Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nearly upon us, and all over the world fans are preparing by watching the original Star Wars saga all over again. Well, maybe not the whole saga, but certainly the original classic trilogy. But by skipping the prequels entirely on our millionth rewatch, are we missing one of the most elegant things George Lucas achieved when making his galactic generational saga?

Say what you will about the prequels, but George Lucas did accomplish something beautiful with them. OK, maybe it wasn’t the acting that was beautiful (except for Ewan McGregor, who never hits a false note, even in The Phantom Menace) or even all of the effects, some of which have dated faster than the originals ever did. But when making Episodes I, II, and III, Lucas found a way to make sure each installment in the newer trilogy reflected something in the originals, as a way of showing how history repeats itself across the generations.

In fact, in a behind-the-scenes moment from one of the prequels, which is highlighted in the video, you even hear Lucas make his intentions obvious: “You see the echo of where it all is gonna go; It’s like poetry, so that they rhyme.”

Now a fan named Pablo Fernandez Eyre has edited together a video showing exactly how the episodes in the saga all rhyme with one another, some in subtle ways, others a lot more on-the-nose. And there’s a lot more of these “rhymes” than even the most hardcore Star Wars fan has probably never noticed before. It will be interesting to see if Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams choose to continue the rhyming pattern with this new sequel trilogy. Will The Force Awakens also end with our heroes in a celebratory moment?

There is evidence to suggest the rhyming pattern might continue; after all, the very title “The Force Awakens” actually fits with the naming conventions of both A New Hope and The Phantom Menace; will Episode VIII have a more action-oriented title like The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones? Only time will tell, but I actually hope this is a tradition Lucas started in the prequels that is continued, as it makes the entire film series more resonant.

In the meantime, be sure to watch Pablo Fernandez Eyre’s entire video, which you can see below.

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HT: Who Is Pablo? via The AV Club

IMAGE: Simonz.co.hu