I initially tried to write this entry as a response to Ewan_Kenobi's very interesting blog about Anakin's final days as a Jedi. But, since we're limited to 750 characters when responding to a blog, and I'm rather comfortable listening to myself talk (or type), this response needed to appear here. So, click the link to read Master Kenobi's thoughtful work, and if you're so inclined, come on back here...

There are some very good points in Master Kenobi's entry. I just wish that the films themselves did as great a job getting into Anakin's internal conflict as the PT novels do. I've found that the biggest reason I have for appreciating the PT as much as I do is that, having read the TPM, AOTC, and ROTS novels, my mind fills in the gaps in the films, and regards the characters based on the combination of their textual and filmic portrayals.

The ROTS novel in particular is so amazingly well-written that I count it as the best thing I read in 2005, and has infinitely more depth than than the film (duh...like any novel to film comparison doesn't shake out this way, buy anyhow...). Granted, ROTS is clearly the strongest of the PT, and shows an artistic side of Mr. Lucas that, technical wizardry aside, hasn't been seen since THX, but for as good as the film is, the novel actually brought me to tears on several occasions, and (bringing me back to the blog-specific topic) makes Anakin a truly tragic hero. Dark Lord also does a beautiful job crafting Anakin's transition from fallen Jedi to full-on Sith Lord.

I guess it's just unfortunate that without the EU novels (and do the film adaptation count as EU, since they literally expand on the ideas on the films?), the films don't reach the fullest potential of their rich characters.