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

@Ancient Whills, again, you ask some awesome and very thoughtful questions! Thanks for asking questions that really make me think about my answers

1) To answer this question, I'm tempted to look at each individual trilogy to see the different treatments of fathers and mothers. Starting with publication order, I'll consider the OT. In the OT, I would say that mothers and mother figures don't receive much attention except for the one notable scene in ROTJ when Luke asks Leia if she remembers her birth mother who would also be Luke's birth mother. Leia remembers her mother mostly in images and impressions as a sad but beautiful and kind woman. Very maternal images and impressions overall. Luke does seem to feel some sense of longing for a mother he never really had when he comments to Leia that he never knew his mother. We could say that this conversation establishes a mother as something of a lost, sad but beautiful figure in the OT.

The relationship between father and son is a major focus of the OT. In ANH, Luke is motivated by a curiosity about his father and a desire to emulate his father. In ESB, there is the horror of Luke discovering that his father is a monster but a monster who very much wants to have Luke ruling by his side in a sort of perversion of the father-son bond. In ROTJ, we see him come to terms with the monster in himself and reach out to his father to try to redeem his father in an act of loving self-sacrifice. This loving self-sacrifice touches his father, who then sacrifices his own life to save Luke. In this way, we could say that the father figure in the OT is both someone monstrous and fearsome as well as someone who is capable of the ultimate loving self-sacrifice. The father in that way is both a savior and someone to be feared.

The PT offers more of a chance to focus on the role of mothers in that we get to see Shmi Skywalker as a mother in both TPM and briefly in AOTC. In TPM, we see Shmi as a strong single mother (quite a progressive and feminist statement, in my opinion) who is raising Anakin to be a sweet and curious boy who is capable of great optimism and generosity despite the rough life of a slave on Tatooine. Shmi in many ways seems to offer Anakin that unconditional love often associated with the mother figure, and Anakin definitely finds it hard to leave her even though she tells him that he can't stop the change any more than he can stop the suns from setting (such a poignant line; makes my eyes tear up every time I hear it). That establishes the mother again as a figure associated with loss and sorrow, though in the PT it is taken a step further in the sense that the loss of the mother is treated as almost unbearable. Anakin specifically states in TPM that he can't leave his mother (though he ultimately does) and then in AOTC when he loses his mother again to death, he goes into a rage, slaughtering all the Tusken Raiders. The loss of his mother also leaves him determined not to allow anyone else he loves to die. The mother in the PT then seems to me to represent the person whose loss is especially unbearable and tragic, so much so that to lose the mother may inspire unfathomable rage.

Although Anakin has no father, I do think that both Obi-Wan and Palpatine are his father figures for much of the PT. I think father figures in the PT are people from whom Anakin craves approval and affection. In the case of Obi-Wan, the father figure also represents discipline, which Anakin obviously has complex feelings about receiving. We could say that the "bad" or "dark" father figure in Palpatine offers what appears to be unconditional approval and affection for the sake of manipulating Anakin, while the "good" or "light" father figure in Obi-Wan tries to offer a mix of approval, affection, and discipline. So, the father figure in the PT seems to be the one who provides approval and affection and maybe the discipline we need but don't want to receive. If we look at the OT again, we see that Anakin has the Freudian need to kill both these father figures: Obi-Wan and Palpatine.

This Freudian need to kill father figures reappears with Kylo Ren in the ST. Kylo also kills multiple father figures: Han, Snoke, and Luke. Kylo kills Snoke to gain power over someone who had manipulated and abused him. With Luke, the motive might be vengeance for when Luke stood over him in his sleep with the ignited lightsaber. With Han, it seems to be about trying to overcome his pull to the light--to not give into the weakness that Vader did of love for a family member. Han's last gesture in many ways looks like one of unconditional love for his son, reaching out to touch his son despite the terrible crime his son has committed, and we could say that in many ways Han sacrifices himself to save his son even though he doesn't succeed at saving his son. This establishes the father as a figure of unconditional love and sacrifice even for a son who arguably acts unworthy of that love.

While Kylo can kill his father, he showed a reluctance to fire on his mother in the space battle in TLJ. This might be a continuation of that idea that the mother is the person whom it is unbearable to lose.

