Some Star Wars Saga Thoughts (Preliminary)

[butterfly]

The thing that strikes me most of all is just how much this is Anakin's story -- we follow him through each change in his life.

That's the significance of the timing of each episode -- each corresponds with a fundamental shift for Anakin.

In The Phantom Menace, we meet him as a child in slavery and see him becoming Obi-Wan's Padawan. Next, in Attack of the Clones, he becomes a husband to Padme. In Revenge of the Sith, we see his decision to align himself with Palpatine. Then, as Vader, he remains static until Luke comes into his life in A New Hope. He finally feels that he's a father in The Empire Strikes Back. Finally, in The Return of the Jedi, he accepts his own mortality and becomes a true Jedi at last.

But Anakin's story certainly isn't the only interesting one.

I really do envy people who'll get to see the entire saga in order -- the entire thing consists of wonderful bait-and-switch moments. Because, in The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn is placed very much in the 'hero' position, with Obi-Wan as his side-kick.

Qui-Gon Jinn has the first word in the entire saga, in fact (though from off-screen, which is incredibly appropriate, considering).

When we finally get a good look at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, it's clear that Qui-Gon is in charge (the 'Master' bit gives it away, just a little).

Hmm, about that first conversation...
Obi-Wan: "I have a bad feeling about this."
Qui-Gon: "I don't sense anything."
Obi-Wan: "It's not about the mission, Master, it's something... elsewhere... elusive."
Qui-Gon: "Don't center on your anxiety, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs."
Obi-Wan: "Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future..."
Qui-Gon: "...but not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of the living Force, my young Padawan."
Obi-Wan: "Yes, Master..."

In context, this is an extremely interesting conversation. Obi-Wan still has much to learn (before he becomes the best Jedi ever! Not that I'm biased... or anything.), but the fact that his first line is (the reoccurring) "I have a bad feeling about this," shades his character. Obi-Wan senses something 'elsewhere' and 'elusive', something that isn't about this mission. And it's this mission that will introduce them to Padme (the woman who was manipulated into tipping the first domino over that turned the Republic into an Empire and the woman that Anakin will turn evil to try to save). And, because of this mission, they'll end up on Anakin's planet. And Qui-Gon doesn't sense any of this badness, possibly because, you know, he's going to die before most of it happens. And because he's concentrating on the living Force.

So, Qui-Gon is the 'here and now' guy and Obi-Wan is the anxious pupil. Either Qui-Gon is the hero, or Obi-Wan is the hero and Qui-Gon is the mentor who dies. That's typical movie logic.

In their first battle together, Obi-Wan establishes himself as someone who is quite snarky -- "You were right about one thing, Master. The negotiations were short."

During this, we first meet Nute, who ends up being a minor bad-guy. In fact, the Trade Federation is a phantom menace -- all along, Nute was being controlled by the real power, who never intended that side to win. The big win for the Sith is when Amidala calls for a vote of 'no confidence' in the current Chancellor, thus bringing into power the real menace, Palpatine. Palpatine needed his home planet of Naboo to be threatened in order to get into that Chancellor's seat. The entire plot of this episode is incidental -- it's all about that vote, that first domino tipping over.

Speaking of Amidala, she's the next character that we meet. Queen Amidala of Naboo. Through Amidala, we meet the hologram of Senator Palpatine, who is the true driving force of darkness behind everything. We first meet Palpatine via hologram, a projection of light, not the real person at all, just as we have not met Palpatine's true self at this time.

In meeting Jar-Jar Binks we get to find out that Obi-Wan is a little bit of a snob. He likes people and things to be... civilised and elegant. Understandable.

All through-out their time of trial underwater, Qui-Gon is all, "The Force will guide us and protect us," and Obi-Wan is all, "Oh, let me drive. Oh, I'll just go fix that." Obi-Wan is a doer and a very proactive person (and, as he admits later, he can be a touch reckless), while Qui-Gon is much more reactive and meditative, though he certainly acts when he feels that the time is right.

So, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan rescue the Queen and her Handmaidens (including one known as Padme, who is, of course, the real Queen in disguise, a foretelling of our Princess Leia, who was also not who she seemed to be) from the Droids. They all escape via ship so that they can go to Coruscant (home of the Republic and where the Senate meets) so that they can end the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo. But they don't have enough fuel to make it all the way in one jump.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is the one who spots Tatooine on the star map and suggests it (and we learn that it is 'small, out of the way, poor' and 'controlled by the Hutts'). The Force stepping in? Obi-Wan's path may be destined to collide with Anakin's.

At this time, we also meet a little blue droid, an R2 unit known as R2D2. It saved the ship in the escape, saving the lives of all on board. Padme goes off to clean and bond with R2D2.

It's actually really sweet, that she does all the hands-on stuff herself.

So, they badly need a new engine part, so Qui-Gon and Jar-Jar set off to get one. And Padme insists on going with them. She's very brave and idealistic (and somewhat foolish) here. Luke really does remind me of her (as Leia reminds me of Anakin).

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have this exchange:
Qui-Gon : "Be wary... I sense a disturbance in the Force."
Obi-Wan: "I feel it also, Master."

Which makes sense, because they're about to meet the last two of the four mainstay characters of the saga (Obi-Wan, R2D2, Anakin, and C-3PO are the only characters that are in every single episode of the saga).

Just as it is significant that Padme sees just where Anakin comes from, it's essential here that Obi-Wan stays behind with the ship. Qui-Gon needs to establish a relationship with Anakin first, so that he and Obi-Wan are coming from different places on the matter of Anakin.

They seem to run into Anakin by coincidence -- he just 'happens' to be a slave who works in the shop that they choose to go into. And, of course, it's the Force working to put Anakin in the right place at the right time, so that he can make his choices.

Qui-Gon goes off with the shop owner, so Anakin and Padme have a moment to get to know each other.

We learn in this conversation that Anakin is a dreamer who listens to deep space pirates and believes in angels. And that, even at the age of nine, he knows very well that though he is called a slave, he is a person, with a name and an identity. Padme and Anakin are able to engage each other on a conversational level, though they are 'strange' to each other.

And here, we learn their full names.

Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie.

Later, when Jar-Jar gets in trouble with a local named Sebula, Anakin is the one to save him -- he uses what he knows (that Sebula wouldn't want to pay for damaging a slave) to get Sebula to back off. He's gutsy and comes across as fearless, but he does know better.

Anakin: "Fear attracts the fearful. He was trying to overcome his fear by squashing you... be less afraid."
Padme: "And that works for you."
Anakin: "To a point."

Anakin's problem is that, though he knows the answer, his emotions overcome that knowledge, and he ends up acting contrary to how he knows is best. He knows, even here, that fear only leads to destruction and loss, and yet, when faced with fear, he still lashes out. His passion is too great for his mind to overcome.

A sandstorm threatens, so Anakin takes the entire group back to his home, where we meet his mother, Shmi. And here is where we meet the fourth mainstay -- Anakin is building a droid named C-3PO. C-3PO and R2D2 meet and pretty much immediately establish, well, the relationship that they'll have for the entire saga. Some things don't change -- a reassuring message in the face of everything that does change over the course of the saga.

So, when we first meet Anakin, he's a fatherless slave who only has his mother. And he wants more (this is something that we'll hear again and again in the first three films -- he wants more than what he has).

And for all that, he's a sweet child. Smitten by a pretty girl, helpful to strangers and to people he cares about, and a generous and brave soul.

Qui-Gon removes him from his world, his mother. Because Anakin longs to be something more than he is, he's willing to leave all that behind so that he may become a Jedi.

But Qui-Gon, the only Jedi (at the time of TPM), who has complete trust in Anakin, dies. And Anakin is to be trained by a man that he knows thinks that he's dangerous.

You know, the thing that hurts me the most about Anakin's fall is how much sense it makes. So much sense, when thinking about who he was, as established in TPM, and what he feared, as shown in AotC.

Also, watching ANH after RotS is such a perfect fit. Obi-Wan's reactions are dead-on for the relationship with Anakin that we knew he had and for knowing R2D2 and C-3PO. You can feel the weight of surprise in each moment where he realises just how perfectly the Force is putting the pieces together. The droids bringing Luke and Leia to him at the same time? Chewbecca, friend to Jedi, being in the spaceport at the right time? Everything is working toward giving Anakin that second chance to make his choice.

