PT The Prequel Trilogy Interview Thread - Currently interviewing jaimestarr !)

@Bob Effette Some very creative questions there. With the 100m sprint, I'll go with Rey since she seems more naturally athletic than Leia.

With the arm wrestling, I'll go with Han since Boba always seemed slightly overrated to me.

With spelling I'll bet on Captain Piett since his name seems slightly harder to spell, which would have given him key practice in spelling during his formative years.

For hide and seek, I'll go with the Jawas since they seemed slightly better at sticking to the shadows to me, and I feel like Tatooine's terrain is harder to blend into than Endor's.

For the swim, I'll go with Anakin since he got off Tatooine sooner, and I like to imagine he was taught how to swim during his Jedi training since Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon both know how to do it in TPM.

For rock, paper, scissors, I'll put my money on Lando since he has more experience with games of chance, and we saw how stunned Finn was the first time he set foot in casinos during TLJ.

For cliff diving, I'll go with Poe since he seems more reckless.

For downhill skiing, I'll put my trust in Chewbacca because he spent more time on ice planets like Hoth.

For the BMX half-pipe, I'll go with Ben Kenobi because the Force is with him, and he's going to need it.

I admit I had to look up what conkers is, but I'll go with Boss Nass since I think he could hit with more force and has greater mobility.

@ThisIsMe1138, no worries! These are all new questions to me

My favorite color is blue since it's just so calming and beautiful to me.

I have a sweet tooth so my favorite food is the Napoleon pastry. It just has everything I want: pastry, cream, and powdered sugar in delicious layers. I've loved them ever since I was little. That's why on my birthday I always get a Napoleon from my local bakery rather than a cake.

My favorite name is Angela. I love the way it sounds--it makes me feel peaceful--and it reminds me of my best friend from college who was named Angela.

It's hard for me to pick a favorite city I've been to, so I hope you don't mind if I pick two: Montreal, Canada, and York, England. Montreal was just such a charming city with its botanical garden and some really gorgeous churches. In York, I loved walking along the medieval wall encircling the city, strolling through the Shambles shops that date from the medieval era, and York Minister was a breathtakingly beautiful cathedral. Also the tea houses there were adorable.

Favorite language is a tough one for me. I do love English since I majored in it as an undergrad, but I have a soft spot for Spanish because I took it from second grade through college, and I have a healthy respect for Latin after taking it for three years in high school. I also think that French looks and sounds beautiful (though I'll butcher it if I try to speak it myself) and I do like the poetic sort of descriptiveness that occurs with many Asian languages. I like languages in general since they can be windows into how different cultures perceive the world, and that's so fascinating to me.

I have to say that I have real soft spots for English and Irish accents, but hearing Italian American, New York, or New Jersey accents will remind me of home, because I'm a Jersey Girl.

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, excellent questions!

I think the great strengths of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's relationship are that they do have different perspectives on things but overall seem good at acknowledging each other's right to think differently, and that they do seem to have this respect, understanding, and affection for one another that just seems to shine through in every scene they are in together. At least to me. I feel like we often see them exchanging these looks that seem to have entire sentences worth of meaning, and that is so cool to me. Probably their biggest strength for me, though, is how deep and abiding their trust is for each other. With his last words, Qui-Gon asks Obi-Wan to promise to train Anakin (he trusts Obi-Wan to keep his word) and Obi-Wan is willing to train Anakin against the will of the Council if he has to because he made a promise to Qui-Gon and he believes in Qui-Gon. At the end of the day, relationships really survive on trust in my opinion, and the two of them really seem to have that for one another. As far as their weaknesses go, I think that both of them are very stubborn people and sometimes two stubborn people pulling in opposite directions can have interesting results. But at least they are willing to apologize to each other as we saw in the swamp on Naboo.

This part of my answer will probably become long-winded because I think to analyze Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship, I'm tempted to do it in three eras. One era would be after TPM when Anakin is a little boy. I think at that time, he would have looked up to Obi-Wan a lot and listened to what Obi-Wan had to say and generally been the sweet, curious boy we meet in TPM. I feel like Obi-Wan definitely would be a father figure to Anakin in this period like how I think Qui-Gon was a father figure to Obi-Wan, and the relationship would probably be fairly uncomplicated overall. The hardest parts would probably just be getting Anakin used to Jedi life.

