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So the REAL leading character of SW is Palpatine?


Slowpokeking

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He is not exactly the leading character.

Certainly he is the main antagonist, being -by far- the most dangerous incarnation of (the) evil, namely the strongest wielder of the Dark Side of the Force (who incorporates the Dark Powers of Darth Sidious and Darth Plagueis, essentially "all the Sith") during that era.

 

This kind of antagonist is absolutely necessary in any ambitious ("George Star Wars Lucas") Mythology about evil and good, about the inner forces of destruction and non-existence and the inner forces of creation, life and love.

Hence he is one necessary part of the leading plot, the one side of the coin, namely this SW coin...

Of course, this very antagonist is a great antagonist indeed!!

 

P.S.: as an example, there

the main antagonist is the inherent, multiple weakness of every human being and the statistical fate of the human race, thus "the great and wise Spirit" and its followers. The "auxiliary" character of one of its followers, given so brilliantly, so unbelievably well by John Gielgud is absolutely necessary: only through his speech the "Great Tempting Spirit" is able to make its point...

The necessity of that antagonist is indisputable in any Mythology of that kind but, admirably, not in "Homer's world".

Edited by cunctatorg
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There is an obvious and simple equation here:

the stronger, more full of surprises, more threatening and more convincing the antagonist,

more of suspense, thrilling, awe, inspiration, satisfaction and fun and

more the greatness, the influence and the glory of the protagonist and

the whole movie.

 

That doesn't make the antagonist the leading character: both of them are the two sides of the same coin, the movie.

 

 

 

P.S.: well, it's pretty obvious that this very movie has inspired me a lot!! I have written more than ten posts in, nearly, one week, :rak_angelic: "Dostoevsky and co". :rak_evil: aside!!

Edited by cunctatorg
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There is an obvious and simple equation here:

the stronger, more full of surprises, more threatening and more convincing the antagonist,

more of suspense, thrilling, awe, inspiration, satisfaction and fun and

more the greatness, the influence and the glory of the protagonist and

the whole movie.

 

That doesn't make the antagonist the leading character: both of them are the two sides of the same coin, the movie.

 

 

 

P.S.: well, it's pretty obvious that this very movie inspired me a lot!! I have written more than ten posts in, nearly, one week, :rak_angelic: "Dostoevsky and co". :rak_evil: aside!!

 

I'm pretty sure the original post was sarcasm. This is where that little emoji comes into play. ;)

Hard to decipher one's thoughts through words without those little things.

Edited by Pirana
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Not the lead, but he is common foe of the leads.

 

He doesn't even appear in 3 of 9 or 10 of the movies and is only a core character in 5 out of 9/10 movies.

 

The lead is the person who the story is most centered on, that is clearly Anakin Skywalker, even if he is dead before the last three, if we have to pick one character.

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Not the lead, but he is common foe of the leads.

 

He doesn't even appear in 3 of 9 or 10 of the movies and is only a core character in 5 out of 9/10 movies.

 

The lead is the person who the story is most centered on, that is clearly Anakin Skywalker, even if he is dead before the last three, if we have to pick one character.

 

He doesn't appear in Episodes IV of 1977, VII of 2015 and VIII of 2017; however he is mentioned twice in Episode IV, regarding his devastating influence on Galactic politics and the past conversion of Obi-Wan Kenobi's "padawan" to the Dark Side, that "padawan" who has become Darth Vader and had destroyed the whole Jedi Order...

 

He is essentially one core character in Episode I of course, Episode II and -somehow- in Episode V: his first presence is extremely short but extremely influential also (Darth Vader bows before his hologram etc.) but

his presence becomes really heavy only in Episodes III (his triumph), VI (his first fall and destruction) and IX:

namely all three Episodes that conclude all Trilogies!!

Some antagonist!!...

 

 

After his first destruction his resurrection is not stable enough;

he is extremely powerful, dangerous and influential of course,

however his "zombious" state of existence is so degenerated (and, most probably, doomed) that he, himself realizes that his best choice is to be ... assassinated by his grand-daughter, the next Sith Empress in order to safeguard that his spiritual existence will live on through her...

 

Therefore Anakin Skywalker did a fine job, an unfinished of course... It's unavoidable, even the Chosen One isn't able to refute the Dark Side of the Force altogether...

 

I am sure that, after his second and eventual destruction, his hateful -and agonizing- spirit will be lurking into some datacrons or dark places, utterly hating everything (including himself - like Adolf Hitler) and, therefore, plotting the absolute universal destruction, essentially his ... relief through his influence on powerful and determined Force Sensitives -or even Force Users- etc. who are either too ambitious or just too dark, aggressive and hateful...

 

 

 

 

P.S.: thus it could be an interesting idea to watch (after ten-twelve years?) "one" new Trilogy where Rey is trying, in fact is struggling to establish -and comparatively enhance and "secure" somehow- the New Jedi Order, having also serious troubles with some New Republic "big shots" which either (for various reasons) dislike her independence and integrity or (much worst) have serious concerns regarding the eventual ... fruits of Rey's teachings, namely the rise of another Darth Vader or Kylo Ren beyond her control. These factions of Republic "big shots", i.e. the "bad" capitalists (!) could form a secret alliance, so to speak, with some natural allies of them, namely the Hutts and some Galaxy-spanning criminal organizations in order to get rid of the Force Users and their ... dangerous legacy.

