Star Wars Rewrite

[Darth Geoff]

Yeah, it's been a while, but since they aren't pulling down this free board, I'm going to use it to jot down thoughts when they occur.

This week I've been thinking a bit about how I would have liked Anakin's relationship with the Jedi order to have been. Here's what my current idea is:

When Anakin is found on Tatooine, he's a slave, but he's kind of a ring leader of a group of bullies. He doesn't care that he's the leader, but he's extremely "lucky" in fights and races, things like that, so all the others defer to him.

He sees the visiting Jedi as a symbol of freedom and power. When he learns he has the ability to use the force, he becomes determined to become a Jedi, even when he learns about their pledge of service.

Of course the Jedi council declines to train him because of his age (mid-teens), but he is still allowed to travel with Obi-Wan, and his rogue piloting plays a pivotal role in the Battle of Naboo.

In the second movie, the battle against the clones has really heated up, and Anakin has become Obi-Wan's unofficial partner. Even though Obi-Wan doesn't train him, Anakin learns from Obi-Wan by watching and using his instincts. He even embraces the meditation and other calming, peaceful practices. On the other hand, Palpatine is beginning to spin his web, enticing Anakin to study other sources of knowledge about the Force. Palpatine reveals his ability to Anakin, and explains that he also discovered his talent too late in life to join the Jedi Order, but that he has some powerful sources of his own.

Meanwhile, the Jedi have taken heavy losses at the hands of the Mandelorians, despite giving as good as they get. The Jedi council reluctantly begins to reduce standards, and Anakin is at the top of the new list of recruits.

Anakin shines during the short training period overseen by Mace Windu. Yoda strongly disapproves of the focus on battle training, but the pressures of war give the Jedi no choice, and the new recruits soon are out in the thick of battle.

The third movie begins with Anakin straining against the limitations of the Jedi Order. Battle calls for creativity and flexibility, and Anakin's street fighting instincts push him past the bounds of approved Jedi behavior. The other new recruits are following Anakin's lead, and the Jedi Council seems to be unable to control them.

Finally, after Palpatine has enacted the last of the needed war powers legislation, the clones and Mandalorians are finally defeated when Anakin leads the attack on the last and largest of the cloning facilities. Palpatine declares victory, and converts the Republic to an Empire to ensure such devastating strife does not return.

For their part, the Jedi Council begins discussions about decomissioning the group of Jedi that joined when the standards were lowered. Anakin hears about it, and that's the last straw that pushes him over to Palpatine completely, using his twisted logic to begin the destruction of the Jedi Order.

Palpatine uses the robot army (what's left of it) to surprise Jedi nearby, since they can't sense the robots' murderous intentions. Anakin is in charge of clearing the temple itself. There are no scenes involving the slaughter of children. That was way too over the top.
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I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants.