The Hermit's Journey. To arms, prequel defenders, to arms!

[GandALF]

Okay, granted we don’t know why specifically Tarkin or the other officers willingly serve such an oppressive regime rather than rebelling themselves, but considering they’re (the Moffs in ANH at least) high up in the regime, they have a vested interest in keeping that regime stable and staying on top.

That's the same as Gunray though, we don't know what specifically the tax laws are about, but Gunray has a vested interest in opposing them. In both cases we see them do evil things, but we don't know what their motivation for being evil is exactly. We're not even told why Vader is evil in the OT, Obi-Wan just says he was "seduced by the dark side" which is just as vague as "taxation dispute"

[Dînadan]

But it’s not the same thing though. Tarkin is in a position of power fighting those that want to overthrow him and wants to maintain that power. He has a clear goal, he explicitly tells us what method he thinks will work best to achieve that goal and takes steps to go through with it.

Gunray just wants to change ‘stuff’ and does something with no explanation of how that will actually work.

Gunray is “I want to do something, this is something so I’ll do it” while Tarkin is “I want to achieve something, this will let me achieve that something, so I’ll do it.” They are not remotely the same thing.

[GandALF]

But it’s not the same thing though. Tarkin is in a position of power fighting those that want to overthrow him and wants to maintain that power. He has a clear goal, he explicitly tells us what method he thinks will work best to achieve that goal and takes steps to go through with it.

Gunray just wants to change ‘stuff’ and does something with no explanation of how that will actually work.

Gunray is “I want to do something, this is something so I’ll do it” while Tarkin is “I want to achieve something, this will let me achieve that something, so I’ll do it.” They are not remotely the same thing.

He's holding a planet hostage in order to force the senate to give in to his demands. Its illogically brazen, which Qui-Gon points out, but he expects Palpatine to get him out of it and while the occupation failed, he "coincidentally" avoids prison.

[Madner Kami]

He's holding a planet hostage in order to force the senate to give in to his demands.

What are his demands though?

[Dînadan]

He's holding a planet hostage in order to force the senate to give in to his demands.

What are his demands though?

This. The issue isn’t why they’re evil, the issue is why they’re taking the actions they do within the film.

As I laid out in an earlier post, every action the villains take in Episode IV make sense and flow naturally. In Episode I they’re doing it because the plot needs someone to do something evil, hence why they are ‘evil for evil’s sake’.


Likewise there’s zero reason for Gunray not to be in prison come Episode II. Why would Palpatine let Gunray get off with no repurcussions? You could say ‘oh he needed him to form the Seperatists’, but why does it have to be him when it would be more organic for it to be another Trade Federation official that Palpatine had plotted with to make Gunray the fall guy. Palpatine didn’t agree to give Gunray a GetOutofJailFree card, he agreed to make it so that the invasion was legal, so with the invasion a failure that deal should have gone out the window.

[GandALF]

What are his demands though?

To resolve the tax dispute in a way that benefits him.

[Robovski]

What are his demands though?

To resolve the tax dispute in a way that benefits him.

The unpaid duties of Naboo - the blockade is there to cut off trade due to Naboo's debts. This is teh fig leaf on the plan - Naboo is welching on the Trade Federation and they just want what they are due.

[Morgaine]

What are his demands though?

To resolve the tax dispute in a way that benefits him.

The unpaid duties of Naboo - the blockade is there to cut off trade due to Naboo's debts. This is teh fig leaf on the plan - Naboo is welching on the Trade Federation and they just want what they are due.

Where is this said in the movie?

[Robovski]

What are his demands though?

To resolve the tax dispute in a way that benefits him.

The unpaid duties of Naboo - the blockade is there to cut off trade due to Naboo's debts. This is teh fig leaf on the plan - Naboo is welching on the Trade Federation and they just want what they are due.

Where is this said in the movie?

The opening crawl:

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

[Morgaine]

What are his demands though?

To resolve the tax dispute in a way that benefits him.

The unpaid duties of Naboo - the blockade is there to cut off trade due to Naboo's debts. This is teh fig leaf on the plan - Naboo is welching on the Trade Federation and they just want what they are due.

Where is this said in the movie?

The opening crawl:

Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

That says nothing about Naboo itself or why they picked it.
Is it because of Naboo itself? Or because it's a trade hub? What is the base motivation? The crawl implies the Trade Federation has a dispute with the Republic itself, not Naboo. But at no point is it ever said how or why blockading Naboo would resolve taxation. Is it a protest? Then why sign a treaty to make an occupation legal?
Are they blackmailing the Republic? What is Gunray's aim here?