the fates of the
characters together.
·
Second, many of the events of the prequels
seemed forced. (get it? sorry...moving on...) Things just sort of happened
because they had to happen, not because it was thought out, fleshed out or
worked for the narrative. The movies presented an abrupt shift from the
Jedi Order as the protagonists. There was also little or no development
of the formation of the “Rebel Alliance”, the main protagonists in the original
films. Most, importantly there was no kick-ass, climactic battle at the
end. (I know that The Empire Strikes Back has it's climactic battle at
the beginning and a father/son saber fight as the climax...but Revenge of the
Sith is really the end. It should have been a glorious ending.)
·
Third, the following items were “facts”
presented in the Original Trilogy that never really materialized in the Prequel
Trilogy:
o Obi-wan says he doesn’t remember ever owning
any droids (or appear to even recognize C3PO or R2-D2.).
o Owen Lars observed and disapproved of Anakin
following Obi-wan on some damn-fool idealistic crusade
o Vader finds himself over Tatooine. Wouldn't
he mention that his step-brother is there? He probably would have found it
strange for the trail of the droids to lead straight to the Skywalker ranch.
o Obi-wan stated that Vader helped hunt down
and destroy the Jedi Knights (in the prequels, all he did was kill a few Jedi
at the Temple...mostly "younglings". There was no hunting or
destroying.)
o Vader was seduced by the Dark Side. (this WAS
shown, I suppose...but I didn't buy it...more on that later)
o Vader states, "You don't know the power
of the dark side. I must obey my master." What power does the dark
side have and why must he obey his master?
o Vader somehow ended up second in command
beneath Tarkin.
o It is a minor thing...but C-3PO has a lower
right calf that is a different metal (apparently tarnished steel) than the rest
of his gold-plated body
o Luke said that the swamp from Degobah was
like something out of a dream. He says that there's something familiar
about that place and begins to say that he feels like he had been there before.
He is interrupted when Yoda appears, distracts him and changes the end of his
sentence from "...feels like I've been here before" to "...feels
like we're being watched." (That is just my guess...and even if it
wasn't changed...Luke DID say that it seemed familiar.)
o When Luke went off to “save” Han and Leia on
Cloud City, Obi-wan said that that boy was there last hope and Yoda had to
inform Obi-wan that there is another. Therefore, either Obi-wan had no
faith in Leia or he did not know about Leia until then. I think that it
is more likely that he did not know.
o Leia remembered her mother as being sad and
Luke didn’t remember her at all.
Rick McCallum, the producer of the Prequel movies stated in an
interview that the plot of the three prequels was actually one story where 20%
was presented in the first movie, 20% in the second and 60% in the third
movie. Another way to say that is that 60% of the story was crammed into
33% of the screen time.
And I think that is at least part of the problem. If Lucas had split the narrative evenly through the three new films, he would have combined the story of what became the actual Episode I and actual Episode II into the re-distributed Episode I and the first half of the re-distributed Episode II. Then the plot of the actual Episode III could have been spread over the remaining re-distributed 1 and 1/2 movies. This would have given him plenty of time to tell his story right.
One thing he really missed out on was that he failed to show major portions of the Clone Wars. Given the time he had (and the narrative core he was focused on), he instead showed only the beginning and end of the war. It was one war on many planets. I guess that could be considered "Wars", but we'd been imagining the Clone Wars for 20 years and it should have had more screen time. Given how enjoyable the Clone Wars series eventually became, primarily because it has had the time to tell longer stories, I am not sure how much of this could have been added to the Saga movies. But SOMETHING would have been better than ten minutes of the beginning and ten minutes of the end of the Clone Wars.
Using as much of the new prequel material as I could, here is another way the prequel movies could have been done:
A Long Time Ago,
In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...
Star Wars: Episode I: The
Phantom Menace (Re-Envisioned)
Prologue: Distant Troubles
For the sake of discussion, we'll agree to start on the Planet
Naboo. It is being blockaded by an armed organization called “The Trade
Federation”. The Trade Federation is upset that they are being forced to
pay fines on the products that they deliver to and from various planets
throughout the galaxy due to previous unethical business dealings that were
discovered by the Jedi and found guilty in the courts. Naboo has refused
to allow the Trade Federation to pass along the cost of paying these fines.
Naboo has informed The Trade Federation that they plan on cancelling their
shipping contracts and will be using a different courier. The TF claims
that Naboo has no right to cancel the contracts. So, they are preventing
all trade in an effort to force them to honor the contracts (including the
additional costs). The TF has been informed that that the Naboo people
are too distant for the Republic or its Jedi Protectors to act on. In the
meantime, Naboo is unable to resist this blockade.
The TF learn that only two
Jedi have been assigned to resolve the dispute. Qui-Gon and Ben Kenobi
are introduced. He is NOT known as Obi-wan...we'll get to that
later. Trust me...it'll be cool.
The TF needs more time to
force the Naboo government to reverse their decision. The mysterious
Darth Sidious is revealed to be in command via a distant hologram. He
orders the TF to do whatever it takes to get the treaty signed. The Trade
Federation order: “Kill the Jedi”. They plan to inform the Republic
that the Jedi never arrived. (They still say “Close the blast doors!”
and “They’re coming through!” I loved the scene where Qui-Gon uses
his lightsaber to melt the door...that was awesome.)