Like Anakin and Luke, Rey has a longing for a father figure. She finds one quickly in Han, as Kylo notes when he enters her mind. Interestingly, Kylo also says that Han would have disappointed her if he was her father, perhaps establishing the father as a figure of disappointment. Rey hasn't really found anyone to slot into that mother role yet, but I would be interested to see if she develops such a mother-daughter type of relationship with Leia. That would really be a new type of bond that hasn't been explored much in the Star Wars saga.

2) I do love that Disney gave us our first main female protagonist for a saga trilogy in Rey. There are a lot of great qualities about Rey in my opinion: her fierceness, her independence, and the compassion beneath her strength. She also developed a compelling bond with Finn and the idea of making her a Jedi was very exciting to me. My biggest criticism would just be that I wish she had been allowed to have a bit more of her own journey in the ST. So far, a lot of her journey seems to have been borrowed from Luke and Anakin's. I think in many ways this is a product of so much of the plots of TFA and TLJ being borrowed from ANH and ESB. More originality in those plots would have probably helped Rey feel like a more original character in terms of her motivations. In terms of her personality, I do feel like she is a distinct character. So, overall, while there is room for improvement, I do think that a lot of important things were done with Rey's character that deserve celebration especially from a feminist standpoint.

3) In the OT, I do love how the spiritual dimension of the Force is established. It feels almost pantheistic as if the Force is in everything and everything is the Force in some way. Yoda's "luminous beings are we, not this crude matter" speech can always give me shivers. I also did get the impression of their being something genetic about the Force from the OT especially with Luke and Leia's conversation about the Force being strong in the Skywalker family, so to me it wasn't some sort of sacrilege to hear about midichlorians in the PT. I liked how the PT delved more into the Jedi, showing us the Jedi Temple, allowing us to see the Temple Archives and the Council Chamber, introducing us to the Jedi prophecy of the Chosen One, and giving us insights into the bonds between Masters and their Padawans as well as a glimpse of Jedi training younglings much like Luke was trained on the Falcon by Obi-Wan. In the ST, I am intrigued by what seems to be the focus on the idea of balance between the light and dark side of the Force. The image of the Prime Jedi in TLJ does resonate with me as a sort of Star Wars yin-yang symbol, and the relationship between Kylo and Rey probably works best for me on a merely symbolic level with Kylo as the embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force and Rey as the embodiment of the Light Side of the Force. Overall, I like the PT perspective on the Force the most because the Jedi are my favorite part of Star Wars, and the PT really focused on the Jedi culture the most in my opinion. The Jedi Order to me has the most prominence and exploration in the PT, but, of course, the OT first established the Jedi, and I did enjoy seeing things like the old Jedi texts in TLJ. There is such a rich sense of history with the Jedi Order that it would be nice if the ST continued to draw on that history for inspiration.

4) Honestly, I respect George Lucas a lot as a filmmaker. I think he has some very creative ideas and a vibrant imagination. A great example of that imagination is just the huge variety of planets we see in Star Wars where we have everything from the ice world of Hoth to the forests of Endor to the city planet of Coruscant to the desert world of Tatooine to the classic beauty of Naboo to the almost cathedral like hives of Geonosis to the lava world of Mustafar to the swamps of Dagobah. He also had a real knack of telling old stories in a fresh way or in other words for updating ancient mythologies and tragedies for the modern era. Within the framework of a space fantasy, he gave us an updated classic hero's journey with Luke and a modern tragic hero with Anakin. The execution may not have always been perfect, but the ideas for me were always there, and they were the sorts of ideas that interested me. He gave me some of my favorite films of all time that feature many iconic characters and musical scores. It would be very hard for me not to think highly of George Lucas as a filmmaker. I get that other people have criticisms of him, but to me overall he produced Star Wars movies that I loved and that spoke to me and largely contained ideas that interested me.

