- 25/05/2025
Darth Plagueis was right there all along.
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00:00Star Wars is such a gargantuan franchise at this point that it's basically impossible for any
00:05single movie to say and do everything a filmmaker wants to, incorporating every character, location,
00:11and event that means something to fans. And so, perhaps more than any other IP in history,
00:17Star Wars does a lot of its storytelling on the periphery, slyly revealing fascinating plot points
00:22in the background, whether through implication or clever visual signposting. So let's take a look
00:27at some of the best today, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Greatest
00:31Unspoken Star Wars Movie Plot Points. The Real Reason for R2-D2's Disobedience
00:37The Empire Strikes Back
00:38You'll probably remember that, in The Empire Strikes Back, R2-D2 demonstrates a habit of
00:43disobeying Luke Skywalker's orders to stay put and remain with the ship. While at first glance
00:49there seems nothing more than R2-D2 being an amusingly independent-minded droid who wants to
00:54help his charge complete his mission, the much sadder truth is subtly explained in the prequels.
00:59You see, in Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin touches down on Mustafa with R2 in tow, he tells
01:05R2 to stay with the ship, except in this case, R2 obeys Anakin's request only for Anakin to
01:11subsequently become Darth Vader and never return to R2. This, in turn, seemingly caused R2 to develop
01:18some understandable abandonment issues. And so, in the events of the original trilogy,
01:22he's not about to sit still and wait around for a human who may or may not abandon him again.
01:28While we can technically put this down to George Lucas developing the plot point in retrospect in
01:32the prequels, it's still totally effective in explaining R2's distaste for compliance.
01:389. Jango Fett's Damaged Backpack
01:41Attack of the Clones
01:42One of the most memorable moments in Attack of the Clones is the absolutely savage death of Jango Fett,
01:48who is swiftly decapitated, helmet and all, by a lightsaber swiped from Mace Windu during the
01:53Battle of Genosis. Now, many fans have questioned over the years why Jango didn't use his jetpack to
01:58either fly away or outmanoeuvre Windu, but instead he just seemed to, well, just stand there and wait
02:02to be beheaded. Well, the answer is actually clear if you look a little closer at the scene,
02:07because if you remember that just a few moments before his brawl with Windu, Drango is trampled by a
02:12runaway reek, and if you keep an eye on Jango's back, sparks are emanating from his jetpack,
02:17and so, with a broken jetpack, Jango was unable to hastily flee from Windu or avoid his brutal demise.
02:23But here's a fun fact for you, the sparks weren't actually included in the theatrical release of
02:27the film, but after many fans complained about Jango just standing around waiting to die,
02:32Lucas added in these sparks to try and clarify things, and yet it still apparently mystifies a lot
02:36of people. 8. The last thing that Obi-Wan sees is Luke and Leia reunited. A new hope.
02:43If you call yourself even a casual Star Wars fan, the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi is basically seared
02:48into your mind, and yet it's easy to miss a pivotal detail that's basically hiding in plain sight.
02:54Obi-Wan, of course, sacrifices himself during the lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, in turn allowing
02:59the heroes to escape the Death Star. But if you take a closer look at Obi-Wan and his final moments,
03:04you'll observe that he only lets his guard down after first seeing Luke and Leia making their
03:09escape. Obi-Wan even lets out a wry smile in the seconds before Vader ends him, meaning the last
03:14thing that he sees before laying down his life is Luke and Leia, the twins that he separated at birth
03:1919 years earlier, finally reunited. Now, while it's no secret that George Lucas hadn't planned out
03:25that Luke and Leia were siblings at this point of shooting, and this really is more of a case of
03:29serendipity at play, it still works perfectly for the story that was ultimately told.
03:347. The Tragedy of Rats – The Phantom Menace
03:38And now we sing the ballad of poor Rats, an extremely minor character in The Phantom Menace who
03:43nevertheless has a low-key heartbreaking arc in the middle of this film. You see, Rats is a pod racing
03:48pilot glimpsed a few brief times during the movie's pod racing sequence, namely at his moment of death.
