A Thousand Stars: Episode II, Part 39
Sep. 14th, 2023 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilSo the transports leave the arena...
...and enter a full-scale battle.
A battle of this size has only shown up once before, in Episode V. And that's no coincidence. There are many, many parallels between these two middle episodes of trilogies, but they're not simple, direct correspondences. Episode II flips things upside down and inside out. Nothing is what it seems.
Consider this: the battle in Episode V is really just an extended retreat sequence, with the Rebellion attempting to flee Hoth with as few losses as possible. They're not trying to engage the Empire; they're just trying to survive to fight another day. So who's doing the aggressing in Episode II's sequence? The Republic. True, the Separatists were the original provocateurs, but now it's pretty obvious they're just trying to get away from Geonosis. This new grand army isn't interested in letting them go.
And there's a decent justification for such aggression, depending on how you look at it...though the Empire could have similar justifications for mercilessly pursuing the Rebellion. Consider also images like this.
Yoda, commanding troops. Directing them to destroy as many ships as they can. Remember his line from Episode V? Wars not make one great. This moment doesn't contradict that; on the contrary, the prequels reveal that Yoda learned that truth from hard experience and regret. The clear, hard lines between good guys and bad guys are getting blurry. What exactly is the goal of this war? What will be the moral cost of victory?
Next time, another visual foreshadow...
...and enter a full-scale battle.
A battle of this size has only shown up once before, in Episode V. And that's no coincidence. There are many, many parallels between these two middle episodes of trilogies, but they're not simple, direct correspondences. Episode II flips things upside down and inside out. Nothing is what it seems.
Consider this: the battle in Episode V is really just an extended retreat sequence, with the Rebellion attempting to flee Hoth with as few losses as possible. They're not trying to engage the Empire; they're just trying to survive to fight another day. So who's doing the aggressing in Episode II's sequence? The Republic. True, the Separatists were the original provocateurs, but now it's pretty obvious they're just trying to get away from Geonosis. This new grand army isn't interested in letting them go.
And there's a decent justification for such aggression, depending on how you look at it...though the Empire could have similar justifications for mercilessly pursuing the Rebellion. Consider also images like this.
Yoda, commanding troops. Directing them to destroy as many ships as they can. Remember his line from Episode V? Wars not make one great. This moment doesn't contradict that; on the contrary, the prequels reveal that Yoda learned that truth from hard experience and regret. The clear, hard lines between good guys and bad guys are getting blurry. What exactly is the goal of this war? What will be the moral cost of victory?
Next time, another visual foreshadow...
