#{ you underestimate my power; interactions anakin skywalker }

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

@heldheart​ asked: “Darling, you’re the one I want.” ( PADME to ANAKIN )

→ be my valentine!

Looking up from his saber and meeting Padme’s eyes, a smile came across his lips immediately at her words. He put it aside, getting up on his feet and taking the few steps until he was right on front of her. She had probably no idea how weak his knees were whenever he was around her, how fast his heart was beating when he heard her voice. Yes, simply sensing her was enough to make the butterflies go crazy inside his stomach. “As if I could ever long for somebody else...” he spoke, the smile on his lips forming into a grin. “I love you, Padme. So much it hurts.”

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

Time had passed and wounds had healed. Anakin finally had become a Jedi Master. It had been his longest wish to finally get accepted in the way he was. The other masters finally trusting him enough. He may not defeated the Sith that very day but he resisted them. And Obi-Wan had been proud. It showed strength. Strength he had thought he didn’t have until Padme came to him and helped him out. A lot of time had passed since then. He took the time off to completely heal. And Padme and him could went back to Naboo to celebrate the birth of their children. Obi-Wan may knew about it but he kept it a secret. It was more than he could ask for but this way, they were all safe. 

On that day, Anakin found himself alone entering a little bar. An old friend had reached out to him, asking him for a favour and meet someone at a bar. And while he had debated on telling someone about he, he decided to keep it to himself and go there. The ship landed, R2 right behind him as he scanned the area, looking for the person that was waiting for him. Even after all this time, it still had been no secret what had happened to the young Skywalker, and people were still stealing glances at him whenever they could. He could feel it, even if he wasn’t looking directly at them. He just felt it.

Scanning the room, none of them really seemed like they had been waiting for him. He had taken a few steps inside, not exactly looking to his sides as his focus laid on the room in front of him. But then, his senses told him to have another look right behind him. And before he turned around, he spoke. “I guess, you’re been waiting for me.” he said out loud, slowly turning around to face the woman the was right next to the door. 

@bchemianrhapscdy

She hadn't been directly involved necessarily but, for her part, Rudaba had breathed a sigh of relief when the war had come to an end and it seemed the forces of good had triumphed, if one was to limit the perspective to simply be good and evil. She knew the waters were not so clear as that though for life was never so easy. She knew that first hand.

After the war had passed, she had hoped that things would have settled but she had been wrong, grossly underestimating the greed and lust for power and subjugation that seemed to be inherent within the Hutt Family. They demanded rights to her territories and, as valiantly as she had held them off, Rudaba knew it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. She owed these people, those under her protection, her people in circumstance if not in blood, and so she had set out to do what she felt was necessary to protect them and the peace she had cultivated and created. She would not let the territory fall to the other Hutt's, would not see her people bound in chains once again. Truly, she would rather die. It wasn't going to come to that though, her resolve having hardened over the course of recent attacks and the last naming ceremony she had attended, standing as guardian to the baby who had the chance to grow up in a world where slavery was a distant memory and freedom their only experience of the world.

Rudaba had left her guard in charge of defending the territory, insisting that she make the journey to the Jedi on her own. They had feared for her as was natural but she assured them that she would be fine. She knew how to use her blaster and, despite her abnormality as a twi'lek, she knew how to conceal herself. After all, she had stolen away to Coruscant after she had taken those first tentative steps into the wider galaxy. She knew she could do it again and she did, hitching a ride on the transporters heading to the capital. As much as she believed in democracy, she knew that the Senate would take too long to act and they would argue among themselves before taking any action to help her. No, she needed the Jedi, needed the almost independent help they could offer and, perhaps, they would be able to help her in other ways.

It hadn't taken her too long to get there and she had spoken with her old contact Kaysar who had pulled some strings and had arranged for a meeting with a Jedi by the name of Anakin Skywalker at a neutral location. When she approached the venue, having gone there immediately after they touched down, she sighed heavily and made a mental note to stop trusting ex bounty hunters to arrange meetings outside of bars. Rudaba wasn't a bar person, preferring places of quiet with less people wandering around to bump into her or to brush past her lekku or even stand on it in some cases. By the days, it hurt when that happened.

Rudaba had been a touch lost at first when she entered the venue and she had hovered near the doorway, suddenly feeling a touch self conscious. This Anakin Skywalker probably thought she was dodgy dealing or something and she regretted having reached out to Kaysar, regretted not going through the more official channels. She wrapped her arms around herself, shuffling off to the side and pressing against the wall, looking about to keep a good eye on what was happening around her. She didn't want to be caught off guard.

[roxannepolice]

Rocky path of a heroine in a galaxy far far away

Do you have those moments when you have some sort of sensation that you can’t really put your finger on and it keeps nagging at you with its unconceptuability until one day you discover a word that expresses exactly what you’ve been feeling? Like finally finding out the wonder of the word Weltschmerz which suddenly makes your world so much more understandable?

Well, today I had this experience regarding the sequel trilogy when I read this I won’t exactly say great but being definitely a good introduction to the heroine’s journey article and in it saw the word aridity. Oh, yes, isn’t that the word which suits best what it feels like to imagine epix consisting of Rey the maiden of light vanquishing evil Renperor with some straightforward bigger scale pewpewpew in the background. Arid. Infertile. Unproductive. Bringing nothing new into the overall saga. Actually sounding as if it was here only to let the creators shake off the Skywalkers once and for all. Waste of a good heroine.

And aridity is exactly the word used in the article to descibe what for so many is the only obvious way for epix to go. In it are presented following stages of a heroine’s journey, as based on Maureen Murdock’s Woman’s Quest for Wholeness (they are all better descibed in the article, here I give only the desciptions I find most important to the argument):

HEROINE SEPARATES FROM THE FEMININE

IDENTIFICATION WITH THE MASCULINE AND GATHERING OF ALLIES 

ROAD OR TRIALS AND MEETING OGRES AND DRAGONS

EXPERIENCING THE BOON OF SUCCESS by overcoming the obstacles.  This would typically be where the hero’s or “shero’s” (a female protagonist on a hero’s journey) tale ends

HEROINE AWAKENS TO FEELINGS OF SPIRITUAL ARIDITY / DEATH because the new way of life is too limited.  Success in this new way of life is either temporary, illusory, shallow, or requires a betrayal of self over time 

INITIATION AND DESCENT TO THE GODDESS.  The heroine faces a crisis of some sort in which the new way is insufficient and falls into despair.  All of her “masculine” strategies have failed her

HEROINE URGENTLY YEARNS TO RECONNECT WITH THE FEMININE

HEROINE HEALS THE MOTHER/ DAUGHTER SPLIT  

HEROINE HEALS THE WOUNDED MASCULINE WITHIN

HEROINE INTEGRATES THE MASCULINE AND FEMININE to face the world or future with a new understanding of herself and the world/life. Heroine sees through binaries and can interact with a complex world that includes her but is larger than her personal  lifetime or geographical/cultural milie

So, this peaked my interest, considering how only yesterday I was venting out about how I feel there’s something wrong about this trilogy’s doubtlessness, how it doesn’t fit in with the overall symphony. But the prequels were a tragedy, plain and simple, whereas the originals were a hero’s journey. I won’t put here all of Campbell’s hero’s journey stages but basically the hero has more doubts at the beginning (clue in Luke’s I’ll try and You ask the impossibe), then has an apex (facing Palpatine and leading to Anakin’s salvation), followed by overconfidence, “refusal to give up his divinity” (basically creeping up on your nephew at night, reading his mind and igniting a lightsaber because you’re Luke Skywalker) and only recovering peace and purpose when that has been defeated (with an outside help, no less). Tu juxtapose, a heroine has a moment of overconfidence coinciding with what would have been an apex in a hero’s journey, followed by realisation of aridity of her hitherto path and a crisis, leading to healing and reintegration.

