Momin327
08-20-2008, 01:15 AM
I remember when ROTS first came out, many people, including Ian McDiarmid, compared Palpatine/Sidious with Iago, the villain from "Othello", and after reading "Othello", I'm starting to see why, and how that actually was done well in the PT.
Palpatine, like Iago, wants to break our hero, Anakin. But whereas Iago wants to break Othello for revenge, Palpatine wants Anakin to break so that he can fall under his control. And the best way to do that was to turn the hero against his love. Padme, like Desdemona, served as the hero's moral anchor. In AOTC, Anakin summons the power of the dark side as he avenges his mother's death by Sand People. As he admits this to Padme, Anakin is angry and confused. He knows what he did, and is ashamed of it. He feels he shouldn't have done it, and yet thought at the time it was justifiable. Padme helps Anakin calm down, and pull himself out of the darkness. Eventually, Anakin and Padme marry in secret.
Flash forward three years, and the galaxy is in turmoil with a great galactic war. Anakin had matured as a Jedi, and become somewhat weary of fighting. He returns to Coruscant and he discovers Padme, who informs him that she's pregnant. Anakin is initially alarmed, but becomes pleased. They're excited about bringing a baby into their lives, but then Anakin begins having nightmares about Padme dying. This vexes Anakin. He's can't turn to the Jedi Council, since he married in secret, but who else is there? Chancellor Palpatine, who has been impressed with Anakin for many years. Anakin lets Palpatine in on his secret marriage to Padme, and their coming child.
Palpatine sees Anakin in his grasp, and begins to weave stories about the Sith having the power to stop death. This leads to another thing I liked about the PT: the portrayal of Palpatine/Sidious and how he takes power. He is a master politician, telling people what they want to hear, and how they want to hear it. And here, he does just that. Eventually, Anakin deduces that the Chancellor, who he trusted, is a Sith Lord himself, and he wants him to surrender to the Jedi, but he wonders if he's doing the right thing. he won't surrender, and takes on the Jedi, including Mace Windu, in combat. Mace has him cornered when Anakin finds them. Anakin pleads for his life, but as Mace is about to deliver the final blow, Anakin cuts off Mace's hand, and Sidious electrocutes Mace. Anakin can't believe he did what he's done, and Palpatine assures him it was good. He inducts Anakin into the Sith order, "knighting" him Darth Vader, and as first task, Sidious orders Vader to lead a fullscale attack on the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, and Sidious himself orders all clones to take Order 66.
Anakin leads the attack with swift brutality. Padme only sees the fire from their apartment, and breaks down, worried about Anakin. Anakin comes back, and Padme is under the impression that Anakin was fighting back the Clonetroopers. He assures her that all is well, and he departs to Mustafar, to fulfill another bidding for Sidious. Obi-Wan, having evaded his formerly loyal clones, learns the truth about the attacks, and he tells Padme the truth about Anakin and what he's done. Here, he also realizes that Padme is pregnant with Anakin's child.
Padme decides to look for Anakin before Obi-Wan finds him. She does and she tries to tell Anakin to stop and to come with her, to raise their child together. But Anakin is extremely twisted at this point, that Padme is horrified beyond belief. And if things couldn't be worse, Anakin discovers that Obi-Wan was onboard Padme's ship. Padme rightfully insists how she had nothing to do with Obi-Wan's presence, and Anakin begins to choke Padme. Sidious's plan is now complete. Padme, like Desdemona, is strangled by her love over a misunderstanding which was elaborately planned by their alleged "friend". The anchor is gone. Anakin is firmly in Sidious's control.
That's what I have off the top of my head at this late hour. I thought of posting this in the Prequel Trilogy Defense Force thread, but it was too rich, too deep to be a mere post. It needed to be a thread of its own. What do you guys think?
Palpatine, like Iago, wants to break our hero, Anakin. But whereas Iago wants to break Othello for revenge, Palpatine wants Anakin to break so that he can fall under his control. And the best way to do that was to turn the hero against his love. Padme, like Desdemona, served as the hero's moral anchor. In AOTC, Anakin summons the power of the dark side as he avenges his mother's death by Sand People. As he admits this to Padme, Anakin is angry and confused. He knows what he did, and is ashamed of it. He feels he shouldn't have done it, and yet thought at the time it was justifiable. Padme helps Anakin calm down, and pull himself out of the darkness. Eventually, Anakin and Padme marry in secret.
Flash forward three years, and the galaxy is in turmoil with a great galactic war. Anakin had matured as a Jedi, and become somewhat weary of fighting. He returns to Coruscant and he discovers Padme, who informs him that she's pregnant. Anakin is initially alarmed, but becomes pleased. They're excited about bringing a baby into their lives, but then Anakin begins having nightmares about Padme dying. This vexes Anakin. He's can't turn to the Jedi Council, since he married in secret, but who else is there? Chancellor Palpatine, who has been impressed with Anakin for many years. Anakin lets Palpatine in on his secret marriage to Padme, and their coming child.
Palpatine sees Anakin in his grasp, and begins to weave stories about the Sith having the power to stop death. This leads to another thing I liked about the PT: the portrayal of Palpatine/Sidious and how he takes power. He is a master politician, telling people what they want to hear, and how they want to hear it. And here, he does just that. Eventually, Anakin deduces that the Chancellor, who he trusted, is a Sith Lord himself, and he wants him to surrender to the Jedi, but he wonders if he's doing the right thing. he won't surrender, and takes on the Jedi, including Mace Windu, in combat. Mace has him cornered when Anakin finds them. Anakin pleads for his life, but as Mace is about to deliver the final blow, Anakin cuts off Mace's hand, and Sidious electrocutes Mace. Anakin can't believe he did what he's done, and Palpatine assures him it was good. He inducts Anakin into the Sith order, "knighting" him Darth Vader, and as first task, Sidious orders Vader to lead a fullscale attack on the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, and Sidious himself orders all clones to take Order 66.
Anakin leads the attack with swift brutality. Padme only sees the fire from their apartment, and breaks down, worried about Anakin. Anakin comes back, and Padme is under the impression that Anakin was fighting back the Clonetroopers. He assures her that all is well, and he departs to Mustafar, to fulfill another bidding for Sidious. Obi-Wan, having evaded his formerly loyal clones, learns the truth about the attacks, and he tells Padme the truth about Anakin and what he's done. Here, he also realizes that Padme is pregnant with Anakin's child.
Padme decides to look for Anakin before Obi-Wan finds him. She does and she tries to tell Anakin to stop and to come with her, to raise their child together. But Anakin is extremely twisted at this point, that Padme is horrified beyond belief. And if things couldn't be worse, Anakin discovers that Obi-Wan was onboard Padme's ship. Padme rightfully insists how she had nothing to do with Obi-Wan's presence, and Anakin begins to choke Padme. Sidious's plan is now complete. Padme, like Desdemona, is strangled by her love over a misunderstanding which was elaborately planned by their alleged "friend". The anchor is gone. Anakin is firmly in Sidious's control.
That's what I have off the top of my head at this late hour. I thought of posting this in the Prequel Trilogy Defense Force thread, but it was too rich, too deep to be a mere post. It needed to be a thread of its own. What do you guys think?