Oud 27-11-2001, 18:09
kHebTrekInWatLekkers
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Bringing Back the Force
by WyldKard


It’s wholly possible that George Lucas isn’t a total twit, and pulls off something spectacular with the Star Wars prequels. I noted in my review of Star Wars: Episode One the major faults with what I believed could have been an engaging storyline. Never mind the obvious mistakes that any Star Wars fan could pick out, or what any Star Wars savvy critic could pull from the review bag; Lucas has already deemed whatever lore he himself didn’t come up with as being completely different from his vision, from the true Star Wars storyline.

Though I don’t approve of the way Lucas has handled his lil’ baby, I have to cast some doubt on the expected nature of Episodes two and three. After all, back in the eighties, viewers were shocked to learn that Vader was Luke’s father. Though Lucas’ storyline is pretty straightforward, it has hit some bumps on the way, spreading somewhat unexpected outcomes to what others thought were obvious. So why would Lucas suddenly rely on what we “know” will happen?

The glaring mistakes Lucas has made in resurrecting Star Wars, bringing it back into mainstream hype, is pretty inappropriate, though not entirely inexcusable. After some serious thought, I believe that my loyalty to Lucas could be revitalized. After all, there’s got to be some chance, however tiny, that Lucas pulls a spectacular twist in the storyline, one that might bring back some credibility to the series.

David Brin, noted sci-fi author, wrote an article some months ago about the faults associated with Star Wars, and how Lucas could have made better decisions in the course of the storyline, primarily with episodes four through six. Though I don’t necessarily agree with all his points, he did raise a couple good ones, not the least of which is the fact that Vader’s crimes against the galaxy are forgiven, all on account of him saving his son, thus “returning” to the light side. Though Brin states this point a bit more eloquently, it does seem pretty damned ridiculous that Vader becomes the number two bad guy, kills off many, many Jedi, and basically brings about suffering throughout the galaxy under the Emperor’s tyrannical regime. Yet, despite all this, he saves his own son, and we are to forgive him. WTF? Of course, this idea only hurts my morals more when we’re expected to root for young Anakin in Episode One. Yea, okay, let’s root for the bad guy, who goes on to kill his mentor, and who the kickass good guy (Qui-Gon) brought into the fold. Does anyone else find this a little odd?

This is where my theory comes in, you see. Vader is not Luke’s father, nor, in fact, is he Anakin Skywalker. After watching The Phantom Menace a couple more times, this point only becomes clearer for me. I’ll begin by noting some of the evidence.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, the revered Jedi, is recognized by the Rebellion as an esteemed hero. Thus, he must obviously have once been a great Jedi, and though this is not shown as being untrue in the beginning of Episode One, there is no real evidence suggesting that Kenobi is an especially good Jedi either. In fact, considering the amount of fear and respect the word “Jedi” brings, it can easily be assumed that all Jedi were just as efficient as Kenobi.

Might I add, now, that young Kenobi wasn’t an especially stable Jedi. That is, he wasn’t too well versed in keeping his cool, thinking as any Jedi should. In fact, he breaks the Jedi code at the end of Episode One, when he sees his Master die and, in a fervorous rage, engages Darth Maul in combat. Unlike his Master, Obi-Wan’s anger comes out, bringing him one step closer to the dark side. That’s right, folks, it’s Obi-Wan that becomes Darth Vader, not Anakin.

Let me extend my hypothesis with an example of this switch being foreshadowed. At the end of Episode One, Anakin is dressed in similar attire, and with a similar hairstyle, as Obi Wan. This is the perfect setup for what’s to come next; Anakin will not only become Kenobi’s Jedi student, but he will become Kenobi by name as well.

