Making it up

Yesterday I bought Star Wars Insider, for the first time in a while. I used to be a regular and avid reader of the original Star Wars Magazine, which in its formative years was far superior to this reprint of the American mag. Come to think of it, even Insider used to be better than it is now! One section, which I usually read is the Q&A's mainly to see how the answers are going to try and untangle another intractable 'cock-up' in the continuity. I was not disappointed with one of the answers in the current issue.

A question was raised about whether Luke had ever been to Dagobah before, referring to his comment in The Empire Strikes Back that it seemed 'like something out of a dream.' The answer is no apparently but then it went on to say, that although the scene was deleted from Revenge of the Sith, Yoda's arrival on Dagobah was also the first time he had visited the planet. This then throws up a contradiction, which I had forgotten about with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, which said that Yoda had fought a Bpfasshi dark Jedi on Dagobah. The 'answer' then rather dismissively says that this part of Heir to the Empire is therefore 'no longer considered part of continuity.'

Hmph! So, when we were told at the time of the release of the Timothy Zahn-penned trilogy that they were the 'authorised' continuation from Return of the Jedi, that wasn't quite true then? Or at least it was the authorised continuation until Lucas had a better idea. But why did Yoda choose Dagobah if he had never been therefore before? Was it purely chance that he happened upon the planet or was it always his back-up plan when he saw how things were going back on Coruscant?

What the contradiction with Heir to the Empire illustrates though is that despite the protestations to the contrary, there was and apparently still isn't a grand story for the whole saga. There isn't a unifying story arc from start to finish, where events follow logically.

I've said this before and I think it is worth repeating again, Star Wars was in my view never meant to be part of a larger saga. The original film, if you consider it without all the continuations and back story that have been provided since, is a perfectly self-contained film. It has a defined start, a middle and an end. There is no need for anything further or additional to what is contained within its two hours to understand, appreciate and enjoy the story and the characters. The fact that it was so successful of course led to the five sequels/prequels and the story continuations provided since.

Lucas has often mentioned this 'back story' he had. I see nothing remarkable in that. Presumably it would be necessary to sketch some sort of back story to the characters and events to be able to understand them in the context of where Star Wars begins. But clearly this was far from a detailed account with a clear plot line marked out. There is much evidence that this cannot have been the case if the number of changes made in the prequels is to be considered.

There are many examples of plot and story inconsistencies between the prequels and the original trilogy of films, not least the introduction of midi-chlorians in Episode's 1 & 2, which are never again mentioned and the confusion as to who actually trained Obi-wan. The original trilogy suggests it was Yoda, the prequels leave us with no doubt that it was Qui-Gon who was instrumental in Obi-wan's tutelage.

My question then is this. If Lucas had this back story mapped out from the start, why do these elements contradict with the original trilogy? If it was clearly written down who the characters were, their origins and destiny and the story followed a defined arc, why has it constantly been re-written over the last thirty years?

The issue about what is 'continuity' and what isn't, is not helped if established parts of the canon can be dropped or changed at a whim. Can any of Heir to the Empire and its sequels now be considered an official continuation? Or are we only to turn a blind eye to those parts, which don't fit conveniently with a rewritten story?