Today, Fable and the Verbivore are thrilled to share part one of our Star Wars series.

In this episode, we cover the main story arc and themes within the Skywalker saga of films. Spoiler alert We break down these three trilogies as follows:

• Prequel Trilogy - Episodes 1-3: The Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker

• Original Trilogy - Episodes 4-6: The Turn of Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) or Luke’s Hero’s Journey

• Sequel Trilogy - Episodes 7-9: The Redemption of Ben Solo

George Lucas has said that Star Wars is like poetry, it rhymes. So, throughout our conversation, we talk about the recurring themes of compassion, hope, and fear. We mention several visual cues that crop up throughout the films and dive into the meaning of all of those masks that different characters wear.

But most importantly we talk about unconditional love, having faith that someone can choose a different path, and a possible hidden meaning behind the “I will finish what you started” line from The Force Awakens.

We hope you enjoy this episode as we venture into a galaxy far, far away!

Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

The Verbivore mentioned the hero’s journey as part of this episode. Here’s a good description from Reedsy:

• Hero's Journey 101 - https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/heros-journey/

Fable and the Verbivore talked about how episodes 1-3 play out with the feeling of a Greek Tragedy. Here’s some information of that form of storytelling and the play Oedipus Rex:

• https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Tragedy/

• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oedipus-Rex-play-by-Sophocles

The Verbivore consulted many resources while prepping for this episode, including the following:

• “George Lucas Tries to Explain the Real Meaning of the Star Wars Saga” - https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/george-lucas-tries-explain-real-meaning-star-wars-saga

• “Star Wars: Love is the Balance” by Wayward Jedi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEYCYL_9jl8

• “Star Wars Poetry” by - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7ZW1gtCljs

• “What Do We Want From a Star Wars Movie?” by Patrick (H) Willems - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUGLUYYYNQ&list=PLK-VmT9palrRVx8KtxmPl4n_UC43uQY09&index=6

Fable references the studies that show that people will either rise or fall to meet your expectations. This is what’s known as the self-fulfilling prophecy. Here is some additional information:

• https://positivepsychology.com/self-fulfilling-prophecy/

The Verbivore mentions that she thinks that Ben Solo is written as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Here is an article on what that means:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/highly-sensitive-person

Movies Mentioned:

• Star Wars: A New Hope – Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – Directed by Irvin Kershner

• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Directed by Richard Marquand

• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Directed by George Lucas

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Directed by Gareth Edwards

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Directed by J.J. Abrams

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Directed by Rian Johnson

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Directed by J.J. Abrams

Books Mentioned:

• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)