5) The main thing I would do with Kylo is just add more backstory about how Snoke manipulated him into turning to the Dark Side and more hints of what good attributes Ben Solo had before he fell to the Dark Side. In TFA when Han and Leia talk, I might have them explain how Snoke first came into contact with Ben Solo (how the manipulations might have begun) and included at least a line of dialogue that just described a positive memory they had of Ben (maybe something like how Ben used to love to ride in the Falcon with Han) or about a good quality that he had. In TLJ, I also might have Luke remember something positive about Ben to Rey. Maybe have him mention something about Ben being a promising student or a curious kid eager to learn (maybe something that could link with a trait that Rey has, giving Rey more of a reason to see something of herself in who Ben used to be). I also might have given Rey visions of Ben Solo's past. Perhaps ones that showed her how Snoke tempted Ben to the Dark Side. That might give Rey a bit of that feeling of "there but for the grace of the Force go I" and have given both Rey and the audience more reason to sympathize with Kylo and to want his redemption. It also might have been possible for Rey to discover a journal of his that described his descent to the Dark Side in the tree with the other Jedi books. I think just giving more of his backstory to Rey and the audience would have improved Kylo a lot as a character for me.

6) My ideal Star Wars story would involve a lot of Obi-Wan, so in that way there is a chance that the Kenobi TV series will be my ideal Star Wars story even if it is just Obi-Wan staring at the walls of his Tatooine hut. In many ways, books provide a great chance for telling my ideal Star Wars stories since they can focus on things like Obi-Wan's time as Qui-Gon's apprentice or Padme's career in politics (so glad we got books on those things, but I'd love even more of those books, because I'm greedy.) Also more stories about Qui-Gon's time as Dooku's apprentice would be fascinating for me or more stuff on Anakin's time as Obi-Wan's apprentice. Many of the sort of anthology movies that delve into new parts of the timeline like the Old Republic also sound like really neat project ideas for me. I guess I have a lot of ideal Star Wars stories...

7) On a broad level, I think that Star Wars can be seen as about the struggle between good and evil, but to me, many of the themes of Star Wars are best looked at on a trilogy by trilogy basis. In the OT, I think we see the importance of hope in resisting evil through the Rebel Alliance as well as Luke and the redemptive power of love. Love is shown to be redemptive when it is self-sacrificing rather than selfish. With the PT by contrast, I think we see the dark side of attachment, the dangers of possessiveness and a lack of acceptance. Also the perils of personal and collective hubris as seen with Anakin, the Jedi, and the Republic. Anakin's fall as a tragic hero mirrors the fall of the Jedi Order and Republic as a whole. Since the ST is not yet completed I think it is a bit hard to state with any certainty what the themes are (the major themes of the OT and the PT to me really materialize in ROTJ and ROTS respectively so it might be the same with TROS). Right now, I would say that the idea of bringing balance to the Force and of finding that equilibrium between light and dark might be materializing as a theme, which does have the potential to link the saga together if explored compellingly in the final episode of the ST.

8) Overall, I think some worthwhile messages can be pulled out of the politics in the Star Wars universe. To me, the politics of the OT level are straightforward but meaningful. They are about resisting tyranny and evil government. These themes will resonate with an American audience in particular, reminding us of our national mythology in terms of our struggle for independence against the British. Americans will tend to see themselves in the Rebel Alliance. The Rebel Alliance is the image that Americans like to have of ourselves as underdogs fighting for freedom against an evil empire. There is a romanticism about that which I think explains part of the perennial popularity of the OT with American audiences in particular. It's a very American trilogy in that way, and also one that does feel rooted in the politics of the Cold War era. I understand how the politics of the OT would really speak to my father's generation.

I'm a millennial, however, so the politics of the PT are a lot more compelling to me. The political situation in the PT reminds me more of the politics I see in my daily life. In the PT, we see a great democracy falling due to corruption, war mongering, and corporate interests. Society is in some what of a Golden Age in terms of personal liberties and overall there is justice and peace in society, but if society is not vigilant that justice and peace along with the personal liberties can fade away, resulting in the loss of this Golden Age. There is also some to me really astute and moving political commentary in Padme's line about how liberty dies with thunderous applause. That is sadly so often true that liberty dies with people clapping and clamoring to give it up rather than fighting for it in the streets. That is part of the tragedy of the PT to me: that the people applaud as they surrender their liberties to an Emperor. In that way, liberty feels much more dead in the PT than the OT, where people are still fighting tooth and nail for liberty against the odds. We could say that the OT shows Americans how we would like to believe we are (the perennial underdogs fighting for freedom) but the PT holds up the uncomfortable mirror for what we really are (a great democracy whose biggest threat is from within in terms of corruption rather than from without). I hope I didn't get too political for this thread in saying that. My apologies if I did, but I'll just add the disclaimer that I'm only sharing my perspective and don't expect everyone to agree with it.

