“Unlimited Power”

Revenge of the Sith

I could have broken down my number four into three individual moments. But then again, all three individual elements happen within the space of five minutes in the heart of Revenge of the Sith and as far as I’m concerned, the scene is one of the greatest in Star Wars as a combination of the three features.

The Senate Chancellor Palpatine has been uncovered as the Sith Lord the Jedi had been looking for. After cutting down three Jedi in quick succession, Palpatine met his match against Mace Windu as the Jedi has the Sith disarmed and pinned. Anakin, who has stormed into the room, has a decision to make; conform with Windu and allow him to contravene the Jedi code, killing Palpatine on the spot, or save the Sith Lord who can supposedly save Padme from certain death.

What ultimately leads Anakin to make his decision is a line that ultimately proves just how flawed the Jedi were. Anakin pleads that Palpatine must stand trial, yet Windu counters, “he’s too dangerous to be kept alive,” which is exactly the same thing that Palpatine told Anakin when the young Jedi felt uneasy after executing Count Dooku on General Grevious’ flagship.

It’s at this moment, Anakin has a powerful revelation – the Jedi and Sith are two sides of the same coin. Suddenly Anakin’s choice isn’t one of good or evil from his perspective, as the lines between good and evil have converged. And if it’s a simple question of perspective, then Anakin’s going to choose the one who can save his wife as opposed to the one that has simply caused him frustration, pain and repression time and time again.

Anakin swipes his lightsaber at Windu’s wrist just as the Jedi shapes to strike down upon Palpatine as Star Wars loses yet another hand. Then Palpatine fires up the chain lightning once again and Ian McDiarmid delivers one the of most brilliantly over-the-top lines in the Skywalker Saga – “UNLIMITED POWER,” to spark an endless chain of memes and ultimately kill Windu.

To clarify, it was the chain lightning that did the damage, not the memes.

Darth Vader has been born, Palpatine’s endgame had come to fruition and Order 66 was about to be called. All while the ultimate flaws of the Jedi had been exposed in five minutes to sum up the narrative of the prequel trilogy.