20 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith debuted in theaters, Star Wars is celebrating with the movie’s theatrical re-release—but during my re-watch I realized these 11 moments in Revenge of the Sith make absolutely no sense. Although Revenge of the Sith faced quite a bit of criticism when it was first released, as did all three prequel trilogy movies, it has since gained significantly more love within the fanbase. In fact, many see Revenge of the Sith as one of Star Wars’ best movies, if not the single best.

That doesn’t mean the movie is without its flaws, though. In fact, several of the biggest complaints about the Star Wars prequel trilogy have to do with Revenge of the Sith. While I have my own personal grievances with the movie, such as how Padmé died, I am among those who believe it is one of the very best projects of all Star Wars movies and TV shows. After re-watching the movie in theaters, though, even I have to admit that these 11 moments in Revenge of the Sith are nonsensical.

The Opening Crawl Claimed There Were “Heroes” Among The Separatists

This Is Especially Surprising At This Point In Star Wars

One of the first things I noticed during my screening of the Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary re-release was the opening crawl’s reference to “heroes on both sides” of the Clone Wars, meaning that there were some heroic Separatists. This was first surprising because the Separatists were so heavily ᴀssociated with Count Dooku and General Grievous, two obvious villains, in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. However, the timing of this also stuck out to me.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars made the lines a little more blurred, such as with the introduction of Mina Bonteri, a friend of Padmé Amidala, who was a Separatist who genuinely wanted peace. Although I still wouldn’t exactly call her a hero, this is an example of a gray area, at least. Yet, in Revenge of the Sith there was really no gray area; the Separatists were in the wrong. To date, it isn’t clear what this line refers to.

Palpatine Is RIDICULOUSLY Committed To his Role

Palpatine Really Could Have Died During The Battle Of Coruscant

Although I’ve found this odd since the very first time I saw Revenge of the Sith, it stuck out to me all the more than Palpatine really could have died during the Battle of Coruscant, especially when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker’s rescue attempt took a very wrong turn. As the trio were escaping General Grievous’ crashing ship, Palpatine had to pretend he really was the relatively defenseless Supreme Chancellor—not one of Star Wars’ most powerful Sith. Evidently, Palpatine was willing to die if it meant the truth about his dark side connection was never discovered.

One could argue that Palpatine would have saved himself had it really come to it, although there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary throughout those scenes. In fact, the emergency landing alone could have killed him, and he had very little control over it. Many have specifically pointed out his sideways glance towards R2-D2 in that scene, wherein he does seem genuinely nervous.

Grievous’ Ship Crash Landing Wasn’t Treated Like A Threat

Anakin And Obi-Wan Weren’t Able To Warn Anyone In Advance

In addition to Palpatine bewilderingly allowing his life to genuinely be put at risk during the crash-landing, it is especially odd that when the ship finally lands on Coruscant, it isn’t treated as a threat. Obi-Wan and Anakin had no time to alert anyone on the ground that they’d taken over General Grievous’ ship and were about to crash-land. Given that, the Republic should have seen that ship as a mᴀssive, serious threat.

After all, General Grievous was one of the greatest threats throughout the Clone Wars, and it was known that his ship was involved in the Battle of Coruscant. It would have made sense to think he had taken the fight to the ground, and the ship therefore should have been greeted with a fleet waiting to take it down. Instead, Republic ships came to pour water on it, extinguishing the flames as it landed.

Obi-Wan Said Anakin Had “Never” Let Him Down Before

Even Before Anakin’s Worst Acts, This Wasn’t Exactly True

When Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan are discussing the precarious nature of Anakin’s ᴀssignment to spy on Palpatine, Obi-Wan confusingly tells Mace and Yoda that Anakin had “never” let him down before. Yes, Obi-Wan didn’t then know some of Anakin’s gravest actions at that point, such as his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders, but it’s certainly not true that Anakin had never let him down. In fact, there’s plenty of proof that Obi-Wan knew about Anakin and Padmé.

Even in smaller ways, though, Anakin had absolutely disappointed Obi-Wan before. His outbursts and missteps throughout Attack of the Clones, including his botched attempt to rescue Obi-Wan from Geonosis, would certainly count as letting Obi-Wan down. This line therefore makes very little sense, and Yoda and Mace Windu undoubtedly would have been quick to correct this ᴀssertion.

Anakin Risked Everything By Telling Palpatine About The Tusken Raiders…But Kept His Marriage A Secret

Anakin Told Palpatine The Much Riskier Secret

While Obi-Wan may not have known about the Tusken Raider mᴀssacre, Revenge of the Sith shockingly confirms that Anakin confided in Palpatine about what he had done to the Tusken Raiders and all that had transpired with his mother. This was a mᴀssive risk, even with Anakin seeing Palpatine as a mentor, as this would have meant his immediate expulsion from the Jedi Order. This was also simply a dark stain on Anakin’s story and legacy, so it’s surprising to know Anakin would have told Palpatine about this, not knowing yet that he was on the dark side.

