A Thousand Stars: Episode III, Part 29

We watch several elements get set up. Obi-Wan and Yoda are going to the Temple in the hopes of warning away any surviving Jedi. Bail has been summoned to a special (mandatory) session of the Senate. And Anakin/Vader arrives on Mustafar, where he is cordially greeted by an unwitting Nute Gunray. Who responds with this ominous gesture that shuts the doors and cuts off all escape routes.

Padmé fills in Bail about Palpatine's story. The Jedi fight their way past the guards. We can feel the tension building up to something truly nightmarish. We come to the aftermath of the Temple massacre. Slaughtered younglings, even. Obi-Wan's heartbreaking question Who? Who could have done this? is brutally answered by a smash cut to Anakin single-handedly dispatching the entirety of the Separatist leadership.

Then, in the Senate, Palpatine handily dismantles the free Republic to create a tyrannical Empire. Back and forth the scenes are intercut, accompanied by the relentless music of "Anakin's Dark Deeds." It was a sequence partially inspired by the christening/murder montage from the Godfather, making use of that unique ability of film to juxtapose two contrasting scenes. While Palpatine speaks of peace and security, his apprentice is perpetuating a merciless slaughter. Liberty dies to thunderous applause, and Nute Gunray's final plea is cut off mid-sentence. Even the despicable villains of the previous films become pitiful victims of the Sith's all-consuming hatred and violence.

Next time, shadows and holograms...