Obi-Wan calls Luke 'son' and my heart pretty much started bleeding all over me (mostly because of the damn RotS novelization where Yoda asks Obi-Wan if he wants to be 'as a father' to the boy and Obi-Wan corrects him to 'eccentric uncle').

Obi-Wan's impulsive act in the bar makes so much more sense after seeing the first three movies -- because it's a mistake, one that he shouldn't make, to use a lightsaber so lightly, so near stormtroopers. But Anakin's son got hurt, is being threatened. He's been watching out for the kid for nineteen or twenty years now, he's damn well not going to let him die in a bar fight. And he has a satisfied look on his face for a moment, having a) taken care of the threat to Luke and b) used his lightsaber for the first time in ages, probably, and then he pretty much immediately realises that he shouldn't have done it.

His affection for the Skywalkers still blinds him, when he's not thinking about it.

I have to say, it's fairly clear to me that Obi-Wan made the right call when he took Luke to Alderaan. Luke says here, after losing his family, that he 'never wants to step foot on this planet again'. Anakin never steps foot on Tatooine after he buries his mother there -- it truly is the one place in the universe that he'd never go on his own account.

It's really hard for me to get involved in the story of Han Solo except as a subsidiary to the Skywalker arcs. And though Luke used to be my favorite Saga character, he's now been bumped down to third, just under Obi-Wan (best Jedi ever!) and then Anakin (the Chosen One!). Leia is still firmly in place just under Luke, while somehow Padme slipped in to land just under Leia. After her, it's R2D2, Yoda, C-3PO, Han Solo, and then everyone else.

Oh, and for the curious, I have a personal Padme fanwank. Really, it's just because I liked her so much in the first two movies that I refuse to accept that she's giving up or being selfish in RotS. She's shown time and again that she is strong and very selfless when it comes to defending her people. And it doesn't get any more 'her people' than her own flesh and blood. So, in my mind, Padme is choosing to die at that moment in order to buy her children time -- she knows that Anakin would be able to find her, would know whether or not she lived or died. Dying was the only way that she could protect the twins. And that choice would fit far more with the Padme that we've gotten to know throughout the first two movies than the simple answer of her 'dying of a broken heart'. She didn't lose the will to live, she actively choose to die in order to save her kids.

Comments

[vampireborg.livejournal.com]

She didn't lose the will to live, she actively choose to die in order to save her kids.

I like that, it's true. :D If it came down to me or my babies, the babies would SO win.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

And I think that her general characterization pre-RotS supports that explanation, as well as the fact that she still believed in Anakin having a core of good to him -- if she truly believed that, why would she die of a broken heart?

[cracknanny.livejournal.com]

As one of those people who has seen the films in order (and I'm sure even for those who haven't!) this was fascinating to read and, in my opinion, an incredibly intelligent and well-thought out response to these films. I found myself nodding along all throughout. I hope you'll write more.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Revenge of the Sith really did hit most of my buttons, in the best ways. It's made me care about the Star Wars Saga.

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Great post.

I still don't like Obi Wan though, I just don't like him!

My hierarchy goes something more like Vader (who it's all about), then Palpatine who grinds the organ the whole time Vader is the monkey, then R2, Han, Leia and Chewy. After that you have the other freaks like Luke and C3PO, Qui and Obi and Yoda. Maybe after that Padme. Don't like her either. LOL.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

And, curiosity strikes, what don't you like about Obi-Wan? Is it the lying? The manipulation? The snobbery? The way he's so hurt by Anakin's betrayal that, years later, he still believes Anakin to be beyond redemption?

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

It's more the lying and manipulation in IV-VI. He's sort of like the worst of Lupin and Black of SW only worse. "Hi I'm here to tell you lies about your father! Hey, watch me get killed! Wait, are you looking? Are you looking now? Ok, getting killed now."

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Well, it does work.

Actually, though I always liked Obi-Wan, his devastation at the end of the duel makes me understand why he would lie to Luke -- he still can't wrap his head around it. The lie he gives Luke isn't even his own lie, it's Yoda's. That what Anakin did screwed him up so much that he can't even come up with his own words after twenty years? It makes me want to hug him.

But I can definitely where you're coming from -- he is a manipulative SOB.

[raedbard.livejournal.com]

Just sort of semi-delurking to say, I love these reaction posts of yours (particularly your older Stargate ones). This one really made me want to go back and watch the whole saga again and try to understand it. Thank you :)

Oh, and you're right - Obi-Wan is absolutely the best Jedi ever! (And kinda cute too :))

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Just sort of semi-delurking to say, I love these reaction posts of yours (particularly your older Stargate ones). This one really made me want to go back and watch the whole saga again and try to understand it. Thank you

You are so welcome! I adore writing these things, so I'd probably do it even if no one read them, but it's such a boost to know that it does inspire other people.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I really do envy people who'll get to see the entire saga in order

Me too. I'm so looking forward to finding a victim who never heard of SW (somewhere, he/she must exist) so I can try out the chronological order on him. What came closest was my father who had seen the OT once upon a time but had forgotten most stuff about it when he saw TPM on tv. So at one point, he turns to me and says "the blond kid is important somehow, isn't he? Who is he going to be?"

Palpatine needed his home planet of Naboo to be threatened in order to get into that Chancellor's seat. The entire plot of this episode is incidental -- it's all about that vote, that first domino tipping over.

Yes. He's in a win-win position, no matter how the invasion proceeds. He'll get that sympathy vote.

But Qui-Gon, the only Jedi (at the time of TPM), who has complete trust in Anakin, dies. And Anakin is to be trained by a man that he knows thinks that he's dangerous.

Indeed. I remember seeing the conversation between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon for the first time, and hoping Anakin was far away, and then the camera revealed that he had heard every word. And Anakin's awareness that Obi-Wan not only didn't choose to be with him but distrusted him when they met introduces a streak of uncertainty in the relationship from the start.

You know, the thing that hurts me the most about Anakin's fall is how much sense it makes. So much sense, when thinking about who he was, as established in TPM, and what he feared, as shown in AotC.

Exactly. It's not something that happens overnight. We see each step and each seed.

And Padme insists on going with them. She's very brave and idealistic (and somewhat foolish) here. Luke really does remind me of her (as Leia reminds me of Anakin).

Oh absolutely. Admittedly I'm influenced by fernwithys stories, but despite the physical resemblences, I think it's pretty clear that Luke is more like Padme and Leia is more like Anakin. Luke's role as Padme's avatar is reinforced by giving the two of them two crucial identical lines - they both reject Anakin's "rule the galaxy with me" offer, and they both insist that "there is still good in him" afterwards (to the same person, Obi-Wan, too).

I have to say, it's fairly clear to me that Obi-Wan made the right call when he took Luke to Alderaan.

Well, yes, but I have to point out that Obi-Wan picked up some manipulative skills from Palpatine earlier. Because before he and Luke find out that Beru and Owen are dead and thus no longer an obstacle, he damn well pushes every button to get Luke to come with him. Second mentor figure insinuiating that primary father figure (whom young man resents in a typical teenage way anyway) doesn't really understand young man eager for adventures, telling young man to trust his feelings instead, while insisting that of course he wouldn't dream of pressuring - does that sound familiar?

Luke says here, after losing his family, that he 'never wants to step foot on this planet again'. Anakin never steps foot on Tatooine after he buries his mother there -- it truly is the one place in the universe that he'd never go on his own account.

Yup. People keep wondering why Obi-Wan and Yoda picked Tatooine, but it always made sense to me after AotC. It outranks Naboo and Mustafar as "place Anakin never wants to see as Vader again".

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Me too. I'm so looking forward to finding a victim who never heard of SW (somewhere, he/she must exist) so I can try out the chronological order on him. What came closest was my father who had seen the OT once upon a time but had forgotten most stuff about it when he saw TPM on tv. So at one point, he turns to me and says "the blond kid is important somehow, isn't he? Who is he going to be?"

Hee! Okay, that's pretty funny.

