By the Light of “Twin Suns” Essays inspired by Abigail Dillon © 2019 Table of Contents I Foreword 1 II Craftsmanship 5 A Very Good Place to Start--------------------------------------------- 7 Essential Ezra----------------------------------------------------------------- 21 Fireside Chats----------------------------------------------------------------- 29 The Duel is in the Details------------------------------------------------ 35 III Literary Analysis 45 Do We Enter as a Thief?------------------------------------------------- 47 A False Monomyth---------------------------------------------------------- 53 The Old Men and the Dune Sea--------------------------------------- 69 IV Canon Theories 79 From a Certain Point of View----------------------------------------- 81 What’s in a Title?----------------------------------------------------------- 85 The Chosen One------------------------------------------------------------- 105 V Character Study 113 The Boy Who Would Be a Jedi--------------------------------------- 115 Did You Ever Hear the Tragedy of Darth Maul the Lost? 131 A Brave Hope------------------------------------------------------------------ 151 Masterhood of the Ultimate Jedi------------------------------------- 167 VI One Last Lesson 203 VII Notes 235 References---------------------------------------------------------------------- 237 Acknowledgements--------------------------------------------------------- 249 About the Author------------------------------------------------------------ 249 I Foreword 1 2 The best stories encourage exploration. Sometimes the exploration is a conscious act, something actively pursued. Sometimes it’s a journey you didn’t realize you had until you look back on your steps. When The Phantom Menace was released, I was at the perfect age to be enraptured. At 8 years old, I latched on hard to Jar Jar Binks with much self-projection and clung to Qui-Gon Jinn like a beloved uncle, which also meant that I hated one Sith in particular. Though the backlash against the movie would eventually (and unfortunately) shape my opinion for a time, The Phantom Menace managed to weave itself into my DNA. I know this because when I rewatched it, a decade and a half after its release, I flinched. As a child, I had the final duel memorized to down to every move: Qui- Gon takes Maul's hilt to the chin then black. My eyes were squeezed shut until I heard Obi-Wan scream, and I knew the deed was done. It was a sight I hadn't seen since my very first viewing of the movie in theaters. At the age of 24, I didn't shut my eyes. I watched it play out. And I flinched. Qui-Gon's death is the earliest memory I have of processing grief, and I would later realize Jar Jar had been an outlet for processing severe isolation. Both characters were critical to my emotional growth. They allowed me to explore difficult and negative emotions without becoming self-destructive. It's not a stretch to say that The Phantom Menace saved my life. For a time, 1999 would represent the peak of my engagement with Star Wars. A culmination of the years growing up with the Original Trilogy, sparked to new life by the buzz around the first of the Prequels. Hours were dedicated to arguments around the final battle, research to create 3 my own podracer, reading all of Jude Watson’s tie-in novels, and of course, the childhood classic of make-believe. There’s something powerful about the type of exploration that is prompted by make-believe. Whether through choosing to embody a canon character or your own original creation, it involves a degree of self- discovery. I don’t think this type of exploration ever really goes away. It may look different, turning a page to become fanfiction or essays; it may stick its nose into the assertion of representation’s importance; it can even be found in discussions of the technical aspects of art. For how we communicate in-and-of-itself communicates something about us. As Star Wars and I grew older, that spark of self-discovery would reappear here and there within the franchise, the old darling of my youth. Ahsoka Tano and Rey would breathe life to the ember of the young dream that I too could be like Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan and Satine choosing to forgo romance for something greater would soften the endless pressure I felt from society to be married before I could be whole. But it wasn’t until 2017 that the spark and embers would ignite again, sending me on a journey that would bring me all the way back to 1999. You hold in your hands the result of that journey, selected essays from a year-and-a-half study of Star Wars Rebels “Twin Suns.” It was a journey I actively pursued, and yet I didn’t realize what it truly was until I looked back on my steps. An examination of the canon and craftsmanship slowly revealed itself as the means by which I was processing long-denied trauma. It’s not a stretch to say that “Twin