Palpatine's spirit is in need to get rid of everything, including (unconsciously ... or not?) its very existence...

Here the most important issue is Rey's interaction with the spirits of various Jedi of the Past (and some Padawans of her) about the "healthy" and reliable foundations of any Jedi Order, the meaning and measure of the Order's reliability, the destination of the Force etc. Also the scope, the timing and range of the Order's activities and concerns!!... What about Hutts' slavery operations and underworld's spice running? What about the future of failed Padawan and the uses of other Force sensitives? What about the fate of "fallen" Padawan?!? What about some industrial projects regarding artificial intelligence, cloning, clone armies, droid armies and the like? If you'd like to delve further into politics, what's about the dealing with unreliable, unpredictable (or even hostile) worlds?!? In short what about the Republic and the Jedi Order?!? That's one issue I personally consider most interesting... However Rey isn't just Rey; a part of her is her dual in the Force, namely Ben Solo!... She is always able to consult him, not to mention the (eventual and ... much desired) possibility of some ... baby!! By the way Rey should be able to interact with the spirits of some Sith of the past!!... Balance, reliability and liberation from strong prejudices and unnecessary fear and hatred are essential, after all her choice was a balanced, yellow, lightsaber! Anakin Skywalker's spirit is a particular, very special case of course... Will Rey be able to ever interact with the spirit of her grand-father? Surely she doesn't hate him, she also doesn't feel at all sorry for him, he had "freely" made his choices; Palpatine's spirit, essentially crazed from hatred but utterly unable either to directly harm her or to change her mind, should suffer from this interaction like some psychotic (or seriously disordered) terminally-mad patients would suffer from the interaction with a really great psychiatrist-psychoanalyst; Palpatine should be considered even worst than Adolf Hitler... At his best Palpatine's spirit should act like the representative of the Devil could interact with the representative of the God ... but, deeply, his case must be considered even worse; his case isn't just about the interaction of the Dark Side of the Force with the Light Side, it's isn't about Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor, this should be the case of the spirits of other Sith who tend to consider the Force as a coin with two sides. At my perception at least, Palpatine's spirit should be dreaming about the extinction of both Sides of the Force and every existence...

Of course Rey's efforts should have many advocates -and even serious supporters- among other Republic "big shots" (the "good" capitalists!) and Republic officers. A few of them should be extremely frustrated and alerted from this situation, not just Finn, Po, Lando's followers and Maz Kanata... These guys will take various measures and counter-measures, some unfortunate and some really beneficial, some direct and some well-hidden and "long-termed". The smarter, in fact the wiser, of them should realize that the Force is a fundamental aspect of the SW Galaxy, thus there is always the possibility of the emergence of some Force Users which follow the path of the Dark Side; therefore Rey's effort should be welcomed, it is (despite the inherent -but acceptable- dangers) the main guarantee against such a serious, possible threat.

There will be also another faction (of considerable magnitude) in that New Republic, an essentially neutral one, most probably the majority of businessmen, Senators, officials and officers; their point would be that the (active and serious) support of the one or the other faction would result in a state of -utterly unwanted- fundamental conflict and, perhaps, civil war...

The interaction of these three factions could also influence the New Republic Secret Agencies and even its Military, not to mention neutral worlds etc.

The remnants of the First Order must not be very dangerous 'cause they should be in disarray and internal conflicts also, however they should have some power and some influence on some worlds etc, they should be able to deliver a blow to Rey's supporters, to support her enemies, to threaten some worlds etc. Some of them would dream about a ... reliable (!?!...) amnesty from the Republic, why to be hunted until their death?

The remnants of the Final Order should include, say..., two or three (separate?) Super-Destroyers, hidden (or fleeing) in order to avoid the intervention of the Republic military and, thus, their eventual extermination; why to sacrifice themselves for a lost cause?!? Among their leaders some could admire Rey's achievements, particularly her victory over her all-powerful ancestor!!... However the search for them should be ... universal and intense; the dealing with them is obviously a critical issue for all parties...

In the meantime, elsewhere, something terrible -and this is the seed of the main antagonists- should secretly happen; not just some Dark Force Users and even an attempt (with the help of the spirits of some Sith of the Past) to create a new Sith Order but, beneath that, something much more horrible, related to the aforementioned wishes and schemes of Palpatine's spirit... This must be kept secret even from -almost every- Sith under his influence...

Well, I'd really be interested about -and like- this general framework! However ...

... it isn't mostly either for children OR naive adults, therefore the achievement of balance between fun, adventure and ... seriousness (politically, philosophically, in terms of wars etc.) is a pretty hard and demanding business...

Perhaps it should be aborted asap!!...

 

Edited by cunctatorg
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