With the ST, I would have preferred a little more insight into why the New Republic failed, and I would've liked something a little different than Resistance versus First Order since it felt a lot like a repeat of the Rebel Alliance versus the Imperials. More insight into how the First Order differs from the Imperials in the movies would have been great and about how the First Order rose to power, though I did find Bloodlines a strong novel that delved into these questions in interesting ways. In the end, I suspect that the ST will end on a note of restoration with another Republic being established. I do hope that we will see the struggles of this restoration dealt with in some detail because the politics of a restoration can be truly fascinating to explore.

 

@Ananta Chetan That's an excellent and deep question! Since I'm a big time reader, my mind tends to default to literature in terms of what has the most impact on me. The most recent books I've read (and that I'm currently re-reading now) that touched me on that very deep intellectual and emotional level was the epic fantasy series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams. It managed to be beautiful, heroic, and tragic with characters I could admire, fear, loathe, and see evolve to find depth and redemption. Even the great villain of the series was a character who had been done a terrible wrong, so that when he in a flashback to the past says in brokenness "So much sorrow, so much sorrow," I can indeed feel sympathy and sorrow for him as the hero himself is able to do. There's a belief in right and wrong but also a sense of compassion and loss under everything. It feels mature but not cynical to me. I also really loved the world-building, which to me was some of the best I'd encountered in fantasy. The series was recommended to me in a context of "If you like George R.R. Martin's books, you'll like these ones that partially inspired his work," and the series just blew me away as significantly better than the Song of Ice and Fire books, which are good but also might not ever be finished at this point. Tad Williams might very well finish his sequel series to the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series before George R.R. Martin gets out Winds of Winter, so to me that's a big point in Tad Williams' favor too.

The last song I remember really impacting me came in early spring of this year. I knew I would have to put my old and much-loved dog down soon, and it was around that time that Game of Thrones came out with Jenny's Song that just made my heart break and my eyes tear. There's just such a haunting, beautiful, and melancholy quality to the music, the lyrics, and the singing voice. I do remember the lyrics "she never wanted to leave" spinning around in my head when I took my dog to her favorite park for a final walk (because I didn't ever want to leave there, but I knew that I had to) and when I was with my dog after she had that final injection and became motionless since again I never wanted to leave my dog but of course I had to in the end. So that song still speaks to me on a very raw level, reminding me of my dear lost dog. It's possible that another song would have impacted me in the same way at that vulnerable point, but this was the one that did.

@Emperor Ferus, I have to say that Siri Tachi is my favorite pairing for Obi-Wan. I really loved the chemistry that developed between her and Obi-Wan in the Jedi Apprentice books Fight for Truth and The Dangerous Rescue. Her personality just works with Obi-Wan's really well for me in both a contradictory and a complimentary way where I believe they both help one another grow in great ways. I really bought into their romance in the Secrets of the Jedi book and got tears in my eyes when they had to end their relationship, which I felt was done in a realistic and heart-wrenching fashion. Then I cried again at the end of Secrets of the Jedi when Siri died and Obi-Wan didn't take revenge on her killer because as he said he wasn't someone who killed without remorse or feeling. That just felt like such a powerful testimony to who Obi-Wan was and how his love for Siri was different from Anakin's for Padme since Obi-Wan is ultimately able to deal with the idea losing Siri without going on a murderous rampage. That Secrets of the Jedi book really ends very amazingly for me since it has Obi-Wan reflecting on how when he is mourning Siri's loss this is the time he is most appreciating the Jedi principles of non-attachment while Anakin is assuming that Obi-Wan must not have really loved Siri do to what he perceives as this lack of passion. I felt like it just really fleshed out the differences between Obi-Wan and Anakin as well as their respective relationships with Siri and Padme. So, long answer short, I'm an Obi-Wan/Siri fan because Jude Watson did a wonderful job of making me one. She gave me an Obi-Wan in love who acted as I believe an Obi-Wan in love would act, staying ultimately true to Jedi principles of self-sacrifice and non-attachment.

