#it's interesting bc we both love ot anakin but tend to see him a bit differently bc of our respective issues with our fathers (lol)

[anghraine]

My best friend and I were talking about our favorite moments in the SW prequels even though we both have issues with them, and there was one that we solidly (but kind of unexpectedly) agreed on.

It's actually in Attack of the Clones and from Hayden Christensen as teenage Anakin, in a moment where we really thought he shone—the return to Tatooine.

In particular, we both loved how he questions Watto, his former owner, who talks as if their history would be nostalgic for Anakin somehow and as a Jedi, Anakin might do him favors now. Watto admits he sold Anakin's mother to some guy who freed and married her, but is purposefully vague on the details, and Anakin just quietly says something along the lines of "I'd like to know."

This could be kind of empty or OTT hostile, and in our opinion, it's really neither! There's a certain, hmm, lingering politeness, but there is also an underlying menace that we thought perfectly fit the circumstances and his character.

(We also thought and liked that he seemed weirded out by the Lars situation. I mean, when you think about "this guy bought my mother in order to marry her, but also legally freed her" from Anakin's POV, it is an extremely strange situation to be in.)

#it's interesting bc we both love ot anakin but tend to see him a bit differently bc of our respective issues with our fathers (lol) #whereas we were solidly on the same page with the prequels #and sometimes amuse ourselves by spinning this whole alternate version with obi-wan as tragic hero #but the plot is basically the same #anghraine babbles #star wars #anakin skywalker #pt critical #by implication though this isn't about that! #fandom has a very ... hmm. soft and romantic take on the skywalker-lars tie #but sometimes i wonder not only about anakin being kind of '......' about the whole thing (justifiably tyvm) #but about luke growing up with that mind-boggling family history #and how it affected his sense of himself as a skywalker (bc this /is/ clearly his sense of himself in the films) #but also his genuine affection for his uncle and aunt #like... i saw a post the other day about how tatooine is the equivalent of the modern rural usa #but i mean ... luke might /feel/ like a us small town kid who wants out in a recognizable way #but tatooine is legitimately an arid hellscape controlled by gangsters #who keep people as slaves including luke's father and grandmother #his father was freed and made a career for himself as far as luke knows (but died young anyway) #his grandmother was freed and found a family (but was tortured to death anyway) #he might well walk past her grave every day until owen and beru are also killed #i feel like his emotions about all this might possibly be more complex than 'ungrateful whiny kid in space usa' #long post #in the tags :P