Gungans? What are
Gungans? No Gungans here. No, sir.
Qui-Gon and Ben Kenobi still
make their way to the surface and escape from Naboo with Padme just as in the
existing movie (except no Jar Jar...who’s that?)
We meet the Queen.
Qui-Gon and Ben convince her that she must evacuate before she is
captured. They will return to the Jedi Council where she will be
safe. They will and return with a larger force of Jedi with security
forces for the Republic.
As they escape, we are
introduced to C-3PO. He is a protocol droid who works in the loading dock
of the palace. He oversees the loading and unloading of all of the
equipment and baggage for the royal family and their security forces. His
primary job is programming the binary load lifters, which are very similar to
moisture vaporators. The programming involves communicating with the
computers, droid, pilots and passengers of all the vessels that come through
the loading dock. So, it makes sense that he is programmed in over 6
million forms of communication. But he never leaves the loading docks or
the confines of the palace, and he CERTAINLY would never go aboard one of those
dangerous, dreadful starships. Being so sheltered, he has gotten used to
getting his way, and has gotten somewhat prissy, if you ask me.
C3PO happens to be in the
cargo hold overseeing a shipment, as the Jedi, Queen and her court race to the
Queen's vessel. They are in the middle of fueling and loading the cargo
onto the ship when they are forced to make their escape. So, Threepio
becomes an unwilling passenger. This is his first time in space. He
hates it. It will take him a long time to get over the chaos of a space
journey.
The ship is still damaged
during the escape. We are introduced to R2-D2 who performs a heroic
repair allowing their escape. C-3PO is immediately infatuated by the brave
droid that saved him and the ship. They immediately become the best of
friends. Okay...maybe not. Well...he is legitimately impressed with
R2-D2's skills and they do become friends.
When the TF informs Darth
Sidious of the escape, he dispatches Darth Maul to find and kill the Queen.
Act 1: Safe Harbor
Tatooine is still the Rest
Stop. As you remember, the ship was being in the midst of being equipped
for a journey when they had to make a hasty retreat. So, they need
supplies, fuel and a place to rest and complete repairs for the ship.
Shmi and teen-aged Anakin
are already on Tatooine. Shmi is already married to Lars (Anakin's
father) and is living with Anakin, his sister Elona and their other son
Owen.
Anakin is already a gifted
pilot. He has learned to ride throughout the vast farm in harsh weather
conditions on Tatooine (rough terrain and harsh windstorms). We also
learn that Anakin, like most Moisture Farmers, has had many confrontations with
the nomadic Tusken Raiders, and has learned to defend himself, his family and
his property.
But it is his participation
in the dangerous speeder bike races that is the only real adventure or
excitement in his otherwise secluded, boring life. These bikes are highly
customized, but are pretty much saddles on steerable engines. Very fast,
but very dangerous. Anakin gives portions of his prize money to Jabba the Hutt,
as a payment for the initial loan to purchase his speeder bike in the first
place. He is trying to save up enough money to get his own starship so he
can get off his secluded home and see the stars.
While in Toshi Station,
Qui-Gon and Padme look for repair parts. Anakin is in a repair shop
looking for parts for his next race. Qui-Gon senses something special
about Anakin, while Anakin immediately notices the beautiful Padme, who is only
a few years older than him. Anakin brags (so as to impress Padme)
that he is the best pilot in this region.
We see Darth Maul meeting in
a seedy bar making contact with Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt’s consiglieri, to
obtain the help of some local goons.
Meanwhile, Watto, the owner
of the shop, says he needs a trade or local money, not Republic Credits.
They ask Anakin for help,
but has to admit that he needs a co-pilot for a really big upcoming
race. He offers to split his winnings from the next race to help
them. Qui-Gon stays with Padme during the race as her protector, and Ben,
who is also skilled pilot, is volunteered by Qui-Gon. R2-D2 acts as their
mechanic droid in the race.
The Speeder Race (this will be very
exciting)
Anakin, Ben Kenobi and R2
enter the speeder bike race to raise the money for repair parts for Padme’s
ship.
Maul’s hired goons are
also entered in the race and try to kill Ben during race.
Anakin and Ben work
together to fend off attackers and still win the race.
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During the race, Qui-Gon
senses Darth Maul with more hired goons in the crowds.
Maul grabs arm of Padme to
kidnap her.
Qui-Gon confronts them,
Padme falls to the side and they fight
Qui-Gon kills the goons,
but can not fight to his full abilities while still protecting the Queen, so
Qui-Gon decides that he and the Queen must flee. They lose Darth Maul
in the crowd.
|
Qui-Gon and the Queen return
to the Lars homestead. Anakin and Ben have the parts to repair the ship
and it is ready to take off. C-3PO is very upset at R2 for not being
there to protect him. (Like I said...stuffy) But he soon gets over
it.
Anakin and Ben ask where
Qui-Gon and the Queen were at the end of the race. They discuss their
respective adventures and during the repairs, the conversation turns to the
growing lawlessness and strife throughout the galaxy. Outlying systems
are growing listless. People are disillusioned with the Republic’s
inability to keep order.
When the repairs are
complete, Qui-Gon wants Anakin to leave the farm and begin training to be a
Jedi. He offers honor and stresses a sense of duty to serve.
Strengthening the Republic would expand justice throughout the galaxy.
Anakin declines.
