The Opportunity to Refrain
Now that the last installment of the Star Wars prequels is in the theaters, I’d like to comment on a missed opportunity. Something that was promised in the Empire Strikes Back but never delivered. If you compare Yoda to Gandalf, you might know where I’m going with this.
There’s a scene in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, where Gandalf and Pippin discuss death, with Sauron’s army on the other side of the gate about to break it down and destroy everything. In my opinion, it’s the defining moment of the trilogy:
“I didn’t think it would end this way.”
“End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back and all change to silver glass….and then you see it.”
“What, Gandalf? See what?”
“White shores and beyond. The far green country under a swift sunrise.”
“Well, that isn’t so bad.”
“No, no it isn’t.”
This scene transcended the swordfights, the flawless CGI, even the dozens of amazing other moments. This scene stopped time, made your eyes open just a bit wider, gave you goosebumps, held your breath so that you would not miss a syllable of it.
This scene transcended the victories, the strife, even the outcome of the movie itself. This scene assured us that everything will be all right at a time when the movie was far from over and the conflicts were far from being resolved. It’s the greatest armor one can have. The scene made the viewer, as well as every noble character in the movie, invincible.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda had a similar scene:
“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.”
Do you remember the music during this scene?
What an amazing hint that the Force is the strongest element in the universe. That to be “one with the Force” is to literally be invincible, while caring nothing about invincibility.
In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, although it was neat to see Yoda with a lightsaber, I think a wonderful opportunity was missed. The opportunity to refrain. First of all, just as Yoda never brandished a lightsaber in Empire, Yoda should not have needed a lightsaber in any of the movies. As elegant as it is, it is still a weapon. And doesn’t a lightsaber fall into the same category as “crude matter”?
On a similar note, didn’t those of you who saw Gandalf fighting the Uruk-hai with his staff and sword think that he was beyond that sort of thing? That Gandalf should only use his sword to tackle the really impossible stuff, like fighting the Balrog?
The filmmakers should have made Yoda do the same, avoided obligatory swordfights and trivial decapitations. Yoda’s presence should have been used to help narrate and sculpt the story. Yoda, in these prequels, should have been what Obi-Wan was in the original trilogy: the guiding voice, the overseer, the “one who assures us that everything’s in control, that everything will be all right.” Yoda should have, as Obi-Wan did in the original Star Wars, refrained, retreated, and in the process, become stronger.
Imagine if, instead of somersaulting and lightsabering across the Senate chambers while trying to fend off Palpatine, Yoda’s voice was heard lamenting the Jedi being slaughtered across the galaxy. Yoda’s pained voice as Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on the volcanic world Mustafar. Yoda’s voice as Anakin descends and is consumed by the dark side, consumed by the lava and fire. Yoda’s voice echoing Obi-Wan’s regret, “You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. It was you who would bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!” And near the end of the movie, after all is said and done, Yoda’s voice providing reassurance and hope. Imagine if.
Maybe someday, someone will rewrite and reshoot these prequel Star Wars movies, just as Peter Jackson remade the Lord of the Rings decades after Ralph Bakshi tried to condense it into a cartoon. Maybe years from now, special effects will be so accessibly mundane that the telling of the story will take precedence again. Maybe Yoda won’t have a lightsaber this time. Maybe Yoda won’t need it.