What I think is the general belief of the audience - definitely ant*s, but I think also the vast majority who aren’t really against “anything” but just can’t see how “that” could be and a good deal of reylos who read Rey as patiently waiting for her prince to disenchant himself - but more importantly, of Rey herself, is that she has reached her apex, her inner journey is finished, she is now the goddess she was meant to be, saviour of the Resistance and the last Jedi.

And that would be true. If hers was a (s)hero’s journey.

Having the Beast on a leash

There are many great edits paralleling Ben at the end of TLJ with Beast after letting Belle leave the castle, which appears to be point 4 of heroine’s journey. While the separation is important here, the above notion that this stage parallels hero’s apex had me reconsider what is the must, the essence of what happens here. It may sound weird, but I think this is the point where the Beauty “defeats” the Beast, the moment where the power imbalance shifts, where he does what she asks - or is on his knees before her. I think this “defeating” element is the best visible in one of the simplest renditions of BatB, legend of st. Martha and dragon Tarasque that I have a personal sentiment for because I used to resent my first name until I saw a picture of my namesake with a freaking dragon on a leash. There it is heavily underlined that she manages to tame, place in her - or, at least, God’s through her, it is a christian legend - power the beast most valiant heroes couldn’t defeat.

Now, Rey has in fact been in position of power over Kylo Ben twice already in the story - first on Star Killer Base and the second time when she woke up first in the Throne Room - and on both occasions didn’t use that power to finish him. Which is exactly what heroes do in this story but I’ll elaborate on that below. But what is worth noting is that the resident Beast has - or at least hopefully has - a subjective power shift when on his knees on Crait. Whatever he splurted out minutes ago, he now realises he won’t be able to do. Even if he doesn’t understand, he remotely feels his disempowerment.

Journeys  and trope subvertion or why serious reylo duel is actually possible

The fact that the crisis in the heroine’s journey comes after her heroic apex is conceptual expression of the shivers I get whenever I hear Kylo Ben say when the time comes, Rey’ll be the one to turn. Now, it’s tempting to assume he was overconfident and Rey overcame every obstacle but that’s turning a blind eye to the fact that heroine’s crisis is yet to come. As stated, Rey herself thinks she overcame every obstacle but how naive this assessment of facts was is probably best expressed in the smut hut, when she - beautiful as it was - tells Ben it’s not too late for him to turn. Just like Han, she underestimates years of manipulation he’s been through. She’s just been through what should be a sort of nadir for her so if she can go on, he’ll have no problem returning to the light, right? Note, this is something she just believes in, she says that before the force vision.

But again, did she have a nadir? Did she have a moment which challenged all of her previous beliefs the way Luke fidning out Vader is his father did? It’s extremely important Luke finds out in ESB something new whereas Rey is faced with a truth she has been denying. We don’t know how Luke dealt with his vision in the tree on Dagobah, but we know how he reacted to its realisation in action.

Of course, regardless of how hysterical this was, he still did the right thing and epically refused. But he’s shown to accept the fact that Vader is his father and it affects all of his future actions leading to his heroic climax I only later realised how this sounds but I won’t change it.

So, the cave scene. There are quite a few interpretations of what exactly this scene meant. Some intrerpret it as Rey finding out the dark side will give her no answers - which makes little sense as an element of her journey as juxtaposed with Luke on Dagobah. If, however, the cave did give her some answers, either telling her to stop giving f*cks about her parents, making a symbolical expression of their nobodiness or hinting at her future - again, she denies them. When Kylo Ben has her finally face the truth, she seems to take it pretty well - which is good but isn’t good in a heroine’s journey. A journey isn’t from point A to point A, there has to be a percepetion change, the new unerstanding of world/life/self. I bring back the heroine faces a crisis of some sort in which the new (post-apex) way is insufficient and falls into despair.  All of her “masculine” strategies have failed her.

Now, I would prefer to detach Rey’s journey from masculine-feminine categories, mainly because it frustrates me that a woman’s journey should be considered in terms of relative gender ideas rather than more absolute ones. Call it a yin and yang and it definitely has a lot to do with light and dark side. Now, as far Rey’s separation from whatever is concerned, I’m a bit uncertain what to think. Can it be said that TFA and TLJ are about Rey separating herself from her scavenger personality and embracing the jedi knight/resistance saviour one? Which would mean that she’ll later have to reembrace while reinterpreting her tendency to “salvage broken renperors things”? Still, this interpretation is hardly expressed in the movies. Overall, it does make sense, as in TLJ her outward motivation is that of the newly taken title of resident force sensitive on a quest to get Luke Skywalker to save the galaxy the way Reistance knows it’s to be saved. 

Heroines tend to be more dissonant than heroes, though I’d argue it’s mainly due to the fact that their stories tend to be more introspective, character driven, allowing more nuance in their attitudes than the latter, more action oriented (and when I say tend to, I mean tend to, not that it’s a rule). It’s not an inherent trope in heroine’s journey or female literature, though it is bound to the fact that a hero will have his doubts expressed and refuted in the earlier parts of his story. A heroine can feel one way but to the outer world and more importanty, her own consciousness, she’ll frame her motivations in a way more acceptable in the 2-4 stages of her path. So, Christine Daae isn’t fascinated by the mysterious man with a disturbingly sexy voice, she’s taking music lessons. Belle is in Beast’s castle so that her father can be free. Rey only hopes that Ben can be turned because that’s how Luke saved Darth Vader and the galaxy (notice - she aspires to acting like the resident hero, and Luke in the novel and comic repeatedly expresses his fear of how much Rey - a heroine - wants to be him - a hero not that he’s thinking in those latter terms, they’re just deeper implications of structures). Needless to say, Christine wouldn’t be enthusiastic about music lessons with anyone else, Belle starts enjoying her “captivity” without noticing when and Rey has very personal interests in Ben’s brightly illuminated pecs future. 

The crucial mistake that’s so easy to commit while analysing a heroine’s journey is to assume she has all figured out by the stage 4. Again, she would have - if she was a hero. A hero let go from his captor’s castle has triumphed, he has nothing to look back to. A heroine will realise - though doesn’t really realise in the moment she’s leaving, usually due to the fact that she has more urgent matters like a sick father or trapped resistance to attend to - that she’s left her heart there. Matters become even more complicated if she appears to have overcome her ultimate trial before leaving that castle. But again - was that an ultimate trial for her? Was it an actual dilemma in which both choices are equally bad or equally good? No, it was a choice between selfishness and altruism, which is a no brainer for a selfless person, regardless of innocent manipulation used. This can suffice as an auspicious switch for a hitherto morally inferior character, but not the morally superior journeying hero/ine. For the latter, real challenge is a choice between altruism and altruism, marry me and then I’ll save your friends, kill your father and become the hero fanbase half thinks Luke is, slay one person to save thousands. Again, Rey has already faced this last dilemma twice - but never time with immediate pressure of highest stakes. But in the end, it appears the only thing that was challenged in TLJ, prior to the apex of her hero’s path, was her hope for Kylo Ben. Her apparent nadir followed by a climb up is her facing the results of her naive hope in the Throne Room and learning to never do that again, overcoming the flaw of overgenerosity.

