Did Palpatine Care About Anakin/Vader?

Did Palpatine Care about Anakin/Vader?

After being burned alive on Mustafar, Palpatine saves Vader and kneels down and places a hand on his head. Palpatine doing this seems to show that he cared about him. After spending 13 years hanging out with Anakin do you think Palptine actually ever really cared about him like a son or close friend? Or do you think that it was entirely fake and it boiled down doing whatever it took to earn his trust?

Personally, I think that Palpatine did care about Anakin. Though cold hearted, Anakin did grow on him and he did think of him like a son. However, these feelings would never cloud his judgement if a more powerful force sensitive came along.

 

Well, it kind of makes you wonder about Palpatine's story, doesn't it? Maybe we'll get a prequel of the prequel. At the end of ROTJ, we see that underneath all the evil, even Darth Vader's heartstrings can be tugged on as he saves Luke. At the end of the OT, we know there was a man inside that suit, and that he does have feelings. Awwww.

I honestly don't know what Palpatine thought of Anakin. He appeard to care for him, but perhaps it was for his only own gain. The same way I care about my job - a means to an end, nothing more. He may act like he cares, at times, but perhaps only to get what he wants. He's cold, calculating. A Sith Lord. Consumed by the Dark Side. More machine than man.

On the other hand, he may have once been a man who, just like Anakin, turned, and lost himself to the Dark Side. The imagry LordVader66 brings up, along with a few other tidbits ("He's still alive" and, "I need your help son") could be interpreted as affection. Or not.

My bold answer to this question is "I don't know." But the question leaves me pondering Palpatine's origins. Lucas does hint quite a bit at Palpatine's past, teasing us with it, more or less. BTW, I don't really read EU - I don't have the time to read, so my post here is based strictly on what I've seen in the movies.

 

When Palpatine saw Anakin, he saw the end of the Jedi and what could be the greatest Sith Lord of all time. He might have shown affection towards Anakin, and you could say he cared, but really the reason he cared was because of the power he represented, not for Anakin himself. Or who knows, maybe Palpatine was a horny old guy with a fettish for young Jedi.

 

We've bumped heads on the subject of Ani/Vader more than once but i'm with you here.

Like a son? Well yes as close to that as Palpantine can get, i do not attempt to project those feelings onto him but he basically had been Anakin's only real friend, confidant and mentor for well over a decade.

There is no way you can take great cares to listen to a small boy become a bratty teenager, listen to all the whinning he does and not care about him.

Think it through for those who dissagree with me.

For years the Anakin we saw in AotC would go to Palpantine and whine, cry, ***** and moan about everything and how it's not fair and never did Palpantine just slap him down.

Instead he's being the warm and carring figure that really does have an interest in how Anakin sees things and from Anakin's perspective.

This had a purpose to it, it gave him the perfect opportunity to turn Anakin, but it could not have been done if he didn't care and couldn't have been done without him growing to care.

I'm not going to assign to Palpantine emotions like compassion or love, he may have cared about Anakin in the same way i care about my favorite coffee mug. "It's mine and damn it, no one else better touch it or else!"

I think a strong argument could also be made that Palpantine cared about Maul in a similar way.

Yes he put a lot into both of them and expected a lot from them but also he accepted who they were on some level to just put up with them.

I've been around whinny teens, i'd have smacked Anakin up side his head a hundred times over, especially if i'm a Sith Lord.

Palpantine never did, he was the one person Anakin believed cared for him.

 

Vader was a tool for Sidious. He was obviously concerned that he wasn't getting all that he bargained for when he saw Vader charred and barely alive. The extent of his care would have been "Oh boy..if he dies now I'll have to go through the trouble of training another apprentice from scratch."

 

Somtimes it seems that when Sids is wearing his kindly uncle persona, he really does care about Anakin; at that moment it is real. When he thinks/acts as the Sith Lord, that's what is real. He could not have carried out such a total deception for so long without being that convincing, and convinced, in his interactions with others.
And it's a minority view, but I think that either Sids (or his Master, or the Dark Side) had something to do with Anakin's oringins. To me, it gives the "father" or "uncle" side he shows to Anakin more meaning; Sids is actually very proud of what he either had a hand in creating, or in what he discovered and cultivated for so long.

 

interesting thought.

I almost hope the plaguis novel keeps this idea alive.

the most interesting scenerio in my mind is that Plaguis lets Palpantine believe he has created life with the intention of creating an apprentice but Palpantine does not know who it it.

Then later he and Anakin meet in TPM menace leaving it an open question.

I am almost certain it won't go that way.

I would point out that on Mustafar he is totally in "Sith Mode", and it seems to me when Sidious finds Anakin he displays both relief and concern for Anakin and both are genuine.

I don't try to say he cared for Anakin in an affectionate way, but i do believe that of all beings in the GFFA at that time Anakin was the only one he cared for at all.

