Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams has been making the interview rounds promoting the upcoming final installment in the Skywalker saga. In talking about the end of the 40-plus-year-long saga, it’s only natural the other movies would come up at some point and Abrams would be asked about his opinions on them. Such was the case when Abrams revealed which scene from any of the Star Wars prequel trilogy he liked best. The answer will surprise you, my dudes.

While chatting with Entertainment Weekly about Rise of Skywalker, the conversation turned toward the prequel trilogy. In case your memory’s fuzzier than a Tauntaun, the prequel trilogy goes from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Abrams tells EW his favorite scene comes from Revenge of the Sith where Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) seduced Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the idea of the Dark Side with a story about the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis. It’s not a romantic seduction, mind you, but Palpatine’s words make for a tantalizing pitch nonetheless. Refresh your memory on the scene for yourself:

Of the scene, Abrams commented that “there’s just something about that scene. There’s just two people sitting there. It’s visually interesting. But I just think Ian’s performance in it is spectacular.” He also voiced his opinions on EW host Dalton Ross‘ pick, Darth Maul’s (Ray Park) double-lightsaber reveal and subsequent battle with Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), telling him “it was over too quickly.” Oh well, can’t win ’em all, right?

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters on December 20. For more Abrams-on-Star Wars, check out his recent comments about Palpatine’s return and watch his full interview with EW below: