Star Wars The Most Overused Tropes?

[Ruin Explorer]

Well we saw it onscreen with the Clones gunning down the Jedi and they didn't se se it could.i g.

You're conflating multiple different things.

1) Jedi being able to sense emotions.

2) Jedi having precognition of what is about to happen in combat, which is why they're able to dodge and block so much stuff that's obviously far beyond what you could consciously do. This seems only be like seeing 0.5-1s ahead, note. Maybe a little further for a few. We could call this "combat precognition" for simplicity.

3) Jedi having Force-visions of things that will or might happen at some point further in the future - these visions are often quite long or detailed.

The Clone Troopers weren't angry or hateful to the Jedi (initially - that seemed to change later), so the being able to sense emotions didn't warn the Jedi that Order 66 was coming. And by the time their combat precognition kicked in, it was often too late, because they didn't even have their lightsabers drawn or the like. Some, especially those who weren't attacked from behind, did manage to fight a bit but mostly they got overwhelmed by numbers, as we both agree is possible.

3 was countered by the entire Force being clouded by the Dark Side - this is mentioned repeatedly in stuff set around that era.

So yeah if you have to hunt/kill Jedi there's various ways to increase your odds it seems.

There are. But there's also a lot of dumb ideas that don't make sense outside of weird EU thinking. Shotguns and grenades are two of those - the acid grenade would be smart if it pre-detonated (or detonated as soon as its direction of travel began to change or it slowed significantly), but as it appeared in the Darth Vader comic it's just absolutely dumb and reliant 100% on Vader reacting in a dumb way - again a way that would even worse if it was an explosive.

 

[Ryujin]

As with most settings, what works or doesn't work is rather fluid. It serves at the pleasure of the plot.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This is so vitally important to Star Wars. Observe:

See also: timestamp 6:36

Much like in Waterdeep, there is no OSHA in the Empire.

 

[Lanefan]

Entire planets consisting of a single climate/terrain.

That's forgivable if one thinks of that planet having only a relatively small inhabitable area (which is the bit we get to see) with the rest being too extreme e.g. most of Tatooine is too hot to support life, most of Hoth is too cold, etc.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Much like in Waterdeep, there is no OSHA in the Empire.

Cloud City, however, has sensible guard rails on their windswept bottomless pit catwalk.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

That's forgivable if one thinks of that planet having only a relatively small inhabitable area (which is the bit we get to see) with the rest being too extreme e.g. most of Tatooine is too hot to support life, most of Hoth is too cold, etc.

The "Forest Moon of Endor" seems a bit more improbable.

But whether or not it is realistic, it is definitely a core Star Wars trope for each planet to represent a single biome. You want a change of scenery, change planets. This even includes major urban environments being planet-spanning urban environments.

 

[JAMUMU]

The "Forest Moon of Endor" seems a bit more improbable.

But whether or not it is realistic, it is definitely a core Star Wars trope for each planet to represent a single biome. You want a change of scenery, change planets. This even includes major urban environments being planet-spanning urban environments.

I don't mind this so much. It reflects some of the pulpy origins of Star Wars, and SW is where the "trope" really grew trope legs and put down trope roots.

But I think everything else about Star Wars is the most oversused trope. The commercial and critical success of Andor shows that taking a radical new approach to the Star Wars universe works gangbusters. The Mandalorian showed that looking back to some of the early inspirations, the tropes that have faded into the background since the OG films (Westerns, samurai movies and Lone Wolf & Cub style chanbara) works gangbusters. But going over the same-old-same-old is a galaxy of diminishing returns (the prequels/the sequels).

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I don't mind this so much. It reflects some of the pulpy origins of Star Wars, and SW is where the "trope" really grew trope legs and put down trope roots.

Given the striking variations in environment of California, where Lucas and most of the screenwriters and production designers have been based, one has to assume that either mono-biome planets were a very conscious choice or that these folks really didn't get away from home very much. Just scouting out the location for the redwood grove where they shot the Endor would have involved driving through several very not-forest-like environments, which has to emphasize how improbable an all-forest planetoid is.

So yeah, I'm okay with one environment planets as an artistic choice. I just find them funny.

 

[JAMUMU]

Given the striking variations in environment of California, where Lucas and most of the screenwriters and production designers have been based, one has to assume that either mono-biome planets were a very conscious choice or that these folks really didn't get away from home very much. Just scouting out the location for the redwood grove where they shot the Endor would have involved driving through several very not-forest-like environments, which has to emphasize how improbable an all-forest planetoid is.

I kind of think of the Star Wars planets-as-environments as a stylistic choice that really let Lucas lean into the smash cut. I know technical readings (Doylist?) aren't overly popular with the Star Warsers, but it is what it is. I also thought (as a boy and now as the man) that the Star Wars mono-planets were a call back to Flash Gordon, which did a similar thing with its planetoids (forest world, birdman world, etc). Also see Dune (1965).

 

[Umbran]

Probably because more realistic would be boring.

My understanding is that more realistic would look wrong to people. Whether or not space is 3D, people largely think in 2D, and would tend to lose track of what the heck is happening if you change that.

See ST: Wrath of Khan - the characters specifically tell you what they are doing, so you keep up.