Despite his desire for adventure and excitement, he knows that he is needed on
the farm (for both harvest and protection). His duty to his family must
come first. Qui-Gon tells him that if he should ever choose to serve,
just contact him or Ben on Coruscant.
Jedi and Queen depart.
Act 2: Deliberations and Further
Grievances
Senate deliberates and is indecisive.
We learn in the senate that
the Trade Federation is not the only organization that has been so
aggressive. But this is the first armed
stand-off.
Old Chancellor mired in
accusations of corruption. He has been
accused of diverting funds from certain Senate accounts that have gone empty.
Jedi sense a plot, but can
not pin-point it. Until then, Qui-Gon
and Ben are instructed to continue to protect the Queen, and Queen plans to
lead local forces to free Naboo.
The Jedi Council tells the
Senate that they are not prepared for a full-scale engagement against such a
large force. Palpatine reveals his
discovery of the existence of Clone Army.
The Senate votes to Send in the Clones to help Queen.
On Naboo:
Queen returns to Naboo
Devastation and camps
shown (not described)
Resistance to Droids
planned and begun
Once in Theed City, Jedi
distracted by battle with Sith.
|
While meanwhile on Tatooine:
Sandpeople raid.
Lars is killed in the raid. Elona is kidnapped. Kidnapping of
children is a common practice of the Sandpeople. The children become
part of the tribe. They are rarely ever seen again, as the Sandpeople
are so difficult to track and become even more difficult to attack once at
their nomadic compounds. Plus, with the facial wrapping, once part of the
tribe, they are very difficult to even identify during a rescue attempt.
While it is still fresh, Anakin follows the
trail of the raiders to save the sister. The trail he follows is single
file, which hides their numbers.
He returns to the
homestead once he has located his mother. He insists that they go back
while they are still at the encampment.
Owen tells Anakin that they
can't fight an entire tribe on their own. And there is no time to get
more help before the nomads move on. He needs to face his
limitations.
Anakin convinces Owen that
they have to try. Owen and Anakin pursue. Shmi insists on going
along to help. She is a hardened warrior, so they of course have no
problems with this.
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Act 3: Fighting for Redress of Past
Wrongs
Battle with Droids:
Jedi and Queen lead clone
forces against Droid army.
Queen invades Castle on
Theed overwhelming the Trade Federation.
R2-D2 is an astromech
droid on a tank that one of the clones uses during the battle.
The leaders of the Trade
Federation retreat from Naboo space.
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Battle with Darth Maul:
Darth Maul attacks Jedi in
Castle.
They fight.
They talk smack.
Maul points out that the Jedi are weak and are no match for the Sith.
Jedi leave conflict in their wake. Only the Sith can bring order to the
Galaxy. And that the Jedi will soon be gone.
Qui-Gon is distracted by
his sensation of the dark energy burst on Tatooine. Darth Maul looks
euphoric. He glows mildly with the same red misty energy.
He lunges at with a new
enthusiasm. Qui-Gon is mortally wounded.
Maul is distracted by his
own euphoria of victory, Ben cuts Maul in half.
Dying Qui-Gon asks Ben to
find Anakin. Qui-Gon feels Anakin’s conflict and knows that he needs
guidance.
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Battle with the Sandpeople:
Anakin finds and tries to
rescue his sister Elona.
Shmi is killed. Owen
is wounded.
Anakin follows his
insticts and finds Elona and begins to escape.
Anakin and Elona are
surrounded. He loses his hand with a vibro-ax and Elona is
killed.
Anakin sees his entire family
lying around him. As he looks at their limp bodies, he screams
“Nooooo!!!” A burst of bright red misty energy flares in a sphere outwards
and the closer sandpeople fall dead to the ground their limp bodies flinging
outwards. The energy leaves a blackened scorched circle around him.
Anakin angrily kills more
with his blaster as he escapes with Owen.
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Denouement
Anakin now chooses to learn
the Ways of the Force. Ben returns to Tatooine to pick up Anakin.
Owen blames Anakin not only for the death of the sister, but says that Mom and
Dad would be alive too if they had not gone off on that damn fool crusade.
But Anakin vows to uphold the Jedi Order and the Republic and to spread
freedom, justice and order to prevent anything like this from happening
again.
Palpatine is elected Supreme
Chancellor and Padme is asked to replace him as Senator. She upgrades her
protocol droid C-3PO with a new gold casing, as befits a Galactic Senator.
Anakin and Padme will be
able to visit each other often on Coruscant. The bullshit about Padme and
Anakin’s wedding being secret...gone!!! Their conflict will lead from their
own personal decisions not to mix business and personal, with emotion winning
out. How can Jedi be against love when personal connections to one
another is the highest embodiment of the Force? When they pursue the
relationship it will be knowing that it will be difficult (not
“forbidden”). But the last we see of Anakin is him with his metal hand
entering the Jedi Temple to begin his training.
Republic intervention in
Naboo Trade Dispute with revelation of Clone Army further fuels growing Separatist
Movement. Count Dooku, a former Jedi, is revealed to be the leader.
Star Wars: Episode II: Revenge of
the Sith (Re-Envisioned)
Prologue:
Growing Pains
Five years have passed. The
beginning of the movie is the wedding (including Ben as best man)...followed by
Anakin being swept off to war.
Act 1: The First Clone War Spreads
Anakin’s acts of heroism
demonstrated.