Hmm...For who you prefer, I'll go with, Obi-Wan/Siri because great minds think alike, and I think you agreed with me earlier in this thread when I mentioned Obi-Wan/Siri as I ship I liked.

I did enjoy watching Game of Thrones and I'm looking forward to the Long Night series that is supposed to come out next especially if it focuses on the Starks, since I always wanted to know more about the Long Night and the history of the Starks. I also really love to watch documentaries particularly those produced by the BBC that focus on history or ones that delve into the cultures of other countries (my Amazon Prime membership gives me access to so many documentaries for "free" that I love it). I also like to watch cooking shows like Masterchef and Masterchef Junior when I eat or cook to remind me of how many better cooks there are in the world than I am.

 

@Ancient Whills, thanks for even more awesome questions

1. The highs of Legends for me were Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover, the Medstar Duology, Plagueis and Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno, the Darth Bane trilogy, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Darth Maul: Shadowhunter, and I did enjoy most of the Legacy of the Jedi books except the parts that focused a bit too much on the Mandalorians and the parts of the Fate of the Jedi books that focused on Ben, Luke, and Vestara were great. I'll also always have a soft spot for the Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest books by Jude Watson. The lows of Legends for me would be when Karen Traviss became a bit to obsessed with the Mandalorians and some of the other parts of the Fate of the Jedi books that didn't focus on Ben, Luke, and Vestara. I haven't gotten around to reading the New Jedi Order series yet, but apparently opinion is divided on those, so I look forward to reading them and forming my own view. They are on my to read pile so I will get to them eventually.

The highs of the New Canon for me are all of Claudia Gray's books (love how she writes Leia and that she chose to write a novel about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon), Catalyst by James Luceno was epic, and the Solo, Rogue One, and Last Jedi novelizations were all very strong for me. Queen's Shadow was also a great book in my opinion. The lows of the New Canon for me were the Force Awakens novelization was pretty dry, the Aftermath trilogy had a writing style that I couldn't get into, and Phasma to me was a disappointment that could have done a lot more to explore Phasma's character than it did.

2. Jar Jar has always amused me. Everything from his loping stride to his manner of speaking made me laugh especially as a kid. I suppose he receives more hate than the Ewoks and C-3PO because he is seen as a cartoonish character rather than a furry creature or a robot. I understand that he would absolutely try my patience if I were working with him in universe (which is why I think it's great that Obi-Wan is portrayed as being quite consistently irritated with him in TPM) but since I'm a member of the audience I'm free to find his antics hilarious since I don't have to repair the damage he does. I like that he shows how even the most seemingly useless being can be put to good use in TPM but also that he shows how innocent beings can be vulnerable to manipulation by a cunning evil person like Palpatine in AOTC. In general, I find much of the criticism that the Prequels get in media to not really interpret the Prequels in the same way that I do. AOTC to me especially tends to get misinterpreted as an idyllic romance when to me it's more of a prelude to tragedy. I think many critics didn't understand or appreciate what George Lucas was trying to achieve in the Prequels, but that's okay for me, since I did understand and appreciate what George Lucas was trying to achieve, so I'll just articulate that whenever I get the opportunity to do so. The critics are entitled to their opinions, but so am I

3. Unfortunately, I haven't played any Star Wars video games, since I'm not really a video game person, but a lot of them sound amazing for people who are into video games!

4) In general, I always advocate honesty in relationships since I'm the type of person who'd rather hear the ugly truth than the pretty lie, so I do think that Obi-Wan was wrong to lie to Luke about who Luke's father was and that Luke was one-hundred percent justified to confront Obi-Wan about that lack of truthfulness. That being said, Obi-Wan lying to Luke about who his father was doesn't really lessen my opinion of Obi-Wan as a character because to me it was just part of what made Obi-Wan a human character. he was a wise, gentle, and kind person, but also someone who could have a selective relationship with a painful truth. Even as a child watching the OT, I figured the main reason that Obi-Wan didn't tell Luke the truth about his father being Vader was because not only was he trying to protect Luke but it was also painful for him to acknowledge that his "good friend" Anakin Skywalker had become Darth Vader.