Yet if a heroine is to progress, she has to stop being a hero. And Rey's symbolic nadir was the cave, only the actual crisis and climb are yet to come. And Rey hasn't been overgenerous towards Ben, her going to him wasn't out of selfless generosity alone.

So, the three matters to adress while thinking about Rey’s journey in epix are

will her crisis come?

how stubborn will she be about her “new path”?

will heroine’s journey be subverted?

As far as point 1 is concerned - well, if they are doing a heroine’s journey then yes, she’ll have some crisis of her beliefs. Lack thereof is basically the “aridness” viewers feel thinking of lack of some tension within the resistance. The question is, how deep will it be. It could simply be a sort of Amidalaesque “what if the republic has become the very evil we promised to fight?”. The problem is, Rey is quite capable of denial. She’s patient, she can clench her teeth and continue doing what’s right, which is a great quality, most of the time. But when a crisis does come, it will be one of lifelong proportions. The point is, she had no time to properly face her axis mundi having been overthrown and I’m not really sure she wants to face it. And in the end, I don’t think the audience wants her to face it. And yet face it she must for real progress to come.

How does a reylo duel fit into this whole rambling? Well, basically it’s the result of wondering how strong a factor will it take for Rey’s crisis of beliefs to come. Would a person who waited for 15 years for people she knew to have sold her avidly oppose the galactic heroes apparent because of their basic aridity? Or would it take a deeper denial of self over time? Again, I’m considering an actual dilemma situation, right choice vs. right choice, high stakes and immediate action. So... yeah. If right circumstances appear at the right point in Rey’s journey a serious reylo duel, at least on Rey’s part, is a very serious possibility.

Now, it should be argued that dragon slaying is a hero’s job and Rey’s a heroine. But there are two “buts”: first of all, if the duel should happen before the crisis, trigger it actually, then Rey would still be in her “hero stage”. Secondly, and that’s probably the most interesting part, the path has to be subverted. Don’t forget, this IS what happened with Luke, the resident journeying hero of originals. As so many viewers refuse to understand but has been true since the 80s, Luke’s heroic climax lies in throwing  away the lightsaber, in refusing to slay the dragon or even dragon’s evil wizard overlord, against common sense, mentors’ advice and contrary to what he’s been doing for two episodes, one might add. If the hero’s journey is made peaceful, it appears symmetrical for the heroine’s to become aggressive, or at least have an aggressive moment. Because obviously, Luke’s peaceful action still led to hero’s finale where the dragon killed the overlord and then himself burned to release the hero’s boon princess daddy. In the same manner, heroine’s eventual healing and integrating could come despite - or even because of - an aggressive action.

What can poor Beast do ‘xcept to sing for rock’n’roll band?

There’s yet another point to be considered while discussing a heroine’s journey in the form of BatB theme - the Beast’s seperate progress. Now, the question of what will renperor be like is one of the most frequent in the fandom and I dare say JJ will manage to surprise most of us anyway. Personally, I sorta stan a not so bad renperor but  that’s more of Henry Fonda in 12 angry men attitude: everyone is sure he’s guilty but I’m not so I’ll say he’s not guilty and wait to be persuaded. 

However, there is an argument to be made against a really evil renperor based on BatB theme and heroine’s journey - the fact that her post-hero’s apex progress has to involve rejection of her chosen path’s aridity. On a psychological level it takes more complex forms, but in a space opera it’s likelier to be outward. I’m not exactly saying that it’s even most remotely probable that Rey would defect to FO though if that happens I will open a fortune telling business but her eventual life with Ben cannot be as or even more arid than as... ugh... next republic’s (talk about infertility?) jedi hero, vide in prison or exile. Nope, there’s healing and reintegration for her in store, not keeping her two paths separated.

I guess we all agree that if there’s happily ever after but for reylo, it will be because renperor will screw up, not because resistance will be mean. The most basic story would have Ben be depressed and locked up in his tower, but the simultaneously good and bad news is, it’s not an unalterable must. The Beast can f*ck up the story - to his own and Beauty’s detriment and there’s little the latter can do about it. Vide: Phantom of the Opera, focusing on the book. I’m not bringing this up to conjure any what ifs or legitimize and delegitimize ships, but to analyse a BatB version written to end in tragedy. The point is, Erik does in no way alter his behaviour because of Christine after the first time he lets her go. He continues to strangle opera employees and dropping chandeliers when they’re apart - I’m absolutely sure evil renperor would be force dropping chandeliers - and in the end becomes a completely arid option for Christine, even if she does feel compassion for him and has her sexual awakening because of him. It makes an unsatisfying story and leaves Christine an unfulfilled heroine, yet that’s because her “hero” path was still less arid than the continuation of heroine’s, and only on a meta level because of fin de siecle morals. 

Now, the good news is that the above negative example shows passivity isn’t Beast’s obligatory narrative choice, where there’s down, there’s up. I’m far from some sort of dream galaxy saviour visions, but tbh I haven’t been bi*ching for three paragraphs about narrative logic saying epix is to bring moral challenges to pronounce that no morals will be challenged.

Morality that isn't challenged isn't a living messy inner process, only an externalized frozen set of rules called ethics - which can be auxillary in solving uncertain difficult moral dilemmas, but cannot substitute morality. Some change in the Star Wars morals is due and considering the frozen ethics is good rebels-evil empires-one redeemable character, some element has to go, qualitatively change or be added, considering the frozen ethics prequels gave originals was only good republic-evil empire.

So, end of the day, what is to be pronounced that will happen in epix? As always, it’s all speculation that’s a fun way to employ creative powers. TBH, I really think that JJ will surprise almost everyone.

[nitrateglow]

Thoughts on The Last Jedi (spoilers under the “keep reading” line)

I originally wanted to just make a small list of things I liked and did not like about this movie, but I’ve come to realize my feelings are a bit more complicated than I expected. I don’t hate it, nor do I think it is the worst film in the series; however, I am baffled by the arguments that it’s somehow a clever deconstruction of the Hollywood blockbuster formula or finding new ground for SW. If anything, I found it an aimless, poorly paced retread of familiar tropes and ideas with only a few interesting elements to save it from being mediocre.

I’ll start with what I considered all-around good: the acting is excellent across the board. Every actor is game, doing their best and even elevating the material at times. It was a bittersweet experience to see the late Carrie Fisher here and even with her limited screen-time, she brings a great deal of dignity and spunk to the princess/general we know and love. Mark Hamill gives one of his best performances as Luke, communicating worlds of pain and regret with his eyes alone. While he isn’t one of the greatest actors of all time outside of the voice-acting world, he is incredibly effective here. Thankfully, Oscar Isaac gets more to do this time around. And everyone else is on the whole fine, even great at times. I was also impressed with the visuals and editing, which are often breathtaking, especially on the big screen. The casino planet was pretty rad too; I can so see the rich and powerful hanging out in such a place. And—everything else is extremely mixed for me.

This movie reminds me of Attack of the Clones in that it is all over the place tonally. I am all for genre hybrids or movies that can touch on several emotional shades at once, but it is a hard thing to do and this movie isn’t up to that. One minute it’s dead serious and in the grand epic mode, then the next we’re dealing with broad comedy more appropriate for a Marvel film. That juxtaposition felt awkward in the prequels and it feels awkward here.

For all the critics’ talk of this movie breaking new ground, I remained frustrated by the same old rehash of lines and themes from the OT. There’s still the good versus evil, the empire chasing rebels Everything is also rushed beyond belief, which seems like a weird conclusion to draw about a 2 ½ hour movie. Rose is barely developed, despite her potential to be a great character (her romantic feelings for Finn are woefully half-baked; I would say the only thing that even makes you believe she was into him was her slight bout of hero worship in her initial scene with him). Finn doesn’t evolve beyond what he was in TFA. Rey doesn’t change, despite the challenges posed to her ideas about the Force by both Luke and Kylo. Her training with Luke, if you can even call it that, is basically nothing, even less than the crash course Luke got from Yoda in Empire. We’re led to believe Luke has some great development, but that’s yet another thing that has little payoff.

Overall, I am torn on Luke Skywalker’s characterization. On one hand, I believe he would become disillusioned with the Jedi after he lost his nephew to the Dark Side—however, do I believe he would stay on that island after hearing one of his oldest friends was MURDERED by the former student he feels he failed? I’m sorry, I don’t. I know people change as they get older and I know enough cranky old people to see how life can beat you down and make you emotionally exhausted. But the thing about Luke is that he’s stubborn and contrarian; when Yoda and Obi-wan told him to give up on Vader (a Sith who committed WAY worse sins on a much grander scale than Kylo-Ren ever did), he went with his hunch that his father could be redeemed, even though he had only his gut instinct as evidence to go on. I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t try to right the wrong he did to his nephew. Him retreating from the conflict feels as false as the strong-minded and very active Padme losing the will to live at the end of Revenge of the Sith. His death sits even less well with me, since I feel the character had more to do and should have been more active in trying to aid the Resistance and train Rey.

Kylo-Ren is more interesting this time around, more conflicted and morally ambiguous. His temptation to turn to the Light mixed with his savagery is great. His interactions with Rey, which are simultaneously uneasy and charged with sexual tension, are fascinating. And yet, like so much else in this movie, it all goes nowhere. I still have no clue why Kylo is drawn to the Dark Side. With Anakin, it was an outgrowth of growing up as a powerless slave and losing those he loved to war and violence, which makes it clear why the idea of a fascist dictatorship would appeal to him. For Palpatine, it was because he was a greedy psychopath. But Kylo? I have no idea what he feels he’s getting on an emotional level from the Dark Side. What do Snoke and the Dark Side promise him that makes turning evil so tempting? He didn’t hate his parents, however lacking he felt they were. Luke was hard on him, though we learn that’s because the kid was already turning to the Dark Side. So where does it all originate? I have no clue and I think, yeah, it’s not unreasonable for me to understand what motivates one of the major villains of this new trilogy. Because otherwise, it is hard for me to be fully invested in him as a character.

In fact, the whole First Order are just disappointing villains, a second-rate empire. I have no idea how they were able to come to power, not only because it’s never brought up in either this film or TFA, but because these guys are about as competent as the Three Stooges. Hux is a punchline subjected to “yo mamma” jokes and proving himself utterly useless time and again. Phasma is pretty much like Boba Fett: she looks cool and fights well, only to get killed off without ceremony. Snoke is a dumber Voldemort, built up as this clever, evil genius only to be proven even worse at underestimating his employees and enemies than Palpatine! I was never a fan of the character to begin with, finding him bland, but here, he just shows up, cackles evilly, then dies in a rather comical manner. How did he come to power? It has to be more than just his powers; even Palpatine was a politician and he preyed on the Clone Wars’ devastation to convince people to make him Emperor. But Snoke? Nothing.

The pacing was also a huge issue for me. Now, I normally dig slow pacing—but this was excruciating, probably because I felt like the story was going nowhere much of the time. Finn and Rose are wasted, given nothing but a McGuffin side-quest. Every time we cut to them, I just lost so much interest. As for the political “subtext” (if you can call an explicitly socio-political monologue subtext) in the Finn and Rose sub-story, I’ll just say I agree with critic Tim Brayton on the matter:

And this plotline feeds right into the absolutely unforgivably terrible subplot, which is the adventures of Finn (John Boyega) the cowardly ex-storm trooper, and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), the class-conscious engineer, who go on a fetch quest that is every bit as pointless as the whole matter of the military nonsense, only even worse, because it hinges on terrible comedy, bad CGI, and a spectacularly horrible moment when Johnson stops the film in its tracks to provide a ruthlessly on-the-nose lesson about economic inequality and the military-industrial complex, and I hate this all the more for the film's message in this moment being one I passionately agree with - if something has to be artless and awful, better that it not take down a cause I hold dear as part of the collateral damage. And it really is awful; the worst thing in the movie, despite the best intentions of various film critics to defend it (I am sorry, but "has politics I like" is not all it takes to make a movie good. If all you want is for a film to spit your ideology back at you, and it doesn't matter if this is done with any grace or artistry at all, congratulations: you are a Stalinist. I like politics in movies - I love politics in movies - but not every political filmmaker is Sergei Eisenstein, and they should damn well not be treated like they are).

I have no problem with this political/social angle being there; hell, I love the idea of the Rose character and the theme of inspiring the downtrodden (the idea of legends and the power of storytelling really appealed to me, and I loved that last scene with the kids re-enacting the OT story in the stables), but like so much else they feel underwritten and clumsily implemented. It doesn’t help that this side plot feels oddly disconnected from everything else and is far less interesting than Poe or Rey’s stories. And once again, I feel like it accomplished nothing whatsoever, much like the majority of this story.

Now, people might argue the main theme of this movie is about failure and how we must learn from it, thus making this side-plot appropriate. The thing is, I don’t think anyone besides Poe learned much of anything from their mistakes or failures, let alone Finn and Rose. According to writer/director Rian Johnson, one of the big inspirations for this film was the 1964 classic Three Outlaw Samurai, a movie in which the titular heroes become disillusioned with the samurai code and the corruption of the culture in which they live. Concepts such as honor and loyalty become muddied. TLJ is clearly trying to weave a similar theme, with Kylo, Luke, and Ghost!Yoda calling for a new age in which the Jedi and Sith are no more. The problem? Kylo still embraces much of the Sith ideology as much as he claims he’s let go of it (okay, yeah, Abrams claimed he wasn’t a Sith, but that seems more like an in-name only affair given the dynamic between Kylo and Snoke), and Luke, for all his “the Jedi gotta go” lip service, ends his life by triumphantly claiming, “I will not be the last Jedi,” implying he’s passing the torch to Rey. So much for questioning the past.

At the end of the day, the movie left me frustrated and hollow. I’m not very excited to see where they take the story next, because it’s clear they’re going with same-old, same-old, only with vague motivations and no sense of direction. I don’t get what the big point of this new trilogy is. The OT is at its heart about Luke coming of age as a Jedi Knight and redeeming his father. The PT is a tragedy about the fall of both a man and a democracy. The sequels though? I have no clue. I don’t think they go far enough in their attempts to challenge our ideas about the Force or the Jedi, or good and evil. It’s the same old rebels versus tyrants fight, only this time around the villains are more inept than usual and the good guys, for all their failures, don’t appear to learn much of anything.

[grizzbe]

Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.

After my third viewing of The Last Jedi, I think I’m ready to write down my thoughts on the movie. Follow below the cut for my spoilerific musings!

First off, I’ll put down a quick and easy guide as to whether you should bother to continue with reading my review or not: In your rankings of the Star Wars movies, does any prequel movie rank above TLJ? If so, you might as well move on. If not, keep on reading! 

