The whole dramatic sweep is ruined if you just think Anakin turned bad as some sort of plan. [Ushgarak]
True, and a good point, but I believe it all depends what the Prophecy says - and we don't know that yet (or at least I don't - I still haven't read the scriptment so I could be shooting blind I admit). But maybe the Prophecy goes along the lines of "The chosen one will succumb to evil, and having experienced evil, and both the light and dark sides of the Force, will bring balance".
Of course this is complete speculation, I know that, but the key piece of missing information at the moment is the Prophcy and the fate of the chosen one. I don't accept that as the chosen one Anakin just lost his way, almost missed the opportunity to fulfill his fate, and then came to his senses at the last minute.
I suspect - strongly - that the Prophecy will state that the chosen one will experience both the good and evil of the Force in order to achieve balance.
So do I think Anakin turned bad as some sort of plan? Yes I do, absolutely, and the plan is the Prophecy, the will of the Force, the fate of the chosen one.
I concede, it's not necessarily the case that Anakin was aware of this. Maybe the council keep Qui-Gon's (and maybe even their own) suspicion that Anakin is the chosen one to themselves. Maybe they don't tell him.
But then there's the line in the trailer: "Anakin, you're not the most powerful jedi" (not verbatum but to that effect) but it suggests that either Anakin knows he is suspected of being the chosen one, or Amidala does.
I just think it would be more dramatic and statisfying if Anakin joined Sidious and the dark side believing he was the chosen one and by doing so was fufilling his destiny. Maybe the Jedi aren't as convinced as he is? Maybe the Jedi don't think he is the chosen one and try to stop him taking this all on himself. Maybe that's why Anakin and Obi-Wan duel - Anakin is hell-bent on seeing through what he has convinced himself is his destiny (rightly or wrongly) and the Jedi council, Obi-Wan included, think that the risk of playing one of their most powerful members ("His midichlorian count is off the scale" - again, probably not verbatum) into the hands of the Emperor?
Having failed to stop him, however, the Jedi would then decide the only course of action and hope for Anakin is to act as if Anakin were the chosen one, hide his children and conspire to turn him back to the good side by using them to remind them of his past.
Or is that just stating the obvious now..?
😕
Hmm- I have a reputation as a plan shooter, eh?
Well, anyway, let's take a look at this.
First of all, the idea of needing to combine ing the experience of both he Light and Dark Sides of the Force- something the EU experimented in, to no good effect- is not something I see GL using. For a start, it smacks of the whole 'literal balance' theory (that Anakin balances evil and good in the Universe, which is nonsense, and then goes on saying things like by wiping out the Jedi he helped bring balance and so on, which is all crap, as GL has pretty much described).
Secondly, it still removes the drama of Luke's actions in the OT- which is that all was lost when it started. Anakin, the one guy who could have defeated the Emperor, had failed, and turned. Obi-Wan and Yoda are carrying on in the desperate hope that Luke can somehow defeat the Emperor himself. But he cannot; there was simply no time for him to become powerful enough. But Luke achieves what Obi-Wan never thought possible- to bring back Anakin, who achieves his destiny after all by killing the Emperor.
Remember, this is an unexpected reverse. It was not what was meant to happen all along. If the others had had their way then Anakin would have struck down the Emperor without all that turning nonsense. It was NOT how it was supposed to happen.
I am afraid, DY, that the idea that Anakin simply went wrong and then was redeemed at the last moment is pretty much the whole direction the films go in. As GL describes it, it is a story about how a good man turns bad and is redeemed by his son. If in ANY way his turning bad was deliberate or necessary, then the impact of this failure of Anakin's is totally lost and the theme of the sotry is destroyed.
Meanwhile, Amidala's line in the trailer is 'You are not all-powerful'. Anakin respons that he 'should be'. This isn't anything to do with the Prophecy; it's just an example of Anakin's impateince. He wants to be able to do anything, but can't.
Really, if Anakin simply joins Sidious as part of a long-term plan, then the films wouldn't be as they are.
Anakin already knows that he is supposedly the "chosen one." That's why he's so cocky in AOTC. Remember in TPM that he hears Qui-Gon and Mace arguing. Qui-Gon states clearly, "He IS the chosen one. You must recognize it." Anakin knows he has huge potential, and hates how OB1 is slowing him down. He wants to fully realize his potential, and THAT'S why goes to the Dark Side.
Well that's that theory out of the water then... 😱
True that Anakin overheard Qui-Gon and Mace arguing. I completely overlooked that.
Thing is, and I hate to admit this as a near life-long Star Wars fan, but it's all a bit disappointing. I mean, unless something happens during the prequels that's unexpected there's no point to them. We know, because he turned at the end, that Anakin was a good man who went bad. What can we possibly learn from Eps I-III beyond that?
Are they really just going to be a series of eye-candy merchandise pushers? This is not just sour grapes at having my theory so thoroughly salmmed, either - 😄 - if Eps II and III don't pull something really special out of the bag Lucas will have proved himself to be nothing special (or to have lost it) and all the criticism that befell The Phantom Menace will have been justified.
I'm just really sorry to be facing the prospect that something I cherished for over two decades is about to become so... well, pointless.
It’s only my loyalty to the property and my (still unshaken) hope that there’s more to this than anyone is expecting, that stopped me throwing my hands in the air and joining all the dissenters who slammed TPM when it was released. And deep down I’m already preparing for AOTC being just as much of a disappointment. Hey-ho...
Boy - it almost feels good to have got that off my chest. Sorry for the outburtst though, just being honest...
Well, the idea that there is nothing to be learnt from the PT is not a rare criticism. Mind you, we have already learnt a bit- like that the Emperor was once a Darth named Sidious, and a little about how the Sith work.
Looking at Star Wars as a story about people rather than events, we get the full story of Anakin- something we knew virtually nothing about, which is absolutely vital, when you look at it.
And looking at it events wise, we still get VERY vital gaps filled in, like just how the heck WERE the all-powerful Jedi defeated?
Suroprise-wise, though, we get to see those unknown core parts of the story. Like just what the deal with the ghost terick is, what IS the Prophecy... heck, these prequels are talling us exactly what the Star Wars story actually is!
Granted, knowing how it all ends already is a bit off-putting, but GL is writing the new films with this in mind, and I think they are more than entertaining and intersting enough for me.
dont worry darth yogi, there will be 3 'surprises' in the coming episodes:
1. sidious will tell anakin that he genetically engineered him to be the most powerful sith ever.
2. obi-wan will apparently kill anakin at the end of episode III.
3. mace windu will sacrifice himself to save luke and leia.
we have much to look forward to.