Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Out of all the movies, this one is generally seen as the best one by the majority of people, and I do not understand why. I absolutely love every single one of these films, and this one is definitely no exception, but I do not understand why this one, out of all OTs prequels and sequels, is held in the highest regard.

I really love the beginning of this film- I think it sets a great tone for a sequel movie. It starts off sort-of in the middle of a conflict, but the establishment of a new rebel base and the different attitudes and outfits of the characters indicates a significant development in the rebel’s strength. I love when a movie doesn’t just straight out tell you that a time-jump or large changed happened in the plot; I prefer to figure that stuff out on my own rather than having a large time card appear on the screen saying -3 YEARS AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST MOVIE-.

I really like the spotlight that some of the characters get in this film. Harrison Ford has some great scene that flesh out his character more, as opposed to the sort of superficial feel he gave of in IV in terms of actual development. Also, Mark Hamill has the great scene where Luke goes to meet Yoda. I really enjoy this part of the movie, as it develops Luke and shows the conflict within him. The knowledge of what happens to Anakin in the Prequels really makes this part a lot better since you see that both those characters go down the same route and this is great for the overall story line. In the Bespin (Cloud City) scenes, Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams get a spotlight that creates an amazing section of the movie. I mentioned this briefly in my posts last semester, but I really enjoy when books/movies/stories in general do not have a “good guys win and are always happy” ending (ending in terms of the movies, not the series). I really enjoy seeing characters go through a shit ton of struggle because then I get to see how they overcome, or in some cased don’t overcome, the struggle. Life is not always forgiving and people make mistakes that they regret or ones that lead them further down a bad path, and seeing this reflected in story characters is crucial for a lot of my enjoyment in a story. This film, and series in general, has exactly that: Luke flakes out on his training to save his friends, Han get frozen in carbonite, Lando betrays his friend due to pressure. These are all set backs in the plot for the protagonists, and they get resolved in the next movie in a brilliant way, which I will talk about in the next post.

Going back to Yoda, I think that his presence in this movie improves it indefinitely. Frank Oz (Yoda) is an amazing man and is responsible for so much of the movies and shows that I watched all through my childhood (Sesame Street, Kermit the Frog, Star Wars). I absolutely love the archetype of the old, wise master, and Yoda brings it to a different level with the added humor and actual development he gets throughout the film, The Clone Wars, and Rebels. Typically, archetypes like Catherine from A Farewell to Arms or Elizabeth from Frankenstein are not given a lot of development because, well, they are meant to represent one specific thing. Yoda’s character is very different and dynamic, but still represent one central idea. Throughout his entire appearance he is seen as some incredibly wise and all knowing person, but the struggle that goes on within him is seemingly only apparent to him (and a few others like Ashoka in Rebels and The Clone Wars). All the characters act like he knows what to do and when to do it, but he is equally as powerless and uncertain as other characters. After 900 years of life he still manages to fail teaching Luke at the first time. I really do appreciate the development that George Lucas gave to Yoda’s character, and the fact that Lucas decided to do more than just have him be a beacon of perfection among the very struggle-ridden cast of characters.

As for the humor, this scene is one of my absolute favorite in the films- it comes so unexpectedly and I love the idea of some 900 year old hermit beating the shit out of a rebellious robot with a cane. He is just a great character who, in the end, truly does achieve the wisdom that everyone initially believes he has. Since I am re-watching Rebels currently (for like the 5th time), one of his quotes from an episode I just watched was “Learning not to turn fear into anger is a life-long struggle”, something that I feel like encapsulates his character’s development while giving him the sort of “All I know is that I know nothing” vibe of Socrates.

This movie has some very iconic parts such as the “No, I am your father” scene, or Yoda lifting the X-Wing out of the bog, or the “I love you”  “I know” exchange between Han and Leia. It not only has the very complex parts such as Yoda’s character or Luke failure to complete training, but also these small little moments to appreciate as well. Not everything should be some big, dynamic, intricate plot and not everything should be some surface level plot. This film is a good healthy middle between very development oriented film such as Episode II and the more action packed and “woah that was amazing” film like Episode IX

Also a small note for the end: I absolutely love Yoda’s theme. Along with Across the Stars from the prequels, this is probably my favorite score from any movie film. John Williams is an