More obsessing about Star Wars as I sit here sick.

[gridlore]

More proof that George Lucas can't write his way out of a wet paper napkin.

OK, we start "Episode IV" with Princess Leia being chased down by a Star Destroyer with Darth Vader aboard. Knowing hse's about to be captured, she gives R2-D2 the plans and a message for Obi-Wan Kenobi, and shoot him and the gayest robot ever off to Tattooine.

Which means she knew several things. Obi-Wan survived. Obi-Wan is hiding on Tattoine. R2-D2 was once once associated with Obi-Wan. And Darth Vader picks up on none of this. Does the Empire not have intelligence officers? did nobody ask "why did she run here?" "Who lives here?" Hell, you thinbk maybe Darth Vader might have wondered why, out of all the star systems in the galaxy, she chose to come out of hyperdrive in his old home system? Hell, several times in the films Darth and Leia with face to faceplate and he never grokked the connection?

But let's move on. Obi-Wan looks everyone in the eyes/optical sensors and flat out lies about the droids. Why? Meanwhile, stormtroopers are shooting up Jawas and the Skywalker residence. Now back in my Army, we did a little thing called reporting.

"Lord Vader, we determined there were two droids in the escape pod. Both droids were acquired by an indigenous races known as Jawas. Examination of records show the two droids were sold to the Skywalker famil.. *urk*"

"Who? There were sold to who?"

"Sky..walker.. s..sir.. There were two adults at the residence.. they resisted.." *snap* *thud*

"Subcommander, access the planetary census. How many people lived at the Skywalker holding?"

"Three, my Lord. Owen Skywalker, Beru Skywalker, and a nephew named Luke."

"Captain! Send out a priority signal! Summon the fleet! Nothing leaves this world!"

Of course this could have been avoided if anyone with brains existed inside the Jedi Temple. At the end of Episode III, we have the infant twins, Senator Organa, Obi-Wan, and Yoda, the centuries old utter master of Jedi training. Why not send Obi-Wan and Yoda off with the twins to Dagobah so they can be trained from birth? When the time is right, move them to Alderan for further training.

But I think logically.

Comments

[jemstone.livejournal.com]

Technically speaking, it was Owen and Beru Lars, but that still should have been a red flag.

I've made the contention that Lucas might not have written the best screenplays ever, but he clearly had some of the "revelations" that we get in Ep1-3 in mind when he wrote 4.

Owen clearly recognizes C-3PO in the first "introduction" scene. And goes so far as to test him.

"You?!" he asks. "Well... I bet you're programmed for protocol and etiquette, aren't you?"

The surprise in his voice is the tell. He never expected to see that droid.

Like it or lump it, that scene was clearly planned.

[fragbert.livejournal.com]

Except Owen and Beru's last name was Lars.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Hitchcock maintained that plot holes were OK as long as they were "icebox moments", i.e., you didn't think about them until the movie was over and you were standing in front of the fridge getting a beer.

In other words, the story only had to carry you to the end credits, after which you were on your own.

If Lucas said such a thing, I'd be inclined to jeer, but a master craftsman like Hitchcock -- he gets the benefit of the doubt.

[seawasp]

You're thinking in reverse time.

Star Wars was written and filmed before Lucas had any idea that Vader was even RELATED to Luke. That wasn't decided until Empire, and even there it was close to a last minute thing.

The idea that not only were they father and son, but that their homeworld really was Tatooine and not somewhere else, wasn't put forth really until The Phantom Merchandising.

[taschoene.livejournal.com]

The only retroactive continuity I can make work for the original; trilogy is that Vader had a pretty good idea what was going on from the start and made sure that Luke and Leia were never permanently captured by the Empire with the specific idea of training one of them up as his Sith apprentice and using them to help depose the Emperor. It's the only thing that explains the apparent incompetence of the Empire given the resources that we know they had available to them.

Think about it -- In A New Hope, Vader allows the plans to get away (why else would he not order anything leaving the blockade runner to be grabbed by a tractor beam?) He stage-manages the interrogation of Leia to ensure that no useful data is learned and Alderaan is destroyed (hopefully pushing Leia toward the Dark Side). Later, he makes sure to get outside the Death Star before the rebels can destroy it (using plans that he allowed to escape...twice) and refrains from blowing Luke to bits in the process.

Now, in Empire, Vader makes his plan explicit in his dialog wiht Luke. But can we also use this to explain his earlier actions in the movie? Possibly. Admiral Ozzel initially discounts the reports of the Rebels at Hoth. Why? Because Vasder told him too. He brings the fleet out of hyperspace too close to Hoth. Why? Because those were vader's instructions. He gets Force-strangled by Vader. Why? Because he was about to blurt out that Vader had ordered him to bungle the assault. "Stupid and clumsy" indeed.

By Return, this idea isn't even in doubt. Vader is playing Luke against the Emperor quite openly at this point -- his only surprise is that Luke is stronger than any of them expected.

[jarlsberg71.livejournal.com]

Well my only thought is that Vader wasn't present at the birth, and Obi-Wan tells him he's killed his pregnant wife, so there's not real way to know that she survived long enough to give birth...

But yeah. I watched them off the TiVo and fast forwarded to the Yoda fight scenes.