Did Palpatine Become Sick, Old, And Weak... Much Like Yoda, In Between ESB and ROTJ?

Palpatine' Health Seems to have turned for the worse in between Empire and Jedi... In Empire, He Looks Nearly as Healthy as He Did in Sith. But by the time of Jedi He has become frail and whithered.

The Same Goes with Yoda, In Empire He Is Definately old... but he is still spritely and vibrant. But in the time between Luke's Visits Yoda's Health takes a turn for the worse.

Is there some connection between the Ultimate Symbol of Good in the Force and the Ultimate Personification of Evil in the Force?

 

I'd wager that it's just a production problem. In order to save money the shot used in Empire's holo image of the Emperor was done during the ROTS principal photography schedule. So he naturally looks a lot diffeent than he did back in 1982 when Jedi was filmed. That said the slugs on the side of his face that many detest could be a target for re editing in the future. If that's the case Lucas may have opted to add details to the make up for the Emperor in ROTJ. For my part I'd say the Emperor actually looks healthier in ROTJ than he does in Sith or Empire. This IMO is because the makeup is much thinner and a product of the times. The yellow eyes seemed to have been painted in in post production; which would account for the black slugs to begin with.

 

I think so. Palpatine in ROTJ seems to be weaker. I can see it when he walks with a stoop beside Darth Vader; and when he sits on his throne too. While in the PT he stands much more upright. The reason is that in ROTJ he's older than in the PT. So he must be weaker too.

We must also remember that in ROTS he had already told Yoda that Darth Vader could become more strong than them both, so he didn't consider himself as the most powerful man, and neither that he would be powerful forever.

 

Shooting lightning out your fingertips CAN'T be good for you...

In short, the Dark Side isn't healthy. It sorta sucks your health and vitality out.

 

I think he's sort of emotionally and spiritually drained. He's spent all of his life planning a way to destory the Jedi and become the supreme ruler of galaxy. He spent almost 2 decades hiding under the noses of the Jedi Council, secretly training his Sith pupils, making alliances with Federations and cloners, getting people to erase files out of the Jedi Library, hiring Clone Trooper templates, keeping the Republic in the dark about Gunray and Dooku, trying to get emergency powers granted to him and get Padme's "no army" vote out of the way, keeping Gunray in the dark about his Clone Army, keeping his lightsaber and Force skills sharp, playing Anakin and Padme, designing the Death Star, scratching the backs of his supporters in the Senate, all the while going to the opera and expanding his awesome art collection.

Now he runs the show. He got Anakin. The Jedi are gone. The Senate is gone. He has a machine that can blow up planets. Everyone in the galaxy is petrified of him. His only excitement is chasing down a bunch of ill-equipped ragtag rebels and trying to find some stolen plans. He's bored with Vader but can't find anyone to replace him until a new Skywalker shows up. He got his wish in ROTS, and by the time of the OT I think he's bored. Luke's his first REAL challenge in almost 20 years.

He kind of reminds me of Daniel Day's character in Gangs of New York. I can just see him keeping a picture of Mace, Yoda and Qui-Gon in his private quarters, remembering what it was like to be the underdog with a dream, and going up against foes who could truly test his mettle.

 

Yeah, it seems that after he obtained full control and the Jedi were wiped out, he must have gotten pretty bored. He probably thought "But I'll have the chosen one always waiting to take my place, so I'll still have to manuever and keep on my toys. Oh damn, He's on life support now. *Sigh* where is my "Destroy this planet" stamper? Ah yes, right next to the "Enslave this race" stamper. Good. gooooooood. (Yawn)"

Carnage

 

Well, the walking cane obviously was a deceit since he was perfectly fine walking without it once the guards had left.

But I agree that he had declined a lot when it comes to spiritedness.
I think the assessment "emotionally and spiritually drained" fits quite well; probably he's grown depressive by that time due to a lack of interesting tasks - after what he had been challenged with and what he had accomplished during the PT, administrating the empire, writing books, countering with "pitiful little rebel bands" is not that exiting to spend his days with. Maybe in part that's why he's laughing when Luke attempts to strike him with his lightsaber - possibly he's enjoying it that for the first time in decades somebody actually dares to confront him. Having no challenges to meet, no exiting tasks to master, no great goal to dream about over decades - not good for a guy like him.

Edit: Oddly enough, this made me think about the "deathwish" episode of Star Trek: Voyager - where one of the immortal Qs desperately wishes to die because there was nothing left to explore and his life has become "futile, meaningless, unendurable." It makes me wonder what that sort of boredom might have done to Sidious' former goal to discover the path to physical immortality?

 

If there is a decline, it can be due to a weakening of the master/apprentice relationship. Once Vader learns he has a son, the Emperor's hold over him weakens. Vader does things that the Emperor could not, such as sense Luke's presense.

