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00:00Number 10, Palpatine and Yoda Get Nuts, The Prequel Trilogy
00:04Throughout their time acting as two of the original trilogy's most powerful and mysterious entities,
00:09Emperor Palpatine and Yoda often displayed just how proficient they were in the ways of the Force.
00:14What fans did not get to witness, however, is how well they were able to wield the trusted go-to weapon of many a Jedi and Sith.
00:21But that all changed over the course of George Lucas' prequel trilogy,
00:24and simply put, not a soul alive was ready for the frankly absurd visuals heading their way.
00:29Not only were the little green legend and the possessor of unlimited power a pair of dab hands with a laser sword,
00:35the two suddenly transformed from a set of senile space wizards into full-blown Force-sensitive studs.
00:41Yoda's first on-screen duel in particular instantly became yet another one of the more divisive elements the prequels had to offer,
00:47with some lapping up the audacious acrobatics on show,
00:50while others felt that the Jedi Master's silly lightsaber gymnastics took a bit of the mystique away from a cherished figure.
00:56Either way, you'd be lying if you said your jaw didn't drop even for only a brief moment,
01:00the first time these masterful Titans pulled out their swords.
01:04Number 9, The Return of the Skywalker, The Mandalorian
01:07At a time when trying to execute a genuinely stunning surprise on the small or big screen has never been more difficult,
01:14the fact Jon Favreau and the gang were able to keep The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale shocker completely under wraps was seriously impressive.
01:21Heading into the closing stages of Chapter 16, Mando and the gang look to be in some serious trouble as the dark troopers closed in on their position,
01:29but then a rather familiar X-Wing suddenly lands on the cruiser.
01:33One of the most emotionally charged dispatching of droid sequences to ever grace the galaxy far, far away later,
01:38the all but confirmed return of none other than Luke Bloody Skywalker himself was finally made official thanks to some digital wizardry and a returning Mark Hamill.
01:46With the episode itself dropping in the thick of the global pandemic, fans the world over found themselves passionately connecting online
01:53over just how damn taken aback they all were about the comeback of a character no one honestly saw coming.
01:58And for a few moments there, one of the most difficult periods in modern history was entirely forgotten
02:03as fans lost their minds over this heartwarming return of the Jedi.
02:08Number 8, Everybody Dies, Rogue One, A Star Wars Story
02:11There was actually a time there when the likes of Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor may have made it out of arguably the greatest Star Wars feature of the last decade in one piece.
02:20This was largely down to the fact that the likes of Gareth Edwards and co. weren't convinced Disney and Lucasfilm
02:25would ever sanction such a dark and deadly conclusion to a Star Wars story.
02:29But as anyone who sat through the entirely unanticipated bittersweet conclusion of Rogue One can attest to,
02:34the team did ultimately get their morbid wish in the end.
02:37And the ultimate sacrifice was dramatically made late in the day by everyone in the titular crew
02:42in order to successfully get the Rebels' hands on those all-important Death Star plans.
02:46After investing so heavily in the likes of Jyn, Cassian, K2SO and the rest of the makeshift unit over the course of their routinely gripping quest
02:53to find the key to taking out the Empire's new superweapon,
02:56the sight of our central heroes all shockingly biting the dust
02:59after finally succeeding is about as bold a conclusion as you'll ever witness in such a big-budget epic.
03:04However, it was unquestionably the right call and helped cement this Star Wars story as one of the absolute finest.
03:11Number 7, Leia Flies in Space, Episode 8, The Last Jedi
03:14Stepping into slightly more controversial waters now,
03:18and to a floating sequel trilogy visual that almost instantly divided the Star Wars fandom.
03:23I am of course talking about the sight of General Leia Organa herself being blasted out of her cruiser,
03:28only to suddenly and rather surreally shoot herself across space via the Force.
03:32This acted as the first real-time fans had witnessed Leia wield the mysterious power on the big screen,
03:37and to say it left them with their jaws dangling off the floor would be a bit of an understatement.
