In light of the new trailer for season 7 of TCW, I’ve revisited this and have a new version coming out soon!
I’ve honestly re-added a lot of stuff back in but the structure remains largely the same as before. Inspired by Hal’s in that Anakin’s political motivations come before any nightmares he has of Padme. That said, in this new version I diverge halfway through to make those nightmares his primary motivations towards the end.
Rewatching my old cut I made Anakin almost too sympathetic and likeable in the first half, that the political motives honestly came off as a weaker excuse for his turn. The original “deal with the devil” is emphasized a bit more now. Anakin’s politics are still his politics but I’ve made him more remorseful and aware. It’s impressive what removing/rearranging shots can do in reconfiguring his state of mind.
Anakin is conflicted between Palpatine and the Jedi of course, but in the theatrical ROTS it never feels like he’s actually on the Jedi’s side after he has that nightmare of Padme. In Hal’s, it just feels like he’s on Palpatine’s side the entire time. Caught in the middle, but he has no love for the Jedi outside of maybe Obi-Wan. My cut was different in that it placed Anakin dominantly in the Jedi camp, and it never really seemed like Palpatine had successfully turned him against the council. While Hal’s makes his “fall” track better from beginning to end, using his version of the plot coming together just makes my take on Anakin’s turn almost nonsensical. I think I just coasted on the idea that the prequels were bad and Hal already edited it this way, so I couldn’t get any better than that for my version - but I’ve found that I can. (better for what I’m going for)
In the theatrical version, in his conflicted power hungry state, he becomes lost and blind to the truth to the point he makes the wrong decision. In my edit, Anakin actually gains clarity. Rather than Anakin being blinded by his anger at the council and clouded by his fears for Padme - he becomes fully cognizant of everything in play but makes his decision in spite of that. He chooses Padme over what he knows is right, not that he thinks it’s right to do.
It’s become a somewhat radical edit as no scene has been untampered with to the point that most conversations have a different context or meaning than originally intended.
New changelist coming soon.
Here’s something I was playing around with the other day:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbmKrj39mpGemzRYCdkpZHvQHDUgeteg/view?usp=sharing
I’ve shifted the motivations of everyone involved in that scene. Anakin isn’t crazed and proudly evil, nor is he excited about his prospects as a galaxy-ruler. He’s remorseful but also trying to justify his actions to Padme and Obi-Wan. He’s frustrated that she doesn’t want to accept that he’s doing it for her.
Theatrical!Padme is done dirty in this movie and the re-insertion of the deleted scenes only mitigates that section of the film. By the end she still doesn’t have a role to play but tragic wife almost stupidly in love with Anakin. Here - and this works to the benefit of both Anakin and Padme - she actually provokes Anakin into choking her. He doesn’t just do it out of paranoia. It’s not quite the same as the supposed original idea where she stabs him, but it’s close enough with what we have. Basically “Yes! I did bring him here to kill you!” Obi-Wan then takes on the role of asking Anakin to come back to the light.