Alright! I’m just going to say right off that bat that I loved it. I loved it the first time I saw it and I only love it more with each subsequent viewing.

The reason that it’s taken me so long to get around to this, though, is because I want to try my hardest to avoid some pitfalls that I feel are a bit easy for myself to fall into, namely to make this review simply a point-by-point list as to why your reasons for disliking this movie are wrong or simply word-vomit gushing over the movie.

So, I’ll start by saying that the movie is not without its faults. Some of its jokes are ham-fisted or fall flat, some of the visual effects (you know what I’m talking about) look wonky, some of its subplots could use a little tuning, and the whole thing probably could’ve been helped by increasing the timeline even just a few days.

That being said, the jokes aren’t bad and there are far more “Star Wars” jokes than those dastardly “off-brand” jokes that seem to be sticking in a lot of people’s craws.

 I’ve heard a lot of people complain about Leia’s force moment and while I’ll agree that it doesn’t work great visually, I am more than willing to accept it in its principle, especially considering that people can survive in the vacuum of space in real life (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/survival-in-space-unprotected-possible/). Once you throw onto it Star Wars’ wacky take on physics and space in general, Leia surviving this moment is more than reasonable.

When it comes to subplots, the main thing that they’re about is quite simply character development. 

Poe learns that there’s more to being an effective leader than being an excellent flier. After putting the fleet and the whole of the Resistance in danger more than once over the course of a few days, Poe finally sees what it takes to be a leader through his mentor, Leia, and his foil throughout most of the film, Holdo. I’ve seen a lot of people upset at the “character assassination” that Poe goes through in TLJ, but I’ll argue that we finally got to see Poe be more than just a cardboard cutout in this film and he really shined because of it. I might have been more willing to accept this version of Poe since I’m an avid reader of his comic book, where him being an immature leader has been a plot point for at least the past year.

While some might just flat out hate the Canto Bight subplot, I appreciated it for what it was doing. Finn starts the movie as a man only concerned about himself and a couple of his closest friends (fully in line with where the character was at the end of TFA). It’s only through his time with Rose and his interactions with DJ that he comes to realize that he can’t just hide and that he needs to drive himself forwards. DJ even offers him a false, easy escape, “Live free, don’t join” and Finn sees it for what it is: a man unwilling to stand up for what is right. Finn ends his journey a true hero of the Resistance.

And while other might be upset with how the film portrayed Luke, I loved it. The man screwed up. He retreated, exiled himself and resigned the end of his story to that of a hermit whose only option is to die alone. Rey appears, and while she has her own journey (she goes from putting all of her faith in Luke, to putting it in Ben, to finally putting it in herself), she riles in Luke a desire to once again be the man that he knows he can be.

Which brings me to my final point: the movie subverts expectations at almost every turn and does so beautifully. People expect Luke to face down the First Order and single-handedly save the Republic with his lightsaber. Luke does this, but he does it his way, through an amazing show of Force Power (In which the man creates a corporeal force projection of himself and other objects across the universe).

People expect Kylo Ren to listen to his master and fight Rey, but he tricks Snoke (side note: I could write a whole other post on how amazing Serkis was in this role) and proves that the Supreme Leader, in his hubris, had hugely underestimated his apprentice.

People expect Poe, Rose, and Finn’s plan to work flawlessly and save the Rebellion. It doesn’t and they all have to learn and grow and pay for that mistake. 

And on top of all that, we get one of the best laser sword fights in the whole of the canon, an excellent performance from Adam Driver as Kylo Ren (holy shit, is he built like a brick shithouse. In case you were unaware, Driver is a former marine), and, in my opinion, EXCELLENT answers to the “Who is Snoke?” and “Who are Rey’s parents?” questions (hint, it doesn’t fucking matter. The past is the past, look to the future. This is a call out to my post’s title, btw).

So, this is already too long and I want to discuss some things I’m looking forward to in the next film. Suffice it to say, the movie is excellent and I’m super excited to see Rian Johnson’s take in his trilogy.

Okay! Next movie, I’ll just jot down a few things:

I fully expect Rey to consult a Force Ghost Jedi Council comprised of Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Qui Gon at least twice. I’m going to feel real cheated if we don’t get this.

The next movie is going to involve a pretty significant time jump. I’d say at least five years.

As a Damerey shipper, I’m actually concerned that we’ll miss the opening salvos of the relationship in the time jump and the movie will just start with them together in a committed relationship. Don’t rob us of this JJ.

For those that are going nuts right now wondering how I can be a Damerey shipper after they’ve only spoken to each other once, did you even see the scene?!? And you can’t just throw the two most loaded words in the whole of the Star Wars canon on us and not expect us to want some payout.

I don’t think Kylo will die, he is the last of the Skywalkers, after all, but he’ll be in exile, probably self-imposed, where he’ll try to learn from Anakin and Luke.

With Leia unfortunately out of the picture, I really want Lando and Wedge to come in as Leaders of the Resistance. While the new group will undoubtedly rise to prominence in the ranks (much like the OT trio), the leaders of the whole movement can’t be flying into battles or leading from the ground.

So that’s about it. I, of course, have way more but this thing is already an insane amount of word vomit. If you have any other thoughts that you’d like to kick around with me, please feel free to message me!

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

Returning to the Capitol from another mission was something he had been looking forward to. Knowing that Padme would wait in her apartment, his wife, his love made it hard to leave in the very first place. And while he wanted to tell the whole galaxy that this beautiful woman belonged to him, he knew they had to keep it a secret. It was for the best, for both of them. And while he agreed without another argument, Anakin was dying on the inside. With every day that was passing by where he wasn’t able to show his love for the senator, he felt like he lost a part of himself. And the feeling was even worse when he was gone. That’s why he was happy to finally be back. But when the news were announced to him that his wife had been kidnapped he simply lost it. Anger had been rising too quickly in him, Obi-Wan lecturing him about staying calm and focused. But how could he keep his mind clear when he had no idea where Padme was, how she was and what exactly happened to her? 

To his own luck and the sake of the others, Obi-Wan and him were able to find out where Padme was and he had been wasting no time to get to her. The moment he had stepped off the spaceship, he had been nothing but in his own daze. His vision was blurry but at the same time he had never seen clearer. While Obi-Wan was taking care of everything that would get in his way, Anakin made sure to fight his way through everyone who was still trying to get in his way. At this point, no one or nothing could stop him. Kicking the door open where she was held in, the light on his saber disappeared and he chased towards her. “Padme!” he called out, his arms immediately wrapping around her petite body as he held her close to his own. Her warmth was enough to calm his down, to help him relax. Everything felt a whole lot easier and lighter within a heartbeat and he could not describe how much he had missed her. “I’m so glad I’ve found you.” he said. And a small smile came across his lips. “I agree, my love.” he couldn’t help the chuckle that followed his words. His eyes had closed for a moment, enjoying it the time it last before he slightly pulled away. Just then, he noticed the blood on her face, following up to the wound that was right on her head. “They hurt you..” he pointed out, his voice quiet and calm while there was lingering something dangerous in it. 

