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Why I love Star Wars: Episode II
Oct. 23rd, 2014 11:11 amThere were only three years of real time between Episodes I and II, but within the storyline ten years had passed. This is a much larger gap than any of the others within each of the trilogies. And I like the details that show us what has changed. Padmé is a Senator now, still passionate about politics but now on a galactic level. Anakin is a teenaged Padawan, moodier than he was as a cheerful child, and far more consciously skilled in the Force.
The elevator scene that introduces both him and Obi-Wan shows a glimpse at their ten-year history, the dynamic of Master and Padawan that has improved greatly since Obi-Wan first took him as his apprentice only to satisfy Qui-Gon's dying wish. It's still problematic, though. Obi-Wan seems to see Anakin more as a brother, while Anakin really needs a father figure. Hence his susceptibility to Palpatine's influence, who's only too glad to play the role of a benevolent fatherly mentor. We also find that Anakin hasn't seen Padmé since the last film and he's quite nervous about this meeting. So it sets up both the beginning of his inner turmoil as well as his romance with Padmé. Not bad for a couple of minutes in an elevator.
I like that Jar Jar is in the Senate as well. It indicates that the Gungans are no longer isolationist and that their alliance with the Naboo wasn't just a temporary emergency measure. The planet of Naboo ought to have representatives from both its sentient races, after all. And the fact that Palpatine will manipulate Jar Jar into granting him emergency powers - the powers that will lead directly to the establishment of the Empire - is just so wonderfully ironic. Jar Jar is led to believe that he's doing what Padmé would do in her absence, and he is sadly mistaken. This "little bitty accidenty" is far more serious than the one that got him exiled from the Gungans. I've had vague plans of writing post-Episode III fanfic about Jar Jar, agonized with guilt as he realizes the role he played in Palpatine's rise to power, and wandering the galaxy as a perpetual exile. So, yeah. Anyway.
Once again, I think the title is fantastic. We were all anticipating clones, what with Obi-Wan's mention of the Clone Wars way back in Episode IV, but Attack of the Clones? Heh. Marvelously cheesy. And a nice parallel, I think to The Empire Strikes Back. Both very pulpish titles. And once again we have a dual-stranded plot, with a Jedi going off on a quest alone while the other two key characters go into hiding and fall in love. Nice symmetry!
I like Anakin and Padmé's romance. A lot of their dialogue is kind of goofy, but I think it suits their characters. Padmé has been surrounded by well-speaking politicians her whole life. She would find it refreshing for someone to talk to her in stumbling, uncertain in-eloquence, wouldn't she? They're both of them socially weird. Padmé started training to serve in the political arena before she was even a teenager. Her last kiss was when she was twelve, and it was quite a short-lived romance since they parted ways to pursue different career paths. At age twelve. Anakin, meanwhile, spent his childhood as a slave before being sequestered within the Jedi Order and trained to cut off all connections to everyone and everything. It's going to be an awkward courtship; there's just no way around it.
But what I love is that Padmé never hesitates to tell Anakin what is acceptable or not, and he always respects it. She expresses regret for kissing him; he apologizes and backs off. She starts flirting with him again, the mood turns more serious, and he confesses his feelings. She tells him it can't happen, with plenty of reasons why. He is unhappy, but he accepts it. He doesn't pursue her again until she confesses her love before their entry into the arena.
I love that their obstacles aren't external. Padmé could retire from the political sphere; she's certainly put in enough years serving her people. And Anakin could leave the Jedi Order and lead a private life with Padmé. Those are real options, but they never consider them. They care too much about following their life passions. And yet those same passions are keeping them from the one other thing they want - each other.
They aren't interested in having a fling, either. Neither of them would consider that an acceptable outlet for the depth of their feelings. When they do decide the risks are worth it, they fully commit to it, in the form of getting married. Nothing less would satisfy them.
Obi-Wan's plotline is fun too. Solving a mystery isn't really something that comes up in the original trilogy, because evil is right there out in the open. No hidden conspiracies to uncover. But here, we descend into seedy underworlds of assassins and bounty hunters, to a planet that has been removed from a tampered archive. We glean little bits and pieces of the mystery - supposedly a Jedi ordered a clone army? - Jango Fett is the template for the clones, hired by an unknown "Tyrannus"? - and then he's in league somehow with the Separatists on Geonosis where their droid army is manufactured. But how do all the pieces fit together?
Palpatine only shows up in his Sidious guise at the very end, and it's chilling to finally see all the pieces coming together. That he actually fabricated an entire war - that he is playing both sides against each other - that he uses the greed of entities like the Trade Federation to generate discord - that he arranged the clone army to be created because it would just be too much of a temptation not to use it and engage in full-scale war against the Separatists - and that every battle, whoever wins or loses, is a victory for him. He can't lose, as long as the war persists and he accrues more and more power. Sheesh. That's one scary web. What a spider.
The sequence on Tatooine is heartbreaking and chilling. As Anakin speeds against the backdrop of the suns dropping below the horizon, I can't help hearing Shmi's words from Episode I: "But you can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." He didn't heed her warning. He is determined to fight against death, fate, whatever mighty powers he opposes. And it leads to a very dark path. That scene in the garage with Padmé is gut-wrenching. I can see her wavering, wondering if she should comfort him or run as far as she can. And maybe she should have run....but at that moment, reminding him that he has more light than darkness is the thing he needs to pull him back from the brink. His son will do a similar thing decades later. Sniffle.
Anakin is whiny. Yes, he should be. Darth Vader comes across as awesome and imposing because he's so powerful and striking...but a lot of his behavior could really be seen as Dark Side-enhanced temper tantrums. I mean, come on - there's nothing mature about strangling his underlings every time they make a mistake. It's petty, and that side of him is beginning to manifest in Episode II. At this point he's still trying to fight it, to be the better version of himself, but when the Dark Side allows him to enact his whims with apparent impunity, the temptation is too great. Just one temptation of many that will be his downfall.
Foreshadowing! When Anakin is willing to jeopardize their entire mission to bring down Dooku during the battle of Geonosis, so he can go back and rescue Padmé. And his bitter "she would do her duty" to Obi-Wan's question of what Padmé would do in his place - it's just so fraught with all the implications of their relationship and their conflicting priorities.
Of course I greatly enjoyed seeing Yoda fight, but Obi-Wan and Anakin's duel with Dooku is also crucial for characterization and foreshadowing. Just a great contrast of Anakin's rashness and arrogance with Obi-Wan's more careful, reasoned responses. Neither of them are a match for Dooku, alas. I'm intrigued by the Master-Padawan chain established here: Yoda - Dooku - Qui-Gon - Obi-Wan - Anakin.
The ending gives me goosebumps. We start on Coruscant, the center of the galaxy, where massive starships and thousands of soldiers are gathering to begin a vast, far-reaching Separatist war. (Bail Organa's role in this movie is much smaller than his expanded part in Episode III, but I adore the moment he gets here, just a quiet expression of sad regret and foreboding while everyone else is looking on in triumph). But then we cut to the wedding, a quiet ceremony on a remote obscure planet with no one but two droids as witnesses. And yet this moment, this beginning of the Skywalker famiy, will have much farther-reaching consequences than any galactic war. This is the crux of the saga - a little family that dooms and then saves the galaxy.
The elevator scene that introduces both him and Obi-Wan shows a glimpse at their ten-year history, the dynamic of Master and Padawan that has improved greatly since Obi-Wan first took him as his apprentice only to satisfy Qui-Gon's dying wish. It's still problematic, though. Obi-Wan seems to see Anakin more as a brother, while Anakin really needs a father figure. Hence his susceptibility to Palpatine's influence, who's only too glad to play the role of a benevolent fatherly mentor. We also find that Anakin hasn't seen Padmé since the last film and he's quite nervous about this meeting. So it sets up both the beginning of his inner turmoil as well as his romance with Padmé. Not bad for a couple of minutes in an elevator.
I like that Jar Jar is in the Senate as well. It indicates that the Gungans are no longer isolationist and that their alliance with the Naboo wasn't just a temporary emergency measure. The planet of Naboo ought to have representatives from both its sentient races, after all. And the fact that Palpatine will manipulate Jar Jar into granting him emergency powers - the powers that will lead directly to the establishment of the Empire - is just so wonderfully ironic. Jar Jar is led to believe that he's doing what Padmé would do in her absence, and he is sadly mistaken. This "little bitty accidenty" is far more serious than the one that got him exiled from the Gungans. I've had vague plans of writing post-Episode III fanfic about Jar Jar, agonized with guilt as he realizes the role he played in Palpatine's rise to power, and wandering the galaxy as a perpetual exile. So, yeah. Anyway.
Once again, I think the title is fantastic. We were all anticipating clones, what with Obi-Wan's mention of the Clone Wars way back in Episode IV, but Attack of the Clones? Heh. Marvelously cheesy. And a nice parallel, I think to The Empire Strikes Back. Both very pulpish titles. And once again we have a dual-stranded plot, with a Jedi going off on a quest alone while the other two key characters go into hiding and fall in love. Nice symmetry!