What makes this downright nonsensical, however, is the fact that Anakin evidently was fine with the risk of telling Palpatine about the Tusken Raiders, but he still hid his marriage to Padmé from him. Sure, Anakin may have wanted to protect Padmé from the potential fallout of that truth, but between those two events, one is clearly so much worse. After all, Anakin’s marriage to Padmé would be seen as wrong in the eyes of the Jedi, but not in the eyes of anyone else.

Palpatine Inexplicably Spoke Like Yoda When Christening Lord Vader

“A Powerful Sith You Will Become” Was An Odd Wording Choice

One absolutely hilarious oddity that I didn’t realize until this most recent re-watch is that Palpatine speaks like Master Yoda when he christens Anakin ‘Darth Vader.’ Specifically, after telling Anakin that he will henceforth be known as Darth Vader, he follows up with, “A powerful Sith you will become.” The syntax of this line is clearly the same as the way in which Yoda speaks, which raises some serious questions.

Was this something that Palpatine did on purpose, as yet another way to manipulate Anakin? If not, was this still something that George Lucas intended as a parallel? It remains unclear how intentional or significant this connection to Yoda’s speech pattern was, but I personally know I will never be able to hear the line in any other way again.

Mace Windu Immediately Suspected The Jedi Order Would Be Destroyed

This Was A Significant Jump From Learning Of Palpatine’s True Idenтιтy

Mace Windu was undoubtedly a brilliant Jedi Master, but, even so, the speed with which Mace Windu deduces the entire Jedi Order is in danger when he learns of Palpatine’s Sith idenтιтy is bewildering. After Anakin finds Mace and tells him Palpatine has revealed himself to Anakin as the Sith Lord, Mace Windu says, “We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive.” Ultimately, he was entirely correct, but why did he make such a huge logical leap?

At that point, Mace had no reason to believe the entire Jedi Order was about to be destroyed. Palpatine (or any Sith, for that matter) was of course a daunting opponent, but they’d dealt with Sith before. No matter how wise Mace Windu was, it’s more than a little confusing that he suddenly anticipated the downfall of the entire Jedi Order, simply because Palpatine was revealed to be a Sith Lord.

Palpatine Said “Don’t Let Him Kill Me” Before Mace Ever Mentioned Killing Him

Until That Point, Mace Windu Had Only Indicated He Was Arresting Palpatine

One of the most important turning points in Revenge of the Sith is the moment in which Mace Windu confronts Palpatine in his office, attempting to arrest him alongside several other Jedi. It’s clear that, initially, the Jedi really did intend to arrest Palpatine and have him stand trial before the Republic. However, that famously shifts when Mace Windu decides Palpatine is too dangerous to be kept alive, ultimately becoming one of the most significant moments in Anakin’s turn to the dark side.

Yet, before Mace Windu made any such move to kill Palpatine, Palpatine says, “Don’t let him kill me” to Anakin. It’s almost as though this gives Mace Windu the idea (although that also makes very little sense), as it’s only after that line that Mace Windu claims Palpatine must die. This would have been resolved had these simply been stated in a different order, but, as it stands, this line from Palpatine makes absolutely no sense.

Padmé Says On Naboo There Were “No Politics,” But She Was Hiding From An ᴀssᴀssination Attempt

Anakin And Padmé’s Time On Naboo Wasn’t Exactly Idyllic

When things become truly scary in Revenge of the Sith (but before she knows Anakin has killed younglings), Padmé tells Anakin, “Hold me, like you did by the lake on Naboo. So long ago, when there was nothing but our love. No politics, no plotting, no war.” This line is absolutely nonsensical, given what had driven them to Naboo in the first place. In Attack of the Clones, Padmé and Anakin weren’t on Naboo for a nice vacation; they were there to protect her because there had been multiple ᴀssᴀssination attempts on her life.

It is therefore just plain incorrect that there was “no plotting” when they were on Naboo—that was the exact reason they went to Naboo in the first place. Also, while the war may not have started until they returned to Naboo to get married, it’s certainly not true that there were no politics. In fact, since the beginning of Padmé’s time in Star Wars, there’s never been “no politics.”

Palpatine’s Discussion With Darth Vader Was In The Jedi Temple’s Records

Why Would Palpatine Have That Conversation At The Jedi Temple?

Although I’ve watched the scene in which Obi-Wan sees the hologram of Anakin killing younglings countless times, I’ve never thought about how odd it is that Palpatine can be seen speaking to Lord Vader in one of the Jedi Temple’s holograms as well. This conversation clearly takes place after Anakin has carried out Order 66, which implies that Palpatine waited until Order 66 was finished and then went to find Vader there. While that’s certainly possible, it seems like an entirely unnecessary risk for Palpatine to do this.

Palpatine’s narrative about the Jedi was that they had tried to ᴀssᴀssinate him, which positions him as a victim of the Jedi—something he needed in order to convince the galaxy that the near eradication of the Jedi was justified. Why would he then go to the Jedi Temple, where ᴅᴇᴀᴅ children were all over the floors, thereby risking this entire narrative being undercut, when he could simply have summoned Vader back to his chambers? This also (clearly) meant his conversation with Vader could be overheard by others, making this even more illogical.