Op-Ed: How to watch the Star Wars Saga post prequels

Written by Neil S. Tuesday, 06 March 2012 07:47

So now that the Star Wars Saga is complete (stop holding your breath for VII-IX), the question has arisen as to how do you watch them. Do you pick the order Lucas wants you to see them I-VI? Do you go old school and watch them in release order? I say no to both of those options. Today I will explain the best way to watch the Star Wars Saga and that is IV-V, II-III, VI. Now bear with me for a moment and let me explain what on paper looks a little haphazard.

The issue with watching them in episode order, is that it 100% ruins the single biggest cliff hanger in movie history. By that moment in Empire, you already know who Vader is from watching Revenge of the Sith first. The problem with release order comes at the very end of Jedi. If Lucas had never added Hayden into that last shot of the three spirits then release order would have been fine. But now you have to deal with this odd ball ghost you have never seen or heard of before.

We all know that Lucas wants us to think Star Wars is about the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. To a lesser degree this is correct, but I would suggest that the core story is about Luke. Anakin is just too much of a whiny petulant brat to have the entire saga relate around him. By watching them in this new order you can effectively retain Luke's tale. At the moment that Luke is trying to understand how Vader can even be his father, we jump to a two episode flashback where we learn exactly how Anakin became Vader.

By placing the flashback here, you also have the perspective of seeing how everything came to be. It would like when you watch a show with a big opening; only to then have it say two years earlier and then spend the next hour bringing you up to speed. This also gives Jedi a bigger satisfying feeling by knowing where all the pieces came from and how they fall into place (not to mention now understanding who that third ghost is).

Now you may be asking where is Episode I? My answer is what Episode I? I am of the opinion that due to the complete un-watchability that is The Phantom Menance it no longer exists. Besides that one movie holds no information that is required to understand any other movie in the saga. The opening crawl of Episode II tells you everything you need to know. It touches on the main characters and who they are, and does not mention one single item from the previous episode.The Watto and Shimi scenes may be a tad odd without watching Episode I first, but really do those two scenes really make or break Episode II as a whole?

As an added benefit this order allows someone who has never seen Star Wars to experience it with all the cliffhangers and surprises intact. They will be able to go from the shock of the Vader reveal, to seeing exactly how Anakin fell and became Vader; then getting to see the ultimate destruction of the Empire. The next time you are watching the saga give this new order a shot. You will find that it is far more satisfying an experience; then sitting through the order Lucas wants you to be disappointed in.