This Friday marks the premiere of what is supposed to be the last Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker. As is my tradition, I am watching all of the movies this week before I go to see the new movie. I wanted to record some thoughts I had about the prequel trilogy that I thought I had written down in the past, but apparently did not. I do want to emphasize that my commentary is based solely on the movies and not on any books, particularly since the only books I have read are those that take place after Return of the Jedi.
I know that for a lot of people, the prequel trilogy is awful, but I have always been rather fond of the movies. Granted, there are some things that are annoying (Jar Jar Binks being the prime example), but I find that the trilogy is an excellent reframing of the original trilogy. In the original trilogy, the story is about Luke, the redemption of his father, and the discovery of his sister. The prequel trilogy reframes the entire thing as an exploration of the rise, fall, and rerise of Anakin Skywalker and explains why he fell and how this same thing allowed him to redeem himself.
In The Phantom Menace, we are introduced to a very young Anakin Skywalker who is a slave on Tatooine and is freed by Qai Gon Jinn, the master of a very young Obi Wan Kenobi. He is taken away from his mother to be trained by the Jedi, who are very reluctant to train someone as old as he is (and he is 8 or 9). In fact, they refuse at first, but Qai Gon forces the issue and, after his death, allow Obi Wan Kenobi to train Anakin. We are also introduced to Queen Amidala (aka Padme Naberrie), a women with whom Anakin is very clearly smitten. In Attack of the Clones, we see Anakin after 10 years. He and Obi Wan are charged with protecting the now-Senator Padme after an assassination attempt. His feelings seem to have intensified over the last decade and it is clear that she starts to return the feelings after some initial reluctance, due (at least in part, presumably) to his age and due (at least in part as stated in the film) to his status as a Jedi Padawan (they vow to have no external attachments). Despite all of this, they eventually get married. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin becomes obsessed with how to keep Padme from dying (as he has seen in a dream), particularly after his mother died in his arms in Attack of the Clones. He is also shown to be close to Chancellor Palpatine, who has been a mentor and father figure when Anakin really hasn't had one. Yes, Obi Wan has been his Jedi Master, but he has not been the father figure that Anakin never had growing up. The relationship with Palpatine, along with the obsession over with protecting Padme, opens Anakin up to manipulation by Palpatine. In addition, the Jedi Council has been so busy protecting their secrets and prerogatives that doubts about who they are and how good (or not) they are have been planted into Anakin's head and subsequently watered by Palpatine.
To take a step further back, we have to acknowledge that there are many cult-like aspects to the Jedi. They insist on unquestioning obedience (questioning really got Qai Gon into trouble on many occasions) and generally only accept very young children for training. Based on what we see, it seems that the reason they only accept young children is because young children have less to unlearn and are more malleable than older children. By insisting that all Jedi cut themselves off from individual attachments, the Jedi make the children dependent solely on each other and the rest of the Jedi. But if the Jedi are supposed to guard the Republic, this is not a good thing. These qualities cut the Jedi off from the rest of the galaxy and promote a very navel gazing attitude. We also see that they refuse to change, which leads them to further conflict, particularly with Anakin. Granted, he is egotistical, but a certain amount of egotism is understandable. He is a gifted fighter and pilot who is tremendously strong in the Force. But rather than work with him, the Council is suspicious of him and this draws him even closer to Palpatine, who uses the flaws of the Jedi to break Anakin off from them.
In addition to the philosophical differences with the Jedi, Anakin also is obsessed with (as I said before) ensuring that he does not lose Padme the way he lost his mother. He loves her so much that he wants to find a way to conquer death so she can live with him forever. I will be the first to grant that this is more properly labelled obsession, but I think we also have to acknowledge that it is borne out of at least two traumatic acts. First, when he was taken from his mother when he was 9 and then when he lost her when he was 19. Add to that the number of comrades he had to have lost in the Clone Wars, and his obsession is somewhat understandable. To push someone from love to obsession under such circumstances is not that hard. So when Palpatine offers him a way to make sure that Padme will not die; particularly when coupled with his doubts about the Jedi; Anakin leaps at the opportunity and becomes Darth Vader. He does go crazy (temporarily at least) and Force strangles Padme when he sees Obi Wan come off the ship she flew in to see him because he thinks she betrayed him. This act ends up killing her and hardens his heart, which completes his turn to the Vader we see in A New Hope.
This same love is ultimately what saves him. When he discovers that his children are still alive, he starts down a path to end the Emperor. At first, he plots to overthrow the Emperor, but eventually he decides to save Luke by killing the Emperor when the Emperor is killing Luke by attacking him with Force lightning. So love corrupted caused him to turn to the Dark Side and love also caused him to turn back to the Light Side. This is the balance that Qai Gon mentioned in The Phantom Menace. Not the triumph of Light or Dark, but the two being balanced with neither prevailing. If Light prevails, it ossifies and becomes a rigid tradition for the sake of tradition. If Dark prevails, it causes chaos and pure self-interest that ultimately destroys. So the balance must be maintained (a similar idea exists in Babylon 5).
If you look at the prequels in this way, you can see that they are necessary because they show what happens when the Light rules unchecked. So I would hope that the end of The Rise of Skywalker will help bring us back into balance with neither side prevailing because that is what is ultimately needed. Not for Light to beat the Dark, but for Light and Dark to find a way to balance each other so that the galaxy is not tipped towards chaos nor ossified by order.
