Small details that you missed or enjoy in the GL Saga

That one is quite weird, however, but it's perfectly symmetrical.

Whereas, the top triangle, with TPM at the peak, is actually not totally aligned. Look closely and you'll see that the "I" numeral floats right in the centre; indeed, it is perfectly aligned with the "V" numeral at the base of the triangle. But it is also displaced with respect to the "II" and "III" numerals, having greater proximity -- greater affinity, you might say -- for the "III" numeral. It's like TPM is more readily trying to pair up with ROTS; leaving, from a certain point of view, Episode II as the great outlier. Like AOTC has a force field repelling TPM away from itself or something. 

TPM is very much a "prologue" (Anakin is small, Jar Jar stands out, Amidala is Queen, Qui-Gon is alive, and Palpatine isn't yet running the Senate -- well, almost...), then you have AOTC and ROTS, where Anakin is "grown up", and more adult topics and themes enter the story, like erotic desire, rape, massacre, mutilation, war, betrayal, and the fall of civilisation (indeed, given the idea that these movies are for kids, there's some pretty heavy stuff going on inside of 'em), and then we're into the OT, which is more of an action comedy, yet nevertheless touches upon and brings to fruition many of the themes and motifs strewn across the PT, including Anakin's redemption.

TPM has always been a bit "different", a bit "special". It was the only one, for example, that had all those "tone poem" trailers made for it, and the only one that was given a 3D release under George Lucas' reign -- indeed, it's still the only "legacy" Star Wars film (non-Disney film) to both be given the 3D treatment and be granted a proper theatrical release so people could see it, en masse, in that format. Lucas obviously took his time making it. It took five years (maybe, in fact, closer to six) to bring TPM to the screen, while AOTC and ROTS were each done in only three years. None of the other Star Wars films can boast of such a generous, drawn-out production schedule. 

If you want another way of looking at the PT, here's one: AOTC and ROTS are the podracer engines, and TPM is the seat/cockpit. Or try this: The PT as some kind of self-closing blast door, with the first half of TPM, until Anakin wins the podrace, as the first door on the left-hand side, and then, instead of the hangar where they all celebrate and there's a feeling of jubilation, skip straight to the Jedi War Hangar in ROTS, with Anakin desperately pleading with Mace to join his Jedi family in their attempted arrest of Palpatine, but being denied ("Oh, Ani, it's so wonderful. You have brought hope to those who have none.").  

As for this notion of "structure" more generally:

It's really key to the whole thing. I've said before that Star Wars, in some fundamental way, is about the perception of structure and the structure of perception. And, of course, this makes perfect sense, since it is essentially an epic poem, and poems are nothing if not structures: structures of words, rhythm, spaces, and meanings. There isn't really one story, but a concertina of them. This tessellation of structural patterns and devices speaks to the heart of the artist (i.e., George Lucas) as the low-key avant-garde master he actually is. He once described the Star Wars Saga to Lucasfilm scribe J.W. Rinzler thusly: