A Thousand Stars: Episode I, Part 22

It's intriguing that our first look at Coruscant was a nighttime scene, a place swathed in shadows where Sith Lords lurk and plot. Even now, as the queen's ship approaches, we see that this city-planet has the perpetual look of a starlit sky.



It's beautiful, but in a very different way from a place like Naboo. It almost seems to melt into the dark that surrounds it, a surreal rippling of space.

Then our heroes land on the platform where, as Ric Olié cheerfully informs Anakin, Senator Palpatine is waiting.

What an evocative shot. Palpatine stands in the foreground, a figure so striking that the Supreme Chancellor himself is just a blurry figure in the back. His seat of power, the impressive contingent of guards, the pomp and authority -- all of that will soon be claimed and taken over by this supposedly kind, unassuming Senator. This image foreshadows it all.

Next time, more unsettling imagery...