Any World (That I'm Welcome To)

I watched Return of the Jedi a few days ago, and as I stared at Anakin's funeral pyre, I reflected how both the first and last movies (nearly) end with that image. In The Phantom Menace, it's Qui-Gon's funeral. A Sith killed him, and in a way his death is the end of an era: the Jedi have lost their maverick master of the Living Force, and after that, the Sith take over and the inflexible Order falls. With Anakin, it's reversed: he destroyed the Sith, and all the old Jedi and Sith hangups die with him, leaving the unconventional Luke (who won by using the good side of emotions instead of "burying them deep down") to start over.

I also thought of Obi-Wan's memorable statement to Anakin at Qui-Gon's funeral: "You will be a Jedi. I promise." Anakin spends the rest of the movies trying to become a Jedi, but he's always torn between being a Jedi and being something else (son, husband, father, Sith). At the second funeral, he still has other roles - especially that of father - but they are no longer in conflict. He finally has become a Jedi.





In other news, I've been sorting through my memories. Yikes, I have hundreds! I'm trying to weed out the broken links and things I saved only so I wouldn't forget to read them.

Working through some thoughts about TPM, and the PT generally.

I was watching The Phantom Menace last week, and noticed a visual parallel I hadn't seen before: the Gungan Bosses' chamber looks a lot like the Jedi Council chamber. ( The parallel is a storytelling device. It surrounds characters, binds them, penetrates them. )

...I am working on a take-home make-up midterm (long story involving accidentally getting dropped from a class and much miscommunication) and should not be spending time on LJ.

So, Procol Harum's "Conquistador" for the Prequels Jedi, and/or OT Ben and Yoda. And/or Anakin - I mean the "death-masked face" and "the sand has taken seed" sure remind me of Anakin.

( Lyrics* )

But mostly, it reminds me of the other Jedi. All the shiny things rusting and decaying, and the implication that the conquistador is no longer living up to the chivalric ideal the shinies suggest (if indeed he ever did), and that he/the ideal is dying (vulture!), sound so much like the PT Jedi. "And as the gloom begins to fall" could be a line right out of a description of RotS. "And though you came with sword held high/You did not conquer, only die" sounds like the Clone Wars (and Anakin). Also, this song reflects my torn feelings about the Jedi with, "And though I came to jeer at you/I leave now with regret." I think the Jedi messed up in so many ways, but they really were trying to do the right thing, mostly, and regardless of how many times I want to smack them, it's so painful to watch them flounder around and then die.

When Qui-Gon knelt behind the laser gates, just what was he meditating about?

This was inspired by DarklordZor's blog.

I always loved the moment in The Phantom Menace when, trapped by the laser gates, Qui-Gon kneels and starts meditating while Darth Maul paces before him. It is, as DarklordZor says, a smart way to conserve energy. It is also the ultimate in self-mastery. Can you imagine being in the fight of your life and still being able to have that inner calmness that would allow you to actually meditate when a Sith lord could be springing on you at any moment? I know I'd be way too nervous to manage it. (Which is probably why I would never make it as a Jedi.) Even many other Jedi would not be able to manage that. Qui-Gon is just so cool.

But then I started thinking: is Qui-Gon just meditating on the present moment, or is he up to something with more far-reaching consequences?

Qui-Gon might have feeling his age at that point, even if he didn't let on. I think the novelization said so. But even if he felt perfectly spry, he was up against one of the best swordsmen ever. It was by no means certain that he would be able to defeat Darth Maul, even with Obi-Wan's help--and Obi-Wan was too far away to help him.

I think at that moment, Qui-Gon was preparing for death.

Just in case he did not survive the fight, he wanted to make sure he would still be around in some form to watch over Obi-Wan and Anakin, the Chosen One. While he was kneeling behind the laser gates, he was preparing himself to become one with the Force while retaining his consciousness. We don't yet know when Qui-Gon discovered the secrets of the Shaman of the Whills. Perhaps only at that moment as he knelt and let the Force guide him.

I think it fits very well. I suppose we'll find out sooner or later.