03:41Some applauded such a daring and rousing reveal of Leia's hinted at but never really cinematically explored Force sensitivity,
03:47whereas others were quick to blast the Leia pop-in's development as another silly and absurd sequence
03:52to add to an already divisive Episode 8.
03:55Whether you were an instant fan of the icon's emotional Force-assisted attempts to survive,
03:58or struggle to sit through Leia's bizarre spaceflight without rolling your eyes,
04:02both sides can all agree that the legend soaring through the stars was about as extraordinary as it gets.
04:08Number 6, New Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith
04:13Now, you can't exactly blame what was left of Anakin Skywalker being a little bit upset
04:17about the tragic revelation sent his way late in the Revenge of the Sith Day.
04:22But that still didn't change the fact that many were left wondering
04:24what in the holy hell they were witnessing
04:26when the first few moments of a newly suited Darth Vader arrived on the prequel's scene.
04:30Staggering off the operating table on the back of being informed
04:33that he was apparently responsible for the death of his beloved Padme Amidala,
04:37the stuff of memes, before memes were even really a thing, was hilariously born.
04:41And yo, heard across the galaxy and in theatres all over the world,
04:45was the absolute worst kind of hammy and melodramatic,
04:49reducing what could have honestly been the truly heartbreaking point
04:51of seemingly no return for the Dark Lord
04:53to one of the most laughable beats in Star Wars history.
04:57Number 5, Rey is a Palpatine, Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker
05:01Look, there were more than a few moments over the course of whatever
05:04J.J. Abrams was trying to achieve with The Rise of Skywalker
05:07that led to those watching on scratching their heads
05:09at the madness unfolding before them.
05:11But the utterly strange development that easily sits head and shoulders above the rest
05:15that were all found in the nostalgia fest that is Episode 9,
05:18undoubtedly comes in the form of the reveal that Rey wasn't actually a nobody, folks.
05:22She was a walking, talking Palpatine.
05:24Something that had ranked as one of the more outlandish
05:26and ludicrous fan theories to tumble out of The Force Awakens
05:29soon became a deeply unexpected and downright peculiar piece of canon.
05:33In reality, though, this felt like little more than an attempt to wrong foot
05:36and cheaply stun those wanting to see how the Skywalker saga
05:39would come to its long-awaited end.
05:41It did precisely that, it must be said.
05:43However, this WTF reveal unfortunately also shrunk the galaxy far, far away a little bit more
05:48and killed off the idea of one not needing to be related to a famous family to make a difference.
05:54Number 4, Boba's Book Becomes Mandalorian Season 2.5, The Book of Boba Fett
05:58Fans who'd waited a lifetime to finally witness the galaxy's most badass bounty hunter
06:03be given the spotlight he always deserved
06:05were understandably a little excited as the book of Boba Fett wandered onto Disney Plus in late 2021.
06:11After a bit of a slow start, though, it's safe to say those giddy Boba fanatics
06:15were left feeling a little underwhelmed by the book they were watching come to life.
06:19And then, in a twist fans perhaps should have seen coming given Fett's reintroduction came during
06:23The Mandalorian, the star of that other much more celebrated show
06:26suddenly decided to drop by and pretty much steal the clones.
06:30Mando's surprising appearance alone was enough to leave fans suddenly punching the air in unanticipated glee.
06:35But perhaps the bigger WTF development was the fact that Din Djarin, Grogu, Luke Skywalker
06:40and Ahsoka Tano's inclusion in the series acted as the book of Boba Fett's unquestionable highlights.
06:45Simply put, the arrival of Mando and the gang was a joyous surprise, for sure.
06:49But it also served as evidence that this particular book likely would have gone down better
06:53as another Mandalorian tale, rather than a supposed Boba story
06:57that wasn't really interesting enough to warrant its own show.
