Omaha, NE Royal Guard at the End of Episode II

Tharon, just wanted to let you know that the Royal Guard are still on the Episode II DVD. The problem you're having is size. In the theatre they would be easily noticeable behind the group on the balcony, but on a smaller TV they are nearly impossible to see. If you watch by Bail Organa's left shoulder you will see one guard, but you will only see the top of his helmet. On the other side, by Mas Amedda you can see the visor and above of the second royal guard. Hope this helps clarify things for you.

 

Cool, man, thanks for lookin'. I've seen the Episode II DVD many times, but I never really sat down and LOOKED for Palpatine's Royal Guards there at the end on my DVD. They just jumped out at me when I saw the film those couple of times in the theaters, and I thought it was cool that you saw the Guards at least twice during the movie.

I seriously thought that maybe they got edited out for some reason when the DVD was released, but I will look much harder when I watch it again, so I can see them. I just do not remember seeing them at all whenever I watch it at the end.

On another (related) note, I found it gratifying, and yet strange, to see the Royal Guards make their first appearance during Attack of the Clones. We only see them briefly in Return of the Jedi, and man are they cool. It's novel to think that they were around even before the Clone Wars started. Palpatine is SO subtle and SO gifted in his machinations, and that's one of the many reasons that I admire him so much. [Aside from being the most powerful Force-user (of any alignment) ever recorded.]

I wonder how Palpatine manages to keep their Dark Side aura and specialized training a secret from the Senate (and the Republic as a whole). But if the boy could cloud the Jedi Council's ability to use the Force, then keeping the true nature of his Royal Guards a secret from Republic bureaucrats couldn't be THAT hard! Any thoughts on this topic? (Anyone can feel free to answer; I retain my own theories . . . )