Was Lucas really so foolish as to change not only the storyline set by other Star Wars authors, but his own storyline as well? Seemingly, that’s what he did when he introduced Qui-Gon, since we know from Episodes four through six that Obi-Wan’s mentor was not Qui-Gon, but Yoda himself. This only makes sense if something else is presented, perhaps the switch I mentioned. If Obi-Wan continues to fall to the dark side, which he has already begun to embrace, and does not complete Anakin’s Jedi training, who will teach Anakin further? If the shit hits the fan, as I’m sure it will when Palpatine/Sidious begin kicking ass, then the young boy may have a use after all, and who better to teach the lad than Yoda himself. Certainly makes sense, then, to never mention Qui-Gon as Obi-Wan’s master, because by the time Luke comes of age, Obi-Wan is Vader, and the old man who’s teaching Luke is none other than Anakin Skywalker himself, who was brought into the Jedi fold by Master Yoda, not Qui-Gon. The only person of relevance that Qui-Gon taught was Vader, making it perfectly acceptable for him to kill the old Obi-Wan, the very boy who he began to teach those many years back.

If you thought about the contrived storyline of Episode One at all, you’ll realize that Vader would have had some sort of recognition for his former friends, namely R2D2 and C3PO, who he put together himself. After all, if his supposed son, someone who he had never met before, could bring back some semblance of his old life, why not the droids (especially C3PO, who was his only friends on Tatooine). Though Vader sees these droids, he pays little attention to them; why should he, for when he was Obi-Wan, he could care less about who they were. The only person they mattered to was Anakin. This makes further sense when you consider which droids were sent to Kenobi’s residence on Tatooine in Episode four. R2D2, who knew Obi-Wan as Anakin, made the trip, not the least surprising bit of information when you put the pieces together. Considering C3PO’s disposition, Kenobi didn’t mention anything to him for obvious reasons; C3PO would have blown his cover right off the bat.

Let me backtrack a small bit to Luke's place on the farm. When young Skywalker comes across R2D2's little secret, he mentions to his uncle that he believes the droids were stolen, since R2D2 claims he is the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi. At this point, Uncle Owen becomes very alarmed, perhaps knowing that the legendary Obi-Wan became Vader. The topic quickly changes when the discussion begins to involve Ben Kenobi, who Uncle Owen claims is someone else. While the audience is meant to believe that Uncle Owen's disposition towards Ben Kenobi is bad, we know this to be untrue from Episode five, when Ben explains that Uncle Owen is his brother. Since Anakin left his mother behind on Tatooine, it's very possible that she had another child after his departure. It makes more sense for his brother to have remained on Tatooine than to have Obi-Wan and a mysterious brother suddenly appear on the desert planet. Uncle Owen further explains to Luke that Obi-Wan and Luke's father died around the same time. In fact, both individuals left their identities behind at the same time, as Obi-Wan assumed the role of Darth Vader, and Anakin assumed the role of Ben Kenobi.

When Ben Kenobi first shows up in Episode four, R2D2 says something to him. Ben looks at the droid, and responds, "Come here my little friend." If Ben is Anakin, this scene makes a lot of sense; R2D2 recognized the old man, and the old man recognized his old acquaintance. When one considers the events in Episode one, the ownership of R2D2 would very likely have gone to Anakin, adding to R2D2's claim that he is the property of the old hermit on Tatooine in Episode four. Kenobi's claim that he doesn't recall owning a droid could simply be to keep the ploy running. It certainly eliminates questions that Luke might otherwise ask if Ben claimed he did once own the droid.

A moment later, Ben approaches Luke, places his hand on his forehead and says to be boy, "Rest easy, son." Not "rest easy, boy," or "rest easy, young one," but he says "son" at a time where Luke is not completely conscious.

Kenobi’s place of residence was perfect; he wasn’t watching over his wartime friend’s son, but rather his own son. Naturally, he didn’t tell Luke that he was his father, because that kind of information would have thrown Luke into disarray, having lived so close to his father, yet never having met him before. And there was some truth to his claim that Vader killed Luke’s father; Anakin Skywalker was indeed dead, replaced by the persona of an old man named Ben Kenobi. For one, it was necessary to hide from Vader and the Empire, as Anakin was well known prior to the rise of the Emperor. Using his real name would have been suicide. And, since Vader was Kenobi, why would the Lord of the Sith go out and look for a guy named “Obi-Wan”? That’s the perfect guise.

