LogFAQs > #945728594

The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise
Oh god, why would you do this to me?

Giving Palpatine a backstory is... I don't know. I don't know. He's great in RotJ, as this just completely evil person with no redeeming qualities, who just laughs a lot and acts silly. The more you know about him, the less interesting he becomes. To Lucas' enormous credit, I think he realized that? Because Palpatine relates his backstory in a very nebulous way that leaves everything open to interpretation. I can imagine a more hack director having Palpatine sit at a desk and explain this all via flashback, where a younger actor plays 17 year-old Palpatine killing some dumb CGI alien. Even the structure of the way Palpatine explains his backstory in the movie leaves open the possibility that he's just full of bull****, which is good. If you're going to give Palpatine any kind of backstory beyond "I am Sith Master," this is the way to do it. This is the only way it could possibly be done without being completely stupid, and it's still pretty stupid.

As for the tragedy itself, yes, okay. It's not subtle, Lucas. I get it -- Plagueis has an apprentice who kills him, his apprentice is taking an apprentice here who will one day kill him. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

That's another thing I'll give Lucas over Disney -- he at least attempts to have like thematic logic to what happens. He's not good at it, but he makes a genuine effort. This scene could have happened at a desk, instead Lucas sets it at an alien opera where there's like a giant holographic sperm inseminating an egg? Very imaginative, even if it's dumb.

Midichlorians
After I just complimented Lucas twice, it's good to be able to talk about something completely stupid. Lucas is a man with ideas, some good, some bad, and some... midichlorians. Like, I get that Qui-Gon needs a way to know that Anakin is important, but holy ****, this may be the actual worst idea in all of Star Wars.

Unlike most of Lucas' terrible ideas, which are terrible for one reason each, midichlorians are terrible for three separate reasons.

1. The idea of power levels is so bad that even DBZ stops using them halfway through. All you need is Liam Neeson looking at the kid and going "woah," maybe having his hair whip back from Anakin's power.
2. The idea of a non-magical explanation for magic is so, so bad. Metal Gear Solid does this, too. Is Hideo Kojima the Japanese George Lucas? ... Probably not. My point here is that midichlorians ruin the religious/philosophical element of the Force. Having the Force be this immaterial abstract thing that is beyond mortal comprehension is good. Having it be bugs in your blood is bad.
3. Nothing is done with midichlorians in later movies. They are never brought up again. Even the EU downplays them, and the EU gave complex backstories to all of the extras in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

I can't think of a single good thing to say about this concept. All I can think of is that RLM video where Mr. Plinkett just responds to the idea with an image of a middle finger.

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The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise

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Midichlorians

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Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig.
Started: July 6, 2005