Question: This question is about all of the prequels. Has George Lucas and/or Hayden Christensen ever commented on the massive of amount of criticism for Hayden's performance as Anakin?
Question: Not sure if it's a mistake: When Anakin is turning to the dark side, after killing Windu, Sidious' voice changes constantly during the whole scene. What happened there?
Answer: It is one of two things, either his attack on Mace Windu reflected onto himself damaged his vocal chords as well as his body, or, as has been suggested, his deformed figure is actually his true form which he has been hiding for so long with the force, and only now does he stop hiding it as he has no more need to.
What the submission meant was did it go from normal to croaky and back again afterwards? Personally I agree. I thought the croaky voice was probably from his hidden identity, but his voice is normal again when he says "execute order 66."
Question: This might be just me, but at the beginning of the movie, Grievous seemed to especially not like Obi-wan. If so, what was his grudge against him?
Answer: By nature, Grievous hates every Jedi due to their role in defeating his people during their war with the Huk, a conflict known as the "Huk War." As far as Obi-Wan goes, Grievous and Kenobi encountered each other many times during the Clone Wars in battle and duelled each other prior to Utapau. He has a history with Obi-Wan, and also likely views Kenobi's status as "The Negotiator" with contempt.
Question: Palpatine killed Plagueis in his sleep. Is there any book/information that tells if Palpatine took precautions to avoid possibly being killed this way (by an apprentice of his own)?
Answer: In one of the books I've read, it mentions that Palpatine doesn't sleep. He meditates so he is always aware of his surroundings.
Question: When Yoda and Sidious are fighting in the Senate, is the song that is playing the Phantom Menace theme song?
Answer: Well, it's not really the "theme song" for "The Phantom Menace," but it *is* "Duel of the Fates," which is the song that plays over the duel between Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Darth Maul in Episode I.
Question: Is Anakin more powerful than Yoda, considering he did defeat count Dooku, which Yoda couldn't do.
Chosen answer: Well, we don't know whether Yoda could have defeated Dooku or not, as Dooku resorted to trickery in order to get away - by trying to drop the column onto Anakin and Obi-Wan, then escaping while Yoda's attention was diverted. As such, the battle was inconclusive, although the fact that Dooku had to cheat in order to escape does seem to indicate that he himself doubted his ability to defeat the Jedi Master. As such, we can't really determine whether Anakin or Yoda had the higher power level from their respective battles with Dooku - a more telling indicator would be that Obi-Wan, who is, at best, on level terms with Yoda and is, to be honest, probably less powerful, was ultimately able to defeat Anakin.
Question: What happens to the clone army between episodes III and IV? I assume they are not the same as the Imperial forces in the original Star Wars movies (unless they got new ships, uniforms, etc.).
Chosen answer: You assume incorrectly, I'm afraid, it's the same army. Their equipment has evolved over the twenty-year period between the films, as you would expect to happen. The main change to the ground forces is that the stormtroopers from episodes 4 to 6 are conventionally recruited troops rather than clones (which may account for their apparently decreased effectiveness) - very few, if any, of the original clone troopers would still be alive, given the levels of combat that they've seen and their accelerated aging process. The only faction where only the original clones remain is the 501st Legion, otherwise known as Vader's Fist. They were the clones who helped Anakin overthrow and destroy the Jedi Temple.
Question: Are the Clone Wars an excuse for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to justify absolute power over the Republic?
Chosen answer: Absolutely correct. Similarly, the Episode I dispute between Naboo and the Trade Federation was an excuse for Palpatine to become Supreme Chancellor. And in Episode II, the separatist movement was an excuse for him to be given emergency powers, so he and Dooku could get the Clone Wars started.
Question: I have never understood why Luke and Leia needed to be hidden with two different families. As a princess, Leia is actually in the public eye. It would have been much safer to let Owen and Beru raise her along with Luke. Why keep them apart?
Answer: The reason they are split is so if one is discovered they still have the other. Leia certainly lives a much more public life but she could easily be passed off as the daughter of Bail Organa since she takes his last name and lives as his daughter. The real question is why on earth would Obi Wan give Luke to family that Vader is aware of and let him keep the Skywalker name?
Adding to this, Tatooine wouldn't be somewhere where Vader would want to go. He doesn't have fond memories there e.g. death of his mother, slaying all those Tuscan raiders.
Also, if I remember correctly, no-one knew she was having twins. Everyone knew she was pregnant, so when Luke showed up it wasn't necessarily questioned. Leia was given to another family so no-one would put it together that she was also Vader's child and therefore hiding her from existence.
Answer: Nobody knew Luke and Leia were alive, most did not know they existed, others thought they were dead. If someone with the name of Skywalker were around, it could be anyone. Aunt Uncle, Cousin, not necessarily the Skywalker. Besides, the Empire was busy fighting and maintaining control of an entire Galaxy.
