Star Wars Episode Three Revenge of the Sith (2005) — I: The Consolidation of Power
*SPOILERS*
Moving forward with the film noir interpretation of the Star Wars Prequels’ commentary on power structures …
Episode III begins with the context of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine having been kidnapped by Separatist General Grievous, a Sith apprentice of Dooku. Anakin and Kenobi rescue him from Grievous’s ship, with Anakin killing Dooku and with Grievous escaping. Anakin begins having foresight of Padme dying in pain after she reveals that she’s pregnant. He is shortly thereafter appointed as Palpatine’s personal representative on the Jedi council, kicking off Anakin’s noir arc.
The story of the power structures here is one of the Sith completing their power grab of the Galactic Empire by destroying the Jedi Order as the only remaining check on their advancement. And of the Jedi Council mismanaging Anakin while failing to the recognize the depth of Sith corruption.
Jedi Hypocrisy
There are essentially three issues with respect to Anakin that the Jedi needed to respond to:
- His childhood inclinations for the Dark side
- His growing disillusionment with the Jedi Order
- His placement on the Jedi Council as a political move by Palpatine in context of the first two points
We addressed the inadequacy of their responses to the first issue in Segment I of Episode Two’s Essay, and it’s worth noting that by the time Anakin’s noir arc starts, he’s already had two explosive homicidal episodes. You’d expect the Jedi would be able to sense the difference in dark side presence between a Jedi who has killed (with passionate catharsis) and a Jedi who has not since The Force moves darkly around those who’ve killed. No Jedi acknowledge this as an issue though. So he keeps being a whiny little piss boy.
Likewise the next two issues are related. The Jedi have accepted a Dark-side inclined Chosen One™️ into their order and make no special effort to temper his personality, instead opting to force him into repression and, when that leads to predictable anger in him, responding with a militaristic demand of obedience. Aren’t the Jedi followers of the Light side? Shouldn’t patience and inquiry be something that merits thoughtful discussion rather than demands of unquestioning loyalty? Let alone when The Chosen One from their own prophecies is the one with questions. Hypocrisy.
So given this context when Anakin is placed on the Council by Plapatine, they again fail to acknowledge his growing disillusionment by ordering him to do something deceptive by spying on Palpatine for them. This matters because deception is the hallmark of a Sith. He pushes back and they predictably pixelate his possible choices into obeying them or not obeying them, with no discussion regarding ethics, morality, or The Force. Fine if you don’t do that for regular Jedi, but again, this is The Chosen One. You’d think they’d want to make sure he had a grip on their favorite side of The Force. This ill-advised Jedi tendency is reinforced when Mace Windu attempts to kill Palpatine in front of Anakin, another Jedi no-no, having never meaningfully attempted to address Anakin’s perception of Jedi hypocrisy. And we all know how Anakin responds.
The fall of the Jedi was precipitated from within by their own arrogance.
Sith Dominance
The Sith having already converted the Galactic Republic into a pseudo-Empire, the key condition left to satisfy would be to extinguish the only institution that could meaningfully resist the final power grabs necessary to consolidate into a proper empire — The Jedi. So Palpatine accomplishes three things to this end:
- Spreads The Jedi thin using the Separatist movement’s droid army
- Pushes Anakin toward the Dark side using Anakin’s tension with the Jedi Order, Dooku, and conversations with Anakin
- Destroys the Jedi Temple garrison using Darth Vader, and the dispersed Jedi Masters using his Clone Army
Palpatine’s chess moves follow:
- Supports Separatists (via Dooku) in The Clone Wars to spread the Jedi across the galaxy
- Surrenders self to Separatists to encourage Anakin to connect with the Dark side by killing Dooku
- Appoints Anakin to Jedi council as Chancellor’s representative to exacerbate Anakin’s alienation from the Jedi and trigger his lust for power
- Uses Anakin’s alienation and fear of loss to lubricate his acceptance of Sith ideas like defeating death. The Jedi also possess an analogous ability (force ghost), but Palpatine misleads Anakin into thinking only a Sith can teach him how to transcend death
- Has Separatists invade Kashyyk to draw Yoda away from Coruscant. Only then reveals identity as a Sith knowing Anakin will report him to Mace Windu, a hotter head. This gives Anakin the final push needed to become Darth Vader when he kills Mace Windu
- Uses Darth Vader to destroy the Temple garrison and future of the Jedi Order
- Uses clone army to kill outnumbered and spread out Jedi masters
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Star Wars Episode One Essay —
Star Wars Episode Two Essay —
Star Wars Episode Three Essay —
I: The Consolidation of Power
Star Wars Prequels Overview Essay —