The PT really strengthened that impression for me that Obi-Wan's lying might have been a product of a coping mechanism for dealing with the trauma of Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader. By the end of ROTS, I believe that Obi-Wan has made a sharp distinction in his mind between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader so that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are effectively two different people to him. Yoda tells Obi-Wan that the boy he trained, Anakin Skywalker, is gone, and I think by the end of his duel with Anakin/Vader at the end of ROTS, Obi-Wan has come to believe that. When he shouts at Anakin, "You were the Chosen One..." that is in the past tense like a eulogy to a fallen, dead friend. This is in contrast to Anakin/Vader addressing him in the present tense with the screamed, "I hate you." Then Obi-Wan responds with, "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you." Again, this is the past tense. As if the brother he loved is dead.

So, I think that by the time the OT rolls around, Obi-Wan thinks of Anakin Skywalker, the boy he had trained since Anakin was nine, the brother he loved, the best friend who fought beside him during the Clone Wars, as someone who was dead, killed by Vader, but who can be mourned in a way. That's why I think we see that fond but sad gleam in Obi-Wan's eyes when he recalls Anakin as a good friend, a cunning warrior, and the best starfighter pilot in the galaxy. Vader to him is a separate, evil entity. It's not the truth, but I think it's his perspective shaped by his grief and pain. In that way, he's not totally wrong when he explains to Luke that what he told him was true from a "certain point of view." I just think it's a point of view twisted by trauma and coping mechanisms.

@I Are The Internets good question! I've done some walking with my new rescue dog, writing an essay graduate school (my first essay of the semester is done but many more to come), and some watching Masterchef while I cooked some meals for the week today. Tomorrow I'll try to get in some laundry, housecleaning, and probably more schoolwork. Hopefully I'll have a little time for some leisure reading and writing too. Nothing too exciting, sadly. Mainly my standard weekend stuff.

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, I'm always glad when people agree with me. Reader questions are always awesome since they make me feel like a real writer As to a Qui-Gon/Tahl story, I'd love to write a story about them, and I have one sort of swirling in my head, so maybe one day it'll escape my head and emerge as a full-fledged story. It would probably also feature Obi-Wan, Bant, and a Qui-Gon who has yet to realize that he's in love with Tahl. Maybe I'll also one day write an AU about Qui-Gon/Tahl where Tahl survives.

A redo of the ST (where Han and Leia would still be a strong, happy couple) could be a possible project too since recently I've been thinking of doing a short AU where Anakin doesn't go to the Dark Side in ROTS so that could be a sort of similar concept to doing a different take on the ST. Definitely so many potential fanfictions I could write...

 

@Emperor Ferus, cool questions!

I first started writing fanfiction before I knew what fanfiction was, because in middle school I started writing my own stories about Hogwarts. Fortunately, it wasn't until I was in high school and a bit better writer that I discovered there were sites devoted to writing fanfiction. That's when I started posting my work to other sites. Much of it was set in Tamora Pierce's Tortall universe (Tamora Pierce writes YA fantasy). Since then I've branched out into Star Wars as you can see.

I like cats a lot but most of my family is allergic to them, so I've never had one. I have a rescue dog right now, and I really loved my old dog (she was so smart and sweet that I'll never forget her). My younger brother and sister also have rescue dogs whom I love to dote on. They know their aunt will give them lots of pets, toys, and treats when she comes to visit because I spoil dogs. So, I guess I have to say I'm a dog person since I love so many dogs but I have a soft spot for cats too.

I'll go with Xanatos since he's very cunning like Omega and he does have the Force and lightsaber fighting skills. It was great to have a non Force sensitive villain like Omega, though.

What is this balance you speak of? At work, I mainly sneak on when I'm not busy or between tasks, and then at home, I try to save it for after chores and graduate school work (now that the semester started again, boo). Then I also try to spare my eyes and not spend all my leisure time on here. My success rate is questionable, since I've somehow managed to accumulate over a thousand posts here since I registered back in June.

