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Consider this peculiarity: within the first ten minutes or so of Episode I, we have an appearance from Darth Sidious, the mastermind behind the whole plot. But Episode II is past the halfway point before we even have a glimpse of Count Dooku. We've heard a lot about him, but he's like a larger-than-life myth, a boogieman. This isn't a flaw. It plants a subtle seed of doubt regarding who the real villain is. Scene after scene, there's no obvious adversary for our heroes to fight, yet conflict abounds. The Jedi Order is strained; the Council is uncertain; the Republic and the Senate are full of fractious arguments. For Anakin and Padmé's plotlines the conflict is internal, a clash of ideals vs desires. For Obi-Wan's mission, the opponent is elusive -- a collection of bewildering clues, a bounty hunter who keeps slipping from his grasp. It's unsettling, confusing.

Then he comes to Geonosis, and the unsettling factor only heightens.

These dizzying views of the underground warrens evoke a strangeness that's tough to pinpoint. Check out the weird angle of the first one. And note how at first glance you might think, hmm, it's kind of pretty...and then a closer look makes you realize there's something insectoid about its construction, and wait, does that translucent material come from bug secretions?

After their use by the villains in Episode I, seeing the construction of battle droids is disturbing enough, but consider also how it stands as a parallel to the creation of clonetroopers. Both mass-produced on assembly lines. We'll return to the symbolism of that in a future post.

Then we get our first actual look at Dooku.

I know, it's not great quality, but even an HD shot would be darker than dark. He still remains elusive, a figure only spotted in stolen glimpses from spyholes.

But you know, Obi-Wan's not that different when he's being stealthy. Practically disappearing into nothing. Hmm.

After observing their supervillain summit, as it were, Obi-Wan believes he's finally come to the end of his quest. Dooku and his minions are plotting to overpower the Jedi and force the Republic to meet their demands. Bitter old Gunray is the one demanding Padmé's death. It's all clear now, right?

Not if we're picking up on the visual creepiness. Nothing is clear and certain, everything is shrouded in shadow and cloudy light.

There is something else lurking around the corner, and we're helpless to shout "Look out behind you!" to warn Obi-Wan.

Next time, a little film history....