Then late adolescence sets in and we get AOTC Anakin who is going through a tumultuous period of his life what with the nightmares of his mother and generally wanting to be independent and chafing at being under Obi-Wan's authority. This is the time period when we see the fierce arguments between Obi-Wan and Anakin (that are definitely more "intense" than the arguments between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, I would say). Anakin could definitely be more respectful of Obi-Wan at this point, but Obi-Wan could also be a bit more patient and less sarcastic with Anakin. Anakin's complaint that Obi-Wan is overly critical and never listens is typical adolescent sentiment to me, but there is some truth to it too in that most of Obi-Wan's interactions with Anakin in AOTC are about telling Anakin how wrong he is, which, no matter how well-intended (and I do think Obi-Wan is well-intended; he just shows his concern for people with lectures) is going to become annoying. Qui-Gon's interactions with Obi-Wan in TPM are far less critical and it isn't because Obi-Wan is perfect (though that in no way diminishes my love of Obi-Wan). I think a part of that is Obi-Wan is considerably younger than Qui-Gon was, so he is probably going to be more sensitive to having his authority challenged by Anakin, and Anakin is also a lot quicker to question Obi-Wan than Obi-Wan is Qui-Gon I would say. Still, I do think that Anakin sees Obi-Wan as a father figure since he says himself that Obi-Wan is the closest thing he has to a father (aw) but he's at the age where Dad is being annoying because Dad won't stop harping on about curfews, college, and career choices. I do think the arrival of the Clone Wars takes them out of this stage in their relationship and brings them closer together, though.

In ROTS, we see that they are like brothers in how they banter with each other, and their affection to me is clear in how they communicate. Anakin is a lot more respectful of Obi-Wan here, and Obi-Wan is much gentler with Anakin. He still tries to provide Anakin with a lot of guidance, but his tone is milder, and I actually think that works better with Anakin. I always felt that it was noteworthy that Anakin turned when Obi-Wan wasn't on Coruscant to provide him with advice, and I feel that was definitely deliberate by Palpatine. The biggest tragedy of Anakin's and Obi-Wan's relationship to me is that there wasn't enough trust between them. They trusted each other with their lives, but Anakin couldn't trust Obi-Wan with the secret of Padme's pregnancy. I feel that if Anakin had felt he could trust Obi-Wan with that secret, Palpatine would never have been able to manipulate him into turning to the Dark Side. So, to me, it comes back to how trust can make and break relationships. I think a lack of trust broke Obi-Wan and Anakin's but a presence of trust made Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's.

As to the changes Luke made in the restored Jedi Order basing my answer off Legends, my opinion of them has changed as I aged. When I was younger, I didn't like how Luke allowed marriages and children among the Jedi since I thought it risked a loss of the commitment we see in the Jedi during the Prequel era, and perhaps that is true to some extent. However, the older I get, the more I think it's good that he allowed the Jedi to marry and have children since those feelings are very natural. It's the balancing act of how denying those feelings could lead to the Dark Side but how becoming too attached to others can also lead to the Dark Side. Luke provides a good model of how this balance can be achieved. I think the Prequel Jedi had some advantages in terms of how much knowledge would have been in their Archives that got lost during the Purge and in terms of starting lots of children when they were very young, but the Jedi Order under Luke has more flexibility for families and since the Force seems to be quite genetic has a structure better able to perpetuate itself than one disallowing marriage and children. So, overall, I like the changes Luke made, even though I love to read about the Prequel Jedi.

My favorite cuisine is Italian/ Italian-American. Pizza, chicken/eggplant parmesan, spaghetti with bolognese sauce, penne a la vodka, and cannoli are all my idea of absolutely delicious.

I've never been to Italy, but I would love to travel to Italy and see some of its magnificent cities like Rome, Venice, and Florence. So much history, art, and decadent food there. I really hope that I get to go at least once in my life. I'd also like to see China. Chinese culture and history really intrigue me.

I tend to do professional work best in the mornings, but creative work best in the evenings.