I remember seeing the conversation between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon for the first time, and hoping Anakin was far away, and then the camera revealed that he had heard every word. And Anakin's awareness that Obi-Wan not only didn't choose to be with him but distrusted him when they met introduces a streak of uncertainty in the relationship from the start.

Oooo, does Obi-Wan know that Anakin heard that conversation? If not, that could explain why he doesn't understand that there's some mistrust on Anakin's side of things.

Well, yes, but I have to point out that Obi-Wan picked up some manipulative skills from Palpatine earlier. Because before he and Luke find out that Beru and Owen are dead and thus no longer an obstacle, he damn well pushes every button to get Luke to come with him. Second mentor figure insinuiating that primary father figure (whom young man resents in a typical teenage way anyway) doesn't really understand young man eager for adventures, telling young man to trust his feelings instead, while insisting that of course he wouldn't dream of pressuring - does that sound familiar?

And, yeah, Obi-Wan is so manipulative in ANH. Because while he wants to go off and find a way to save Anakin's daughter, he's not going to leave Anakin's son there on Tatooine to rot. But, as Qui-Gon says to Anakin, your focus determines your reality.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oooo, does Obi-Wan know that Anakin heard that conversation? If not, that could explain why he doesn't understand that there's some mistrust on Anakin's side of things.

No, Obi-Wan doesn't know, unless Anakin told him later, which I doubt. The scene ends with him marching off, then the camera shows us and Qui-Gon Anakin heard, and Anakin tells Qui-Gon he doesn't want to be trouble. (So not only did he hear but he understood that he's presently causing a rift between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

Incidentally, did you read what Michael Rosenbaum said about Lex and Anakin (http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/release/publicity/news20050609.html)?

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

So not only did he hear but he understood that he's presently causing a rift between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

Oh! Layers. I love that so much.

Incidentally, did you read what Michael Rosenbaum said about Lex and Anakin?

I hadn't seen that before. Thank you! Very interesting, indeed (and yay for fanboy!Michael).

[lakester.livejournal.com]

though he is called a slave, he is a person, with a name and an identity.
I wonder about the pattern of slavery in Tatooine. Anakin and his mother live away from where they/he works. Anakin evidently has the time/resources to make C3P0 and his own podracer, even if I suspect that most of the parts are stolen. So they have possessions, even money? The only restriction appears to be regarding their work.

Qui-Gon removes him from his world, his mother.
Qui-Gon essentially steals Anakin from Watto by deliberately altering the fall of the - were they weighted? - dice. He's certainly willing to use the force when he considers it necessary. (The mind-twisting of the Jedi, here and in the rest of the saga - it seems to come perilously close to dark, and really only works because the people using it are the good guys.)

OBI-WAN: Don't defy the Council, Master..not again.
QUI-GON: I will do what I must.

ANAKIN: If you're not with me, you're my enemy.
OBI-WAN: Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I wonder about the pattern of slavery in Tatooine. Anakin and his mother live away from where they/he works. Anakin evidently has the time/resources to make C3P0 and his own podracer, even if I suspect that most of the parts are stolen. So they have possessions, even money? The only restriction appears to be regarding their work.

They do have an interesting system -- more like the old Roman system of slavery, perhaps, where there was a chance of a slave buying his own freedom?

The mind-twisting of the Jedi, here and in the rest of the saga - it seems to come perilously close to dark, and really only works because the people using it are the good guys.

Well, as Qui-Gon would say 'your focus determines your reality'. Hmm. Definitely something that I want to think about more.

[amalthia]

loved your essay, it was well thought out and had some good insights. I personally thought PM was a waste of time and money to make...but after reading your essay I can see why it might have had some importance to Anakin's story arch. I just wish George Lucas did a better job with the subject matter.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I feel like I need to rewatch TPM, in light of RotS. I really do think that it was essential to the understanding of why Anakin, and the Republic fell, and why Obi-Wan failed.

