for the story they have to tell, the Prequels are intrinsically not good for a movie format, because there are a lot of things to explore, and there’s not enough screan-time to do it. So, it would have been better if they had been part of the EU. However, even with their limited amount of screan-time, I’m still capable of getting everything necessary to appreciate them.

I look at it this way: if it’s 1993 or whatever and you’re trying to write the Prequels from scratch, what would you focus on? Suppose your goal is to generate the maximum amount of drama and audience emotional investment possible. What is the most effective way to achieve that? The obvious answer is to focus on the tragic friendship of Anakin and Obi-Wan, from the beginning to the heart-wrenching betrayal. The limited backstory we get in the OT practically screams that this should be the focus. Sure, there are other details… clones, a Republic becoming an Empire, etc., but those things really are just window dressing.

I mean how many times does Vader bring up Obi-Wan in the OT? He brings him up to Luke all the time. It’s clear their relationship was incredibly significant for both of them, for better or worse.

Yet the Prequels don’t really make this the main focus until Episode 3, at which point it’s way too late to generate any serious emotional impact. Even worse, Anakin spends most of Episode 2 complaining that Obi-Wan sucks. To this day I’m surprised Lucas just didn’t seem that interested in their friendship, opting instead to tell a more cluttered story, with Palpatine’s antics really being the main through line, and only 2 out of 3 films actually featuring Anakin.