A Thousand Stars: Episode I, Part 29

[matril]

The results of Anakin's tests are curt and to the point. Yes, the Force is strong with him, and no, he will not be trained.


Mace's body language here is so flippant, matching his careless words. No tension or concern, only cool, casual authority. But here's Anakin's reaction.


Brrr. You could almost imagine him thinking I'll kill you first. Obviously he's not thinking that now; Anakin is still an innocent child who's more hurt than angry. But that hurt will fester, quietly growing worse and worse after years of resentment and denial, and Mace will in fact be the first of Anakin's victims as he plummets to the Dark Side - a pivotal figure in his decision to change his allegiance from the Jedi Order to Palpatine. It's all quietly foreshadowed here; not as an inevitability, but one more seed planted in Anakin's impressionable mind.

Next, the hurt and resentment keeps coming...

Comments

[krpalmer]

Mace's arm-up pose here has been compared by Rick Worley (and others before, I think) to Han seated in the cantina booth as one illustration of "the saga quoting itself." Whether this first seed of Anakin's thoughts about the Jedi going awry could have been countered by some hypothetical "we're sorry; you're just too old to really learn what we have to" explanation must be reserved for fan discussions, although they can swing to "it's all Anakin's fault!" and "the Jedi stand totally indicted!" extremes.