Suns” changed my life. In this book, you’ll find a variety of essays. Some focus on technicalities of storytelling or literary analyses, others still on wild canon theories or in-depth character studies. The best stories encourage exploration of all kinds. So, pull up a chair (and some coffee) and let’s take a journey together, under the light of twin suns. -Abigail Dillon 4 II Craftsmanship 5 6 A Very Good Place to Start As I wrote the online version of the Star Wars Rebels “Twin Suns” Close Read, I broke things down scene-by-scene, working my way through the episode chronologically. In print, my aim is to bring together the various themes and present those as interconnected but stand-alone essays. However, I felt the need to leave my analysis of the cold open intact. This sets the stage for the various essays and their topics throughout the rest of this collection. I discuss technical aspects, themes, audience reactions, and more. Like the scene in the episode itself, it functions as an appetizer for what comes next. This is where the end begins. Always Remember, I Am Nothing I firmly believe that any inclusion in a story must serve the story first and then symbolism or fanservice second. A shot given for the sake of symbolism without contributing depth to the story leads to a lot of shallow pretenses of meaning (the overuse of the “Jesus pose” is an obnoxious symptom of this). “Twin Suns” masterfully puts symbolism in service to the story, not the other way around. This visuals of the opening scene can be interpreted on five different levels, all of which contribute depth to the narrative. The first level is, appropriately, setting the stage. By the shots of lifeless wastelands and of Maul alone against a far horizon, we are shown that he is lost, that he’s not even close to finding Obi-Wan. The shots of different landscapes – hills, canyons, and barren plains – shows that Maul’s trekked a long way, that he’s been searching for a long time. He’s desperate, and that is why he will draw Ezra back into his machinations. 7 The second level of interpretation brings in the metatext. It’s been a long- time question (and occasional joke) in the fandom about why the Jedi chose to hide Anakin’s kid with his family on his home planet, especially since, as Owen Lars has put it: You’re a dangerous man, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Whether you see it or not. Trouble always has a way of finding you, doesn’t it? Though I suppose it doesn’t have to look very hard. (Aaron, Jason & Mike Mayhew. “From the Journals of Ben Kenobi,” Star Wars #15) With Maul, there was the addition assumption that soon after the episode “Visions and Voices,” he would have found Obi-Wan, instead of months later, as we see here. Executive Producer Dave Filoni and co- producer Henry Gilroy (the credited writers for the episode) have stated that the Rebels team wanted to establish the fact that Tatooine is not an easy planet on which to locate someone, especially someone who doesn’t want to be found (1). Luke may be living with Anakin’s stepbrother, but people are not going to be tracking him down through Obi-Wan, a fact of which the Legends novel Kenobi made a point. The opening scene of Maul’s wanderings reinforces this and explains what he’s been up to since we last saw him in Rebels. The third level is simply humor. All of Owen Lars’s credibility aside, the particular trouble named Maul is having a very rough time finding Obi- Wan Kenobiiiieeeaaugh. The fourth level is where we get to the symbolism. The Halo Legends episode “The Duel” also features a swift, samurai-style showdown similar to Obi-Wan’s and Maul’s in “Twin Suns.” Here is what essayist Alex Wakeford had to say about the stage set for the titular fight: Note how the colour of the scene changes. Where every other scene was awash with colour, with blue and red and gold, everything in this scene is completely white – as if this is all happening in some kind of void. 8 And that’s the point. Neither Fal nor Haka [the combatants] actually matter. What matters about Fal? His rank. He’s the Arbiter, he’s more of a symbol than a man, and that is what the Prophet declared earlier in the episode he would use. What matters about Haka? He’s the tool through which the Prophet plays this game, a means to an end. It’s not until this scene, the final scene, that we learn Haka actually has ambitions of his own – his goal to usurp Fal’s position and rule in his stead. He speaks of these empty ambitions in this void, and Fal’s own pursuit, that of revenge, is an empty one as well… (2) In a conversation with me, Wakeford elaborated further: …ultimately, neither Fal nor Haka actually matter within their own story… It’s more than fitting that their final confrontation takes place in an area with no detail whatsoever, it’s completely white, contrasting with all the vivid imagery of Sanghelios throughout the rest of the episode.