Particulary since one of my favorite, unintentionally humerous scenes in ANH(other then the famous Stormtrooper head blow) is when Han kills one of Vader’s Wingman. The other panics and flies RIGHT INTO VADER’S SHIP. Everytime I see it, it just seems hilarious.
Some people have advanced the theory that limiting Anakin’s power in this way was actually planned by the Emperor. This guy’s plan is obviously to hold ultimate control of everything he can reach, and somehow I doubt he wants an upstart apprentice trying to kill him while he’s luxuriating in ruling the galaxy. So he warps Anakin’s mind until the boy is completely and blindly loyal to him, then as an added reassurance cuts his power down. He can still threaten and kill mundanes (when you’re the only one in the Empire who can Force Choke and use a lightsaber, even if you’re not using them to their fullest effectiveness you’re still pretty damn scary), but he wouldn’t be able to successfully overthrow the Emperor.
If it helps in any way, when interviewed, Lucas said Vader definitely lost power after his magmatic fall. He doesn’t explain why: that’s just because.
I always thought he was trying to take the blow for Vader. Kinda like what a bodyguard would do.
When I first heard about it, I had a flashback to my childhood of the book, *WHAT THE FUCK [/I] “A Wind In The Door” by Madeleine L’Engle.
I would appreciate that, but not if my bodyguard accidently killed himself and almost killed me in the process.
This is something of a tangent, but did anyone else, after the lava fight, have a strong desire to start quoting Monty Python? Specifically, “OH, running away, eh? Come back here and take what’s coming to you! I’ll bite your legs off”?
I had to bite my tongue; there were other people in the theater.
I didn’t think of it at the time, but right now I’m trying very hard not to crack up loudly enough for the entire office to hear. 
I don’t understand. I really just can’t make any sense of that. And to what does ‘it’ refer?
I don’t fully understand the post either, but in my hazy memory of the L’Engle series, there’s a point where one of the characters shrinks down to the size of mitochondria to fix some problem or other. I only remember that because it was the very first time I’d heard of mitochondria myself. The idea of midichlorians seems to be, at least in part, based off of mitochondria.
My guess would be that it refers to the earlier reference to mitocondria. I really can’t think of a way to explain it that makes sense without spoiling the book. Sorry.
…Oops. Well, my description was vague enough that maybe it’s not too big a spoiler. :o I barely remember anything about the books other than that, anyway.
I had exactly that thought.
“Look, you stupid bastard, you’ve got no arms left!” “Yes, I have! It’s just a flesh wound!”
That has always been my take on it too; midichlorians, for whatever reason, simply are more common in beings with a high sensitivity to the Force. And, being something physical that can be easily tested for, its what they look for when seeing if someone tests positive for Jedi…
“He’s more machine than man now…[sub]thanks to me[/sub]”
“What was that last part?”
“Nothing, nothing…”
Well, if the Force power he lost as in proportionto his body mass lost, he gave up very little. He still had his arms down to the elbow and his legs down the knee, so his body was mostly intact if damaged.
You’ll also recall that he had severe burns over most of his body. It wasn’t just the bits that got cut off that he lost, all that burned flesh would be a write-off too. Heck, he needed the suit just so he could breath regularly. Probably had substantial internal injuries.
And now I suddenly find myself wondering how the hell the guy EATS.
One thing it took away from him was the power to create Sith lightening. He can’t conduct it because his arms are prosthesis, and thus they’d fry him if he tried it. He’s also very vulnerable to it, as a result.
But then, maybe midichlorians are like your blood-when you lose some, they regenerate?
Through a straw.
Don’t ask how he poops.
But he has such a cool bathroom!
Even if midichlorians somehow cause someone to be sensitive to the force, perhaps it’s the concentration of them rather than the quantity. Pound for pound, Vader may still have more midichlorians than a typical jedi.
Come to think of it, Yoda is downright tiny (he must weigh less than thirty pounds) but that’s never hindered his telepathic mojo or other jedi abilities.
I guess that among the jedi, size doesn’t matter. Kinda unexpected, considering how their known for their lightsabers.