In lulls between battles,
Anakin and Padme spend time together.
They are very happy. They
conceive. Bow-chicka-bow-bow.
Anakin and Ben’s teamwork
shown in montage form. (Both save each
other on different occasions). Anakin
tells Ben that if he has a son, he hopes he would become a Jedi when he is old
enough.
Dooku’s cold, calculating
leadership style shown.
Grevious introduced and
physical and tactical strengths demonstrated.
Padme, Bail Organa and Mon
Mothma’s machinations in the Senate when dealing with the Supreme Chancellor.
Former Supreme Chancellor
Velorum is back in private sector. Since
he is the only one that knows that he was actually innocent and that the
corruption is present, he begins tracking the filtered wealth to find proof
that the money filtered from his administration and went to Clones. He will tell Bail Organa that the only way
that the Clones could have been produced was with the funds that he was accused
of stealing. And he realizes that
whoever is responsible for the financing of the Clones is the one who is
responsible for the war.
Effect on citizens on
planets in Clone Wars shown. Growing
frustration with inability of Jedi to end the wars. Growing urge to allow systems to secede just
to end the fighting. Concerns that Jedi
are responsible for open warfare.
Jedi continue to be sent to
various locations throughout the galaxy.
They are being overwhelmed. In
order to be able to stand up to the hordes of robot armies, small batches of
Jedi Clones are created in a cloning center at the heart of the Jedi
Temple. Unlike the Clonetroopers, these
clones are created fully formed in just a few months. These Jedi clones are designed the O-Series
Clones, to distinguish them from the many other earlier series of clones, none
of which have force sensitivity.
The Jedi are assigned in
teams of Original Jedi and Cloned Jedi.
Anakin has been assigned to the first of Ben Kenobi’s O-Series Clones,
OB1. The Jedi clones have more of a
connection to their sources than the Clonetroopers to each other, due to the
Jedi’s connections through the force. (That fact comes in later...don't worry)
Act 2:
Siege on Coruscant
At least nine months have
passed.
Anakin and OB1, now called
Obi-wan, have been fighting side-by-side for months and have become good
friends, just as Anakin was with Ben.
Padme has remained on
Coruscant and is about to give birth.
When Palpatine/Sidious is
“kidnapped”, Anakin and Obi-wan, like many of the other Jedi, are recalled from
the Outer Systems.
Meanwhile the following action takes place simultaneously:
Surface Bombardment:
Invasion as seen in Clone
Wars Series
Padme goes into labor.
Babies are born during
this lightsaber fight. At the key moments in the fight, each one is
born. Luke is born when Obi-wan is tossed from the room, and Leia is
born when Dooku when Anakin cuts off Dooku’s hands.
Padme is holding Leia, and
witnesses a ceiling collapse that appears that Luke is killed.
In her weakened state
after the births, Padme is returned to Naboo with Leia and taken to her
secluded lake villa to recuperate.
Luke is with
C-3PO. The rubble crushes C-3PO’s right calf. He will need
new parts.
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Space Battle:
The Space Battle is
basically as seen in ROTS, but with way more waves of small ships.
Ben Kenobi leads the
battle.
Ben’s action in the battle
is to destroy the ships bombarding the surface.
In the midst of battle, time stops for Ben. He will find himself in a
white mist and he floats with a ghostly blue vision of Qui-Gon...
Qui-Gon warns him of Palpatine/Sidious and the danger that Anakin is
in and the danger he will soon pose. Ben says that he has sensed
Anakins growing anger and his inability to accept the death of his
relatives.
Qui-Gon also reveals that the twins were
born and that Luke is still alive in the rubble and that he will be saved and
taken to Dagobah. There you will find the person that Yoda trusts most
in the universe. Ben must find him in the rubble.
Ben protests. He says that Anakin
is still good and should find him. And what of Leia?
Qui-Gon
tells Ben that the children will not be safe until Anakin learns to control
his anger. Ben will be able to help with that.
Luke will be safe on Dagobah, but Padme
will not be parted from Leia. Padme can never be told that Luke still
lives. She will watch Leia while they both are in hiding on Alderaan.
Qui-Gon tells Ben that he must trust The Force and trust himself.
Ben says, "Yes, my master. I
will."
Ben’s spirit returns to reality, time resumes and the battle
continues...
Ben is skilled enough with
the Force to be able to keep this knowledge from both Anakin and Padme.
Ben is successful in
leading the attack to destroy the ships bombarding the surface.
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Dooku vs. Anakin:
Anakin and Obi-wan find
Palpatine.
After Dooku Force-throws
Obi-wan, Anakin fights Dooku on his own.
Anakin shows he feels
something at Luke’s birth, but does not know what it is.
He disarms Dooku. (Get
it?)
Palpatine eggs him on to
kill him.
He does.
Anakin shows he feels
something at Leia’s birth also, but he is distracted be the rage toward Dooku
that he is still feeling.
Anakin and Palpatine begin
escape, Both Anakin and Palpatine feel Padme's grief at losing Luke through
the Force, but Palpatine/Sidious twists that feeling of loss it to make
Anakin think that that both Padme and the child were killed. (Anakin
only knows about one child)
General Grievous has been
a witness to the duel through the ship monitors and has recorded the
execution of Tyrannus
Obi-wan and Anakin gets
off ship with Palpatine.