I also believe that the Emperor knew his strength was failing, why else build a super weapon like the Death Star. Remember, the power to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force.

 

Yoda's Health Declines Significantly as Well...

Has He Lost Hope? Is his decline in health directly or indirectly related to Luke's Decision to Leave Dagohbah??

 

What did Hans Gruber say in Die Hard, something like, "and when Alexander saw the lengths of his domain he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer". I think a Sith is happier when he's trying to topple the establishment and remove his enemies. Once he's The Man, the fun is gone.

 

Just like Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four movies (NOT the demented version of Doom from the Fantastic Four Movie). The man tried many times to conquer the world (and he did it with style I might add), but once he was in control he grew bored and decided to stop ruling the world.

 

That's good!

But yeah, I agree that once he got to the top, he said "Well, here I am! Now all I have to do is fight off those meddling kids (meaning Rebels) so I can stay in my cushy little top-of-the-universe LaZBoy." I would think that he had the time of his life turning the galaxy upside down, but once he got finished with his evil plan, he spent his time spinning around and around in his super special swivel chair.

 

I actually think things were more challanging for Palpatine by ROTJ ... he even says so in ROTS: "All those who gain power are afraid to lose it." Palpatine is probably consumed by constant fear and paranoia, dreaming of nightmares of the Death Star being pointed at Coruscant or Vader assuming Mastership or the rebellion destroying the peace and order the Sith want to maintain in the Galaxy ...

 

You're definately right, his speech to Anakin in the opera reflects what he will become: a power-hungry, fearful, paranoid, megalomaniacal old codger, which is most likely the way Darth Plagueis was in his final days.

 

The ROTJ novelization has a paragraph where Palpatine arrives at the new DeathStar greeted by Vader and the book says something about Palpatine "looking frail and withered" because "his abuse of the Dark Side had aged him prematurely and was keeping him alive unnaturally" and was "eating him alive"
So in essence, his Dark Side powers were destroying his health but also helping him sustain life longer than anyone else in his condition should be able to

kind of interesting how later in ROTS Palpatine says "the Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be unnatural" and all his talk about the Dark Side being able to keep you from dying

so in short, yes, Palps has definitely become old and weak, but for different reasons than Yoda
Yoda was just his age

 

The Emperor walks with a stoop when he first arrives on the Death Star because he is portraying his public front as a non-force using old man. You'll notice that when he stands up to fry Luke he stands very straight and shows no signs of immobility.

Also, I don't see how you can compare the Emperor in ESB and ROTJ because ESB used a different actor.

 

whats up . i don't know quite which star wars novel i got this info from but here is: i think, LottDodd, that the reason why the Emperor looks so withered is because the more he delved himself in to the darkside, the more withered looking he got over time in trying to do so. ( i know for a fact that this info is in one of the books i read in the star wars saga.! )i think it is in the book:shadow of an empire, i think. im not really sure........let me think on this. oh and as for yoda, everyone knows that his species ages slowly.

 

I think we're talking about the 2004 DVD insert of Ian McDiarmid as the Palps hologram. No more of the "monkey lady."

This is something I have a problem with too. You'd think, after making such a big change to TESB scene, Lucas would want Palps to look more like his ROTJ self than ROTS. I still consider that revised scene a continuity issue because his face is exactly as it was in ROTS rather than in ROTJ.

ROTS --(19 years)-- ANH --(3 years)-- TESB --(1 year)-- ROTJ

So, he stays the same for 21 years, but in 1 year has altered face?

 

That is exactly why I am asking...

I Know He Abuses the Darkside and it whithers him.

I Know the New Scene in Empire was Filmed over 20 years after the orriginal...

But, Story wise, Why the sudden[i/] Decrease in health? In One Year or Less He loses a Great deal of weight. The cane is a ruse much like Yoda's cane.

Siddious's abillity to use the force is diminishing before he dies. He doesn't sense Luke's Arrival. And for Once His Master Plan Does not work out Exactly as He has Forseen it. The Imbalance in the force is coming to an end and it is leaving it's two most lopsided champions... Palpatine and Yoda.

Yoda as well was Healthy during Empire... Or Made a Good disguise of how sick and frail he was... Because by Jedi He can barely walk, has trouble breathing, and dies immediatley after Luke broaches the subject of his Father. This is a serious degradation of health in merely a year... Exscpecially if Yoda has 900 years behind him, 899 healthy, the final one he is infeebled.

 

Hmm, that is an interesting idea. It's just one of those continuity issues that doesn't have a story about it yet.

Same thing goes for the Palps age decrease from AOTC to ROTS. However, a lot of people don't seem to acknowledge it.