 

@Emperor Ferus, I suppose I'm a morning person by habit of having to get up at 5:20 to be at work on time (thanks to NJ Transit) and I'm normally not too irritable except when train delays are worse than usual in which case all bets are off. My brain doesn't really begin to turn on until 8:00 or so, though. Before that, I'm on autopilot.

I know health-wise it's supposed to be breakfast, but for me personally, it's lunch. That gives me a break from work and a push to get through the afternoon lull. Now I will say that I normally try to eat something for breakfast, though usually it's me grazing on nuts and dried fruit, granola bars, or yogurt and not a big meal. I'm not hungry enough for a big meal in the morning.

 

@Emperor Ferus Great question! There are so many cool planets in Star Wars that I'd love to explore, but I think I have to go with Coruscant for this answer. I find the whole concept of a city-planet fascinating, and I'd love to learn a bit about how those crazy tall buildings can stand. There would also be the Senate for me to investigate (those flying pods are neat) and getting to enter the Jedi Temple would be amazing. I could probably get lost in the Archives for at least a week since I'm a big reader, and being able to admire the design of rooms like the Council Chamber would be awesome. Plus I could watch Jedi in training, which would be unbelievable. Oh, and I could go to the opera on Coruscant, but hopefully not with Palpatine.

 

No, it's not a story the Jedi would tell me.

 

@Jedi Knight Fett Thanks for more great questions!

I do like to both read and write fanfiction. In the Star Wars fandom, I'll read fanfiction from all eras, but I tend to write fanfiction that so far has mostly been focused on the Prequel Trilogy. I've been warmly welcomed by the wonderful fanfiction community on this site, and I'm extremely grateful for that

My current favorite TV show is probably still Game of Thrones even though it's now over, and I'm looking forward to that upcoming series that's supposed to be about the Long Night. I'd love to learn more about the Long Night and hopefully about the Starks, my favorite family, as well.

I saw Star Wars for the first time when I was about five. I remember loving Obi-Wan (he had such a kind grandfatherly presence that felt both wise and sorrowful) and Leia (she was so brave and smart) but being terrified of Vader. Sometimes I'd cover my eyes or run from the room when Vader came on the screen. His heavy breathing and Force-choking skills were especially scary to me.

To me, the best Star Wars soundtrack because of the Imperial March, Yoda's Theme, and The Asteroid Field all appearing in it.

I wanted an Obi-Wan movie, but I think the Kenobi series will fill that role quite nicely, so I'd love a movie set in the Old Republic where we got to see an all-out war between large Jedi and Sith orders. To me, there could be a lot of cool lightsaber battles, Force skills, and maybe people falling to the Dark Side (always good drama) in a movie or series of movies like that. It'd also flesh out a part of the timeline that hasn't been explored that much yet, so I think that would be awesome.

 

@Emperor Ferus Thanks for another excellent question that makes me think! The most major change I would make to the Prequels relates to Padme in ROTS. I would have preferred to see her live long enough that I would find it more believable that Leia would remember her in ROTJ since to me Leia does seem to have pretty clear recollections of Padme. Before ROTS came out, I thought it was likely that Padme and Bail had founded the Rebel Alliance together and that Padme had gone into hiding on Alderaan where Leia could have seen her from time to time. I also thought that Padme would have chosen to place Luke somewhere else to keep him safe from the Empire, and I could see the logic of splitting up the twins to attract less notice and ensure that if the Empire found one, the other might still stay safe. So, those are the changes I would've made. I think those changes could have given Padme a bit more agency in ROTS and made ROTS a touch more consistent with ROTJ.

The more minor change I would've made would probably have to do with adding a bit more moments that show some affection between Obi-Wan and Anakin during AOTC. I get that it's a period of tension in their relationship, but still I wish their affection for each other could have shone through a bit more. We are told Anakin sees Obi-Wan as a father, but I would have liked to see a bit more of that reflected in the movie. The good thing, though, is this gives me more room for fan fiction

 

@Emperor Ferus, awesome to see you getting interviewed!

Who are your favorite Star Wars characters and why?

Do you have a favorite world from the PT?

Do you have a favorite Jedi from the PT? How about a favorite Sith?