Thinking things over, it makes sense for Ben to say that he hadn't heard the name "Obi-Wan" used in a long time; he last heard it used to refer to his once-master, who later became Vader. Additionally, Ben says that Obi-Wan is not yet dead, and his statement need not be taken to suggest that he is in fact Obi-Wan. Vader, of course, also still lives.

If you'll recall, Obi-Wan gives Luke a lightsaber once he meets him, and tells him that his father wanted him to have it. How unlikely, considering the amount of time Vader has been the Emperor's servant, and how he didn't know about his children. After all, if he was Obi-Wan's enemy, then why would he give a lightsaber to him and say, "Give this to my son," especially when he never even knew his wife was pregnant. It makes perfect sense, however, for Kenobi to give Luke the lightsaber with that claim, if Ben was his father. Kenobi is passing his weapon onto his son. In Episode six, the Emperor notes the construction of a new lightsaber that Luke has put together, saying that it is much like his father's. Since Luke had never seen Vader's lightsaber up close, he must have constructed his weapon off the design of his old one.

Moving forward towards the end of Episode four, Ben Kenobi and Vader face off. Contrary to popular recollection, Vader does not say, "When I left you, I was the student; now I am the Master." but rather says, "When I left you, I was the learner; now I am the master." The wording here is appropriate, for he's not talking about a Jedi student/Master relationship (note the capital 'M' in "master"), but rather effectiveness and power with the force. In fact, the Star Wars scripts capitalize "master" when referring to Jedi rank, but not otherwise. In this scene, the word "master" is not capitalized at all. Here, Vader believes that he is stronger in the force than before, when Anakin was more powerful.

Now, given all this, someone has to ask the obvious: Why would Vader make the initial claim that he is Luke’s father? Well, it certainly throws Luke off guard, and seeing that the boy is an enormous threat to him, the intent to mind-fuck the lad is an excellent maneuver. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect Luke to join your side when you’re the number two badass in the galaxy, especially when you’re the most feared mofo out there. Heck, I’d have probably given in. Note, however, that Vader only once mentions that Luke is his son when not near the boy. When Luke is flying away in the Millennium Falcon at the end of Episode five, Vader feels Luke's presence, and says, "Luke," not "son." When Luke responds with, "Father," Vader realizes that Luke can hear him, and so he acknowledges his lie, by adding, "Son, come with, me." Again, only once does Vader say that Luke is his son when not near the boy, and after rereading the script, it could easily come off as sarcasm, as he's talking the Emperor about their plans.

Additionally, the Emperor never refers to Luke as Vader's son, always saying, "young Skywalker". Yet, Savvy to Vader being Obi-Wan, the Emperor lays the smack down by continually enraging Luke whenever he mentions what became of his father. This is one of the reasons for lying to Luke; since the boy doesn't know it's not true, he gets angrier and angrier, stepping ever closer to the Dark Side. When Luke tells the Sith Master that he will not be converted like his father was, the Emperor replies, "Oh, no, my young Jedi. You will find that it is you who are mistaken... about a great many things."

So the cards are stacked, and Vader pulls out a nice hand. Why does Yoda play along? Luke’s becoming a pansy-ass, afraid of facing Vader a second time. Telling the boy that Vader was full of shit isn’t going to do much, since Luke would then realize that he’s physically weaker than the Sith Lord, as well as mentally weaker. In the confrontation needed to bring down Vader, Luke needed to feel strong, without showing dark side traits of anger, which would have been inevitable side-effects of knowing Vader lied. Since time was important here, Yoda plays along with the gag, knowing that it will bring Luke back to face Vader.

