[...]quick outline of what would have happened in your idealised version of the PT?
[...]
Okay. Yes it's got problems and plot holes, and yes it's a wall of text. But these are the sketchy, bare bones of a Prequel Trilogy, each film in 3 acts.
- The Jedi are less an administrative body and more a way of life.
- Obi Wan, Qui Gonn and Anakin are all several years older when this starts.
- Yoda is still basically a crazy old hermit.
- Palpatine is a bit more like Frank Underwood in House of Cards, the Chancellor is more like the scared old Emperor in the ANH novelization.
- Palps has orchestrated most of this, and is very good at going with the flow.
- At the close of his plan he no longer needs Dooku and engineers victory over the Separatists to wrap things up.
- He uses the trauma of war and fear of losing Padme to manipulate Anakin, who growing up homeless without a family, was always going to be vulnerable and angry.
Phantom Menace:
Act 1:
Decades of galactic unrest caused by disputes over territory, resources, and skirmishes between systems has flared up into war. Separatists cite corruption, decadence and incompetent rule in the aging Republic, which tries to maintain control. Senator Palpatine is whispering advice to the aging and fearful Chancellor while moving skillfully within the Senate itself.
The Jedi are a sect of warrior monks scattered throughout the galaxy. They don't have the numbers to prevent war, and most of them retreat to neutral areas due to the confusing nature of this conflict. They defend against despots, murderous pirates and warlords, they don't wage politically motivated war on dissidents. The enigmatic Master Yoda has no cure for worldly greed and corruption, but warns the other Jedi that there is a dark undercurrent fomenting this unrest.
Act 2:
A notable few Jedi find themselves involved in spite of their official neutrality, attempting to protect civilians and aid humanitarian efforts. A resource rich planet in the Outer Rim territories comes under Separatist attack. Backed by the technocratic Trade Federation their ground troops are the feared and hated IG series battle droids. Brutally efficient, merciless and numerically superior to make up for their lack of imagination and lateral thinking, they begin to exterminate the populace. Obi Wan and his old mentor Qui Gonn find themselves on the losing side of this invasion and prepare to die defending the civilians they sought to protect.
Act 3:
Help arrives in the unlikely form of a fleet led by local pirates backed by Outer Rim gangsters that hold off the droid army long enough for Republic forces to arrive. There's an almost preternaturally gifted young pilot in the freebooter fleet. His name is Anakin and he grew up on the streets of a backwater asteroid settlement in the Ring of Kafrene before falling in with pirates and smugglers. He doesn't know who his parents were and goes by the nickname 'Skywalker' because he makes flying look easy.
It seems time for an uneasy alliance between disdainful Republic forces and the dubious Pirate Fleet, but negotiations are interrupted by a shadowy assassin -- a Zabrak with a double-bladed, crimson lightsaber who cuts down the Republic general and his aides before turning his attention to the Jedi. Qui Gonn is killed -- in shock and horror Obi Wan nearly suffers the same fate were it not for Anakin risking his life to save him. They succeed in driving the assailant off, later concluding that his real target was the Republic leadership and he must be Separatist, and shockingly --
Sith. Meanwhile, the Separatists are re-grouping.
In a climactic orbital battle the combined forces of the Pirate Fleet and the Republic evict the Separatists and free the planet. Obi Wan looks at Anakin and says "There's someone you have to meet".
Attack of the Clones:
Act 1
As the Separatists gain the upper hand, Senator Palpatine reveals a large army of clone soldiers prepared in the previous decade on the remote world of Kamino. This forbidden technology is in direct contravention of several Republic statutes which the desperate Chancellor abrogates out fear of losing the war. As for the vast cost of such a force, the corrupt Senator Palpatine used threats, influence and
fear of impending war to funnel funds out of Republic coffers and cut illegal deals with the Cloners of Kamino in years previous. He's been very busy in the Senate.
As a result the Republic loses its moral high ground even as they gain military advantage over the Separatists. The Senate erupts into chaos and in-fighting while the war draws in system after system. Most of the Jedi find they can no longer act neutral lest more innocents die, but they're now hopelessly entangled in a war they wanted no part of.
