Star Wars: Parallels II

STAR WARS

Parallels

The subject last week was parallels among the first episode of each Star Wars trilogy. The gist of the goal of this series is taking George Lucas' quote from behind the scenes of the first prequel, The Phantom Menace, "It's like poetry, it rhymes," and applying it liberally to all three trilogies. This is part two about the second episode of each trilogy and please recall, some things contrast. [Legend: OT: Original Trilogy, PT: Prequel Trilogy, ST: Sequel Trilogy, ANH: A New Hope, TESB: The Empire Strikes Back, ROTJ: Return of the Jedi, TPM: The Phantom Menace, AOTC: Attack of the Clones, ROTS: Revenge of the Sith, TFA: The Force Awakens, TLJ: The Last Jedi, TROS: The Rise of Skywalker]

Position II (Episodes V, II, VIII)

Title: Episode V is subtitled The Empire Strikes Back and Episode II is subtitled Attack of the Clones. Both contain an action of war made by one of the sides of an intergalactic conflict. Act I of TESB is the Empire literally striking back, though this does not end with the Battle of Hoth, as the Galactic Civil War rages on. In contrast, it is part of the climax of Act III (and the episode) that the literal attack of the clone troopers, making up the new Grand Army of the Republic, occurs. It might sound more aggressive than it actually is, as they arrive on Geonosis to defensively attack the Separatists to save the Jedi from execution. Once again, the ST broke this naming convention with The Last Jedi. "Jedi" certainly aligns with "Empire" and "Clones", but there is no action, and it is not four words like TESB and AOTC. TFA is actually closer to TESB/AOTC in one sense by containing an action, while TLJ is closer to ANH/TPM in one sense by being somewhat ambiguous in meaning since the singular and plural forms of Jedi in English are the same. Non-English markets did confirm the "Jedi" is indeed plural, presumably referring to Luke and Rey.

Love Story (sort of): The primary advancement of the main romantic subplot of each trilogy occurs in the middle episode. The featured couple in TESB are Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo. They begin on opposite ends of the spectrum with Leia growing up as royalty before becoming an active participant in the Rebellion, while Han was a smuggler and scoundrel. Each softens a bit in character to meet in the proverbial middle and leading to the iconic confession of romantic feelings in the "I love you," "I know," exchange between them near the end of the episode. The featured couple in AOTC are Senator Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. They are equally different from each other since Padmé is a Republic Senator and Anakin a Jedi, the latter's code adding the dynamic that their love is technically forbidden. Padmé's acknowledgement of her feelings near the end of the episode as the fear of death looms makes their confession mutual. The featured couple in TLJ is Rey and Kylo Ren. Later revealed to be platonic, the parallel is yet present, as they are also separated, this time in beliefs with Rey's desire to do good and Kylo Ren embracing the Dark Side. Though physically separated as well, most of their contact occurs through a Force dyad that bridges the physical gap. Additionally in contrast to the other two, they come together in battle to defeat Supreme Leader Snoke and his Praetorian Guards, but for very different reasons and ending the episode just as separated as they began.

Dark Beginnings: If not for the final episode of the PT, the darkest chapter of each trilogy would be the second episode, though each has a light in the darkness. TESB begins with Luke Skywalker feared lost and severely injured and the Empire finding and destroying the Rebel Base and on Hoth, routing the Rebels. AOTC begins on a sad note also, with an attempt on Senator Amidala's life, killing one of her bodyguards and even causing Padmé to have doubts of her purpose. TLJ begins with the First Order threatening to wipe out the Resistance on D'Qar. While the Resistance endures, it is at a heavy loss. The hopes have been put into finding Luke and convincing him to return, but Rey soon finds out he has purposefully exiled himself on Ahch-To.

Bleak Outlooks & Bright Spots: The second act of TESB is largely Luke Skywalker training to be a Jedi with Yoda, taking big steps into a larger world, the primary bright spot of the episode. But even during that time, he has a vision of dueling Darth Vader, but when he defeats him, it is his own face behind the mask. This creates an uncertain fate for Luke, and partially what Yoda refers as his "failure in the cave" that began with entering with his weapons. Lando Calrissian betrays Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO to the Empire when they arrive on Bespin for help. In AOTC, another attempt on Padmé's life drives the mission of discovery of the underlying evil but also separating Anakin from Obi-Wan. The former leads Obi-Wan Kenobi to learn the galaxy is prepared for war. The latter, however, eventually leads to Anakin's own failure in taking large steps toward the Dark Side by murdering an entire village of Sand People in vengeance for the death of his mother. Depending on one's point of view, the bright spot could be the secret marriage of Padmé and Anakin, though that is a defiant action against the regulations of the Jedi Order and carries its own spot of darkness. In TLJ, Rey finally gets Luke to relent a bit, with some help from R2-D2, but he only agrees to give her three lessons, which somewhat parallels his own training with Yoda. She also has a dark cave experience during this time. Much of the Resistance's upper leadership is lost in a single battle, and nearly so, General Leia Organa. A slow space chase ensues as Resistance ships are low on fuel, resulting in destruction of them one by one, while Finn and Rose Tico embark on a desperate side mission to gain the upper hand enough to escape the First Order. During that mission, they are betrayed though. The bright spot comes in the form of Luke opening to the Force again and his Force projection, truly Jedi in its non-violent resistance. But it comes at great cost, his life.

Dark Endings and Imagery: TESB ends with Han Solo in stasis and in the hands of the bounty hunter Boba Fett and an unknown fate ahead, but death is probable. Luke Skywalker loses a hand in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, who then reveals that Luke is his son, a large blow to Luke's morale. With the robotic replacement, it is a callback to his vision in the cave on Dagobah. The final image is from behind C-3PO, R2-D2, Luke, and Leia, looking out in space. All the machinations throughout AOTC culminate in the Battle of Geonosis. This begins the Clone Wars and results in the death of many Jedi, and during which Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker duel with Count Dooku and Anakin loses his forearm and hand, a physical step towards his fate as Vader. The final image is from behind Anakin, Padmé, C-3PO, and R2-D2, looking out across the lake on Naboo. Near the end of TLJ, the Resistance desperately tries to hide and take a stance in an abandoned Rebel Alliance base on Crait, but the First Order attacks in a parallel to the Battle of Hoth. Prior to Luke's distraction in the form of the aforementioned Force projection, the Resistance sends out a plea for help that goes unanswered. The final image is behind a Force-sensitive boy Finn and Rose had encountered on Canto Bight, looking up at the night sky.

Next week...Star Wars: Parallels, Part III!