This is your spoiler warning if you’ve never seen Star Wars… but, if you’re here, I’m assuming you’ve already seen it because otherwise, why are you reading a Star Wars blog? Unless of course you’re just curious… If you want, I can try to make a non-spoiler version which takes out any specifics- but you’ll probably see a lot of “something happens” or “someone discovers something”- which might be extremely boring…
Even though I think it ultimately depends on the person; I am going to offer a suggestion about the order to watch Star Wars- I must confess that I did not come up with it… but really, it’s just a revision to one of the previous ways to watch the saga…
That would be 4-6- then 7 (and the rest of the sequel trilogy as they come out). After that, you can move to the prequels (1-3), and then Rogue One.
If you are wondering why this order- my answer is that 4-6 is awesome and special. I don’t know that I agree with one of the comments associated with this theory- because they were basically saying that Star Wars is all about Luke’s character arc. I mean, it’s not entirely a false premise- because 4-6 was indeed about Luke’s character arc and about the redemption of Darth Vader… The prequels show us that Anakin ultimately made the wrong choices and chose to go to the Dark Side, but Luke decided not to go down that road… history repeats itself in Star Wars, but it doesn’t always repeat exactly. At a certain point, both Skywalker’s are tempted to turn to the Dark Side. The father goes down the dark path, but the son- when faced with the same choice- decides to stay on the light side… and this goodness is what redeems his father. Vader sees the error of his ways. He sees that the Emperor was a liar and a manipulator- and that Palpatine betrayed him just like he betrayed Dooku. Vader realizes that he missed out on Luke’s life because he turned. Now, because we’ve seen the prequels- we can read into that last scene in Return of the Jedi that as Vader saw the Emperor shocking Luke with Force Lightning; that Vader 1. Knew how painful that was, and 2. While he ultimately couldn’t do anything about his mother’s death-he thought that he could have saved her- and he couldn’t save Padme (she only died because of his turning- and probably because of the Emperor (read my post The Power of the Dark Side from a while ago). Vader knew that this was a situation in which he could actually save a person he cared about.
Because of that, he saved his son by destroying the Emperor.
What is neat about watching the Classic Trilogy first is that it’s a excellent set of films and there’s a special feeling about them that you only get with that set of movies. Also- you get to see the films that started it all. They’re the reason why people love Star Wars so much- and they’re the reason why the prequels even got made. We wouldn’t really care about Anakin if it weren’t for Luke. That part anyway is pretty true…
In this order of 4-6, then 7, Episodes 1-3, and finally- Rogue One- we get the build-up of how the Empire was destroyed. We meet Luke, Han and Leia, and it has some plot twists. Episode 4 starts out on a triumphant note. Episode 5 is a bit of a downer even though it’s a spectacular film. Episode 6 begins on a bit of a low note, but by the end, it’s so victorious! We see Vader redeemed and the Empire fall, and it’s great! By moving next to the sequels, it fleshes out the fact that evil always exists. It begins- again- on a bit of a downer, but it eventually introduces us to Han again, as well as Leia and finally, in the last few seconds- Luke… We see someone else from a desert planet finding her way in the universe- discovering her purpose… and while the end is sort of anticlimactic – it’s not really a downer. We are excited to see Luke return. We are curious to see where that will lead us- and in December, we are going to get The Last Jedi- which I am really looking forward to… It looks like it’s going to be really cool. The arc continues in an interesting way.
The great thing about this order is- by the time the viewer finishes the Classic Trilogy- they’re invested in those characters and their stories- then in the sequel trilogy, we see the affect the events of the original trilogy have on the galaxy and its ripples across time. I also think that Episode 7 is a nice bridge as far as the effects go. They have a mixture of practical effects and CGI so it’s not so much of the same kind of film-making. I also like the fact that they choose to tell the story in a slightly different way- breathing new life into the saga…
A benefit to watching the prequels after the originals and Episode 7 is that it helps bring Rogue One into the picture. And since Rogue One comes just before Episode 4, you get this neat effect of Star Wars coming full-circle! There are people who suggested to watch Rogue One first… I don’t agree with that for several reasons. The first reason is because Rogue One is an anthology film. It’s not an Episode- so it basically has nothing to do with the overall arc of the story except for the fact that they get the plans for the Death Star and it gets to Leia… Second, there are too many things that are only cool if you’ve seen Star Wars. I mean- Darth Vader for one. He’s only in the film a few minutes, but seeing him in that hallway at the very end, or seeing his lava castle is only cool if you’ve already been exposed to Darth Vader and know his story… If I had never seen any of the other Star Wars movies, I wouldn’t get chills watching Vader plow through that hallway with a red lightsaber… and the stuff with Leia and Bail Organa and Mon Mothma would be less significant. You’d be like, “I guess these people are important”. Going along with this train of thought- when Mon Mothma and Bail talk about his “friend, the Jedi” we all know he’s talking about Obi-Wan, but if you’re watching Rogue One first, that would mean almost nothing to you. You probably wouldn’t know that Alderaan gets destroyed, so you wouldn’t think anything of Bail going back home… And you’d have no idea that Leia is his adopted daughter… You’d have no idea why there’s a moment with R2-D2 and C-3PO because it seems sort of random if you don’t have context and know that Artoo and Threepio have appeared in every Star Wars movie so far…
Also, Rogue One ends on sort of a downer- every one of the main characters of the film dies at the end, so you’d almost have no reason to come back and watch the rest of the movies. The reason why we go to see sequels and prequels is because we are interested in the characters and their stories. While Rogue One is a terrific film- it’s a side story that really loses something in the translation if you try to watch it without the context of the other movies.
But watching it last is perfect because it takes you back to the beginning of the old trilogy. And once people have seen all the films, they can choose to watch in a different order to get an unique experience out of the movies. Once you’ve seen everything the first time, you can truly get creative with how you continue to expand upon what you’ve seen.
Another great thing about doing it this way is that since we all are pretty much in agreement about the Prequels not being as good as the originals, we can pretty much watch them last. By this time, they’ll be so invested in the saga that they’ll stick with it- and then they can watch Rogue One because the circle will be complete.
The final thing that I believe takes this over the top is the fact that since the Classic Trilogy and the Sequel movies have similar aesthetics they really work together. Visually, they are more alike. then 1 through 3 are all shiny and new-looking, but result in a lot of pain and suffering for the galaxy. Following the end of the prequels- Rogue One leads so well into A New Hope that once they finish it, the viewer can think, “Oh! That makes sense!”. It sets them up for viewing the saga again. It’s a way to blend the movies all together.
Of course, this is just my opinion.
What are your thoughts?
See My Other Posts on the Subject:
So, What Order? Part 1: In Order of Release Date
From a Certain Point of View... 
Reblogged this on The Writings of Cindy R. Miller.
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