[thepouncer.livejournal.com]

I love your thoughts on how Anakin's journey drives the timing of the films. After seeing Sith, I thought that Palpatine's evolution (http://www.livejournal.com/users/thepouncer/250927.html) was also very important to the incidents we were shown.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

And I completely agree -- seeing Palpatine's rise and fall is vital. We see the pieces put in place for his seize of power and we see how he loses that power (and I love the mirroring of the Jedi's sight being clouded in the first three and the Emperor's in the last, that he doesn't sense Luke).

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

See, YOU make it sound like Citizen Kane, but Lucas couldn't pull it off-not even with the actual example of Kane to copy from! The boy pulled from his mother into a world of mentors he can't understand, the sort of greediness that can't compensate for that loss, the driving of everybody away and ending up bald and blundering about his mansion--but he can't pull it off!

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Interestingly enough, I didn't get any of that from Citizen Kane on an emotional level, but Revenge of the Sith really managed to reach my heart.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this post! It's so nice to see that there are other people who enjoy the prequels. IMO, episode 1 and episode 2 are highly underrated - there is just so much there that can be analyzed.
E.g. on a mythological Anakin standing for the sky, Padmé standing for the earth. (Anakin defending Naboo in space while Padme fights on the ground.)
Or the importance that Anakin grew up as a slave. It lays the base for him not trusting democracy who allows slavery to happen in the outer rim. It also wants to be powerful, not because of power itself, but because it will make him able to protect the ones he loves. Look at how he always wants to share power, first with Padme, then with his son.

Favorite characters in SW:
Anakin is my favorite. He must be one of the most complex fictional characters. (Many complain about his whininess in AOTC, but I love it that he's not perfect.)
Second rank goes to Luke.
Third is more difficult: I love Padme, Shmi and Leia. All strong women in different ways.
Han Solo is fun, but I'm no big fan of him. I like him in as far as he reminds me of Anakin. :-) (It pissed me off when some people asked me about ROTS and wanted to know if Han was in it, because he was really the best bit of Star Wars. Hmpf. And I thought it was about the rise, fall and redemption of a hero, and how compassion can be stronger than hate.)

Padmé's death:
I think it's very significant that she dies when Vader is born, i.e. the mask placed over Anakin's face. I thought she was linked to Anakin in the force. Either his spiritual death causes her own death or she deliberately gives him all her strenght through the force so he can survive. Or he accidently taps into the Force and takes some of her life force. So many explanations. The one thing I do not think is that she dies because she "loses the will to life"; that's just the explanation of the droid doctor.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It's so nice to see that there are other people who enjoy the prequels. IMO, episode 1 and episode 2 are highly underrated - there is just so much there that can be analyzed.

I'm holding off on buying them until I can get them in a set with RotS, but the waiting is so hard. I want to rewatch them right now, you know? There really is so much important stuff going on in them.

Or the importance that Anakin grew up as a slave. It lays the base for him not trusting democracy who allows slavery to happen in the outer rim. It also wants to be powerful, not because of power itself, but because it will make him able to protect the ones he loves. Look at how he always wants to share power, first with Padme, then with his son.

So true. Power for the sake of power doesn't appeal to Anakin. He wants peace and justice, and he doesn't think that the Republic is doing a good enough job. They may have outlawed slavery, but it still happens on places like Tatooine. And he saw the way the senators hemmed and hawed over Padme's planet being invaded. He has more reason than most to distrust the Senate.

I definitely adore the Skywalkers as a whole, though Obi-Wan does edge them out (part of this is, undoubtably, my absolutely enormous crush on Ewan McGregor). But it's the Skywalkers' story, definitely. It's no coincidence that the rise and fall of the Empire is directly linked to the fall and rise of Anakin Skywalker.

And I really like that I can see why Luke and Leia are who they are -- they do take after their parents quite a bit. Luke is a lot like Padme, butwith Anakin's passion and wanderlust thrown in, while Leia is very much like Anakin, but with Padme's political poise and understanding.

[skipmcgee.livejournal.com]

I'm a little behind getting to this, but yay! bring back my SW love!

The Skywalker guys are tied in at 1st for my personal faves, although it changes depending on how porny I'm feeling ('cause seriously, it's all about the six-pack), and this just made me want to go watch it all over again :)

And I like your view on Padme's death, not only does it make a lot more sense but it makes me like her a hell of a lot better.