I think the easiest scenes for me to write are scenes that involve strong emotions (whether positive or negative) while the hardest ones for me to write are action sequences. I'm always nervous about my ability to write those well.

My favorite scene in the OT is when a dying Anakin Skywalker asks his son to remove his helmet so he can look upon Luke with his own eyes. Always fills my eyes with tears.

I'd really love to see Mara Jade and Ben Skywalker brought back. I know they won't be, but I re-read the Fate of the Jedi series not too long ago, and I was reminded of how much I loved the relationship between those two, especially in Outcast. I'd also be super happy to see characters from the Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest books brought back because they've been part of my head canon for years.

I think Thrawn is an interesting character. He's very clever and strategic, and his ability to tell something about his enemies' tactics based on their art (and vice versa) is fascinating and impressive.

@Jedi Knight Fett great question! To me, it's Empire Strikes back due to the Imperial March, Yoda's Theme, and The Asteroid Field all appearing in it. My favorite piece of music from any Star Wars movie is Duel of the Fates, though. That one is seriously beautiful and spine tingling at the same time.

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, thanks for more great questions! My favorite decadent snack is anything with chocolate in it, and the warmer and creamier the chocolate the better.

My favorite season of the year is the fall. I love watching the leaves change, feeling the air getting crisp, and enjoying wearing my warm sweaters. The holidays of Halloween, where children run around in costumes and everyone eats tons of candy, and of Thanksgiving, where I get to eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin or apple pie are also awesome. My birthday is also in the fall on November 4th, so that's just another reason for me to love the fall.

Unfortunately, I don't play any instrument, but I do love to listen to the violin. I just really admire how it can be used in so many different types of music. It seems like a very versatile instrument to me.

On a slow, lazy afternoon, I love to read or write, and sometimes to watch movies or TV shows depending on just how lazy and slow I'm feeling.

My favorite Star Wars culture is probably the Naboo. I really admire their commitment to peace, how classical their architecture looks, how stunning their clothing is, and how beautiful pretty much everything on their planet is. The only thing I didn't really like about the Naboo was their bias against the Gungans, so I'm so glad that Padme could change that.

My dream Star Wars job would be Jedi. It's only a minor problem that I'm not Force-sensitive.

 

@Emperor Ferus I chose this username because I have used this username on some other forums and fan fiction sites I belong to, so a big reason I chose it is for the consistency across sites. Plus then I didn't have to be creative more than once. Originally I chose it because I'm a fan of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, so the devil part is something of a tribute to them, and I like the expression "the devil is in the details."

My favorite past Halloween costume was when I dressed up as a colonial girl back in elementary school. I won my class Halloween costume contest with that one.

 

@Emperor Ferus Good questions!

Best spaceships for me are the royal Naboo cruiser because it is so sleek, the Millennium Falcon (the first spaceship I wanted to fly on), and I always liked the aesthetics of the TIE fighters for some reason even though they belong to the bad guys. Worst spaceships for me are probably Dooku's solar sailer and Dryden Vos space yacht. The Dryden Vos space yacht just looked too much like a flying skyscraper for me, and Dooku's solar sailer just looked kind of funny to me.

Best pairing ships are Han/Leia (a classic couple), Ben/Vestara (a Jedi-Sith romance that actually worked for me), Obi-Wan/Siri(Siri really is the only person I want paired with Obi-Wan), and Qui-Gon/Tahl (because I love them both and they are perfect together). Worst pairing ships are Luke/Leia (because brother-sister romance doesn't do it for me) and I think you might know my feelings on Rey/Kylo.

 

@Emperor Ferus I loved a lot of books in the EU. Particular highlights for me were the Darth Bane trilogy, Shatterpoint, Darth Maul Shadowhunter, the Medstar Duology, Yoda: Dark Rendevous, Labyrinth of Evil, and I did like the parts of Fate of the Jedi that focused on Ben, Luke, and Vestara a lot. In the new canon, Claudia Gray has really impressed me and Catalyst was very good. Also the Padme YA book was very good as well.

 

@Emperor Ferus Good question! I'd have to go with Anakin because I think he's a more fearsome warrior, but Ben would win in a personality contest for me.