03:54In the second lap of the Bunta Eve classic, Rats can be seen letting out a scream as his pod crashes
03:59into a stalactite and explodes into a fireball, which kills him instantly. Though the scene swiftly
04:04moves on and the audience isn't invited to actively think about Rats ever again, keep your eyes peeled
04:09when Qui-Gon Jinn talks to Watto about Anakin after the race. In the background, a couple of tiny alien
04:15creatures can be seen walking around mournfully, and one of the film's deleted scenes reveals these
04:20characters to be Rats' wife and children, who were in attendance for the race and presumably
04:25saw him die. Not-so-fun fact from the wider Star Wars universe, one of Rats' sons, Deland,
04:30went on to found the Rats Foundation and became a lobbyist to heighten the dangers of pod racing,
04:35successfully having it banned on many planets throughout the galaxy.
04:396. Why Darth Vader Stopped Boba Fett From Killing Chewie
04:42The Empire Strikes Back
04:44A question that's bugged fans ever since the release of The Empire Strikes Back is why Darth Vader
04:49stops Boba Fett from shooting Chewbacca in the film's climax as Han Solo is being encased in
04:54carbonite. You see, Fett goes to shoot Chewie, but Vader lifts up his hand and stops him from firing,
04:59a seemingly bizarre move that has seen fans perform Olympic-level mental gymnastics in an attempt to
05:04explain. Some assumed that Vader didn't want to risk an errant blaster shot ruining the carbonite,
05:09or perhaps he simply had a sense of humour about dealing with his prisoners.
05:13But 2020's canon comic Darth Vader No. 12 finally lends context to Vader's actions,
05:18revealing that he wanted to keep Luke's friends alive to demonstrate the carefully controlled power
05:23that he could exert over the rebels. It's certainly a better outcome than just trying
05:26to come up with a convoluted reasoning for why Vader might specifically want to keep Chewie alive,
05:31so it really is just a Machiavellian feat of psychological warfare on his behalf.
05:355. Dryden Vos' Decraniated Slaves
05:39Solo
05:39Now, Solo, a Star Wars story, may be awash in on-the-nose fan service, but it also offered up some
05:45more subdued world-building and plotting, such as providing a further glimpse at the Decraniated,
05:50the android-looking individuals with half a head who are first briefly seen in Jedha in Rogue One.
05:56In Solo, we see that the villain Dryden Vos is using the Decraniated as servants,
06:01and while that might seem harmless enough if they are indeed androids, the visual guide for Rogue One
06:06reveals that that definitely isn't the case. In fact, the Decraniated are injured humans who were
06:11kidnapped and experimented on by fugitive surgeon Cornelius Everzan, who had a famous encounter
06:16with Luke and Obi-Wan in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope, before making a brief reappearance
06:21in Rogue One. We can infer from the Decraniated's appearance that their heads were cut in half
06:26and replaced with robotic enhancements, in a procedure that was clearly not in any way consensual.
06:32This is easily one of the most horrific, unspoken aspects of Star Wars lore. After all,
06:37who expects to see a Cronenbergian body horror in a supposedly family-friendly sci-fi blockbuster
06:42franchise of all things?
06:434. General Grievous hides his cough from Palpatine. Revenge of the Sith
06:48Beyond being a four-armed cyborg, the most distinctive thing about Revenge of the Sith
06:53separatist commander General Grievous is his distinctive asthmatic cough. The 2003 Clone Wars
06:59series revealed this to be the result of lung damage inflicted upon him during a battle with
07:03Mace Windu, though this technically is not canon anymore. All the same, a small but intriguing
07:08character flourish is noticeable when he speaks with Palpatine's hologram, because he loudly clears
07:14his throat before connecting the cool. Given that Grievous doesn't seem bothered about coughing in
07:18front of anyone else, we can infer that he basically wants to conceal his cough from Palpatine as much
07:23as possible, maybe through a fear of him looking air quotes weak in his presence. It speaks not only to
07:28Palpatine's fearsome standing, but more curiously Grievous' own insecurity about his cough and how
07:34it might present him to others, especially those in positions of authority above him.