When Yoda is first considering teaching Luke, he notes to Ben that the boy is reckless. Ben agrees, but reminds Yoda that when he was younger, he too was reckless. Yet from Episode one, we know that Obi-Wan was not reckless at all, always doing everything as in the book, always telling Qui-Gon that he ought not be reckless. Anakin, however, is another story.

When you put all this together, it makes sense that Obi-Wan never tells Luke outright that Vader is his father, because Obi-Wan doesn’t want to lie to his son more than he has to. Only when Yoda lies to Luke, in order to inspire him on, does Obi-Wan give in, agreeing in order to work with Yoda, to make Luke get up and fight. Yoda doesn't even tell Luke right off the bat, hesitating to lie to the boy. Only when asked again, on his deathbed, does he decide to do what will stir the boy on: lie to him. The conflict, however, is evident. Some scheme had to take place, and at every point, something was done to keep Luke from going over the edge, or to make him stronger. Even if that meant lying to him, and even if it meant keeping the weight on Kenobi’s shoulders. The glance Ben gave Luke when he was struck down by Vader was the perfect combination of sorrow and faith; “I am your father.”

When Yoda dies, he doesn’t appear to Luke in the patented Jedi ghost method. In fact, Obi-Wan is the only one who does, and Obi-Wan wasn’t even his damned Master, aside from the brief period of time on the Millennium Falcon. Obi-Wan appears because he is concerned about his son, because he is watching from beyond to guide his child. Perhaps only family can project for long periods of time, or repeatedly, because Yoda was clearly the wiser Jedi, certainly the one with more experience and former influence, but he does not guide Luke after his death at all. And, who knows whether or not Luke finds out the truth after Episode six; Return of the Jedi only takes us so far, and since the latter books are fake Star Wars canon, it’s quite possible that the truth is unveiled to Luke later on.

A giant conspiracy, says I, concocted to fool the audience and shock them into amazement. Perhaps the only way to regain the honor that I feel Lucas lost, this theory is a plausible explanation for various events in Star Wars, and could be the stone sent a flyin’ to tell the audience that they didn’t know jack shit, and that Old Man Lucas has more tricks up his golden sleeves.

in t Nederlands

Even samengevat voor luie mensen onder ons:

Hierboven wordt een theorie beschreven waarin verteld wordt dat Darth Vader niet Anakin Skywalker maar Obi-Wan is.

De vraag is dus: Heeft George Lucas nog een leuke verrassing voor ons achter de hand in Star Wars Episode III?.....

Voor de figuren die t wel gelezen hebben (DE echte fans dus). Wat vinden jullie van deze theorie??.....

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Oud 27-11-2001, 19:03
SoulFire
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Zekr wel een coole theorie, ik reply latr wel als ik de fouten heb ontdekt
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Oud 28-11-2001, 16:47
De_Zaagmans
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had je niks te doen thijs
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Oud 29-11-2001, 09:57
JediJoel
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Zou kunnen. Ik heb nog iets moois voor je:
Darth Vader was behoorlijk oud. Toen hij zijn helm afzette in Return of the Jedi, zag je dat. Maar Ben (Obi Wan) Kenobie leek mij niet ouder dan Vader. Got 1 point!
Niet dat ik die theorie geloof, trouwens. Als hij iets achter de hand had gehad, zou hij dat wel aan de crew verteld hebben, en het zou me verbazen als iedereen zijn mond hield. Dus het zou allang op inet staan.
greetzzz
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Oud 29-11-2001, 09:58
JediJoel
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Kan iemand het laatste deel trouwens samenvatten in het Nederlands? Ik heb wat moeite met het Engels. (het eerste deel ging nog wel, maar later kreeg ik gewoon een bol hoofd van het Engels)
greetzzz
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Oud 29-11-2001, 14:45
Rollo Tomasi
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Citaat:
kHebTrekInWatLekkers schreef:
Hierboven wordt een theorie beschreven waarin verteld wordt dat Darth Vader niet Anakin Skywalker maar Obi-Wan is.

