Films and Fiction

You’ve got to hand it to Star Wars fans, they love a good fan theory. Jar Jar is really a Sith Lord, Tarkin was working for the rebel alliance, and many more, some ridiculous, some plausible, some have even been confirmed in the Star Wars canon.

Star Wars does lend itself readily to fan theories though. Sometimes the storytelling leaves plot-holes, sometimes there just isn’t enough time to pack all of the necessary information into the movies. Either way, fantasy or fiction, they all make good reading, so here’s another one to add to the mix.

Palpatine’s Real Plan

There’s no doubt that Palpatine was two things: very intelligent and very patient. He saw every opportunity to further his plans and acted upon them, manipulating the Senate, the Jedi, and the entire galaxy to his purpose, and he was prepared to wait a long time if necessary to get what he wanted.

A Prophesy Misread

Palpatine had one goal: to rule the galaxy, and he used everything at his disposal to ensure it was fulfilled. He was powerful and persuasive, both as a politician and as a Sith, and he had amassed a great deal of the Sith’s lore and knowledge. In some ways he was more powerful than the Jedi; he was willing to use powers they weren’t and it’s also likely that he saw some of the prophesies that the Jedi had hidden away, its highly likely that he knew about the Chosen One.

What if the prophesy of the Chosen One hadn’t been misread by the Jedi, it just had another side to it that they didn’t know about. Maybe the Sith had their own version of it in which the Chosen One would help them to gain complete control of the galaxy. If so, then both of the prophesies came true: Anakin became Vader and brought the Sith to power; Vader returned to the light side and destroyed the Empire.

Palpatine’s Long Game

Palpatine was a patient man; he began his plan a long time before he became Emperor, building up trust, manipulating the right people, becoming Senator of Naboo, then Chancellor, and finally dissolving the Republic. In all this time he was also plotting a return of the Sith, but he never seemed to be in a hurry, he allowed events to take their course at a natural pace. Maybe the reason for that is he is immortal.

The story he told about Darth Plagueis was true and he knew his secret. He obviously knew a good deal about the Sith and had rediscovered much of their knowledge that had disappeared after their fall, so why not know how to make himself immortal?

Being immortal came with its own problems, though. He needed an apprentice to aid his schemes but the rule of two meant that apprentice could never become master if Palpatine didn’t die or step aside, which he never would. So how could he ensure a good supply of apprentices without ever worrying about being deposed by them? He would have to create a Sith dynasty.

Keep It In The Family

Whether or not Palpatine actually created Anakin, he certainly realised his potential, and if he believed he was the Sith’s Chosen One then he would see his chance to put his plan into action. He would make Anakin his apprentice and then use his descendants to make a never ending line of apprentices to serve him. How would he accomplish that? Simple, he had a secret apprentice: Padme Amidala.

He knew Padme from a young age; she was queen when he was Senator, then she became Senator after his election as Chancellor, so he had a chance to manipulate her for a long time.

It’s possible that he had begun training her as early as the invasion of Naboo, ensuring that she allowed the Trade Federation to occupy the planet and increase his chances of becoming Chancellor, but it’s more likely that he quietly coerced her for a while, gaining her trust, and that he only made her his apprentice later, after Darth Maul’s death, some time during the ten years leading up to the Clone Wars. Once she entered the Senate she could become a valuable asset, maintaining her appearance of being a just Politician while allowing Palpatine’s plan to work by doing things such as leaving Jar Jar Binks in her place during one of the most important votes ever held in the Senate.

“Always Two There Are”

Palpatine kept to the Sith code, always having just a single apprentice, but he added his own slant by ensuring that he never allowed his apprentice to take over from him, so he simply used them, and once their purpose was over he had them killed to allow the next in line to take their place.

During the Clone Wars it was Padme, not Dooku, who was his real apprentice. Dooku was just a political idealist who led the Separatist cause, he was never a true Sith, more a fallen Jedi with a cause, and he was willing to accept help from anyone who offered it, even Sidious.

Meanwhile, Palpatine was working on his larger plan. He knew about Padme and Anakin’s love for each other and used the attempts on her life to make sure the Jedi would give her a bodyguard, probably being aware that they would send Obi Wan due to him knowing Padme from their earlier meeting.

Once Anakin and Padme were married it was simply a matter of waiting, training Anakin, waiting for the right moment when he could force him to kill Padme, ridding him of one apprentice and allowing Darth Vader to take her place.

Palpatine always intended for the Skywalker twins to survive, he needed them to. He would wait until they were old enough, once Obi Wan had begun to train Luke, and then set about turning the most promising one to the Dark Side.

He knew that there would come a time for a new apprentice and he saw it when Vader realised Luke was his son and urged him to help destroy the Emperor so they could rule the galaxy together.

Palpatine’s plan failed when Luke refused to kill Vader, but he simply regarded this as a temporary setback, looking instead to the next in the line: Anakin’s grandchildren, Leia’s children, in particular Ben Solo. Once again his plan succeeded to begin with but was foiled later on, leading to his second downfall and the end of the Empire.

Who knows, though, maybe Palpatine will return at some point in the future. After all, if you’re immortal you can certainly afford to wait a long time, and one thing we know for certain about Sheev Palpatine is that he’s patient, very patient.

Thanks for reading!

First published 10 March 2021 under the title ‘Sidious’.