That’s not being subtle, it’s being lazy.
I beg to differ. The things I’ve noticed are very subtle and not the sort of thing you want to rest a major plot point on. The points are too subtle and too few and most people don’t even notice them. And a lot of people don’t even try once they decide the PT are utter trash. How many OT members have seen the PT none or once and yet have very strong opinions of it? Many have seen it many times and some have even grown up with them and have completely different opinions. I am not saying that the subtle nature of some of these plot points saves the movies in any way. They are greatly flawed. But seeing past the flaws to the story GL was telling makes them worth watching, at least to me. I love the entire Palpatine story arc. His playing both sides against each other so that only he comes out the winner. His mentoring of Anakin that instills in the young Jedi a sense that Palpatine is on the right side. The sound effect added to his voice while he is talking to Anakin after Mace dies. The lie at the end that Anakin killed Padme. It is an incredible story, but GL botched it by making it too hard to see. And there isn’t enough material there to enhance it or bring it out, even in a fan edit. He did well in planning the story, but failed miserably translating it to film. And AOTC is his biggest failure. In the film he failed with the Palpatine arc, failed with the Obi-wan/Anakin relationship, and failed with the Anakin/Padme relationship. None of which was the fault of the actors - all of it is GL’s fault as writer, director, and producer. His scripts needed the help of a seasoned screen writer or script doctor. Kasdan and Carrie Fisher each doing a pass at them could have improved them drastically and might have resulted in something incredible. Instead we are left with a trilogy that is far less than fans wanted. All because GL was being subtle and didn’t seek the same sort of help that made the OT great. I think the original film is as great as it is because Coppola, De Palma, and Speilberg all had input. Empire because of Brackett, Kasdan, and Kershner, Jedi because of Kasdan and Marquand. While Jonathan Hales, the only other person given any credit and only on AOTC, obviously didn’t help. His sole project of note is story credit on The Scorpion King - possibly even problem filled plot wise than AOTC, so definitely not a good choice.