I was recently introduced by @clacke: inhibited exhausted pixie dream boy 🇸🇪🇭🇰💙💛 to Rod Hilton's Star Wars Machete Order which suggests the best way to watch the first couple Star Wars trilogies is in a specific order omitting Star Wars: Episode I (1999), and this quote from the blog article made me realize why I have enjoyed Episode I against a majority opinion:

Some people claim that Episode I isn’t that bad, and shouldn’t be removed (again, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s that it’s not relevant to Luke’s journey in the way that Episode II and III are)

It seems to me that I like Episode I because I absolutely loathe Luke Skywalker's character and his stupid one-dimensional journey. Every other character gets to take risky decisions (Han Solo by smuggling, Leia by resisting the Empire from a position of privilege, the droids by carrying out Leia's orders) but Luke is simply railroaded into a tool for the Rebels to defeat the Empire, including by Obi-One Kenobi and Yoda, who spring into action against galactic tyranny only when the Chosen One cross their path.

In comparison, Episode I shows there are other people in the Universe (the Gungans, Sebulba, even Jar-Jar Binks), struggling with more local problems (the Trade Federation, even if manipulated by Palpatine, the pod racing championship) and have no care for the Force or the stupid Skywalker bloodline.

And with Star Wars: Rogue One (2016), it gives some substance to a larger universe that otherwise only cares about one single family in the entire galaxy.

#Movies #StarWars