@bchemianrhapscdy

Padme was becoming tired of people wanting to kill her. This was the third time the senator had attempts made on her life. People would often forget the power of wanting freedom and dedicating yourself to fight with it. For just like the jedi's advance, the light of goodness would always call forth the darkness who hated being in their rays. it had been a rough few days. Anakin's force signature always felt like a gentle blanket of safety and butterfly kisses against her exposed ivory skin. Her husband had always been like a balm to the greatest wounds of her soul. He was the only person who truly got to see the girl behind the Amidala mask of duty. Even Dorme and Sabe had to believe her to be always certain and shrews for them to help her and die for her like the Nabooian training had allowed. After hours of torture and questioning, her body had felt more leaden and exhausting to be encased in. Her braids now fraying at ends from the intricate updo she had been outfitted with on the Senate floor. A silent prayer had escaped her that her guards and handmaiden's had survived the kidnapping. They were the best of the best and the senate floor was crawling with problems and people to root out this problem. Bail Organa had bid her ado and the next thing she had seen was an unknown figure bashing her over the head with something distinctively medal and taking her to this darkened expansive space ship. She had had a bit of time after waking to think about who this could be. Were the separatist truly smart enough to take on one of the famed politicians of the republic? Whoever this was has been smart enough to even take the pins in her hair that could be used as lock picks or weapons. The chains had bit into her skin. A smattering of dirt and blood against her now shredded gown the color of red so deep that it looked purple. It had been the sith. Padme had no force connection, but the ship had felt as if you it would beg you for help if it could talk. there was no warmth in the clinical air. It was the unfeeling nature of those who viewed power and opulence enough to send a message. She had not faltered at all to their questions or tricks. Yet, the had made it clear that her execution was intimate. There was no bed in this cell and the cuffs barely allowed her to move a foot from the wall. They clearly knew how formidable a foe she was. The ground had been her bed when they hadn't knocked her out in the cacophony of questions and pain. The figure of her vivid blue eyed husband believing that even the nervous girl who had done her best for her planet and the freedom she believed in and still saw her as a beautiful force. It was his face that gave her some pause about dying for such sentiments. How worried he must be especially with whatever pictures the holos had caught. He would be unable to call her his wife and all that that had meant. As much as the coffee stained eyed girl had respected the council, they often held her Ani back. They would see the sense of attachment as friendship instead of wanting to kiss each other senseless. Her daydreams had been of the shirtless boy who only a night ago told her all about his time in battle and the new tech project now sat at their side table. She could hear her intelligent man talk about wires and bolts for time to come even if she lacked complete literacy in the subject. Her happiness and the knowledge that she was loved by many was something they could not take or break from her. They had missed the ring that marked her as a Skywalker tied against her chest by the corset strings.

They weren't so evil is to touch her that way even unconscious. The world wouldn't allow her to wear the gold band on her finger so it was the next closest place- her heart.Blood poured from her head like a macabre waterfall tinging the air around it with a strong coppery smell. She had scattered away readying to fight of whoever had come for after the last torture session. The slimy feel of them entering her mind still strong. The world had been disoriented until she saw those eyes. those eyes that were the closest thing to home. A wave of new strength taking her shaking legs as she moved to jump into his arms before being stopped by her bonds. Tears glistened in her eyes though she knew the importance of not drawing attention to the chosen one who had once again saved her. Probably Artoo as well for they had traded droids with vows. A picture of their love out in the open for the world to see yet not understand. Relief washed over her as well as fear. Ani didn't always think first when it came to her and she had no doubt that her gaunt and pale form would set him on edge. Padme would have to figure out some strength inside her to walk out on her own two feet. They had not broken her and they never would. Her rosebud pout raised upward at the sight of him and warmed by the sound of his velvety voice hitting her ears in complete contrast to the threats and dead air she had been faced with. "Ani- I- I'm sorry I thought you were someone else, my love. You don't know how happy I am to see you." Had he brought their best friend and father figure in Obi-wan? She knew the master would not begrudge the senator for her weakness though the calm lake of a man was someone she would always want the approval of. If her guards were masqueraded, the last thing the former queen wanted was for any of her family to be in danger. Ahsoka too.

"We really have to stop seeing each other like this."

[rawinternets]

Star Wars Episode 6: A rediscovery.

I’ve now reviewed Rogue One, Ep4, Ep5, all three prequels. It’s finally time to get back to the good stuff - Return of the Jedi. ROTJ is often cited as most people’s favorite from their childhood, but not necessarily on re-watch. Why? I was pretty sure I knew: it’s the shameless commercialism of the Ewoks, the derivative plotlines (another Death Star! More sneaking around Empire bases!) and so on. But truly, this movie is also very enjoyable. 

Upon re-reading my notes - there are far less of them, I think because I was actually into the movie again instead of analyzing everything. With Episode 1 and 2′s terrible dialogue and wooden acting and annoying plotlines, my brain was whizzing about, trying to understand just how these movies could be so bad. With Ep3, I felt myself analyzing how this film somehow *was* landing, and why it was different than the first two. With ROTJ, I got back to losing myself in the story, even though I was trying to remain conscious of the task at hand. 

While there are a couple lows (the Ewoks are mediocre at best as an adult-viewer, and George Lucas makes an inexcusable CGI addition to Jabba’s palace...), all in all this movie really fires. And what’s more - some of the most enthralling scenes in the entirety of the series occur here, and they don’t all include fighting and violence. I’m talking about the Emperor turning Luke. This is where the R1-4-5-1-2-3-6 order really works... we go from watching the Emperor turn Anakin in Ep3 right into the Emperor back at his old tricks with Luke. In both movies, the mind games and manipulation are really well done. I had many “Holy Shit!” 10-scene moments throughout ROTJ, mostly around the throne room, but prior to the climactic Vader redemption scene (which, surprisingly, was just OK). 

In fact, although this movie didn’t grade quite as high as Ep4 and Ep5, it has by far the most “10″ scenes, all of them (except “It’s a Trap!”) involving Luke and the Emperor in the build-up to the climax, when things are looking so grim for the rebellion and for Luke. Sure, I suppose I could have lumped more of these together, but each is so powerful on its own that I felt in the moment they deserved their own line items. 

Onto the scores. 

Average Score: 7.90 Standard deviation: 1.91

Scroll. 8. To the point and does the trick. 

Death Star and Vader. 9.  Beautiful new shot, with Death Star and Star Destroyer. The empire space visuals are so consistently amazing in this series. Great angry vader: “The Emperor does not share your optimism.” Great music. Great punchy scene.

Jabba’s Castle. 7. The big door is cool - C3PO sucks as always. Cool little eye in the peephole, and the big door opens. Pig guards are George Lucas trying too hard. Jabba is a pretty cool character. Luke wants to barter with him, there’s a little rat character that is fine, Solo is a wall decoration, and C3PO sucks again. Fine set of scenes. 

Jabba’s band. 1. George Lucas strikes again. He inserts a fully-CGI alien band, looking like a drunk person’s recollection of alien muppets, singing in a language that sounds like scat-man as a toddler. So unnecessary. Also, Jabba is rapey. 

Rancor eats a chick, Chewbacca, Lando in disguise. 6. I remember loving this whole Jabba sequence as a kid but it’s not really landing right now. The bounty hunter is Leia? Couldn’t they have sent someone less important? Han getting re-warmed is a cool visual. 

Han woken up. 6. Still can’t buy that they’d send Leia to rescue Han. Han’s blindness is kinda lame and the jokes are too. The Jabba sidekicks are also lame. Not loving this. 

Luke and the Rancor. 8. Luke falls into the Rancor pit and tries Jedi shit and it doesn’t work. But he’s clever and kills the Rancor. Pretty good job, pretty good scene. My roommate likes the crying monster. 

Sarlacc pit & Jabba’s ship. 6-8. Cool desert beasts, really cool desert ship. R2 as a cocktail waiter is funny. Luke: “Free us, or die.” And R2 shoots the lightsaber to Luke and the fighting begins. Lando cliffhangs, Boba Fett vs. Luke is cool, and Boba Fett dies an ignominious death (apparently in canon he actually survives). All in all, it’s a bit hokey and prequel-like, so I assume George had his grubby hands in here. Leia strangles Jabba, Luke flails away with the lightsaber looking really badly trained (in great contrast to the expertise of Ep3), and Lando kind of gets saved from the Sarlacc pit with a rifle. Some 6, some 8, hard to disentangle from my memories of the scene.

Emperor arrives at the Death Star. 9. Incredibly beautiful shots, great heft and foreshadowing. 

Yoda dies. 9.  “When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not.” Great line. Love Yoda - this version, not the Shaun-White-Parkour-Tasmanian-Devil lightsaber version. He tells Luke he’s not a Jedi yet, that he must face Vader. Not ready for the burden! Rushed to face him! Luke made a mistake! “Jedi strength flows from the force. Beware anger, fear, aggression. Dark side. Once you start down that path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Luke. Don't underestimate the Emperor.” Very good stuff from Yoda all around. And this part: there is another Skywalker!!! (but it never matters?) 

Obi-wan force ghost. 9. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Vader did kill your father... from a certain point of view.” Luke must face Vader again, but Luke won’t... “Then the Emperor has already won.” And then of course... It’s Leia. 

Attack Prep. 7. “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” I thought that line inspired Rogue One, but apparently not. Here we are again... a Death Star and a small crack team preparing to take it down. 

Emperor Confident. 8. Just another great punchy scene. 

Shuttle Tiberium. 9. Sneaking onto Endor to disable the DS’s shield... and we’re just like Rogue One again with the access codes. Vader on his Super Star Destroyer senses something... Good Chewy and Han tension. But Luke knows he’s endangering the mission. Vader is such a badass. 

Endor/Speeders. 9. The first thing I wrote for this scene was “C3PO SHUT THE F*** UP” but notwithstanding that outburst, this unique, gripping, and beautiful scene gets a great score. The Redwoods are recognizable to Northern Californians but few others, and as in real life, they are majestic and mysterious on film here. Amazing sound effects. The tension of possibly being outed by a patrolman is very high. Luke cuts off the front of a speeder with the lightsaber... so sweet. 

First Ewok. 8. Contrary to what you might remember, the Ewoks do not always suck. The first teddybear that finds Leia is kind of menacing. They avoid capture and make friends but it’s a pretty good scene. 

Vader and Emperor. 9. The Emperor is so damn badass.

Caught in Ewok trap. 5. More George Lucas Hijinx! Hokey. OK with Ewoks, not OK with C3PO becoming their God. 

In the Ewok village. 4. C3PO on the throne. Luke does force stuff. R2 shocks an Ewok and he does a stupid jump. Meh. 

C3PO telling Ewoks a story. 4. I guess the power of a story? They get help from the Ewoks. meh. 

Luke and Leia. 7. Luke has to face him. Decent scene between the two. 

Vader lands on Endor. 9. Beautiful shots here. Vader and Luke interaction. Search your feelings (again). "It is too late for me, son." Vulnerability there. A bit of foreshadowing. I like!

Shield generator attack begins. 7.  A little cheesy that the Ewok grabs the speeder and we do the chasing again, but I guess it serves the plot.

The rebel forces amass. 9. The rebel fleet is amazing. Very pretty. In retrospect (fore-spect?) the heterogeneous fleet reminds of Battlestar Galactica. 

Luke meets the Emperor. 10. Shit! Things sound very bad! 

Shield Generator Fail. 8. Uh oh! 

It’s a Trap! 10.  This all happens so fast, last two scenes and then this. Great music, great twist moment. Totally unforeseen. Admiral Ackbar gets his moment and forever becomes an internet meme and a real world reference. This space battle is intense.

Emperor turning Luke. 10.  Emperor seems to have all the cards. "it is your destiny."

Ewok's revenge. 7.  Mmmmmm. Actually not as bad as I remember because the Ewoks are a bit dangerous, even if primitive. OK, some dumb shit. Swinging ropes like tarzan, flying around with wings and dropping rocks. Self-hitting. Decent physical humor but also meh. Decent job with the emotional Ewok friends death.

Fully operational! 10.  Fuuuuuck! The Emperor is smart! Shit! Scene is a 9, but gets a 10 because of importance.

Luke tries to kill emperor. 10. Such a mindfuck. Pretty amazing.

End of the endor battle. 7. Meh. It’s fine. 

Luke and Darth fight. 10.  Let the hate flow through you.

Luke and Darth fight 2. 10.  Luke tries to hide and not fight.  "Your thoughts betray you. Sister! Twin sister. You have betrayed her too.” Stilted dialogue. Luke's love for Leia gives him power. Very much like Darth in the prequels. Darth’s hand cutoff. Fantastic music. Emperor: “Your hate has made you powerful. Fulfill your destiny.” He thinks back to his own hand destroyed and how he is like his father. Really great storytelling.

Attack on the death star. 8.  These visuals are really cool. But it’s a bit ridiculous to fly through the Death Star with a ship as big as the Millennium Falcon. I mean, the first DS was destroyed by a torpedo going down a tube not more than a meter wide... why would they engineer this thing to have a corridor wide enough for fighters to fly through, and right to the core reactor which will blow the entire thing up? 

Darth turns back. 9. It’s such a big moment, but is it actually well done? Emperor: "you will pay the price for your lack of vision." "Noooooo!" Hmmmm. it was great but it wasn't a 10. A bit hokey on the script. Why not cut the Emperor in half with a lightsaber? We’ve seen Jedi defy gravity before, why not assume he will survive? 

Anakin dies. Luke escapes. 8. “Take off the mask. you already saved me. Tell your sister you were right.” Great musical choices.

Han and Leia kiss. 7. Meh, it’s fine. 

Celebrations. 9. Good reunions and happy stuff. A bit cheesy but pretty good. 

Anakin/Darth funeral. 9. Pretty emotional. Pretty good. 

Credits. 7. WTF with this music choice. 

VERDICT: Things that will stick with me include: speeders, Emperor, and the Sarlacc pit. Speeders and Emperor are just awesome. Sarlacc pit was fine but memorable. This movie is entertaining, and yet, the most blockbuster-y of the original three, and that doesn’t sit as well with me at the end. But did I enjoy it? Surely and absolutely, yes, I did. ROTJ has far and away the most amounts of 9′s and 10′s of any of the films... only a few missteps keep it from being crowned as the best film in the franchise. 

REVIEW LINKS:

Introduction: Star Wars, a rediscovery.

Rogue One: 6.92 / 10.00 (stdev 2.06).

Episode 4: A New Hope. 8.00 / 10.00 (stdev 1.34).

Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back. 8.00 / 10.00 (stdev 1.29).

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. 5.00 / 10.00 (stdev 2.08). But probably worse than that, actually.

Episode 2: Attack of the Clones. 5.48 / 10.00 (stdev 2.07).

Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. 7.00 / 10.00 (stdev 1.77).

Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. 7.90 / 10.00 (stdev 1.91).

Episode 7: The Force Awakens. 6.57 / 10.00 (stdev 2.01).

Episode 8: The Last Jedi. 6.31 / 10.00 (stdev 1.89).

Verdict: Star Wars, A rediscovery.