Anakin gets Palpatine to
the Hospital Wing of the Senate Building.
|
Ben calls for Obi-wan to
meet him. Ben tells Obi-wan of the vision. But Ben only tells
Obi-wan about Luke. He mentions nothing about Leia. Ben asks
Obi-wan to seek out Luke and to find somewhere safe far away from the battles.
He tells him that me must not tell Padme that Luke survived until he has had a
chance to help Anakin learn control. If she goes looking for him, it
would put them both in danger.
With R2-D2's help, Obi-wan
finds C-3P0 and Luke in the rubble and tells them that he will take Luke away
to a safe place. He instructs R2-D2 to repair C-3PO's leg and for
them both to return to Padme and tell her that Luke was lost in the rubble and
that he has gone back to the Jedi Temple to continue the fight. There is no
Gold Plating, just tarnished metal that could (but won’t) be fixed
later. In the aftermath of the battles, the proper image of
Protocol Droids becomes a low priority.
Act 3: Post Siege
Confederation leaders learn
about double deals with Palpatine and plead to Jedi & Loyalists for
help. The seeds of rebellion are beginning to form.
Palpatine reveals to Anakin
that he is Darth Sidious. Talks of limitless power.
Palpatine/Sidious convinces him that he was too weak to save his relatives and
that the Jedi were too weak to prevent the wars and the so-called death of
Padme since they held back. The only way to stop the droids and the
Separatists (now called the Anarchists) is to use the Dark Side of the
Force. Anakin accepts this. He vows to unlearn what he has learned
and let go of the past. He vows to follow his feelings and his instincts,
but to use his will to control the Force. He sheds his old attachments of
friends and family with one goal only. Complete Order of his
Design. Darth Vader is born.
Darth Vader goes underground
to hunt down General Grevious to prevent Grevious from being tipped off of the
hunt. Vader meets with Jabba the Hutt and hires his best bounty hunters to
help him find Grevious. They leave a trail of dead in his wake while
searching for the General. But the dead were all scum and villains.
Ben Kenobi follows to find
his old Padawan and stop his Dark Ways. He feels this darkness before the
rest of the Jedi, due to his close connection, and he keeps it secret thinking
that he could turn his old friend back to the Light Side. It is bad
enough that he is using the Dark side, but at least no innocents have been
hurt...that he knows of.
Padme wakes up in a hospital
on Coruscant with Leia. She is last seen in bed weeping for her lost son,
Luke, with her family surrounding her holding Leia. R2-D2 and C-3PO are with
the family.
Obi-wan arrives on a swamp
planet...Dagobah. It is an uninhabited planet that Yoda found for
meditation. Obi-wan closes his eyes and lets The Force guide him in for a
landing. He knows not what or who will be waiting for him. But he
understands when out of a small round hollow mud structure with a small dome
shape, to act as a chimney, comes walking out a small light green woman with
long pointed ears. It is Yoda's wife. She will take Luke into her
care. The final shot is Obi-wan leaving the atmosphere as his ship
streaks past the sun into hyperspace and back to the battles.
Star Wars: Episode III: The Fall of the Republic (Re-Envisioned)
Prologue: Two years have gone by. During this period the
following has transpired:
Luke and Leia have
grown. Leia is now old enough to remember her mother.
Meanwhile, Obi-wan and Mace
continue to lead Jedi and Clones to fight Droid Armies
Ben goes to Coruscant to
tell Padme what had happened to Anakin and to Luke. He tells her about
Luke and she insists that Ben bring Luke to her. But, Ben tells her of
Anakin’s turning into Darth Vader and what he has done. He tells her that
he must confront and stop him to prevent something worse.
She says that he is a good
man, and there must have been a reason. Anakin should know the truth
about Luke. She insists on joining him on the Hunt for Darth Vader.
She leaves Leia at the hospital under the care of C-3PO.
Act 1: End of First Clone War
Grevious is finally cornered
by Darth Vader. He uses his Dark Power and an Ancient-Sith enhancement
weapon to wipe out all life on the planet (including civilians). (Picture the
ending scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Padme and Ben with R2-D2 try
to stop this. They fail. Ben is killed trying to prevent this.
Padme and R2-D2 are
witnesses to the devastation. She is now convinced that her Anakin is gone and
that only Vader remains. This makes her sad. She will still be sad when
Leia sees her.
Padme also realizes that
since Vader thinks Luke dead, and he is already with his family, Luke should
not be moved from Tatooine, until after the Jedi can stop Darth Vader.
She knows that if she goes to collect him, Vader would follow her and find
Luke. She does not know that Vader thinks she's dead.
Palpatine/Sidious:
During battle,
Palpatine/Sidious kneels before red vapory vision of Darth Plagious or some
ancient Sith Lord through the Dark Jedi Crystal Holocron and explains the
plot. We, the audience, witness this. When the life is wiped out,
Palpatine/Sidious and the Dark Jedi Spirit both display a narcotic-like
(orgasmic, perhaps?) surge of energy when the Sith weapon is used and the
lives are lost. This would sort of be the opposite of the clutching of
the chests when the Light Jedi feel “great disturbances in the force”.
This massive death toll
will be blamed on Grevious as a final spiteful suicide with Darth Vader
acting too late to prevent it.
|
Obi-wan:
Obi-wan feels the death of
his counterpart.