Act 2
Obi Wan has been teaching Anakin the ways of the Force in spite of Master Yoda's admonition that there was too much anger in the young pilot. They find themselves at the heart of the conflict as personal escorts to the Chancellor himself. Anakin is in awe of Coruscant's glittering promise and falls in love with the firebrand Senator Amidala, which soon interferes with his training, particularly the lessons about detachment and sacrifice for the greater good. Not all of the Separatist forces are droids, and Anakin tends to fight the living with the same fury and lack of compassion the Jedi normally reserve for droids. This does not bode well.
Act 3
The shadowy assassin -- Darth Maul -- strikes again. This time he uses the cover of a daring attack on Coruscant itself to fight his way through to the Chancellor and succeeds in killing him. Obi Wan reaches him too late, and they engage in a brutal duel in the palatial Galactic Senate building as a battle rages above Coruscant and in the streets nearby.
(Notably, they got through thanks to highly placed droids having been hacked into and corrupted to enable a security breach).
Anakin makes a fateful choice and abandons Obi Wan to spirit Padme Amidala away from the fighting, turning his back on his obligations as a soldier and a Jedi in order to protect the woman he loves. Many die due to his dereliction of duty.
Obi Wan is badly wounded but succeeds in defeating Maul. The Separatist attack abruptly ends as their remaining forces retreat from Coruscant.
He later berates Anakin for making the emotional choice. Anakin retorts that Padme is "all he's ever had" and vows revenge for the day's losses. Obi Wan reminds him vengeance is not the Jedi way.
"Maybe it should be."
"You don't mean that!"
"Look around you, the world is on fire. Jedi idealism isn't going to stop any of this. And besides...look to your own hands before lecturing me, *General* Kenobi."
As Anakin turns and storms off, Obi Wan looks down at his hands, covered in the blood of the slain.
In the chaotic aftermath of the attack, Palpatine is elected Chancellor and granted emergency powers, to the fear and consternation of Senator Amidala.
Rise of the Sith
Act 1:
War has consumed every system in the galaxy. The Republic is now under 'temporary' martial law for the 'safety of its citizens'. Anakin is now a member of Palpatine's elite special forces while Obi Wan has just left Coruscant with an expeditionary force to track down former Jedi Count Dooku, who now openly leads Separatist forces, committing war crimes and sowing violence at will. Surely this was the Dark Side that Master Yoda sensed at the beginning of the conflict...but with Maul dead there is only Dooku to contend with.
Padme is pregnant. Years of war have hardened Anakin and made him cruel, he struggles with rage and PTSD, putting a strain on their relationship. At this point he's Obi Wan's student in name only and Padme says as much, enraging him further. The Jedi have abandoned their ideals to fight alongside Clone armies hoping to end the destructive conflict decisively in hopes of preventing a decade or more of bloodshed and tragedy.
Palpatine encourages what he calls Anakin's 'bravery' and 'pragmatism' in 'doing what needs to be done'. He slowly convinces him that his outsider status allows him to see clearly, unlike the Jedi. Anakin at this point has learned to master the Force at a prodigal rate, but darkness swirls around him. He's a merciless combatant and brutal interrogator. Sensing this, Master Yoda implores Obi Wan to try and reach his friend and bring him back from the brink.
Before Obi Wan can confront his friend and former proteg?, the Separatists make what at first seems to be a fatal mistake, concentrating their forces and key leadership in a vulnerable system; but they're using civilians as human shields. The Republic halts their attack and leaves Obi Wan and his recon unit pinned down.
Dooku's personal fleet regroups for repair and re-supply, protected by the nearby Separatist armada. When a massive Republic attack falls on them, Dooku's support withdraws. Dooku is betrayed!
He's killed by Anakin himself when his command ship is boarded by elite Republic troops in the battle. Mad with bloodlust, Anakin slaughters the crew and directs the troopers under his command to wipe everyone out and take no prisoners.
Act 2:
Anakin feels powerless to do good, no amount of killing he's done has ended the war or ensured the safety of his wife and unborn child. Palpatine stokes his fear and rage, pointing out that the Jedi are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. Surely the logical extension of this philosophical detachment would be to end the Separatist threat once and for all, human shields or not. Some innocents would die but their sacrifice would save far more lives in the years to come. Anakin agonizes over this choice while plagued constantly by nightmares of Padme's death, still holding on to an idea of what their relationship was before the war estranged them. Surely the war will end and things will go back to the way they were, and he can make her understand he did it all to protect her.
Succumbing to fear, he agrees to join an assault on the Separatists that will result in mass civilian casualties. He has given in to fear and anger, and succumbed to Palpatine's 'pragmatic' doctrine. Padme notes that it makes no sense that the Separatist armada would fall back and allow so many of their allied ships to be destroyed just to betray Dooku, it seems too costly. Anakin brushes this off and points out they're acting overconfident and bloodthirsty, because they think the Republic is weak. It was an overconfident power play that the Republic can exploit. Padme discovers the human shields and challenges him. Anakin flies into a dark rage and starts to force choke her. He stops short and flees to do battle. Padme stares after him in horror and collapses in grief.
Before he leaves, he feels great guilt and vows to make it right. He asks two Jedi he trusts to watch over her and keep her safe.
Act 3:
Thanks to the fog of war and his control over information, most of the Republic is unaware of what's transpiring. Chancellor Palpatine executes Order 66 and the Clones turn on the Jedi to wipe them out. Still trapped with his recon force, Obi Wan barely escapes with his life and finds himself in the city when the Republic attack starts. The bombardment is unprecedented.
Obi Wan begs Anakin to cease and desist, desperately calling on Republic forces to stop what they're doing but it's too late. In the middle of a bombed out city, with orbital combat overhead, Obi Wan wanders in despair, helping survivors wherever he can and defending them against stray Separatist units.
It's at this point a broadcast goes out to the galaxy. The Chancellor points out that the Separatist threat has been crushed but that years of war have left the galaxy in disarray and the Republic vulnerable to threats both external and internal -- such as the Jedi who tried to betray them. In order to restore order and peace to rebuild, he declares himself Emperor and sweeps aside the "corrupt and spent husk" of the old Republic. Long live the Empire.
At this point anyone in the Senate who resists is purged with greater ease than the Jedi were. Padme has given birth in the interim and manages to get her twin babies offworld. Her remaining loyal servants, the 2 Jedi bodyguards and herself are brutally killed by a Clone Death Squad carrying out the purge ordered by the Emperor.
Back on the last battlefield of the Clone Wars, Obi Wan is in shock from the message. Emperor Palpatine transmits a message to Anakin to eliminate the last of the Jedi wherever he finds them. Momentarily in disbelief himself, he's incited to blind grief and rage when the Emperor tells him Padme was killed in the Jedi uprising.
Anakin reaches the planet's surface and cuts down the last of the Separatist leadership as they try to surrender, and eventually comes upon Obi Wan over a bombed out geothermal plant.
Horrified at what he's become, Obi Wan turns off his lightsaber and casts it aside, begging with him to listen to reason, that something is horribly wrong, that Palpatine is a liar.
He ignites his lightsaber and lunges as Obi Wan retrieves his and their duel begins.
The fight is very, very fast, like a Kendo match at full-speed. Fast, precise strikes and counters meant to kill, with no flourishes or pauses. It quickly winds up far above a pit of molten rock used by the power plant.
The violence of Anakin's attack increases but at this moment, overcome with grief, Obi Wan connects peacefully to the Force and succeeds in turning Anakin's energy against him, evading his blows, grievously wounding him and seeing him plummet to what Obi Wan thinks is his doom.
Grieving, Obi Wan goes in search of Master Yoda.
Sensing what's happened, the Emperor speeds to the planet and retrieves Anakin's broken body, determined to use Dark Science and the Power of the Dark Side to bring him back from the brink.
As he works, the purge continues and the former Republic falls into line.
(We all know how it ends.)
