thecolorsblend said:
NeverarGreat said:
Luke and Han's preliminary goals in ANH are there because they are torn between the world that they know and the world of adventure. The first step of Luke's journey is to reject the goals imposed by his uncle and achieve his destiny, whereas Han's journey is in doing something that isn't for money. He decides not to return to Jabba, and instead joins the Rebellion. When the goals imposed by Owen become irrelevant, Luke makes a firm decision to become a Jedi. When Han decides to return and help the rebellion, we don't hear a firm decision. Naturally he will have second thoughts in ESB.
I'm not trying to be hard on the prequels because I think that the Original Trilogy is perfect in every way. Han probably could have paid back Jabba and still helped the rebellion, just as Anakin could have probably freed his mother and still trained to be a Jedi.
Anakin became a Jedi Knight based on a lie. The council wouldn't have done it if they knew he was married. The marriage ceremony and clone army scenes at the end of episode 2 send a single message: failure. It isn't like the scene at the end of ESB where our heroes know that they've made mistakes, and must work to right them. It is that Anakin and the entire senate and Jedi order are already defeated, and even they know it. You might as well end the trilogy there, as it is obvious what will happen.
Parts of my comments were meant more in jest than anything. Still, you raise valid points. With the acknowledgement that freeing the slaves wasn't one of Anakin's big goals, I agree with what you say. But that's the exact point. Episode II is called Attack of the Clones. The Republic is the aggressor in that conflict. Sure, the Separatists are led by greedy, conniving puppets but is every single one of those star systems equally evil? I doubt it. All most of 'em probably want is a fair shot and they don't see that happening under the Republic so they want out. As you say, the militarization of the Republic proves the game of democracy and freedom is over.
The Jedi have sold out their ideals to a system built on greed and perpetuated by the same. Qui-Gon (noble, competent, a strong sense of what's right) is what the Jedi should be; Yoda (deceitful, obstinate, dishonest) is what they are. Ensconced in their literal ivory tower, the Jedi were complicit in their own destruction. If the Jedi had given Anakin a single iota of validation and enfranchisement, there's every reason to think things could have turned out differently.
And understand, I'm not arguing the prequels were perfect. Far from it. But the stuff above is a big part of why I like them in general.
On a personal note, I'm defending the prequels (this aspect anyway) on a forum mostly filled with people I respect but who don't like them. So in deference to most of their preferences, this is probably my last post about this.