 

@Ancient Whills, thanks for asking some excellent questions for me to dive into! Let me do my best to answer them with the thought and detail they deserve

1. I'm going to warn in advance for a long and frankly Freudian answer. Now that's out of the way, I will say that I have always felt that Anakin's fall to the Dark Side was a matter of his personal choices combined with serious psychological issues that he was dealing (many of which had roots in his youth as we saw it in TPM) more than it had to do with destiny. That means my short answer would be that I think if Qui-Gon had lived and been able to train Anakin it would have been possible for Anakin to remain on the Light Side but it would also have been possible for him to fall to the Dark Side. Same as I think it would have been possible for Anakin to choose to remain on the Light Side rather than fall to the Dark Side with Obi-Wan as the one who trained him.

I honestly tend to find most theories about how Anakin wouldn't have fallen to the Dark Side if Qui-Gon had lived to train him to either place Qui-Gon on a pedestal a bit too much or blame Obi-Wan too much for Anakin's choices. Sometimes I think there is a tendency among Star Wars fans to see Qui-Gon as somehow infallible in his judgment or perfect in his demeanor when to me he is a good, wise character with a gentle, patient spirit but still someone who is capable of making well-intentioned mistakes, of misinterpreting things, of being stubborn in his thinking, and just generally being wrong. In TPM, I think Qui-Gon arguably sets too much in store by the prophecy and makes the mistake of assuming that Anakin being the Chosen One would be an unambiguously good thing for the Jedi, although I do think that he's right that Anakin is the Chosen One. Qui-Gon is also the one who asks Obi-Wan to promise to train Anakin at the end of TPM. Personally, I think he does that because he trusts Obi-Wan to train Anakin and he sees both Obi-Wan and Anakin as his legacy in a way, but if Obi-Wan was such a terrible teacher that Anakin was destined to fall because of it, then I think Qui-Gon would also be to "blame" for setting up this situation where Obi-Wan trains Anakin. That's why I tend to of Qui-Gon as a wise character with many admirable qualities but not one with infallible judgment. To me, there is no perfect character in Star Wars, just as there are no perfect people in life.

Now I do think it's fair to say that Qui-Gon would have been more patient and understanding with Anakin in AOTC than Obi-Wan is during that era , but I don't think that would have guaranteed that Anakin wouldn't have fallen to the Dark Side since Obi-Wan in my opinion is much more patient and gentle in his approach to Anakin in ROTS and that's the movie Anakin fell, not AOTC. I also think it is fair to say that Qui-Gon's philosophy toward things like rule-following is much closer to Anakin's than Obi-Wan's is, but I don't think that would again be enough to guarantee that Anakin didn't go to the Dark Side nor do I think it's fair to claim that Anakin somehow needs or deserves a mentor who has the same attitude toward rule-following that he does. Qui-Gon doesn't have the same attitude toward rule-following that Obi-Wan does, and that causes some friction in their relationship as we see in TPM, but Obi-Wan also changes as a result of learning from someone with a different mindset (by the end of TPM, we see that he is willing to defy the Council if he judges that he has to) and doesn't turn to the Dark Side. So, I don't think there's anything preventing Anakin from learning from a Master with a different mindset than him. I guess for me it boils down to: Obi-Wan wasn't a "perfect" Master for Anakin but perfect Masters like perfect parents or perfect people don't really exist, so I don't think it's fair to blame Obi-Wan for Anakin's choices when it comes to falling to the Dark Side.

With regard to Anakin, I also think that we are talking about a character who is in my opinion dealing with deep psychological issues and scars that we see hints of in TPM, more development of in AOTC, and those issues and scars finally bringing about his tragic downfall in ROTS. Broadly speaking I would say that Anakin's two biggest challenges are 1) father issues (which connect to his need for approval and affection) and 2) mother issues (which connect to his fear of loss and death). Anakin Skywalker to me is best looked at through a lens of psychoanalytic theory, which is why I feel that he is a character whom Freud would have a field day with, which is why I would say that although some of Freud's ideas are discredited, I still think they are useful in understanding a fictional character like Anakin.

