Meaning
What does Ah, Yes. The Negotiator mean?
Ah, yes. The negotiator is a catchphrase and reaction image, uttered by General Grievous (portrayed by Matthew Wood) in Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith.
Online, both the reaction image and the catchphrase is used ironically in context with individuals, who are making a grand diplomatic effort.
Origin
What's the origin of Ah, Yes. The Negotiator?
The scene is seen in the third installment of the Star Wars prequels; The Revenge of the Sith, which was premiered on May 19th, 2005 in the United States.
“Ah, yes. The negotiator” is said relatively early on in the film, in the opening scenes, when Obi-Wan and Anakin (played by Ewan MacGregor and Hayden Christensen respectively) are on a rescue mission to retrieve Palpatine from a separatist ship, commandeered by General Grievous.
Grievous addresses this remark to Obi-Wan, who is known as the negotiator for his skills of ending conflicts without resolving to violence.
Spread & Usage
How did Ah, Yes. The Negotiator spread?
The meme format started emerging in 2018 on Reddit, one of the earliest cases of it appearing in the subreddit r/prequelmemes, uploaded by Colinh221.
“Ah, yes. The negotiator” would spread on to various other sites in 2018, including Imgur and Facebook, as well as 9GAG.
In 2020, the format had seen a resurgence on Reddit.
External resources
- StackExchange – Science Fiction & Fantasy