The Waning Days of the Republic: Establishing the Dramatic Tension in Attack of the Clones

With our look at The Phantom Menace (TPM), we explored how George Lucas carefully established the slow erosion of the Republic, introducing themes of political decay alongside the personal conflicts of the main characters who will ultimately be responsible for shaping the galactic saga. Now, with Attack of the Clones (AOTC), the second chapter of the prequel trilogy set ten years after the events of the previous film, we find the galaxy in even more turmoil. The film's opening moments immediately set the tone for a story about the Republic on the brink of war—democratic solutions to a nasty Separatist movement is faltering, the Republic's core institutions are failing, and unseen forces are manipulating events, leading the government toward an inevitable collapse. Caught up in the political bailiwick is the renowned Jedi Order, whose ties to the Republic Senate pull them into the orbit of a conflict on the verge of spiraling out of control and into open war.

A Galaxy Divided: The Opening Crawl

The opening crawl of AOTC wastes no time revealing the instability that has gripped the Republic:

There is unrest in the Galactic Senate. Several thousand solar systems have declared their intentions to leave the Republic.

This separatist movement, under the leadership of the mysterious Count Dooku, has made it difficult for the limited number of Jedi Knights to maintain peace and order in the galaxy.

Senator Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, is returning to the Galactic Senate to vote on the critical issue of creating an ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC to assist the overwhelmed Jedi.... 

Whereas TPM introduced a manufactured trade dispute as a pretense for Palpatine's rise to power, here the stakes are far more explicit: the Republic is crumbling, war is on the horizon, and the galaxy is fracturing.

Right away, we learn that thousands of star systems have seceded from the Republic, forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) under the leadership of Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). The Republic's leaders are in the midst of debating whether to create a Grand Army to deal with this growing threat. This is a crucial moment in the Republic's history: by even considering the formation of a centralized military force, they are already on the path of war—one that, as we will see, is exactly what Darth Sidious has been orchestrating behind the scenes.

What's important to recognize here is how Lucas frames this moment. The struggle of the Republic is not simply a militaristic or political one, as both of those issues are symptomatic of a deeper, more subtle problem that we've already seen the rumblings of in TPM—institutional paralysis due to endlessly overlapping bureaucratic circles in which systemic rot begins to fester. As we saw with the trade disputes that formed the backdrop of TPM, these crises did not arise from nowhere, nor are they the result of a single bad actor. The Republic has been deteriorating for years, and audiences first came into that story about a decade prior, during one particular crisis during which Qui-Gon Jinn discovered a young boy whom he believes is prophesied to play a major role in galactic events going forward.

The Separatist movement mentioned in the opening crawl, rather than being portrayed as a one-dimensional villainous faction of external actors, is instead the consequence of a government that no longer serves all its members. There is a certain ambiguity here that runs quite contrary to the familiar "Rebels versus Imperials" storyline that audiences who knew the Original Trilogy (OT) would have been more familiar with at the time AOTC hit theaters.

Dani Di Placido, writing for Forbes, reflected on the PT in 2016 and noted the following:

"The problem with the original Star Wars is that the Jedi are all undeniably awesome, while the Sith are unquestionably evil, and probably have some kind of facial deformity to prove it. So Lucas injected some moral ambiguity into this simplistic space opera, assumedly trying to ensure his creation withstood the test of time.

So he changed the Jedi from idealistic white knights into devout monks that follow a severe, inhuman code. No anger, no love, no passion for life. And not only do they repeatedly break these humorless rules, they're also deeply entrenched in a swampy political system. The hypocrisy of the Jedi and the impotence of the Republic clarified that Luke Skywalker was not picking up the pieces from a bygone golden era, but simply continuing an eternal struggle against totalitarianism.

The fall of democracy wasn't as fun an idea as the fall of an evil empire, but it was George Lucas's ambition to really flesh out the world he'd created with something more substantial than red lightsaber vs. blue lightsaber. Problem was, the political intrigue was too heavy a subject for a kids movie, so Lucas compensated by exaggerating the annoying sidekicks and cartoonish hijinks. He had to, or Star Wars would've failed to ignite the imagination of the next generation."

There is a sense in which, by the time Attack of the Clones begins, Palpatine has already won. The Republic may still function, but it is a shell of what it once was. The question is no longer if the Republic and, by extension, the Jedi Order will fall, but when and how it will happen.

The First Blow: The Assassination Attempt on Padmé Amidala

As the crawl fades and the action begins, a Naboo starfighter escort arrives on Coruscant, escorting Padmé Amidala (now a senator) to vote on the Military Creation Act. Almost immediately upon landing, an explosion destroys one of the ships, killing Padmé's decoy, Cordé. The terrorist attack stands in striking contrast to the opening of TPM, where the Republic was mired in bureaucratic stagnation, and much of the plot was rife with political maneuvering. Here, the Republic's crisis is far more visceral than blockades and trade disputes—violence has directly entered the political sphere.

This assassination attempt is significant for several reasons. First, it highlights how much Padmé's role has shifted since the first film. No longer a queen, she is now a senator who, we will see, has taken an active role in opposing the Republic's growing militarization. This sets her up as a political obstacle to Palpatine's unfolding plans, which is why she is targeted in the first place. Second, the attack reveals how fragile the Republic's institutions have become, and how volatile the situation now is. The enemy now comes from within in the face of law and order breaking down, which suggests that the Republic is no longer capable of protecting its own representatives.

By creating an atmosphere of fear, Sidious has ensured that the Republic will inch closer to war. Though the Jedi and Republic do not yet know it, this attack is another move in the Sith Lord's long game, and will ultimately be a contributing factor in the decision to vote for emergency powers.

The Jedi and Their Changing Role

The first major conversation in AOTC takes place between key Republic figures, including Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, members of the Jedi Council, and several leading senators. This scene serves to set-up the Republic's growing reliance on the Jedi as political enforces rather than impartial peacekeepers, putting them at odds with their core tenants of belief.

Palpatine expresses concern for Padmé's, feigning sympathy while subtly advancing his own agenda. He emphasizes the severity of the Separatist crisis and the instability facing the Republic, framing Padmé's survival as essential to maintaining the Republic's integrity.

Padmé, despite the attempt on her life, remains steadfast in her opposition to the Military Creation Act, accusing Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatist movement, of being behind the attack. Interestingly, it is Mace Windu, representing the Jedi Council, who pushes back against her claim, saying that Count Dooku is a former Jedi and therefore, somehow, incapable of carrying out such an action. His words betray the Jedi's unwillingness to grasp just how far the corruption of the Republic extends, as well as an institutional arrogance that will ultimately prove to be their undoing. The Jedi, or, at least, their leadership, believe that one of their own could never resort to such methods, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

With Padmé's safety in question, Palpatine suggests that she place herself under the protection of the Jedi. It's a request that the Jedi Council finally agrees to, and while this may be a reasonable precaution, it further erodes the Jedi's role as neutral peacekeepers in a growing conflict, positioning them as personal bodyguards for political figures. However insignificant this may seem, it is an early example of how the Jedi are being drawn deeper into the Republic's power struggles—first as protectors, and later as generals in a war they did not start but will ultimately fight to the bitter end.

The Jedi have now accepted a direct role in the Republic's political machinery. And the Jedi selected to protect Padmé—specifically Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker—bring Anakin and Padmé back into each other's orbit, re-establishing one of the PT's most crucial relationships.

This early scenes introduce us to the dramatic tension that sustains the narrative of AOTC—the Republic is unraveling, the Jedi are losing their independence, and the galaxy is moving closer to war. Palpatine is already pulling the strings, and the Jedi, despite their wisdom, are walking straight into the trap he has set, even if the full extent and scale of that trap is not yet known. From the very first moments, we see the Republic unraveling, the Jedi struggling to keep up, and Palpatine tightening his grip on power.

In the next post, we'll continue exploring Attack of the Clones by examining the shifting political landscape of the Republic, the rise of the Separatists, and the decisions that will ultimately lead to war. We'll focus on what the text itself presents—keeping in mind both the immediate context and Lucas's overarching vision for the PT. As always, may the Force be with you!