In TPM, we meet an Anakin who literally has no father and for the first nine years of his life would not have had a father figure. The closest a young Anakin would've had to a father figure was Watto, his slaveowner, so naturally we have an Anakin who is quick to latch onto Qui-Gon, who offers him guidance and affection, as a father figure. When Qui-Gon dies, Anakin turns to Obi-Wan and Palpatine as father figures. We see the setup for Obi-Wan being a father figure to Anakin at Qui-Gon's funeral when Anakin asks Obi-Wan what will happen to him and Obi-Wan says he'll be Anakin's master and promises that Anakin will become a Jedi. We also see the start of Palpatine as a father figure in Anakin's life when Palpatine takes an interest in Anakin and makes it clear that he will continue to do so. I would say at the end of TPM Anakin is looking to Obi-Wan for fatherly comfort and guidance but there is the ominous sense that if he doesn't get enough of it from Obi-Wan, Palpatine will be waiting in the wings to provide it but in a perverse, sinister way that affirms Anakin's worst traits and behaviors.

Then AOTC rolls around, and we have an Anakin struggling through late adolescence. Much of his chafing at Obi-Wan's authority can be understood as just the late adolescent desire for independence that is in many ways normal and natural if sometimes annoying to authority figures. However, we also see there is a lot of tension between Obi-Wan and Anakin, and Anakin perceives Obi-Wan as being overly critical and never listening. I think that line gets to the core of Anakin's issues with Obi-Wan more so than any of his "it's all Obi-Wan's fault!" or "he's holding me back!" lines, and it speaks to me of an Anakin who wants Obi-Wan's approval and affection but fears that he doesn't have either. This is especially noteworthy to me because in psychoanalytic terms the father's love is contrasted with the mother's love because it is conditional--it can be earned by good behavior and lost by bad behavior, basically--unlike the mother's love, which in psychoanalytic terms is regarded as unconditional. So to me the Anakin we see in AOTC is very much struggling with this fear of not having the approval and affection--the conditional love--of his father figure, Obi-Wan. AOTC also shows us a father figure in Palpatine for Anakin who can offer all that approval and affection Anakin craves, which on the surface, may sound like a great thing, but in reality is like drinking from a poisoned chalice because Palpatine simply encourages the worst traits and behaviors in Anakin. Anakin wants approval and affection from a father figure and gets it from Palpatine, the bad father figure, but he doesn't want any of the discipline that would be imposed by the good father figure Obi-Wan.

Next we have ROTS, when Obi-Wan is I would say much more openly approving and affectionate with Anakin. He still tries to provide guidance, but not in as strict and stern a way as his AOTC self. Still, he is someone who would hold Anakin responsible for his actions so I think Anakin still wrestles with that sense that he can't be entirely truthful with Obi-Wan about certain things both for fear of being kicked out of the Jedi Order and of losing Obi-Wan's approval and affection. Palpatine appears to offer approval and affection with no strings attached beyond continually nursing Anakin's darkest impulses and behaviors. The tragedy here really is that Palpatine is not offering Anakin unconditional love. He's manipulating Anakin. Anakin would have been much better with the "love" Obi-Wan shows him which does involve accountability but also approval and affection by the time ROTS occurs. In a nutshell, we basically have an Anakin whose father issues can explain his fall to the Dark Side. On that note, Anakin's need to "kill" his father figures in ANH and ROTJ is also so very Freudian.

Anakin's mother issues are also frankly Freudian. In TPM, we see an Anakin who must leave his mother behind in slavery, giving him an early connection of his mother with loss. I would say that on the royal Naboo cruiser, Padme begins to slot into the role of the mother in Anakin's mind. She offers him the comfort and warmth of a mother figure. In AOTC, when Shmi dies, Padme again offers him the comfort of a mother figure to replace the one Anakin has just lost (this time to death). We also see that her love, like a mother's in psychoanalytic terms, is unconditional in the sense that she responds to Anakin's revelation that he killed the Tusken Raiders with essentially assurances that he is human and can't be perfect. As a result of this, I believe that Anakin would at least subconsciously link Padme's love to a mother's love and Padme to his mother. I think this explains why when Anakin has dreams of Padme dying in childbirth, he is reminded of how he lost his mother to the Tusken Raiders and is determined not to let Padme die. To Anakin, mother figures like Shmi and Padme offer unconditional love but also the fear of losing them to death.