07:383. Hera Syndulla took part in the Battle of Scarif, Rogue One
07:43Easter eggs are nothing new to the world of Star Wars, though sometimes a reference that might seem
07:48throwaway to casual fans actually has far more intriguing implications for the Die Hard set. Case in
07:53point, during Rogue One's climactic battle on Scarif, keen-eyed fans may have spotted the Ghost,
07:58the ship owned by Syndulla, one of the main characters from the Star Wars Rebels animated
08:03series. Between this and the fact that an announcer can be heard calling the name General Syndulla on
08:07Yavin 4 in one scene, the clear implication is that she took part in the Battle of Scarif.
08:12While we only got to see a few shots of the Ghost in action during the battle, it was simply neat
08:16enough to know that such a beloved Star Wars character was in the mix and helping out. At the time of
08:21Rogue One's release, this Easter egg was a bit of a double-edged sword, though, as it effectively
08:25left her fate hanging in the balance. Thankfully, though, Rebels' final episode ultimately revealed
08:30that she went on to fight in the Battle of Endor, confirming her survival at Scarif.
08:342. Darth Plagueis' ashes are stored outside of Palpatine's office.
08:39Revenge of the Sith
08:40You may or may not recall that outside of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office sits two
08:45impractically large black vases which are placed either side of the door. To the casual observer,
08:50these vases would appear to be merely ornamental, though the 2012 reference book Star Wars Beware
08:55the Sith reveals that these vases are actually spirit urns. Canonically, these urns have been
09:00used to store important items, and in this case, Beware the Sith reveals one of them to contain the
09:05ashen remains of Palpatine's own departed master, Darth Plagueis. That's certainly a bold move on
09:11Palpatine's part, and though Beware the Sith is technically now part of Star Wars' Legends
09:16continuity, like most Legends, lore fans are free to debate whether or not it is canon until
09:20explicitly stated within the new canon. Given that the spirit urns are also mentioned in 2017's
09:26visual encyclopedia book, which is now 100% canon, it seems unlikely that their status as
09:31Plagueis' final resting place will ever be directly contradicted in any new Star Wars media.
09:361. Obi-Wan taught Luke how to get the high ground
09:40Return of the Jedi Now, this is one of those plot points
09:43that splits fans right down the middle. You see, during Darth Vader's battle with Luke in Return
09:47of the Jedi, you'll recall that Vader looks up at Luke who is standing in an elevated position and
09:52says, Obi-Wan has taught you well. Well, looking at the movies today, it's hard not to view this as
09:57a nodding towards the event of Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan gets the high ground against Anakin
10:01during their very fiery and fateful duel on Mustafa. While it's a simple fact that Return was of
10:07course made more than 20 years before Revenge, it's conceivable that George Lucas came up with
10:12this now meme-worthy high ground motif to lend greater importance to Vader's original comment.
10:17Sure, Vader could simply be talking about Luke's general combat aptitude as a result of training
10:21with Obi-Wan, but it makes all the sense in the world that Obi-Wan would teach Luke to get the high
10:26ground against an opponent. It's blatant revisionism, but it also fits perfectly.
10:31And there we go, my friends, those were 10 of the greatest unspoken Star Wars movie plot points.
10:35I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
10:38comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, so you can go follow me over on Twitter
10:41at RetroJayWithAZero, or you can swing by LiveAndLet'sDykes, where I do all of my streaming
10:45and Warhammer battle reports outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there.
10:49But before I go, I just want to say one thing, I'm not going to let this moment be unspoken,
10:53and that is that you, my friend, listening to this video should be kind to yourself, both mentally
10:56and physically, because you deserve all of the best things in life, and do not let anything
11:00or anyone else tell you otherwise, alright? You're a massive legend, and I want you to go out there
11:04and absolutely smash it today. I believe in you. As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome,
11:09never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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