Warning: There will be spoilers for the Star Wars Andor series and anything else in Star
Wars that I feel like talking about.
If you haven’t seen the tenth episode of Andor, proceed with caution.
You have been warned.
Generally speaking, for a villain to monologue…it’s probably not a good idea.
A monologue is when a character delivers a one-sided speech, usually revealing their
intentions, motives, and the outcome they are striving for.
But it’s been shown numerous times that when a monologue is delivered, the opposite
usually happens, and it ends in the one delivering the monologue to lose in the coming struggle.
But Star Wars has changed the dynamic of a monologue to not spell doom for the one monologuing.
Yes, they usually meet their fate in the end, but their plans aren’t foiled immediately
following their speech.
And their end is usually much later…even years later.
Today, we will look at some great monologues in Star Wars storytelling and how it didn’t
mean instant loss for the character.
I will also show one instance of a bad monologue in Star Wars.
Not bad in terms of bad writing, but bad that it didn’t end well for the character…and
it shocked the audience.
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Now…let’s monologue.
I hope it doesn’t mean certain doom.
Star Wars is riddled with monologues.
But when we see monologues in other television and film, we tend to think “here we go…this
is the end for this character.”
In the speech, the giver divulges what they are doing, why they are doing it, and the
desired outcome.
And usually, there is a devious scheme behind it and the monologue only has a sprinkle of
truth…the rest is delusional.
But in Star Wars it’s different with the villains.
The villains actually tell the truth, and the heroes don’t believe it…because the
speakers are…simply put…villains, and they are told villains always lie.
When we first saw the Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Darth Vader gives Luke Skywalker
the “I am your father” speech.
Although it’s a short monologue, it still tells Darth Vader’s true intentions.
In order for Luke to survive the duel, he must join Vader to bring order to the galaxy.
With hopes that Luke will make the right choice, it’s the only reason Vader hasn’t cut
him down.
Now, when we first saw it, one would think…oh no!
Darth Vader is going to die now.
But it was the opposite.
He cuts off Luke’s hand.
Although Luke didn’t perish, he was badly beaten, and Darth Vader walked away with nothing
more than a scratch to his shoulder armor.
Instead of Darth Vader losing after his monologue, we actually get the sense of how powerful
he really is.
He seriously could have ended Luke right there.
But that wasn’t his goal.
Make Luke question his teachings and the ones who trained him.
Put doubt in his mind as to who he is and how honest Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda really
were.
It was meant as a long-term tactic that would hopefully turn Luke to Vader’s side.
Immediate results were preferable but bringing down the new Jedi in training from within
would also be a success that would end the new Jedi Order that could arise, and give
Darth Vader the help he needed in defeating Emperor Palpatine.
Darth Vader told Luke the truth.
He was Luke’s father, and there was no lying about his plans.
He was fed up with his master, Emperor Palpatine mistreating him, and he needed to end him.
He also had every intention of finishing Luke’s training.
Although on the other side of the Force.
It was Obi-Wan Kenobi who lied to Luke…the former hero of the Clone Wars.
In Attack of the Clones we get another monologue.
Yeah, I’m going in order of release…not chronology.
Anyways, Count Dooku, aka Darth Tyrannus has Obi-Wan Kenobi captive.
He tells Obi-Wan that the senate is being controlled by a Sith lord.
Obi-Wan is rescued, then, alongside his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, he duels Dooku.
But Kenobi loses…gets knocked out.
This isn’t the way it should go.
Dooku should have been killed…because he monologued earlier.
Even when Dooku is finally disposed of, it wasn’t the one he made the speech to that
disposed of him, and it was about 3 years later.
This turns the traditional sequence of events of a monologue on its head.
But it’s also important to note that Count Dooku is seen as the villain…but he didn’t
lie in his monologue.
As Darth Vader wanted Luke to join him, he wanted Obi-Wan to help him.
And he was honest about what was really going on…yet Obi-Wan Kenobi dismissed the ramblings
of Count Dooku.
Why?
Because Dooku was the villain of the story.
That brings us to the artist formerly known as Darth Maul…recently…just Maul.
Where do I begin with this guy?
He has so many monologues it’s hard to keep track.
But let’s skip ahead to the speech he presents to Ahsoka Tano during the Siege of Mandalore.
He gives a well thought out and convincing reasoning as to why Ahsoka should join him
against the Sith in charge, Darth Sidious.
How Sidious has been in control of everything from the beginning and how the current power
status is about to shift, and justice is just a construct of the current power holders.
Remember, Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice…and they are about to cease
to exist.
So, the idea of justice is about to be altered.
And Ahsoka actually believes Maul and will join him after answering one question she
has.