That's why I tend to think that the best route to understanding Anakin's downfall is psychoanalytic theory, and why I think that Anakin fell more because of his own choices and deep psychological scars and issues rather than because Qui-Gon didn't survive to be his mentor. Apologies for the long answer, but I did want to do your question justice!

2. As you might have been able to guess from my comments on Padme slotting into the role of mother figure for Anakin (that's all very Freudian), I think Anakin and Padme's romance is psychologically unhealthy for both of them. Anakin to me is possessive of her while she is enabling of him, and that to me is why their romance ends with him Force-choking her. However, I have the impression, particularly in AOTC and ROTS, that George Lucas is aware of those unhealthy elements and is indeed trying to showcase them in ways that will make the viewer uncomfortable. If we are uncomfortable with aspects of the Padme and Anakin romance that to me is because we are supposed to be. I believe that Anakin and Padme are a tragic couple like Ophelia and Hamlet or Desdemona and Othello because they are two main characters in the tragedy that the Prequel Trilogy is ultimately in my opinion striving to be. Anakin and Padme in my interpretation do not represent a perfect couple George Lucas would want people to emulate in the real world. They more show a tragic couple that represent what "love" shouldn't look like in my view of the Prequels.

That's why I'm fine overall with the dialogue and acting in AOTC that normally gets harshly critiqued, because to me, most of the dialogue and acting that wouldn't work in a straight up romantic sense works fine in the context of a tragic couple whose flaws are being explored. The biggest thing I would change actually has to do with Padme's death. I find Padme's death inconsistent with the fact that Leia has pretty detailed impressions of her that she describes to Luke in ROTJ. To me, it would therefore have been better to have Padme spend some time alive--maybe in hiding on Alderaan (perhaps she is hidden by her friend Bail, who also takes in Leia) and Leia gets to meet her in that context. I like the idea of Padme having a bit more agency in terms of possibly being the one who takes the initiative of hiding her children from Vader and the Empire. I also would've preferred it if Anakin's Force-choke had been presented as what killed Padme (even if she is still pregnant at the time and that goes unchanged, I'd believe that the galaxy far, far away has medical care advanced enough to save twins after their mother has died) that to me would have felt more boldly and unflinchingly tragic. So, that's what I would change. I would make their romance even darker and more unhealthy because I'm a little ray of sunshine who loves tragedies.

3. My biggest fear for Star Wars post-ST is finding ways to be original with movie content. I think Disney has mostly relied on the OT era (Solo and Rogue One) and an ST that to me borrowed heavily from the OT in terms of plot and characterization to make their movies. My biggest Star Wars post-ST hope is that we'll see exploration of more different eras in the Star Wars universe and that not so much will be taken from the OT. I'd rather see more creativity in terms of plot and characterization the way to me the PT showed a complete different era than the OT. I think in that way projects about the Old Republic, for example, sound really promising and exciting.

4. To me, the most well-executed ST character arc was probably Finn. We see Finn grow from someone who just wants to escape the First Order to someone who has friendships with Rey and Poe to someone who is invested in defeating the First Order. This comes with the caveat that unfortunately I haven't found the ST character arcs particularly well-executed.

5. I admit that I've only see a couple of the first season of the Clone Wars (I'm beginning to watch them sometimes during my lunch breaks). I'm not hostile to these animated shows, just for some reason I never watched them. So far, I'm enjoying a lot of the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin. I forget what episode it was in but the one where Obi-Wan says that Rex obeys orders as well as Anakin does and then Anakin suggests that perhaps Cody is boring Rex with standard procedures and protocols () is great. I also liked the first one where we see Yoda interacting with the clone troopers, explaining how each feels unique in the Force, and also how we get to delve into some of the politics of the war. I really look forward to more banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin especially. I'm mainly in it for the Obi-Wan and Anakin banter.

6. I will freely admit that I don't watch enough movies to be an expert on directors and writers, and with RJ in particular I'd actually enjoyed his previous non Star Wars work. My biggest preference especially in hindsight would probably just have been to have one director brought in for the entire ST just for the consistency between movies.

