15 reasons why the Star Wars prequels are better than you remember

4. Galactic Politics

Perhaps it’s the lack of subtlety that many fans found grating about the prequels in comparison to the original trilogy. The Original Trilogy has a simple villain: an evil empire that’s oppressing the common people and destroying planets. Simple.

Don’t get me wrong, it works. But a prequel is inherently going to get more complicated than that. We’re going to have to be really detailed about how the Empire came to power and all the intergalactic political structures that allowed it to happen. More importantly, we have to try and do this in a way that reflects the modern world and speaks to themes that are important to the story we’re telling. The prequels lacked the original trilogy’s simplicity, sometimes confusing audiences who (fairly) didn’t have the time to figure out the difference between the trade federation, the galactic republic, and individual planetary governments.

The world that Lucas created for his prequels in vast and complex. The political structures are thought out, well imagined, and mirror those in our own world. It’s actually scary to see the ways that executive powers in the real world mirror Palpatine’s “emergency power ” grab. It’s like the fall of Rome under Caesar. We get to question the motives of a seemingly just republic and see how easily our systems of law and government can be turned to evil.

5. The Jedi Council

Because of the prequels, whenever I need to have a discussion with a group of people, I call a “Jedi Council Meeting.” Does this make me the biggest nerd of any given group? Yes it does. But I digress. There’s nothing cooler than a group of warrior monks sitting in a circle of floating chairs discussing politics and war. All our favorite Jedi in one place, hashing out philosophy and deciding on a course of action. It feels like the best kind of fan service: all the characters you love all together, making important decisions that effect the plot.

I could watch three whole movies of just Jedi Council meetings. Show me how they write amendments to their bylaws! Do they have a secretary? A treasurer? Who takes meeting notes? Let me see them argue about next year’s budget and how they’re going to fundraise for the annual Life Day banquet!… I love Jedi Councils.