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

Anakin stared at his daughter, knowing exactly she had a very fair point. He would only get himself into trouble if Leia would mention what exactly had happened here. And the other way around if Padme would hear that Leia had the guts to just go and hit dangerous Storm Troopers with chairs, she would lecture her. Not to mention she would be even madder at him. Looking at her and letting his mind run through every possible outcome, it seemed like an eternity that he was searching for an answer. In the end, it was simple. 

“Deal!” he said as he held his hand out for the little girl.

continued  - @talesofshadowandlight​​

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

The air on Mustafar had been thick. It was so hot, anakin felt like he was not able to breathe properly. His mind was clouded by thoughts and worries. The biggest one being Padme’s safety. He had choked her after Obi-Wan appeared right behind her. The jealousy he felt inside getting the best of him and bringing out the worst. For a split second he felt betrayal. Padme being here with him, Obi-Wan, who was so against him and not afraid to kill him. He had made that clear in his speech. Clear that there was nothing getting in his way to stop him. Anakin had turned, or he was right in it. There was still a little part in him that was clinging to the thought the world could get better without joining the Sith. But an even bigger part reminded him how miserable he felt ever since he became a Jedi. The rules he had to follow, the way he needed to change. The love for Padme he had never been able to live on except in privacy, all the things he wanted but got him denied. He hated it. And he found it unfair. To live a life that seemed even worse than the one as a slave. 

Padme made everything better. She had brought light and love to his life in a way he would be always thankful for. But their love was shadowed by rules and orders they had to follow. He had been the luckiest man when she acceptedhis proposal, being his wife from the very day on. But as a secret. He was doen with it, done with pretending and done trying to be someone he wasn’t. “He had made it very clear what he thinks of me, how he wants me to be.” he told her. He had left Obi-Wan behind, rushing back to Padme to see how she was doing. Luckily, she was still alive. “Can’t you see that I’m done pretending?” the question came out, his voice loud to overtone the sound of the flames around them. “I am done pretnding to be something I can’t. To follow some stupid rules that only led us here.” he said. Anakin was angry, at the world, at Obi-Wan, the Jedi, at everyone. And he was a little angry at her, for giving Obi-Wan a chance. Over and over again. “Can’t you see that I’m doing all of this for you, for us? So we can finally be together and live the life we both deserve?” he was frustrated with her.

But he silenced down when he heard her words. Did she just say babies? He thought they would only have one child, one baby. And now there were two? Hsi heart started racing faster, love and joy coming up in him and for a brief moment he forgot about what he had done and what he wanted to do. “Babies?” he questioned, taking a step towards her, his eyes slowly turning back to the colour they used to be. “We’re having twins? Are you serious?” yes, he completely forgot about the world that was burning around them, about Obi-Wan who was probably already on his way to kill him again. But right now, he focused on Padme, and the news she had brought ihm. 

continued - @multistoty​​

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

The Force had been strong with him since he was a little child. With the years of training he became from Obi-Wan, he had learned a lot how to use it perfectly. And yes, he was considered the best. And he could sense if something was off. He could feel someone was being behind him, someone watching him. But he was no fool to to reveal them just now. He was on a mission, this time alone without Obi-Wan. And while he had no feeling this was some sort of trap, there still seemed something off about it. He came to a stop in front of the elevator, slowly turning around as he now sensed someone or something right behind him. 

“Did you believe I didn’t sense you right behind me?”

@exitiosae​ - anakin x leia

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

@multistoty​ asked: 🛌  Crawl under the covers with my muse - padme to anakin - feel free to reply or not to any ask

A few hours had turned into days since he had spoken to Padme. He knew what state that always brought her in. She was scared something happened to him until he would show up like the hero he was. To be honest, he did quite like the way she always jumped into his arms whenever they had a moment to themselves. How tightly she was hugging him, making it seem like she never wanted to let go of him again. It was the feeling he was craving the most whenever he left. Knowing she needed him just as much as he did. On the other hand, worrying about him was a waste of thoughts and energy. He had promised he would always make it back to her in one piece, maybe a few scratches and bruises here and there but never something too serious. The loss of his hand was enough to him. Nothing like that should ever happen again.

It was late at night when he snuck into their living space. Quietly, he took off his Jedi Knight robe and quietly walked into their bedroom. Not wasting another moment, he quickly crawled into bed, under the covers where she was. His arm slipping around her, pulling her closer to his body. With a kiss to her cheek he greeted her. He didn’t want to wake her up but secretly, he hoped she would, able to give him a proper kiss. “I’m back.” he whispered into her ear, his hot breath laying on her while his lips slowly brushed against her skin. 

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

It had been a few rough days for Anakin. Getting manipulated by Palpatine with his own fear was something he had never expected to happen. He was a Jedi, he was better than that. And it was like Obi-Wan had always told him. He needed to learn how to control his feelings, his emotions and not let them get in the way of what was important. It was Padme, who brought him back to the light. Her and the baby that was soon to be born. With Obi-Wan’s help he had been allowed to take some time off from his duties. Surprised that his friend decided to keep the pregnancy of Padme a secret, just as their marriage. Obi-Wan had taught him for over a decade what his duties were, what the Jedi order said. And here he was, helping his friend out when he needed it the most.

Now, back on Naboo where it all started, Anakin had joined Padme to create the perfect baby spot for their little offspring. Standing outside and looking into the garden, his mind tended to drift off at times, back to the horrible moment that could’ve destroyed everything. He did his mediation, trying to focus on the good things in his life. 

Padme.

@exitiosae​ - anakin x padme

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

you were playing with fire. - for Anakin from Obi-Wan at crowsandmurder

meme post

The lack of trust his master sometimes had in him was frustrating. He was the chosen one, the most powerful Jedi they had ever seen and met. And yet, it seemed none of these things were enough to prove him his worth. “Don’t worry, master. I had it all under control.” he replied, his tone respectful but it was clear he was making a little bit fun of his worry. “It was nothing I wasn’t able to deal with on my own. It’s just..” he paused for a moment, revealing his broken saber. “I broke it again. Nothing I can’t fix either.” he quickly replied. 

@crowsandmurder

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

how’d we end up on the floor anyway? (for anakin from Padme at crowsandmurder)

taylor swift // midnights rp meme.

maroon.

A grin played over his lips as he looked at her. “There are a few ways that come to my mind.” he spoke, his eyes locked with hers as he watched her from the other side of the room. He pushed himself off the wall, slowly making his way over to her. Arms wrapping around her from behind, his lips finding their way right to the spot on her neck that was right under her ear. “I could tell you about some of them. Or show you.” he said softly into her ear, his voice low. 

@crowsandmurder

[bchemianrhapscdy-archived]

It had been a few rough days for Anakin. Getting manipulated by Palpatine with his own fear was something he had never expected to happen. He was a Jedi, he was better than that. And it was like Obi-Wan had always told him. He needed to learn how to control his feelings, his emotions and not let them get in the way of what was important. It was Padme, who brought him back to the light. Her and the baby that was soon to be born. With Obi-Wan’s help he had been allowed to take some time off from his duties. Surprised that his friend decided to keep the pregnancy of Padme a secret, just as their marriage. Obi-Wan had taught him for over a decade what his duties, what the Jedi order said. And here he was, helping his friend out when he needed it the most. 

Now, back on Naboo where it all started, Anakin had joined Padme to create the perfect baby spot for their little offspring. Slowly walking out into the garden where she was, a smile came across his lips. As he stood there and just watched her. She was so beautiful. She was indeed an angel. 

@harkenhope​​