07:00Number 3, Kino Can't Swim, Andor
07:02Andy Serkis' completely unforeseen appearance as part of Rogue One prequel series and or
07:07in general, was enough to cause many a Star Wars fan to utter the words that inspired this
07:11very list aloud.
07:13However, it was one particular line his instantly captivating Kino Loy uttered during the One
07:17Way Out episode that delivered the franchise one of its most heartbreakingly shocking moments
07:22to date.
07:22After already providing the series with one hell of a final Never More Than 12 line in the
07:26prior entry, if you know you know, the figure once seen as an inmate who simply wanted to
07:31get through his time in prison, ultimately grows into the fiery leader of the rebellion
07:35that battles their way to freedom.
07:36But in a deeply moving and entirely startling turn of events, after inspiring Cassian and
07:41his fellow workers to freedom, the final step to securing his escape is suddenly one too
07:45far for Kino.
07:47With the waves of inmates all jostling to dive out of the jail and into the water surrounding
07:51it down below, Serkis' delivery of the fateful phrase, I can't swim as he realises he only
07:56came this far to come this far, was simply devastating.
08:00Kino may still have a part to play in Season 2 however, with it being unclear as to what
08:05exactly happened next for this unfortunate Loy.
08:08Number 2, Darth Maul Survives The Clone Wars
08:11And one of the reasons fans are right to hold out hope for the aforementioned Kino's
08:15survival can be found in this very entry.
08:17After seemingly being decisively cut down by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the wake of taking out
08:21his master on Naboo, those who felt they'd sadly seen the last of one of the coolest
08:25Sith Lords in the galaxy were treated to a rather stunning comeback in the Clone Wars
08:29animated series.
08:30Driven mad in the wake of that aforementioned bisecting, Maul is shockingly discovered by
08:35his own brother Savage Opress ten years on from that Kenobi clash during Season 4.
08:39And the one-time apprentice of Darth Sidious is now seen sporting a particularly creepy
08:43mechanical spider-like body on the back of his sheer hatred remarkably keeping him alive.
08:48The animalistic creature that Maul had become in his exile soon had his mind repaired by
08:53Mother Talzin on Dathomir however, and this paved the way for a far more driven and enraged
08:57version of the Force-sensitive icon than fans had ever seen before on their screens.
09:02As he set his sights on revenge against his mortal enemy, Kenobi!
09:07Number 1, Somehow, Leia Always Knew
09:09What?
09:11Episode 6, Return of the Jedi
09:12Over the course of the first two original trilogy episodes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo
09:18both appeared to be acting as two potential loves for Leia Organa, with the princess sharing
09:22a smooch with the two leading lads at various points in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes
09:26Back.
09:27But in a rather uncomfortable swerve that just about no one expected to become a Star Wars
09:31reality back in 1983, Leia was ultimately revealed to have been Luke's twin sister the entire
09:36time.
09:37And making matters that little more icky, Leia then responded to this apparent surprise
09:41revelation with the words of,
09:43Somehow I've always known in Return of the Jedi.
09:46That's right, when locking lips with the Jedi in training on Hoth, and also laying a smacker
09:50on his cheek when trying to escape the Death Star, Leia apparently had a feeling that the
09:54person she was getting particularly close to was her twin bro all along.
09:57Admittedly, the familial twist itself clearly wasn't a part of the OG trilogy plan from
10:02the get-go, but that still didn't change the fact that its eventual execution provided
10:06the galaxy far, far away, with a shocking piece of dialogue that only grows increasingly
10:10more awkward with each subsequent viewing.
10:13And that's our list, no of any other massive WTF Star Wars moments that we've missed?
10:17Then please lay them on us down below and do not forget to like, share and click on that
10:20subscribe button while you're at it.
10:22Also, if you like this sort of WTF madness, then go and head on over to whatculture.com and find
10:26some more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right this
10:29second is based on.
10:30I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the force be with you, hopefully I'll
10:34see your faces very very soon, but in the meantime, just be good to yourself.
10:37Bye bye!