Also due to this great
disturbance in the force, Yoda and the other Jedi feel the loss. With
Ben’s death, he was no longer able to use his powers to mask Anakin’s new
nature. Yoda finally understands that Anakin is using the Dark Side and
Palpatine/Sidious is his master. He senses the Palpatine/Sidious
connection to the Dark Side through the Dark Jedi Holocron. He also
senses the use of the ancient Sith weapon.
|
Padme:
Padme and R2-D2 return to
Coruscant to collect Leia. Padme knows that she must go into hiding.
She goes to Bail Organa
and asks for help. She has worked with him to stop Palpatine’s growing
tyranny and she knows that she can trust him.
Padme, Leia, R2-D2 and
C-3PO go to Alderaan.
|
Act 2: The Jedi Seek Justice
Jedi prepare to arrest
Palpatine/Sidious, and intensify the hunt for Vader and his Sith Weapon.
Palpatine/Sidious kicks
ass. But does not kill Mace Windu. He knocks him out of the window,
and Mace, controls his decent and lands safely on the ground below. (Remember
that Mace is not some punk.) Realizing the extent of Palpatine’s/Sidious’
power, Mace wisely retreats to the Jedi Temple.
100 Cybernetic Dark-clones
(Shock-troopers) are revealed. Armor is Blood Red and Black. They
have been designed to have no souls and cannot be felt by the Jedi.
(Thus, they are the ultimate threat to the Jedi and all free-willed
people). They were created at an evil secret cloning lab also on
Komeno. Boba Fett was prototype, and he now leads the
Shock-troopers under Vader's direct supervision. Boba Fett, had
been found by Sidious as a lone smuggler and bounty hunter, and was recruited
to be the template for the clonetroopers. Normally, he works alone, but
the fortune that Sidious offers is enough to entice him to work for the benefit
of the New Order. Vader will tell stories to Boba Fett of Jabba Hutt's
network of crime.
Due to Mace Widu’s attack on
the Supreme Chancellor, Order 66 is given. Jedi are attacked throughout
the galaxy. A few are killed, but most survive (since Jedi are not punks
and they can sense danger). The Jedi Temple is attacked by
airstrikes. The defenses are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the
attack. But although the building is lost, the defenses, as planned,
allow for the surviving Jedi to flee by air and by underground.
The Backlash to Order 66: The Second
Clone War
The ones that are able
re-group at a remote Jedi Sanctuary (Think images of Tibet or Machu
Pichu).
Loyalist Senators meet with
Confederacy Leaders and call to join forces against the Empire.
Bail Organa coordinates all
rebellions acting as General from Hidden Base in Alderaan system. (Princess
Leia would later lie to Vader claiming that her “home planet” was peaceful and
has no weapons.) At Yoda’s instruction, Obi-wan Kenobi with several other
remaining Jedi assist with this coordination. Organa explains to this
band of freedom fighters that Palpatine has been working both sides from the
beginning.
The main army regroups on
the home planets of some of the Loyalist senators. The combined armies of
the Confederation and the local citizens fight the Imperials. Padme leads
a robot and human army on one of Naboo’s moons. R2-D2 is at her side in
the battle. She will leave Leia with Organa on Alderaan to keep her out
of harms way during the battle. She is very sad and beautiful when she
does this. This is the only memory that Leia will have of her
mother...her real mother.
Act 3: The Fall of the Jedi and the
Republic
Clone-troopers and the
Imperial Army and Navy attack the Loyalist Senators and Confederacy Leaders on
multiple Planets
Shock-troopers lead by Vader
and Boba Fett hunt down the Jedi and track them to the Sanctuary. They
surround and attack.
Yoda and Mace discuss the
threat of these Shock-troopers. Clones like these are not part of the
Force and cannot be contained. They agree that they must be destroyed and
the technology that created them, even if the consequences are worse in the
short term. Yoda meditates to discover the location of the dark-clone
facility.
Jedi fortify the
sanctuary. Use kick ass force defenses. Boba Fett and Shock-troopers use
disintegration weapons. Vader mows down Jedi. He prepares to use
the ancient Sith-weapon. Mace Windu is killed confronting Vader, but not
before he destroys the ancient Sith-weapon.
After leaving Alderaan with
their plans established, Obi-wan follows Yoda’s orders and takes a small
strike force of Jedi to destroy the Cloning Facility. Vader with his
elite guard of Super-Shock-troopers pursues.
The battles continue.
The Jedi stay at the center
of the sanctuary as bait for the soulless shocktroopers and sacrifice
themselves for the future. They also provide cover to allow Yoda to
escape to keep the knowledge of the Force alive and to restart the Order when
the time is right.
Climax of the Final Battle
Yoda uses The Force to
implode the Jedi Sanctuary to destroy Shock-troopers (and the brave Jedi
inside).
Boba Fett escapes by
shooting a rocket directly overhead and flying through the ceiling.
He realized that the best way to ensure his safety is to work alone. He
will eventually seek work as a solitary mercenary and bounty hunter, and calls
upon Vader's old associate, Jabba the Hutt, to find bounties to claim.
Years later, he will meet Han Solo while in Jabba's employ. The two will
become rivals for Jabba's favor throughout the following years.
