ST Snoke's Backstory - Theories and Speculation

After re-watching the film twice and finishing the novel, I have a working alternate theory regarding Snoke's backstory. I'm curious what theories others may have come up with (aside from the widespread Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious theories).

My new theory is that Snoke was a servant of Palpatine who wanted to be his apprentice, but was never given the chance. He was jealous of Vader and believes he would have made a better Sith apprentice. This is why he openly criticizes Vader to Kylo Ren and blames him for the fall of the Sith. Because he viewed Palpatine's choice of Vader as an apprentice as a mistake and a betrayal, he has disavowed the Sith name and instead started his own order.

Snoke may have survived and received his injuries from the attack on the second Death Star, but he may have also received his injuries when subjected to Force Lightning by Palpatine for a reason not yet known, but which would also fuel his distaste for the Sith order and its ways.

Ren is a concept in Confucianism that relates to the way humans treat one another. Reading into the name is a stretch at this point, but it is part of what inspired the second line of thought above (regarding Snoke's injuries). There is a difference between how Vader treated his subordinates and how they are treated by Kylo - he takes his anger out in other ways that do not harm his own. This could be part of the basis for the Ren order's differing ideology. The term Knight also implies brotherhood, a concept clearly not part of the Sith ways.

 

It's possible. Maybe he was one of the purple-clad advisers we see on the second DS. According to the novelization of the first movie, it was Palpatine's advisers who actually ran the Galaxy. Maybe Snoke was one of these, who served in the hope that one day Vader would be killed or cast aside in favor of a new apprentice.

 

I'm good with just about any connection Snoke has to Palpatine, rather than just appearing out of nowhere. Being a former adviser works for me.

 

Maybe Snoke was a rival of Plagueis and was Palpatine's true master who sent Palpatine to infiltrate and destroy Plagueis.

 

Neither Snoke nor Ren are Sith, but we do know that Snoke witnessed the fall of the Republic AND the Empire, which does make the 'former advisor to Palpatine' idea the simplest option as far as having provided him with the opportunity to see both events unfold.

 

What if Snoke has a dark side power that Plagueis was interested in? The ability to raise others from the dead? And Snoke himself is a Frankenstein's Monster creation, cobbled together from different humanoids and animated by the dark side. In other words, a different Dark Side Cult/Sect than Sith, but still related.

 

The name "The First Order" kind of implies that this a new sect and not one that existed prior to "now."

I doubt it existed simultaneously with the Sith based on the naming alone.

 

I agree! Snoke could be a secret apprentice to Palpatine....

We've seen both Vader and Palpatine considering Luke to replace Palpatine and Vader.
The Sith respects the Rule of Two while keeping backups.

Sidious had Anakin as a backup for Dooku.
In the EU we've seen other backups like the Starkiller (The Force Unleashed).

Snoke may have been promoted to replace Vader after Vader failed by not having killed Luke on Bespin.
If Vader hadn't killed Palpatine, the Emperor would probably kill Luke, and after some time he would send Snoke to kill Vader and assume his position as a Sith apprentice.

 

It is stated in the crawl that the FO rose from the ashes of the Empire.

 

Sidious only began actively recruiting Anakin to be his new apprentice AFTER Dooku's death.

I said this elsewhere, but the only time we saw Sidious/Palpatine actively recruit a new apprentice whilst his current apprentice was still alive was in Return of the Jedi.

 

I don't agree. I believe Dooku knew that Palpatine and Sidious were the same person in the beginning of Episode III. If that's the case, Palpatine planned the encounter between Anakin and Dooku as a contest to determine who would be his apprentice going forward, just as he did with Luke and Darth Vader in Episode VI. It's even possible Snoke earned his scars and deformation in a similar contest.

 

Palpatine was waiting for Anakin to be his apprentice from the moment they met. He had Anakin's ear from the first second. He just wasn't going to raise the kid, let the Jedi do the heavy lifting, and when the timing is right make your move. When he knew Anakin was ready he plotted his own kidnapping to set up Dooku's fall, even Dooku realized this the moment palpatine ordered Anakin to do the deed.

 

Sidious did set up the Dooku vs Anakin fight that resulted in Dooku's death, but it wasn't a recruitment tool for Anakin. It was the setup to the recruitment.

Palpatine's active recruitment of Anakin started with creating a rift between him and the Jedi Council.

 

Same thing, really.

 

No, it's not.

If I'm interested in offering someone a job and meet with them but don't mention anything about the job I'm interested in offering them, I'm not actively recruiting them until I DO mention the job I'm interested in offering them.

 

You may not be overtly recruiting them, but if you take actions specifically intended to result in their recruitment you are still actively recruiting them.

 

^ I could clear up a job for the person I'm interested in hiring, but until I actually approach that person and offer them the job I've just made available, the job exists independently of my interest in the person I want to fill said job.

 

Do we think he's really 20 feet tall? Cause that would kinda eliminate the possibility that he's someone that we've seen before

 

The way I understand it, he's about seven feet tall.

 

Yeah, he's either about seven feet tall or that's changed. Honestly, since only the Hologram has appeared so far, that's not set in stone and we don't know at what stage 7 feet tall was decided as far as I know. Snoke has undergone MANY design changes.

 

I believe Snoke was one of the Imperial Dignitaries we saw in ROTJ. He was an advisor to Palpatine. After Endor, Snoke began gaining power in what was left of the Empire. The rest is history.

 

That's definitely a hologram of him - Id guess 7ft might be right ....

 

TFA has made several things clear, one of them, is that they are creating their own story/universe by changing names when given the chance. The Republic/Rebels are now the Resistance, the Empire is now the First Order, the Death Star became Starkiller, Tattooine became Jakku, and there are probably others I can't think of off the top of my head. Also, Maz mentions evils of the PAST in which the Sith are named. Point being - neither Snoke not Kylo will be labeled as "Sith".

 

I doubt he's as big as his hologram was...on the other hand holograms have always been the same size as the real person

 

I think there's a chance he's some ancient dark side user. Aftermath had this interesting line:

What with Luke seeking out the first Jedi temple, perhaps Snoke dates back to the earliest days of the Order, and perhaps even predates the Sith.