Editor’s Note: Since we are a Manor, we’ve been known to hosts Guests from time to time. Our latest visitor, C.W. McClain, offers his views and opinions on “show, don’t tell” moments from the Saga and the Obi-Wan Kenobi show! If you’d like to be a Guest, visit our submission page on how to start the process!
That moment in A New Hope when Luke Skywalker finds the burnt remains of his family and their moisture farm was painful to watch. Seeing the utter devastation wrought by the Empire upon an innocent family brought home a bitter reality: the Empire is ruthless and savage. This is a “show, don’t tell” moment. Beforehand, nobody bad-mouthed the Empire. Nobody talked about how bad they were. The audience is shown and that makes it all the more real. That, in turn, means we can connect with it better. It’s one thing to be told about a character or concept in a story. It is another thing entirely to experience it.
There are other such moments throughout the movies. We saw Boba Fett’s deepest hurt as he held his father’s (hopefully empty) helmet in Attack of the Clones. We saw the thrill of the Kessel Run in Solo. The darker side of the Rebellion was shown through Cassian Andor in Rogue One. We saw the full might of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. Finn’s shock and horror at the First Order’s brutality in The Force Awakens was clear even through his helmet. We saw Luke’s abject brokenness in The Last Jedi. These are all moments that could have been talked about, but were shown instead (or, at least, were also talked about) and they are all the more impactful for it. By contrast, there are a number of moments that should have been shown, not told, such as:
- Naboo’s condition during the invasion. Apparently, there are camps and a catastrophic death toll? I mean, aside from the odd guard or pilot, I didn’t see any Naboo people get so much as a scraped knee. Granted, nobody wants to see innocent civilians get tortured and/or executed, but this would have been easy to show while keeping a PG-rating. Show us a dimly lit base camp, a small cadre of droids guarding it, a speeder full of defeated-looking people (maybe even a few kids) getting unloaded. Have a small group of people get lined up against a wall and then shot off-screen. It’s horrible, yes, but that would make Sio Bibble’s line real. We could even see him recording that line amid all this. Show, don’t tell.
- A galaxy at war. Apparently, the Clone Wars are devastating the galaxy, but I don’t see many people really suffering from it. Seems more like it’s a big annoyance when it shows up and then we all move on. (Granted, The Clone Wars series did a better job at this, but not by much). Again, this would have been easy to show. Set every battle that takes place in a civilian-heavy area. (Wow, I sound like a warmonger) Since there aren’t very many battles shown, make the few we do see on-screen impactful. Show us an AT-TE crushing someone’s speeder as it stomps through the streets of Mygeeto. Show a brave wookiee child take up a bowcaster and pick off a few droids before being carried away by his mother. Show some droids wrecking the homes of some innocent Utapau civilians. Show the traffic on Coruscant getting smaller and quieter. These are little, quick things that don’t necessarily advance the story, but still bring weight to the significant elements of the story.
- The cheat death Force power. With how groundbreaking this is for Anakin, this could easily have been stretched over a number of scenes. Anakin has his nightmare about Padmé, searches the library for death-cheating Force powers, gets scolded by Yoda (the “mourn them do not” talk), seeks guidance from Palpatine, Palpatine offers to teach, “you’re the Sith Lord!” moment. Less dialogue, more doing, greater weight given to Plagueis and his powers, no unnecessary opera exposition scene.
