PT Anakin should not have killed the younglings

There was no reasons for Anakin to kill the younglings. I accept him killing all the other jedi, but the kids. that´s weak writting.

Mopping up the younglings was a job for the clones. Darth Vader should have hunted down and killed the Jedi, who should have been far too powerful for the clones to take out. Lucas managed to screw this up. We missed out on a lot of potentially great fight scenes between Vader and Jedi. Instead we get yet more inconsistencies between the OT and PT, just for shock value.

I understand he became evil and all of that, but despite how much I like Anakin I admit this made him seem too much like a psycho, wouldn't it have been better to have the clones take out the jedi children? they already took out the rest of the jedi masters anyway

Anakin is supposed to a be a sympathetic villian, NOT a complete monster.

What they should have done is to have him go out on the hunt. you know, like Obi-wan says in the original trilogy: "he helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the jedi knights". you know, hunting down people who he genuinely believed was a threat to the greater power. and if we had to see children getting slaughtered, PALPATINE should have done it, since HE is supposed to be the big, main bad guy of the series. instead, Palpatine just stands in his office and cackles like a villian from a saturday moring cartoon while his apprentice is out there doing all the dirty work.

There was absolutely NO point to killing the Jedi children. it was cold blooded murder that one could argue HURT palpatine's plans more than help it. (why not try to corrupt the children instead?) it make a person SO NOT want to see Anakin get redeemed in RotJ

so, I don't consider that scene canon.

 

There was a point, and it was even covered in the film. To drive Anakin deeper into the dark side.

 

Well, the Emperor did tell him to go to the temple and wipe out any remaining Jedi...even the younglings could be an eventual threat to him...and Anakin was troubled by it...if you notice, he is crying in every scene he is killing someone...I always thought that shot was very powerful...

 

Go home and watch ROTS, you will love it, I assure you

 

Care to explain that one?

 

Um, didn't we already sorta have a thread on this? I lose track after all.

*I* liked its inclusion - it showed just how far Anakin would go to hold onto what he held dear. Even the children...so he wouldn't lose Padme.

 

I agree somewhat with VC,

it's inclusion to me meant "wow he really has flipped this time"

it was shocking yes, and lets not forget he has done it before, whether you think tusken children deserved to be chopped like carrots is a somewhat (puzzling) debate.

 

multiple time I believe

 

I agree that I would have liked it better had Vader taken down some Jedi during the temple raid.

 

I liked that part. Showed guts to include it in the movie. I get irritated at movies where we see massive amounts of people gets killed, but no children.

 

I think what happened is that some time after finishing Return of the Jedi, Lucas realized that people weren't accepting it on faith when he told them the Empire/Sith were evil. He imagined himself telling a fantasy or fairy-tale in which "evil stepmothers" and the like are normal and accepted. But people really got into the whole is Han a drug runner, are the Rebels terrorists, is the Empire really so bad type questions.

Lucas decided not to make that mistake again. He added the celebration scenes to the special edition of ROTJ, and he had Anakin kill children in both of his big PT dark side incidents.

I think what we have here is a writer who understands that we didn't accept being told "the bad guys are bad, now enjoy the show," and decided to leave no doubt. That, I believe, is why children are killed.

 

This is sort of how I feel. I will enjoy the movies more if I don't root for the bad guys. I want to boo the Imperials and have a good time, not ponder metaphysics.

But ever after Alderaan, some required further evidence, and they got it.

 

First of all, Palpatine ordered Anakin to kill all the Jedi, because if any of them survive, they will be a threat to the Sith. Even the younglings would present a danger once they grew up. As for why Palpatine wouldn't want them trained, the answer is in TPM, from Yoda.

"Always two there are, no more, no less. A Master and an Apprentice."

Palpatine has his apprentice in Anakin, he has no use for others, especially a bunch of Jedi younglings, none of whom can hold a candle to Anakin. And Palpatine stays in his office while Anakin does all the dirty work because that's the role of the apprentice, to do the bidding of the master.

 

Nope

 

I don't know. Maybe we need three films detailing a young Palpatine's rise to power. Start with him as a cherubic and happy Naboo 8-year-old that loves building Astromech droids in his spare time...

 

In the movie we see him take out Master Cin Drallig on a security tape, so he definitely took full-on Jedi out in the Temple raid.

That was covered in Darth Plagueis. And he wasn't cherubic and happy; before he killed his mother, she pretty much called him the GFFA equivalent of the spawn of Satan.

 

Actually, it was his father called him something along those lines. His mother doesn't really get time to say anything.

 

As cool as seeing Vader killing mature Jedi would have been, I'm guessing you would have to restructure the whole movie for it to make sense dramatically. The way it is presented is quite powerful IMO, seeing clones betraying Jedi impersonally, then there is a kind of realisation of the true ugliness of Order 66 and Anakin's fall being effectively demonstrated by Vader killing the younglings with his own hands. The emotional impact of the moment is strong considering it is only implied what he is about to do. The scene still gives me chills after so many viewings... the music, the way the Council room seems isolated from the rest of the Temple raid with a kind of eery silence and a sense of false peace or solitude that Anakin is frauduently welcomed into, the way Vader silently stands there with his hood on - face hidden - as the younglings come out of hiding, the kid's line indicating they are trusting Anakin to lead them, and Hayden's expression as he coldly ignites his saber. Says more than showing his slaughter of the Jedi physically.