Star Words: Episode III, Part 27

[matril]

Here's a simple but highly quotable one. Palpatine has revealed his true nature to Anakin and then to the Jedi Masters arresting him (whom he proceeded to slaughter), but he continues to use his duplicity to his advantage in order to end the war on his own grim terms. We see how he exploits his dual position of Chancellor and mastermind of the Separatist movement. While Vader is traveling to Mustafar on his orders, Palpatine tells the Viceroy and the other leaders to wait there, promising them safety in exchange for their years of loyalty.

Well...the exact wording is a little tricksy. He promises this of his new apprentice, Darth Vader:

"He will...take care of you."

You can tell he savors every instant of his cruel deception, delighting in the double meaning. The pause before take care is so delicious and hammy. He's a spider, toying with his prey as it waits unknowingly in his webs. What a perfectly evil villain.

This one can be a lot of fun to bring into everyday conversations. All you have to do is add a sinister pause right before the phrase "take care of" and it turns an innocent sentence into something deeply unsettling. Good times. :D

Next, a question from Obi-Wan that wrecks me every single time....

Comments

[krpalmer]

I know this comment is kind of late, but in mulling over this simply entertaining bit of analysis I did consider a tangential thought, namely remembering it was kind of nice for me to have the possibility "maybe the name 'Darth Vader' only arrived with the armour, and Palpatine handed out a different Sith moniker to start with" scotched straight off. At the same time, I don't seem to abandon mental use of the name "Anakin" in this movie, as I've heard one draft of the script did when attributing dialogue and describing action. (I have a mental theory of Obi-Wan trying in desperation to think "Darth Vader" as his former apprentice burns...)

[matril]

It really is hard to think of him as anything but Anakin until he undergoes the complete physical transformation. I'm convinced that the "Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Anakin" story wasn't just for Luke's benefit, but something that Obi-Wan told himself over and over to deal with the trauma of his beloved friend becoming an enemy he had to destroy.