Clone troopers destroy most
of the Loyalist and Separatist Leaders. The remnants retreat to a base on
some planet other than Dantooine. After being forced into hiding,
Yoda confronts
Palpatine/Sidious to obtain the Dark Jedi Holocron.
The battle at the Cloning
Facility leaves only Vader and Obi-wan. Vader blames the Jedi for being
too weak to save Padme and his child and Obi-wan blames Vader for going too far
when he executed Dooku after he had been dis-armed (get it?) and more
importantly when he killed the innocents just to stop Grevious. Obi-wan
says nothing of Padme or Luke being alive. Obi-wan tells Vader that he is being
fooled by Palpatine, who has been the mastermind all along.
Vader and Obi-wan continue
to duel. Vader's blows are so swift and strong that he is pushing Obi-wan
backwards. Obi-wan is finally kicked in the chest hurtling down to the
bottom of a small staircase...he is battered, bruised and exhausted.
Vader in a similar condition pursues him leaping down the steps with lightsaber
blazing coming down for the final fatal blow.
Padme is finally killed when
Loyalists and Anarchists are defeated by the Imperials. Vader feels her
actual death from across the Galaxy. With the sensation of true death, he
recognizes the lies of Palpatine and his strength and control over him. In
this distracted moment, Obi-wan uses his last remaining strength to divert
Vader's path through the air force pushing him, tossing him over him into the
wall. He leaves Vader in a heap on the ground. Obi-wan leaves
Anakin for dead.
As he travels through
hyperspace towards his hidden home on Dagobah, Yoda meditates and uses his
strength to make sure that neither Vader nor Obi-wan have any knowledge of
Leia. We then see an apparition of Qui-Gonn appear before Yoda.
Qui-Gon begins with…”Hello, my old friend.” And the scene fades to the cloning
facility.
Obi-wan leaves the cloning
facility. Vader awakens, still confused at the dark feelings flowing
through him. He does not know who to
trust…not the Jedi…not Palpatime. He reaches
out with the force to detonate the massive power generator at the facility with
the intent to destroy Ben before he can get away. Ben’s ship lifts off the platform just as the
facility explodes from within. Vader is
badly burned in this explosion and loses his legs and other arm, but he is not
killed. He uses his control of the dark side to keep him alive. He
vows that he will get revenge someday. Someday he will destroy Obi-wan
and any remaining Jedi and bring order the galaxy.
But Vader seethes with hate
for the Emperor even more. He knows he has been manipulated and fooled.
Denouement
Palpatine/Sidious (who has
foreseen all of this) arrives at the rubble of the cloning facility.
Vader, despite being weakened by his fight with Kenobi, tries to use the Force
to strangle Palpatine harnessing all of his rage at his new nemesis. Palpatine unleashes the full power of the
dark side of the force, re-channeling all of the hate bristling from Vader to
add to his own. While Vader writhes in anguish, the Emperor says,
“As I strike you down, you shall become more
powerful than you can possibly imagine!!” and cackles maniacally.
Vader falls motionless in a twisted pile of ruined flesh. Palpatine/Sidious uses the last of the remaining technology at the facility to create the famous Black Suit. Vader wakes, motionless. Lying on the bed, in the black suit, he screams at the Emperor... ”What have you done to me? Why have you lied? You twisted my love for Padme!” Palpatine responds, "Both your precious Padme and your Jedi Order are dead and my New Order alone are all that remain is to re-build the galaxy. The worlds will fall into chaos and ruin without you and me to hold them together. You have chosen this path. Now that you have made your choice, it will be your destiny forever. You know this to be true."
Vader says, “I will stop
you.”
The Emperor brags that it is
already over...Vader can do nothing to stop him. He reminds Vader that
“you have betrayed your greatest allies.
I am your last hope. Your only
hope. You have no one else to turn
to. You are alone and you will always be alone. Except for
me. The only one who truly understands you. Vader turns away from
the hideous creature before him. The Emperor says, “You will do my
bidding, or you will die!! You know that without the Jedi, my Order is
the only thing holding the Galaxy together. Without my absolute control,
matters would be worse. Far worse.
The Galaxy would shatter into a
thousand civil wars, making these Clone Wars pale in comparison. For the sake of these pitiful creatures that
you seek to protect, you have no choice, but to obey.” Vader turns slowly
to Palpatine and then even more slowly kneels down. He lowers his head
and deep breathing is heard. He realizes that helping the Emperor truly
is the only way to return order to the galaxy.
“So be it...Master.” The Emperor places his hand on Vader's
shoulder and says "Yes, my friend...you will see in time that the power of
the dark side will finally bring order to the galaxy." The scene
fades to a montage of the Imperials entering the different systems of the
galaxy, we hear the Emperor’s laughter.
The Emperor uses these
rebellions as public reason to expand Imperial Army and Navy to root out and
prevent future insurrections of the citizens. He also uses it as a
recruitment tool of Galactic citizens since cloning facility has been
destroyed. Death Star construction observed.
We fade into the Emperor and
Tarkin. They are overseeing the construction. The Emperor explains
to Tarkin that with the Jedi threat extinguished, Darth Vader’s unique skills
will no longer be as valuable, and that Tarkin will be giving more and more
control to the Imperial Military Industrial Complex. Vader will still be
a useful tool...like a vicious pet, but the Military will be given increased
power and will express his might in all the Galaxy.
