Retrospective: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Patreon)

So, what I said was true from a certain point of view.

That point of view probably came from the sheltered kid who fell in love with Star Wars when she was 9 but was forbidden by her mother from watching PG-13 movies until she turned 13 and was ultimately disappointed by Revenge of the Sith after four years of anticipation. I still think it's the weakest of the prequels - Padmé's treatment is as bad as anything in The Rise of Skywalker (Lucas cannot be forgiven for cutting the scenes where Padmé establishes the Rebellion). The devolution into rote fanservice at the end sucks. And Lucas' ear for dialogue and knack for coherent plotting both continue not to be.

Still, if those last two things bother you, you probably shouldn't watch Star Wars. And there's plenty to enjoy in Revenge of the Sith, even aside from the fact Rogue One and Andor resulted from this movie. "So this is how liberty dies" still resonates, as does Lucas' exploration of a democracy's transformation into fascism. The Order 66 scene is genuinely affecting. And the opening stuff on the Invisible Hand is loads of fun.

What struck me this time around was Lucas' fairly smart characterization of Anakin. We already know Anakin has deep attachment issues stemming from everything that's ever happened to him (I've been abused by enough people with BPD to diagnose Anakin with it). In Revenge of the Sith, his attachments have evolved to show some real loyalty to the people around him. And Palpatine exploits that, using his fear of being used and cut off from everyone around him to cut him off from everyone around him. It's a surprisingly powerful depiction grooming, one that hit home for me.

The Jedi don't answer Anakin's greatest concerns. Yoda straight up tells him not to miss his loved ones when they die. Only Palpatine offers him answers — not unlike a cult leader, or your boyfriend who has BPD. And Palpatine (for the most part) is the only person in the first half of the movie who doesn't try to pressure Anakin into betraying the trust of people he's loyal to. Even aside from Palpatine's ability to give Anakin the answers he needs, Anakin's breaking point is being asked to be complicit in Mace Windu murdering Palpatine. His loyalty destroys him. When Anakin awakens as Darth Vader to be told he's killed the person he loved most, there's nothing left for him — the loyalties he turned his life upside down to honor have proved meaningless.