De vraag is dus: Heeft George Lucas nog een leuke verrassing voor ons achter de hand in Star Wars Episode III?.....

Voor de figuren die t wel gelezen hebben (DE echte fans dus). Wat vinden jullie van deze theorie??.....

Zou erg zijn. Maar ik ben bang dat Lucas zoiets niet bedacht heeft...
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Oud 29-11-2001, 14:46
PrimRose
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ik heb hier echt geen verstand zijn, maar goed, misschien moet ik me dan maar eens wat meer in verdiepen...

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Oud 29-11-2001, 16:52
SoulFire
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Citaat:
JediJoel schreef:
Zou kunnen. Ik heb nog iets moois voor je:
Darth Vader was behoorlijk oud. Toen hij zijn helm afzette in Return of the Jedi, zag je dat. Maar Ben (Obi Wan) Kenobie leek mij niet ouder dan Vader. Got 1 point!
Niet dat ik die theorie geloof, trouwens. Als hij iets achter de hand had gehad, zou hij dat wel aan de crew verteld hebben, en het zou me verbazen als iedereen zijn mond hield. Dus het zou allang op inet staan.
greetzzz
Ik vond obi-wan er eigenlijk wel ouder uit zien, vooral op t eind llas ze allemaal aan Luke verschijnen. Dus dan kan vader obiwan niet zijn, want die moet dan ouder zijn dan Ben...

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Oud 29-11-2001, 17:40
Sithan
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Het zwaard van Obiwan is toch anders dan die van Vader...dus daaraan zou je 'm kunnen herkennen.

[Dit bericht is aangepast door Sithan (29-11-2001).]
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Oud 30-11-2001, 09:38
JediJoel
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Citaat:
SoulFire schreef:
Citaat:
JediJoel schreef:
Zou kunnen. Ik heb nog iets moois voor je:
Darth Vader was behoorlijk oud. Toen hij zijn helm afzette in Return of the Jedi, zag je dat. Maar Ben (Obi Wan) Kenobie leek mij niet ouder dan Vader. Got 1 point!
Niet dat ik die theorie geloof, trouwens. Als hij iets achter de hand had gehad, zou hij dat wel aan de crew verteld hebben, en het zou me verbazen als iedereen zijn mond hield. Dus het zou allang op inet staan.
greetzzz
Ik vond obi-wan er eigenlijk wel ouder uit zien, vooral op t eind als ze allemaal aan Luke verschijnen. Dus dan kan vader Obi-Wan niet zijn, want die moet dan ouder zijn dan Ben...

Op het eind verschijnt Vader in zijn Anakin Skywalker-vorm. Ik denk dat hij toen hij er zo uitzag overliep naar de Duistere Kant. Maar we zullen het allemaal zien.
greetzzz
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Oud 30-11-2001, 12:01
niceman1984
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Ik geloof er geen bal van hoor zou de verhaalllijn beetje verzwakken vind ik (of ingewikkelde maken) maar dan zou het niet leuk zijn het is veel leuker idee dat Darth VAder de vader is van luke veel emotioneler enzo (maar deze topic is echt flauwekul k geloof er niks van )
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Oud 30-11-2001, 12:47
JoRTh
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Het zou echt heel veel meerwaarde geven aan het hele StarWars gebeuren....

maar ja, de kans is volgens mij vrij klein dat George Lucas dit bedacht heeft... maar ja, we zullen zien.
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Oud 30-11-2001, 12:52
JediJoel
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Citaat:
niceman1984 schreef:
Ik geloof er geen bal van hoor, het zou de verhaalllijn een beetje verzwakken vind ik (of ingewikkelder maken) maar dan zou het niet leuk zijn. Het is veel leuker idee dat Darth Vader de vader is van Luke. Veel emotioneler enzo (maar deze topic is echt flauwekul k geloof er niks van )
Idd
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