Tag Darth Sidious

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Rule of Two

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Count Dooku, Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones

The Scene: Count Dooku asks the captured Obi-Wan Kenobi to join him against Darth Sidious. Obi-Wan refuses.

George Lucas Says (via the Attack of the Clones commentary track): “I was able to get in this little thing of, you put two Sith together, and they try to get others to join them to get rid of the other Sith. So Dooku’s ambition here is really to get rid of Darth Sidious, and he’s trying to get Obi-Wan’s assistance in that. … So that he and Obi-Wan can overthrow Sidious and take over. And it’s exactly the same scene as when Darth Vader does it with Luke to try and get rid of Sidious [in The Empire Strikes Back]. So whenever you get too many people together with these Sith Lords, they all gang up and they all try to get rid of the strongest one. … So the one facet of the Sith reality is that they’re constantly plotting against each other, and therefore there can’t be more than two of them at any time.”

I Say: One of the recurring elements in Star Wars is greed and a lust for power. It’s most plainly on display with the Sith’s “Rule of Two.” Whether you’re talking about Sidious and Dooku, the Emperor and Vader, or Snoke and Kylo Ren in the later films, you always have two individuals who are so hungry for power that their partnership is inevitably doomed from the start. I’ve always felt there’s a truth to this notion as far as the nature of evil is concerned. No matter how long you can make it lasts, it’s destined for self destruction.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Lawless”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

Satine death, Star Wars the Clone Wars, The LawlessSERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S5:E16 – “The Lawless”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: James Arnold Taylor, Anna Graves, Sam Witwer, Ian Abercrombie, Katee Sackhoff
WRITER: Chris Collins
DIRECTOR: Brian Kalin O’Connell
PREMIERE DATE: February 2, 2013
SYNOPSIS: Obi-Wan travels to Mandalore to save Satine from Maul’s forces.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Wait, Satine has a nephew named Korkie? Why is that funny to me?

So now we have not only have Mandalorians with red armor, but Mandalorians whose helmets have horns like Darth Maul. You just know the artists and designers had fun with that one.

Having received Duchess Satine’s desperate transmission for help, Obi-Wan travels to Mandalore to save her. Question: Did Yoda and the Jedi Council know about him going to Mandalore, or did Obi-Wan do it on his own? If so, does he face any consequences for that? Just asking…

After they are captured by Mandalorian forces, Obi-Wan is forced to watch as Satine is executed by Maul. Needless to say, this makes their feud even more personal than it already was. I wasn’t necessarily surprised to see Satine die. But I was surprised to see her simply executed the way she was. She didn’t go out in a blaze of glory or anything. They just got everybody in a room, and Maul killed her. Simple as that.

Sensing what’s happening, Darth Sidious personally travels to Mandalore to confront Maul. And again I have to ask, does anyone know where he went? He is the chancellor of the Republic, and they are in the middle of a war. He can’t just go off without telling anybody, can he?

I understand these kinds of details aren’t necessarily important in the context of telling the story. The important thing is that Obi-Wan and Palpatine ultimately end up on Mandalore. But it’s fair question, isn’t it?

I noticed that just before the two-on one duel starts with Sidious, Maul, and Savage Opress, Maul does the “Obi-Wan pose” (shown below). I can only assume that was intentional. The Obi-Wan pose wasn’t as much of a thing yet. But the show had done it before. And of course, we’d see it in Revenge of the Sith.

Ian Abercrombie, who voices Palpatine/Sidious, has the character’s evil laugh down pat. That makes his fight sequence with Maul and Opress that much more effective.

There are a lot of “echoes” in this episode. You’ve got Obi-Wan luring that Mandalorian on to his ship and stealing his uniform, much like they did in A New Hope. Then, seconds before he sees Palpatine, Maul says he senses a presence he hasn’t felt since… Again, like in A New Hope. Then, after it’s revealed that Bo-Katan is Satine’s sister, Obi-Wan says “I’m so sorry,” much like he says to Padme in Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars does love it’s callbacks, doesn’t it?

To Maul’s shock and horror, Sidious kills Savage Opress. Thus, possibly my least favorite character in all of Star Wars is put down. Whatever shall we do without him?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: A “Good” Villain?

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Palpatine, Darth Sidious, Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: Palpatine is revealed as Darth Sidious. Moments after Mace Windu’s death, he instructs his new apprentice Darth Vader to kill all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple.

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “One of the issues in all of this is the bad guys think they’re good, and Lord Sidious thinks he’s bringing peace to the galaxy because there’s so much corruption, confusion, and chaos going on. And that now he’s going to be able to straighten everything out. Which may be true. But the price that the galaxy is going to have to pay for it is way too much.”

I Say: I understand the notion that most evil people don’t believe they’re evil. But I don’t necessarily agree with George here. Especially given the way Ian McDiarmid plays Palpatine. The man is clearly reveling in his own wickedness. This isn’t some misguided soul who thinks he’s making hard choices for the good of the galaxy. Palpatine knows who and what he is. He wants all the power in the universe for himself, and there’s no length to which he won’t go to obtain it. He’ll even defy death itself…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.