7. I'm overall a fan of the PT Jedi. I think there is some institutional stagnation in the Jedi Order by the time the PT rolls around, which is why a voice like Qui-Gon's to provide some enlightened critique was valuable in TPM. There is a tendency in the Jedi Order to defer to tradition--to the way things have been done for centuries when it comes to things like training young Jedi--and to appeal to authority (the Council will decide this or whatever the Council says go). However, the Jedi Order has also been a great force for good during the Republic era, trying to bring peace and justice to the galaxy by their dedicated service to the Order and the Republic. A lot of the Jedi Code resonates with me, and the ideas of acceptance, of valuing all life, of working for justice, of serving others, and of promoting peace over violence are very consistent with my own beliefs and philosophies. For the most part, I like what I saw of the Jedi teaching methods in terms of training younglings in groups and then having Masters individually train Padawans, and I did understand the Jedi preference for taking younger children so as to be able to instruct them in Jedi philosophy and behavior from a young age since it's hard to be a Jedi. I wasn't disappointed with their portrayals in the PT. I thought the PT did a great job of fleshing out the Jedi in a way that made me love them even more than the OT had. I loved the Master and Padawan bonds we got to see between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and then Obi-Wan and Anakin. I was interested in the Chosen One prophecy and fascinated by the Jedi Temple, especially the Council Chamber and the Archives. Overall, I felt I knew more about the Jedi--both their strengths and their weaknesses--after watching the PT, and to me the Jedi were always the best part of Star Wars. I will also say that while I felt the PT shone some light on the flaws of the Jedi that contributed to their tragic downfall, I also thought it showed how we should mourn the fall of their Order that coincided with the rise of the Sith and the downfall of the Republic in favor of the Empire. Like the Republic they served, the Jedi weren't perfect, but they did represent a sort of Golden Age that eventually fell, and I feel like a Golden Age falling is something I tend to mourn. That's part of why the tragedy of the PT really works for me. I mourn the fall of the Jedi, the Republic, and Anakin, and those falls all tie together for me in a meaningful way.

8. Yes, I do like Finn. I find him to be an engaging character with a unique backstory who has a great dynamic with Rey and Poe. His romance with Rose also has some potential to me. The biggest changes I would make would be not having him tazed multiple times and also having Rose make it clear that she is learning from him as much as he is learning from her in TLJ. I think at the end of TLJ it is Rose who has learned from Finn that sometimes saving those we love is more important than fighting out of hatred, but it is presented as if it is something that "dummy" Finn must be taught. That scene would've had more impact for me if Rose had said that was something she learned from Finn. It also sort of rubbed me the wrong way that Finn with his backstory was being lectured about how hard the galaxy could be by Rose. I would've preferred if they both just discussed their past history and pain rather than it being more of a "lecture Finn" time. With those changes, I think Finn's arc could have been improved for me quite a lot. Also, I think many people would have been less harsh on Rose if her portrayal had been more as I suggest.

9. My favorite aspect of Star Wars has always been the Jedi. Especially when the Prequel movies were coming out, I very much wanted to be a Jedi. I devoted a lot of imagination to how great it would be to be a Jedi.

10. To answer this question I'm tempted to compare the different personas of Vader to Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker to Ben Solo. Vader is a straight up intimidating villain in ANH and ESB in my opinion. He gave me nightmares as a little girl and always seemed to be coldly in control of his emotions. By contrast, Kylo Ren has some intimidating powers like the Force Freeze, but he comes across as comical with his temper tantrums. Vader isn't presented as a sympathetic character in my opinion until ROTJ, while Kylo is sometimes portrayed as if we should sympathize with him in both TFA and TLJ in my opinion. We also don't really get allusions to the possibility of a Vader redemption until pretty late in the OT, while I would argue that there is a reference to the possibility of a Kylo Ren redemption in his very first scene. So, to me, they are quite different types of villains in how the narrative treats them.

