7 Things That Don't Make Sense In The Prequel Trilogy

While the Star Wars prequels have aged like a fine wine and enjoyed a resurgence of late, due in no small part to the success of The Clone Wars, there are still some points of these movies that don't make much sense. A benefit of having a mystical energy field as a key element in the Star Wars universe is the ability to explain away certain flaws or inconsistencies with the Force. Many times these Force-centric explanations are found in the vast library of Expanded Universe content that is available for Star Wars fans. For our purposes, we will be primarily focusing on events taking place onscreen in the first three movies of the Skywalker saga.

Obi-Wan Aging

One of the most noticeable and criticized inconsistencies between the prequel and original trilogies is the seemingly vast difference in Obi-Wans Kenobi's age. While Alec Guinness was 62 while filming Star Wars in 1976, the makeup department worked to make him appear even older. This is difficult to match with the youthful Ewan McGregor, who was 34 when Revenge of the Sith debuted in 2005, even if the mannerisms are spot on. This has long been explained by the harsh conditions of Tatooine, with blowing sandstorms, twin suns to double UV exposure, and a life living lean and mean as a hermit in the Jundland Wastes.

Padme's Death

Plenty of jokes have been made about Padme Amidala's demise at the end of Revenge of the Sith. It is unfortunate that the best explanation we got was "she has lost the will to live," as she was an extremely prominent character in the first two movies and a key piece in Anakin's fall to the dark side. It seems difficult to believe that the same woman who led an unsanctioned assault on her own palace to save her people from the greedy Trade Federation would give up in such a way. Especially so soon after giving birth to her twin children.

Hiding in Plain Sight

One of the most important plot elements of Revenge of the Sith is the birth of Anakin and Padme's twin children. Luke and Leia go on to topple the Empire and save the galaxy. But first they must be hidden away with their adoptive families to set up the events of the original trilogy. Leia is taken in by longtime friend of her mother and fellow senator, Bail Organa, to Alderaan. Luke, however, is sent to his actual family on Darth Vader's home planet and lives under his real surname. Doesn't anyone recognize the name and remember the young podracing whippersnapper who went off to become a Jedi? Or at the very least, shouldn't the Empire's sinister intelligence agents be able to direct Vader to his son before the events of A New Hope?

Force Speed

The Force is what gives a Jedi their power, and there are a great variety of abilities that go along with it. Telekinesis (the ability to push, pull, or levitate things) being the obvious one, as well as being able to influence the weak-minded via mind tricks. One of the most underutilized abilities, however, is the ability to run at super speeds that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan employ to escape the droidekas onboard the Trade Federation command ship. When cornered while trying to breech the bridge and capture the Viceroy, the two Jedi dash out of the line of fire and are seen flying down a hallway to safety, with the destroyer droids in hopeless pursuit. This ability doesn't come up again until Luke launches himself out of the carbon freezing chamber in The Empire Strikes Back. Was there really no time in the Clone Wars that Force speed would have been beneficial to the Jedi? It seems like an odd choice to include it in the first 30 minutes of the Saga and then never mention or see it again.

Yoda's Exile

Yoda living as a reclusive old monk and hidden master of the Force on Dagobah is one of the best parts of The Empire Strikes Back. The foggy, mysterious world teeming with life is the perfect place for an exiled warrior to train the galaxy's next hero. However, his reasons for being there are somewhat feeble. After being defeated by Darth Sidious in their duel in the Senate chambers, Yoda decides he must go into exile. Apparently, he doesn't believe in second tries, or tactical retreats and regrouping. Why didn't he and Kenobi give assassinating the evil Emperor another try?

Psychic Padme

This is more of a continuity problem than an issue with lore or something in-universe not making sense. While pursuing Count Dooku during the First Battle of Geonosis, the gunship that Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme are aboard begins taking fire. As the ship struggles to maintain the pursuit while avoiding the Geonosian fighters, they clip a sand dune, and Padme and a clone trooper are knocked from the ship into the sand below. As the senator regains consciousness, the trooper suggests they return to the forward operating center. Padme disagrees and orders the clone to muster what troops he can so they can reach the hanger and assist Anakin and Kenobi. However, as Padme was knocked from the gunship before reaching their destination, how did she know they were headed for a hanger? This may be the most nitpicky item on the list, but it is a noticeable mistake in the most flawed of the prequel movies.

Midichlorians

This may be the most unnecessary addition to the Star Wars universe since "Jedi Rocks." Somewhat retconning Old Ben Kenobi's statement about the Force being "an energy field that connects all living things," Lucas decided to throw the audience a curve ball. Surprise, the Force involves microscopic bugs in your blood. Lucas wanted to solidify Star Wars in the realm of science fiction, and one of the main things standing in its way is the Force. With no scientific explanation, the Jedi are relegated to the genre of space fantasy. So to "correct" this, we have a throwaway line in an otherwise good movie that serves no real purpose other than to give Anakin a Dragon Ball Z power level of "over 20,000."

Written By Weston Erickson

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