I like Anakin and Padmé's romance. A lot of their dialogue is kind of goofy, but I think it suits their characters. Padmé has been surrounded by well-speaking politicians her whole life. She would find it refreshing for someone to talk to her in stumbling, uncertain in-eloquence, wouldn't she? They're both of them socially weird. Padmé started training to serve in the political arena before she was even a teenager. Her last kiss was when she was twelve, and it was quite a short-lived romance since they parted ways to pursue different career paths. At age twelve. Anakin, meanwhile, spent his childhood as a slave before being sequestered within the Jedi Order and trained to cut off all connections to everyone and everything. It's going to be an awkward courtship; there's just no way around it.
But what I love is that Padmé never hesitates to tell Anakin what is acceptable or not, and he always respects it. She expresses regret for kissing him; he apologizes and backs off. She starts flirting with him again, the mood turns more serious, and he confesses his feelings. She tells him it can't happen, with plenty of reasons why. He is unhappy, but he accepts it. He doesn't pursue her again until she confesses her love before their entry into the arena.
I love that their obstacles aren't external. Padmé could retire from the political sphere; she's certainly put in enough years serving her people. And Anakin could leave the Jedi Order and lead a private life with Padmé. Those are real options, but they never consider them. They care too much about following their life passions. And yet those same passions are keeping them from the one other thing they want - each other.
They aren't interested in having a fling, either. Neither of them would consider that an acceptable outlet for the depth of their feelings. When they do decide the risks are worth it, they fully commit to it, in the form of getting married. Nothing less would satisfy them.
Obi-Wan's plotline is fun too. Solving a mystery isn't really something that comes up in the original trilogy, because evil is right there out in the open. No hidden conspiracies to uncover. But here, we descend into seedy underworlds of assassins and bounty hunters, to a planet that has been removed from a tampered archive. We glean little bits and pieces of the mystery - supposedly a Jedi ordered a clone army? - Jango Fett is the template for the clones, hired by an unknown "Tyrannus"? - and then he's in league somehow with the Separatists on Geonosis where their droid army is manufactured. But how do all the pieces fit together?
Palpatine only shows up in his Sidious guise at the very end, and it's chilling to finally see all the pieces coming together. That he actually fabricated an entire war - that he is playing both sides against each other - that he uses the greed of entities like the Trade Federation to generate discord - that he arranged the clone army to be created because it would just be too much of a temptation not to use it and engage in full-scale war against the Separatists - and that every battle, whoever wins or loses, is a victory for him. He can't lose, as long as the war persists and he accrues more and more power. Sheesh. That's one scary web. What a spider.
The sequence on Tatooine is heartbreaking and chilling. As Anakin speeds against the backdrop of the suns dropping below the horizon, I can't help hearing Shmi's words from Episode I: "But you can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." He didn't heed her warning. He is determined to fight against death, fate, whatever mighty powers he opposes. And it leads to a very dark path. That scene in the garage with Padmé is gut-wrenching. I can see her wavering, wondering if she should comfort him or run as far as she can. And maybe she should have run....but at that moment, reminding him that he has more light than darkness is the thing he needs to pull him back from the brink. His son will do a similar thing decades later. Sniffle.
Anakin is whiny. Yes, he should be. Darth Vader comes across as awesome and imposing because he's so powerful and striking...but a lot of his behavior could really be seen as Dark Side-enhanced temper tantrums. I mean, come on - there's nothing mature about strangling his underlings every time they make a mistake. It's petty, and that side of him is beginning to manifest in Episode II. At this point he's still trying to fight it, to be the better version of himself, but when the Dark Side allows him to enact his whims with apparent impunity, the temptation is too great. Just one temptation of many that will be his downfall.
Foreshadowing! When Anakin is willing to jeopardize their entire mission to bring down Dooku during the battle of Geonosis, so he can go back and rescue Padmé. And his bitter "she would do her duty" to Obi-Wan's question of what Padmé would do in his place - it's just so fraught with all the implications of their relationship and their conflicting priorities.
Of course I greatly enjoyed seeing Yoda fight, but Obi-Wan and Anakin's duel with Dooku is also crucial for characterization and foreshadowing. Just a great contrast of Anakin's rashness and arrogance with Obi-Wan's more careful, reasoned responses. Neither of them are a match for Dooku, alas. I'm intrigued by the Master-Padawan chain established here: Yoda - Dooku - Qui-Gon - Obi-Wan - Anakin.
The ending gives me goosebumps. We start on Coruscant, the center of the galaxy, where massive starships and thousands of soldiers are gathering to begin a vast, far-reaching Separatist war. (Bail Organa's role in this movie is much smaller than his expanded part in Episode III, but I adore the moment he gets here, just a quiet expression of sad regret and foreboding while everyone else is looking on in triumph). But then we cut to the wedding, a quiet ceremony on a remote obscure planet with no one but two droids as witnesses. And yet this moment, this beginning of the Skywalker famiy, will have much farther-reaching consequences than any galactic war. This is the crux of the saga - a little family that dooms and then saves the galaxy.
