Star Wars episode 3: Revenge of the Foreshadowing

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis "the wise"?  I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you.

The setup for Anakin's downfall has been set up since the first movie but now the final piece of the puzzle has been put into place when Palpatine reveals the dark side can offer the one thing Anakin wants more than anything in the world- the ability to save Padme from dying.

Welcome back to my series about literary devices! Today we'll be talking about foreshadowing using Anakin's fall to the dark side across the prequel movies as an example. But first, what is foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing are the little hints dropped throughout a story that something is going to happen. It could be good, it could be bad. The point of foreshadowing is not to surprise your readers- just the opposite, in fact. A plot twist shouldn't come out of left field, it should catch the corner of their eye so by they turn and realize there's something there it's too late and they've already been hit in the head. If you're foreshadowing something bad, it can be even more fun to drop hints of foreshadowing. That's what can make a tragedy amazing! Reading a tragedy with great foreshadowing (like Star Wars) can keep your readers rooted in place, hoping the characters will be able to cheat the outcome the reader knows is inevitable.

So let's dig into Star Wars. We know from the original trilogy that Darth Vader is Anakin, but for moviegoers in 1999 waiting in line for the Phantom Menace, that's about all the information we have. When baby Anakin, only nine years old and a bowl cut, shows up on screen it seems unfathomable this little kid can turn into the scarred, powerful, half-robot dictator we know from the original trilogy. But we know he's going to, it's inevitable. And that's when the foreshadowing kicks in.

EPISODE 1- fear

Foreshadowing: Anakin is the only human with the ability to podrace

Outcome: Anakin is strong with the Force, which gives him the ability to later become an incredible pilot and Jedi fighter

Foreshadowing: Anakin is suspected to be the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force

Outcome: Anakin/Vader wipes out nearly all the Jedi, leaving two Sith (Palpatine and himself) and two Jedi (Obi-Wan and Yoda) by the end of the prequel trilogy. 

Foreshadowing: Anakin is separated from his mother and fears losing her. He is told "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Outcome: Anakin's fear of losing Padme eventually leads to his turning to the dark side

Foreshadowing: Palpatine expresses interest in Anakin, particularly because of his strong skills in the Force

Outcome: Palpatine grooms Anakin as his apprentice and manipulates him into turning to the dark side

EPISODE 2- anger

Foreshadowing: Anakin has prophetic dreams of his mother in pain and is unable to prevent her death

Outcome: Anakin has prophetic dreams of Padme dying in childbirth and searches for a way to save her

Foreshadowing: Anakin kills the Tusken Raiders out of anger to avenge his mother

Outcome: Anakin gives into his anger easily, choosing to kill the Jedi as part of his allegiance to the dark side

Foreshadowing: When Anakin and Padme talk about politics, Anakin suggests that someone should make decisions on behalf of everyone. Padme calls this a dictatorship

Outcome: Anakin, as Darth Vader, supports the dictatorship of Emperor Palpatine

Foreshadowing: Anakin's arm is cut off and replaced with a metal limb

Outcome: Darth Vader's limbs are mostly mechanical and he can't survive without the suit, becoming more "machine than man"

Foreshadowing: Padme wears a black choker dress and tells Anakin they can't be together

Outcome: Anakin turns to the dark side and force-chokes her, which leads to her death

Foreshadowing: Padme tells Anakin a secret relationship between them would be living a lie, Anakin agrees it would destroy them

Outcome: As a result of their relationship, Padme dies and Anakin becomes Darth Vader

EPISODE 3- hate

Foreshadowing: Anakin kills Count Dooku, despite admitting he knows it's not the Jedi way. Palpatine commends him, telling him Dooku was too dangerous to be kept alive

Outcome: Jedi Mace Windu tries to kill Palpatine, claiming he is too dangerous to be kept alive. Anakin turns against Windu

Foreshadowing: Anakin has visions of Padme dying in childbirth

Outcome: The visions come true

Foreshadowing: Anakin fears losing Padme, Palpatine tells him it's possible to stop people from dying using the dark side of the Force

Outcome: Anakin turns to the dark side in order to learn how to save Padme

Counting down the days until Taylor Swift's new album,

Julia