The importance of Kashyyyk. It’s a system that the Republic “can’t afford to lose” but that’s never been brought up before, is never brought up again, and we don’t even know what makes it so important in the first place. If they said this exact thing in this exact way about Coruscant, or even Naboo, I would understand. We’ve been to these places. We see the connection between them and the Republic. But we’ve never been to Kashyyyk before (in the films anyway). We’ve never seen a connection to the Republic aside from maybe two seconds where some Wookiee Senators were howling about something. If it’s such a crucial system, then perhaps it needs to be the narrative focal point for showing the Clone Wars. Have it be the first system attacked. Keep coming back to it over the course of the trilogy (culimating in the scene with Yoda). Overtime, show how more and more cities and trees are getting ruined by war. We don’t have see every battle that happens, but show a tree that used to be standing now riddled with holes. Show what used to be school now being used as a war hospital (not blood and guts required). Show something vital to the Republic (be it a resource or a strategic location or whatever) that makes Kashyyyk so important. In fact, this would tie into showing the real effects of the Clone Wars
All of these things could have (and, in some cases, should have) been shown, expanded upon, or cut out entirely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the writers should have shown EVERY thing. There’s a story to tell. I totally get that. I mean, if they were to show everything, it would either be a four-hour movie or there’d be more movies. Luckily, TV shows don’t have as much constraint as a movie does. A TV show can zoom in on one or two specific aspects while maintaining the larger narrative. They can show things that a movie generally couldn’t. For example, Marvel’s Moon Knight plays out like a typical superhero movie. Hero discovers powers, resists hero persona, gets thrust into conflict, nearly dies, comes back stronger, learns lesson, beats bad guy, world saved. Except it takes six hours instead of two. Side note: isn’t it strange how people will binge Stranger Things for hours on end, but they complain about the Return of the King runtime? TV shows have a greater ability to show instead of tell than even a movie trilogy simply can’t.
Which brings me to the latest Star Wars series on Disney+, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This show repeatedly taps into those moments that should be shown, not told. We’re shown the tension between Owen and Obi-Wan. Admittedly, I was waiting for Owen to use the “damn fool idealistic crusade” line, but still the mistrust was clear. We’re shown Obi-Wan’s trauma. The man is clearly haunted by the past. The once serene Jedi Master who said “dreams pass in time” is now plagued with nightmares. We’re shown that the Inquisitors hunt Jedi, from the interrogation scene at the cantina to the public display of the Jedi’s body. In fact, in a bit of storytelling brilliance, we’re neither shown nor told what they did to the Jedi, leaving our imagination to fill that blank in. We’re shown the daily abuse Obi-Wan and his coworkers endure. We’re shown and told about the horrible drug trade of Daiyu and the impact it has on people (“I was someone’s daughter once too”). We’re shown Vader’s brutality, rather shockingly so I might add, as he’s strolling through the town killing civilians left and right, Grand Theft Auto style. We’re shown the rage Vader still feels toward Obi-Wan. I sat waiting for Vader to say something to Obi-Wan when they first faced each other again, but there was only silence. At first, I wanted him to say something. Something menacing like “Going somewhere?” or “I’ve been looking for you” or “You won’t escape this time.” But then I thought about it. About how Anakin must feel right now. What could he possibly say at that moment? And it’s certainly in line with Anakin’s character that the first thing he says to Obi-Wan is, “I am what you made me.” We’re shown and told in equal measure the origin story of Reva.
But, in my personal opinion, the biggest moment came with the homeless Clone trooper. For those of us who have gone beyond the movies, we’ve grown up with these clones. We remember Rex, Oddball, Cody, and Delta Squad. It hurt to watch Fives come so close to unraveling Order 66 only to die at the end. It was heartbreaking to see a battalion of clones paint their helmets to honor Ahsoka Tano, knowing they would soon turn on her. And right now, we’re all eagerly awaiting Season 2 of The Bad Batch. The clones were never bad guys. They simply did that one bad thing that they couldn’t control. So it was saddening to see this nameless Clone trooper thrown away and reduced to a life of desperation in the gutter. Even more touching was Obi-Wan’s response. This clone trooper could very well have been one of the 501st who stormed the Temple. I mean, the markings on the helmet certainly look the same. And Obi-Wan is, as he says, not who he used to be. Yet, he still has enough compassion to help the Clone out by giving him money. All that in about 10 seconds and one line.
I’ll admit, when this show was first announced, I wasn’t really interested. Quite frankly, I was perfectly satisfied believing that Obi-Wan sat idle on Tatooine watching over Luke. I didn’t need that blank filled in. Then the trailer dropped and I was more interested. I still held to my opinion, but I was much more willing to give the show a fair chance. Now having seen the show, I’ve liked what I’ve been shown. I still don’t believe this was a necessary story to tell, but I won’t deny that it was a story well-told. I look forward to future projects that these writers have to show us.
C.W. McClain is a Guest at the Manor. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
OBI-WAN KENOBI SERIES REVIEWS
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI