When my friend Jordan asks me if I can take a look at a movie for him to see if it’s a chiasmus, I say yes. And when that movie is Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, I gulp before saying yes. Jordan has been right about every film he’s asked me to analyze so far: Tron, Escape from New York, Dreamscape, Akira, Conan the Barbarian, Scream, and Goldfinger. Thus, I had no doubt this one would turn out to be just like those.

However, I never intended to view this particular movie again. I had not seen Revenge of the Sith since 2005 when he asked me to watch it again last week. That last viewing was during a pretty stressful point in my life, so I didn’t enjoy the film. And I was worried it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience this time around. Amazingly, I actually had a great time revisiting this film, especially since I discovered its chiastic structure as I went.

This is the second Star Wars film I’ve discovered to be a chiasmus. The Empire Strikes Back was the first. I’m excited to share what I found with you. I have a very good feeling about this.

The Chiasmus

Here is a summary of the chiasmus in Revenge of the Sith, which shows how the first half mirrors the second.

A. Chancellor Palpatine is held captive by General Grievous
 B. Anakin Skywalker spots Grievous’s ship, saves Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, and gets aboard
  C. R2D2 engages in comic relief
   D. Obi-Wan and Anakin agree to fight as one when their old enemy Count Dooku returns
    E. The two Jedi get captured and wonder how it happened. They escape their bonds
     F. Obi-Wan and Anakin crash on Coruscant in an emergency landing
      G. Palpatine says the war will continue as long as Grievous is alive
       H. Padmé Skywalker tells Anakin that something wonderful has happened; she’s pregnant
        I. From Coruscant, Palpatine says he’ll have a new apprentice soon, and he orders Grievous to send the separatist leaders to Mustafar
         J. Anakin has a nightmare of Padmé dying, and she wonders if they should ask Obi-Wan for help
          K. Yoda counsels Anakin to let go of everything he fears to lose, not realizing he’s married to a pregnant Padmé
           L. Palpatine asks Anakin to watch the Jedi Council for him, and Anakin feels conflicted
            M. Against Anakin’s wishes, he’s not made a Jedi Master
             N. On the Jedi Council’s orders, Obi-Wan asks Anakin to spy on Palpatine
              O. Yoda and Obi-Wan worry about Anakin
               P. Padmé asks Anakin to stop the war, which pushes him away
                Q. Palpatine dismisses his companions and tells Anakin a Sith legend about achieving immortality
                 R. Obi-Wan is selected to find Grievous on Utapau, while Yoda prepares for battle with Chewbacca
                  S. Clones and Wookiees fight together on Kashyyk, and Yoda narrowly avoids a separatist’s laser blast
                   T. Before saying goodbye, Obi-Wan tells Anakin it won’t be long until the Jedi Council makes him a Jedi Master
                    U. Anakin has a second dream, and he promises not to let Padmé die
                     V. Obi-Wan discovers that Grievous is hiding on Utapau
                      W. Obi-Wan begins fighting Grievous and drops his lightsaber
                       X. The Jedi plan a coup on Palpatine if he doesn’t step down
                        Y. Palpatine tells Anakin that the Jedi Council doesn’t trust him, and they fear his future power
                        Y. Palpatine trusts Anakin with his secret that he’s a Sith Lord, and he tempts Anakin with the power to save his wife
                       X. Anakin plans to turn Palpatine over to the Jedi rather than kill him
                      W. Obi-Wan kills Grievous after picking up a blaster
                     V. Anakin reports what he discovered about Palpatine to Mace Windu
                    U. Anakin remembers Palpatine’s words, and he decides to stop Palpatine from dying
                   T. After helping Palpatine kill Mace Windu, Anakin pledges his allegiance to Palpatine and is renamed Darth Vader
                  S. Clones kill Jedi across the galaxy, and on Kashyyk Yoda narrowly avoids a clone’s laser blast
                 R. Chewbacca helps Yoda escape, while Obi-Wan prepares to join him after leaving Utapau
                Q. Anakin tells Padmé to have faith in him before he leaves on a mass-murder mission for Palpatine
               P. A message tells Yoda and Obi-Wan to return to the Jedi temple because the war is over
              O. Yoda and Obi-Wan discover evidence of Anakin’s many murders
             N. On Palpatine’s orders, Anakin kills the separatists on Mustafar
            M. Against Yoda’s wishes, Obi-Wan learns that Anakin is a traitor
           L. Yoda sends Obi-Wan to kill Anakin, and Obi-Wan feels conflicted about it
          K. Obi-Wan questions Padmé about Anakin and realizes she’s pregnant with his child
         J. Anakin’s worst nightmare comes true when he believes Padmé betrayed him to Obi-Wan
        I. Obi-Wan fights his old apprentice on Mustafar while Yoda fights Palpatine on Coruscant
       H. Padmé asks Obi-Wan if Anakin is all right, but he knows that something terrible has happened
      G. After the war ends, Palpatine finds Anakin still alive
     F. Padmé and Anakin safely land at medical facilities for emergency surgery
    E. Padmé delivers twins and dies for an unknown reason. Darth Vader breaks free of his bonds
   D. Obi-Wan and Senator Organa agree to split up Luke and Leia, and an old friend (Qui-Gon Jinn) returns
  C. C3PO’s memory is wiped in a comedic scene
 B. Vader gazes at the Death Star as Padmé (who he failed to save) is interred
A. Luke and Leia are delivered to adoptive families

Final Thoughts

I didn’t want to write any more Cinematic Chiasmus articles out of respect for the author of the Star Wars Ring Theory who graciously reached out to me a decade ago when I published my Empire Strikes Back Cinematic Chiasmus. I thought that what he had done was so incredible, comparing each of the original trilogy films to the prequel trilogy, that I felt like anything I contributed would be superfluous.

So I hope my uncovering of this chiasmus in Revenge of the Sith doesn’t detract from his much-grander achievement. I just love discovering new things to love about already-good movies. And, of course, a huge thank you to Jordan for inspiring yet another Cinematic Chiasmus. His track record is still perfect! I will never underestimate his power.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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