Well, she doesn’t like the answer and instead engages Maul.
A lightsaber fight ensues and Ahsoka captures Maul.
But this is another example of the “villain” telling the truth.
It’s true, his reasons for being honest are more for his own power but he tells the
truth of what’s going on behind the scenes.
It’s interesting to also note that this is a different dynamic than the traditional
monologue.
Whereas the hero believes the speaker…even if just for a moment.
Usually, they are written off as warped or crazy, but Ahsoka feels the truth coming from
him.
Even when he tells her of Anakin’s turn to the dark side, he is being honest.
She closed her ears at that point…then wrote him off as crazy.
Maul also loses the battle, as is traditional.
However, he escapes later and lives another 19 years or so.
Why did Ahsoka not believe Maul?
Because he is the perceived villain…and she didn’t think the kind Anakin that she
knew could do such horrible things.
I’m not going to go into every monologue in the Star Wars universe.
But I’ll go on and skip ahead to the Andor series.
This speech has instantly become a classic.
When Lonni Jung asks Luthen Rael what he has sacrificed for the cause, which he demands
so much sacrifice of others for, Luthen responds in one of the best monologues to come from
recent visual media.
Possibly ever.
At the surface, it doesn’t look as though he is divulging his plans or reasoning for
why he is using so many people as chess pieces…yet he actually does…when you listen closely.
He knows he isn’t going to survive.
Thus sacrificing himself for the cause…eventually.
He has given up on everything else for his belief in this rebellion.
He even intends to sacrifice others in order to achieve victory and keep key players safe.
This is one of the best monologues ever because it completely upends the status quo.
Luthen isn’t in immediate danger, he doesn’t have an adversary cornered nor captured, and
he doesn’t have ill will toward the one he is speaking to.
In fact, both parties go their separate ways, and all is forgiven.
Albeit Lonni Jung is a bit shaken up and scared.
But Luthen gives the truth.
He isn’t a villain per se, but he does have a plan that will result in the deaths of many
people…and he tells that.
His reasoning…he’s lost everything 15 years prior.
Now, whether that something is his sanity, his spark of light, or even possibly his family
remains to be seen.
But he does tell of loss.
The magic of this is the delivery of the speech.
His heart is in it and everything he says is believable.
The twist in the status quo is that there is no real perceived danger on either side
in this situation.
Why do we believe him?
Because he isn’t seen as a villain in this story.
Okay, that’s it for the monologues in Star Wars that change the way we view those giving
the speech.
But I did promise one monologue that is so traditional that it reverts back to breaking
the mold of how Star Wars has handled these speeches.
But there’s a twist on the classic way of delivering monologues.
I’m not saying it’s a bad monologue…just different.
Not just in traditional sense but…okay…you’ll see what I mean.
The monologue in question is that of Supreme Leader Snoke.
He and Kylo Ren have Rey captive and it’s time for Rey to be ended.
He goes on about light and dark, then tells a fanciful little narrative of what’s going
on in Kylo Ren’s mind.
He tells exactly how he sees him killing Rey in the coming moments.
Yet, it isn’t Rey that Kylo is concentrated on.
It’s his master.
And in a flash, Snoke is cut in half in the middle of his cute little speech.
For someone who thinks so highly of his insights, looks like Snoke himself needs a bit more
training.
And the reason this guy needed to be wrong is because he was doing evil just to do evil.
There was no grand reasoning as to why the Jedi and the New Republic should be ended,
other than he didn’t like them and wanted power.
But this monologue is still different than traditional speeches.
Whereas the villain is killed in the middle act of a trilogy, and in the middle of his
own monologue.
The dude didn’t even get to finish.
Generally, the villain doesn’t get his come-up ins until the climax near the end of the story.
So, this caught us completely off guard.
It isn’t a bad thing.
If you’re wanting to shock the viewers, then this is one way to do it.
So, it seems Star Wars has found a way to manipulate monologues into something we haven’t
seen before.
With each one, it gets better.
With the most recent being that of Luthen Rael to Lonni Jung, and the other being Andy
Serkis’ character, Kino Loy to the inmates of Narkina 5, as he implores them to stand
and fight against their captors.
But that speech is one that I want to do an entire video on.
It deserves that much time.
I know I didn’t include some great monologues.
So, if there’s one in particular you would like me to discuss, leave it in the comments
below.
I’d love to hear it and break it down.
And on your way out, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and like the video to
help grow this channel even further.
This is Gerald, a Star Wars Fanatic, wishing you all great health, happiness, and peace.
Thank you all for watching and remember, this is the way…the only way.
And by the way…when I say the only way…I’m talking about positivity in the Star Wars
community…not my channel.