[cross-posted and edited from my fan-forum]

So I saw Episode III.

Dear George Lucas,

Thank you for taking us on this ride. I have enjoyed every moment of it. It's been a big and important part of my life. It's certainly shaped who I've become, the things that resonate for me. It lives inside me.

If I am harsh, it is only because it means that much to me.

But you're an idiot. You had here the opportunity to make the darkest, most confronting and challenging, most heart-breaking movie since Empire Strikes Back. You could have left us in utter darkness. It would have been OK. We know the way out from there. But you didn't. You flinched.

It's slightly absurd how annoyed and let down I am about this. It's not just because I'm an angst grrl and this was going to be mine. It's because I defended you, when everyone said Episode I was schmalzy crap. You said, "We all know where this is going." You said, "The ending's going to be incredibly dark." You promised.

Bastard!

You started off so well. But you dropped it. You just didn't follow through.

What did I want? I wanted black as the inside of your hat. I wanted pain. I wanted everything that is good and true in the universe in tatters. I wanted our heroes lost, hopeless, helpless, scattered, completely fucking defeated. Not organised and tactically retreating. Not "waiting for the right moment". The "New Hope" is something they never thought they would have. It is a light so very fucking bright because it's unexpected in the darkness. It's a last gasp when they thought it was all dead.

You didn't get it all wrong. There were such fabulous moments, and it's because of these moments that I yearned so much for you to build upon them.

I still love your movies. I love your vision. I love the stories you give to us. And I enjoyed Episode III. I squealed with delight more times than I can conveniently count. I adored it. I relished it and wallowed in it. But it breaks my heart that you didn't break my heart. I wanted it so very much, and you so very easily could have.

Disappointed but fervent regard,
Diana Evans
Star Wars fangirl since 1986