It certainly could be a popular name, but it is still tempting fate since this particular Skywalker is being raised by Anakin's step-brother. A step-brother that Anakin is not only aware of but has personally met. Also, once Vader finds out that the pilot who blew up the Death Star was named Skywalker, he knows that young man must be his son.
Answer: Obi-Wan said they needed to be taken somewhere where the Sith could not sense their presence and then Yoda said they needed to be separated, which one could assume was to increase the chance the Sith won't sense them. They also made it seem like Padme was still pregnant when she died, meaning everyone would think her child (ren) died before being born. Leia being in the public eye wasn't really a factor or concern. Bail and his wife had always talked about adopting a girl, so when they took Leia, no-one would question where she came from, especially if the Organas appeared loyal to the Emperor. In "There is Another" (from "From a Certain Point of View", considered canon), it's suggested Yoda's plan was to train Leia and not Luke. So sending Luke to live with his family would hopefully limit his development of the force, limit his involvement with the Empire, and if discovered, draw attention away from Leia.
Answer: There's never a point during their time on that planet that depicts their he ever can't. He starts out hiding in Padme's ship and waiting for the opportunity to show himself. Shortly after they fight and ends when Obi-Wan leaves Anakin for dead and leaves. There's never a point that he can't sense him.
Question: When Mace Windu deflected the sith lightning, did Palpatine fake being weak or in agony? Was it a test to see if Anakin would save him? If so, what did he mean when he shouted unlimited power?
Answer: It may not have been entirely faked, although it does seem somewhat unlikely that a Sith Lord would be affected in any serious way by his own Force lightning, but Palpatine was certainly not remotely as endangered as he made out. It does seem that it was a test, designed to finally ensnare Anakin in the Sith web, by forcing him to turn on another Jedi. His shout of 'unlimited power' seems to have been a final taunt to the suddenly helpless Mace Windu.
Question: Why couldn't Darth Tyranus sense that he was going to be betrayed by Darth Sidious?
Answer: I don't think a Force-user can specifically sense that a betrayal will happen. Maybe Dooku could sense danger, but not who would cause it or when. Also, he might have been feeling over-confident (despite his age and experience). According to one book, Palpatine/Sidious told him that they would kill Obi-wan together, then convince Anakin to join them.
Answer: It has been established that Sidious knows the Force extremely well, if not better than anyone. Perhaps he was able to shield himself using the Force in a way that prevented Dooku from sensing he was going to betray him.
But Tyranus is powerful. Even Sidious feared him when he was a Jedi.
Question: Near the end of the movie, Obi-wan does not seem at all convinced that Darth Vader has any good left in him. But in "Return of the Jedi", Vader tells Luke that Obi-wan once thought as Luke does (regarding the possibility of Vader being redeemed). What was he referring to?
Question: Here are a couple of questions: 1) Let's say Anakin let Mace Windu slay Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious. If that happened, would Anakin have been kicked off the Jedi Council because Windu told Anakin to wait at the Jedi Temple and not interfere? 2) Would Anakin have been promoted to Jedi Master if he stayed behind and let Windu kill Palpatine? You would think that because prior to that Windu tells Anakin, "you will have gained my trust."
Answer: 1) It is unlikely given the situation that had Windu killed Palpatine, Anakin would be punished at all for defying Windu. It would only have helped Windu's case that he wasn't assassinating Palpatine because Anakin was now a witness. 2) Likely he would have been promoted, the darkness that surrounded Anakin and his unusual relationship with Palpatine is all that kept him from achieving the rank.
Question: Why exactly did Anakin say to Obi-wan "I hate you!"?
Answer: In Anakin's mind Kenobi betrayed Anakin by holding him back from his potential, by helping the Jedi attempt to overthrow Palpatine, and by manipulating Padme against him. This leads to a physical fight between the two wherein Kenobi severely maims Anakin, and as far as Anakin knows at the time would likely lead to his inevitable death. By this point he truly, passionately hates Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Question: This applies to the entire prequel trilogy. Can the Jedi (especially Jedi council) be considered anti-heroes? Or no? As a bevy of "protagonists", they sure have obvious shortcomings which leads to their downfall and in the end are not heroic in much sense at all.
Answer: I would argue that the Jedi cannot be considered antiheroes. A major characteristic of antiheroes is a lack of conventional morals, and they typically act in self-serving ways. For example, many antiheroes oppose the antagonist of a story for revenge rather than for the "greater good." The Jedi are presented as highly moral and indeed quite selfless. It is true the Jedi are flawed and their flaws lead to their downfall, but merely having flaws does not make you an antihero. Their actions fighting the Clone Wars were certainly heroic, even if they ultimately lead to Palpatine gaining more power.
Answer: Not exactly. George Lucas generally chalks up all the negative reactions to the prequels to overly high expectations and his own unique writing and directing style. Christensen has only ever vaguely commented on the experience not being the best but hasn't really said anything about the criticism of his performance.
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