Reunited with his wife and
Luke on Dagobah, Yoda destroys the Dark Jedi Holocron crystal. He traps
the remaining Dark Force Energy in a cave beneath a tree that are now filled
with dark energy. Years later, Luke will confront a vision of Vader and
himself in this cave.
Having nowhere else to go,
Obi-wan goes back to Dagobah to help care for Luke. He senses that Yoda
is still alive, and hopes that he, too, will be able to return to
Dagobah. He arrives, pleased to see Yoda with his wife and with young
Luke. Obi-wan asks Yoda what is to happen now.
Yoda tells him that if the light of the Jedi Order
is ever to return to the galaxy, they must separate. He must take Luke
to his uncle and aunt and deliver him to train him for the future. He tells
Obi-wan that the darkness in the cave caused by the essence of the dark
holocron will mask Yoda’s goodness, thus allowing the two of them to stay
hidden. But Luke's presence will be too strong even for him to mask
Luke's presence. Only on Tatooine, near the site of the great Sandpeople
massacre will Luke's light be balanced by the darkness of that incident.
Vader would never return there intentionally...and even if he did...he would
sense nothing.
Obi-wan will not learn of
Leia’s existence until years later when Yoda tells him of “another hope” when
Luke leaves Dagobah to “save” his friends on Cloud City. Qui-Gonn knows
Padme's death will scar Alderaan so much that Vader will never be able to see
passed his tragedy with Padme and her death on Alderaan to feel his daughter
there. It is, in fact, the only place in the galaxy that will prevent him
from coming to learn that his daughter lives. By the time she comes
across Vader as a young women years later, Vader will have been so lost in himself,
he won't even recognize the feelings within himself that tell him that he is
intersecting with his daughter.
Yoda is satisfied that the balance of the Force will
be returned and that the galaxy must be given time to heal. But he tells
Qui-Gonn that he will be watching over Luke. Qui-Gonn reminds him that
neither of them can foresee the future but that he will trust in the
Force. Yoda says goodbye to his old friend and watches Qui-Gonn fade into
the Force. He walks into the darkness. The last shot of
Yoda walking into the his house and a fire being tended to by his wife can be
seen flickering within and smoke begins to pour slowly, gently out of the
chimney. We will later learn that by the time that Luke arrives, Yoda's
wife will have died and Yoda will be living alone.
We fade to the crystalline,
grandeur of Alderaan. Bail Organa pledges to stay involved with the now
Imperial Senate dedicated to the prospect of reform from within (while secretly
supporting the rebellion re-building on Dantooine, under the guidance of
General Dodanna and Mon Mothma...both now in hiding). As we know, he will
pass along this goal to his adopted daughter, Leia. Now that Leia has
been adopted Bail Organa’s wife, Sylvia Organa takes care of her. R2-D2
and C-3P0 are no longer needed to care for Leia and they are assigned to the
Tantive IV (Rebel blockade runner).
Vader has resigned himself to this secondary status, but dictates to his own holocron that someday, he will find a way to end this destructive conflict. He walks painfully on the bridge of the first of the Star Destroyers. He looks up at the stars and says, “Someday, someday.” He thinks that he is alone in the universe. He will spend years trying to find Obi-wan to get revenge for the scars he was left with. But it will be a futile search and we will soon learn why. Vader will not learn that Luke still lives until he kills Obi-wan years later, and even then, he won’t learn that Luke was the one that was strong with the force that he sensed in the trench battle until he returns to his Star Destroyer after the first Death Star is destroyed.
Obi-wan goes to the Lars
homestead. He asks Owen to take the two of them in, so that Luke will
have a safe place to be trained. Owen will argue that he has done enough
damage and convince him to let Luke grow up on his own and that he should be
with family. Owen says that since Vader thinks that Luke is dead, he
would never come looking for him.
Obi-wan says that we don’t
know that Vader thinks that and he may come for him someday. Obi-wan is
unconvinced that Luke will not need protection, but is unwilling to harm Owen
to take Luke. Beru convinces Obi-wan and Owen that it would be best if Luke
stay with them and that Obi-wan should stay close by to watch over Luke, just
in case Vader does come back. Obi-wan and Owen both grudgingly
agree. Obi-wan agrees to leave Luke there and will hide his identity and
live as hermit close enough to watch over Luke.
Obi-wan, now calling himself
Ben Kenobi to honor his source and friend, will build a home on the very spot
of the Sandpeople massacre. This Darkness will hide Ben Kenobi’s
Lightness. It will be the reason that Vader never finds him, even as he floats
in orbit of the planet after capturing Princess Leia over Tatooine.
Again, with Luke in Beru’s arms with Owen’s arm around her shoulder as they
watch Ben disappear, but this time he is not flying off to some great
quest. He is following a more quiet and personal quest. A quest of
patience, reflection and of focused protection. He is walking alone into
the desert into the setting twin suns. He will watch and he will wait
until. He must protect Luke until he is ready to become a
Jedi, like his father, because he thinks that this this boy is the galaxy's
last hope...for peace. Skywalker will, someday, be the only name that the
Emperor will ever fear. The daughter of Skywalker remains safely
anonymous, and the son of Skywalker is under his watchful gaze. Protect
the children of Skywalker and protect the galaxy.
To be continued in
Star Wars: Episode IV:
A New Hope
and
Star Wars: Episode V:
The Empire Strikes Back
and concluded in
Star Wars: Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi
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