Thanks to the PT, I think that we have a very developed backstory for Anakin Skywalker. We got to see him as a slave boy, we got to see him train with Obi-Wan, we got to see him manipulated by Palpatine, we got to see him lose his mother and slaughter the Tusken Raiders, we got to see him anguish over his forbidden attachment to Padme and his desperate desire to save her from the death he saw in his nightmares (a death his own actions tragically ended up bringing about). In that sense, the PT presents us with an Anakin Skywalker who is a tragic hero complete with a sympathetic, complex background. With Ben Solo, there are some hints to his being manipulated by Snoke but overall his backstory and why he fell to the Dark Side hasn't been fleshed out to the degree that Anakin's was in the PT. That's part of the reason I would welcome a novel focusing on Ben's downfall: his manipulation by Snoke and training with Luke. With what we do know of Ben Solo's background, I'd say he is distinguished from Anakin in the sense that he had a far more privileged upbringing (the child of a powerful politician rather than a slave boy) and that he did have a father in Han while Anakin was literally the boy with no father. Both interestingly have the Freudian need to kill multiple father figures, however.

11. Overall, the treatment of the OT characters in the ST made me sad. I didn't like to see Leia back as a general; I wanted to see her in politics and/or as a Jedi. I didn't want to see her marriage with Han ended or her only known child the Dark Side villain of the ST. It made me sad to see Han back smuggling, and Luke depressed and bitter on his island. With Luke, I was looking forward to seeing him slot into the role of a wise mentor for Rey, and so it was disappointing for me not to get those sort of scenes. In general, I prefer the ST's treatment of its new characters to its treatment of the old which is why I wish the ST had focused more on selling me the new characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe rather than for me tearing down Luke, Leia, and Han. I would have much preferred the OT characters in minor roles where they could be treated with dignity than in major roles where they were more deconstructed. Of the OT characters, I do think Leia has gotten the best portrayal in the ST, though.

 

@Emperor Ferus Oh, thank you.

I definitely think your posts are very well-thought-out and articulate too, so don't sell yourself short as we say a lot in New Jersey.

I don't tend to think of myself as a naturally gifted writer, so I believe any writing skills I have just come from reading a lot (some would say too much, but I don't think it's possible to read too much) and writing almost as much. I also have to be thankful for the many teachers I had from pre-school all the way through graduate school. I was very lucky to have the educational opportunities I did.

 

@devilinthedetails
Who's the greatest native New Jersey son: Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen or Tony Soprano (I know one's fictional)?

 

@Guidman, great question! I have to go with Bruce Springsteen because driving with the windows down and singing along to Bruce Springsteen while "down the shore" on summer vacations are very much an iconic New Jersey thing for me.

 

@christophero30 Reasons 1-100: Because it would be awesome and hilarious.

 

@Emperor Ferus great question, and no worries, I don't think I've answered that one!

My biggest thought going into Episode IX is that I would love to see a major theme emerge that could really unite the saga (Prequel, Original, and Sequel Trilogy). So far, the Sequel Trilogy has lacked that sense of an overarching narrative or connection that I felt existed in the saga when it was just the Original Trilogy with Luke's classic hero's journey or when it was the Originals and Prequels where we could follow the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. I wonder what that unifying thread will be. My best guess is something to do with what it means to bring balance to the Force, though I really wouldn't want that to entail usurping Anakin's role as Chosen One. There is the potential that the what it means to bring balance to the Force angle could be compelling for me as long as it is well-executed and doesn't involve usurping Anakin's role in the franchise.

My biggest hope for Episode IX is that it will be the best of the Sequels for me and make everything about the Sequel Trilogy connect not only to itself but to the rest of the saga in a meaningful way. I also really hope that we'll see TROS focus on and capitalize on their new characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe. I'd love to see them all working together and becoming friends in the fight against the First Order. The new characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe have been what has worked best for me about the Sequel Trilogy so far, so I'd love to see the movie really highlight that strength to me.

My biggest fears are that I'll continue to find the Sequels to borrow too much from the Originals and overall just felt a bit too predictable for me.

I just do want the Sequel Trilogy at the end to feel as if it added something new and meaningful to the Star Wars universe, as if it had unique ideas behind it and was introducing creative concepts. There have been some new and creative concepts like Finn being a stormtrooper who breaks free of his brainwashing training, but I'd love to see more of those fresh ideas in the Sequel Trilogy.