 

Malikail, yes, we do seem to see things differently when it comes to Vader. But, I will say I COMPLETELY agree with the above statement. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Palpatine thinks of Anakin in the same way he thinks of the galaxy as a whole. He is willing to let it, and Anakin, suffer and be harmed, as long as this suffering is a means to an end: control. They both serve purposes and continue to do so after their respective woundings, transifigurations and disfigurations. Palpatine's willingness to bring an end to the galaxy's suffering by ending the Clone Wars, and his willingness to end Anakin's physical suffering by encasing him in the suit, are not signs of compassion but of completion and cementing of control. His goals, for the time being, have been met. The outward signs of compassion, in the Senate speech where he expresses his concern for security and safety, and on Mustafar where he apparently gently touches Anakin, are but mere nods to their respective audiences, the Senate and people and Anakin, that Palpatine does in fact care despite his own ghoulish and evil true self that to varying degrees has been revealed to both audiences.

 

this should have been a poll question i think.

 

It can be argued both ways. I think in the end Sidious only wanted Anakin/Vader because it helped him achieve his goal of ruling the Galaxy. The only time you get a hint of caring from Sidious is in ROTS when Anakin is burnt to a crisp and he kneels over him and put's his hand on Anakins forehead.

 

Palpatine represents the epitome of evil. He is consumed by hatered. He cares about his plans only and the bid for galatic domination. Above that he cares more for the legacy of the sith. In Anakin he see's that potential with the aid of Palpatine this legacy will dominate the republic and the jedi for future generations.

He knows undoubtedley that he has a hold over Anakin and whether he will submit to letting Anakin gain that greater knowledge is unknown as Palpatine is at risk of being overthrown. Palpatine will know he has to be careful or he will risk death in the process.

The Mustafar scene shows a unique side of the evil sith lord. He does care. The scene is set up to show that or to show Palpatine's future plans for the legacy of the sith have been destroyed. Either way he cares, whether this is because of his own selfish plans or a bond through Skywalker, Palpatine's rescue attempt was frought on his behalf.

"He's still alive" Look at his face, it's relief.

Look at him kneel down to the destroyed Darth Vader. His hand touches Vader's head. Not just to check his pulse or outcome but to register there may be hope.

There is no definate answer that he did care about Vader, but Vader was his pet project in the grand scheme of things.

 

Did Palpatine Care About Anakin/Vader?

Like a jewelry store owner cares about his Doberman Pinscher, perhaps! So long as there is complete loyalty and obedience, all is well.

 

I think he had more affection and pity for him in the beginning. After 20 years, Vader has proven his loyalty, but there's literally millions of flunkies willing to bend over backwards for Palps favor, so he loses interest.

Let's face it, Palps is a man. Once he conquers, he looks for more prospects. Like (don't take this wrong, it's a reference on the nature of men) a man that marries. He doesn't tell his wife I Love You all that much afterwards. He has "proven" his love my marrying her.

Same with Palps. He's proven his alliegence to Anakin by saving him and making him his right hand. He doesn't have to tell Vader cares. His favor is proof enough of his caring.

 

I'd argue that Palp isn't consumed by hatred. Anger, hatred, acting in the heat of passionate emotion would not help Palp with all of the meticulous planning he'd need to further the Sith goal of domination. He was able to quite coldly and rationally plot his way to the top, and manipulate every other player to further his own aims.
As Vader's actions on Mustafar show, relying on emotion for strength impares the ability to think. After the coup, when Palps/Sids goes permanently yellow-eyed, the Sith Emperor appears to be relying on that hatred full time. With both Sids and Vader in that state, it's no wonder that their empire only lasted 20 years; they were both depending on passionate hatred to fuel their actions and extend their power.

 

Being completely consumed with Hatred does NOT make you impatient. Palpatine WAS completely consumed with everything that is dark side. Hatred being one of those traits. He was a Sith Lord.

 

Thank you DOODOO. That was my point.

 

please consider for those who think that Palpantine was "just using vader" this comment and others that have been made in this thread.

i like to say it may have been no more than how i feel about my favorite coffee mug but he did care on some level.

This is far more carring than Palpantine shows for any other living creature at any time in the entire series, and i consider this somewhat remarkable comming from a character that considers trillions of lives utterly expendable.

 

My original post a few up mentions in some form he cares. So I agree with you.

 

This is a great question. It's kinda hard for me to find the words to answer this one. I would say that palpatine cared for the Sith. He cared about carrying on the legacy of the Sith. Carrying on the tradition. Palpatine was a Sith Lord, a being consumed by all things dark, but at the same time, he still at his core wanted the Sith to remain supreme. So in that sense, I think he did care about anakin. He cared about anakin continuing the ways of the Sith. I think this is depicted very well, during sidious' battle with yoda at the end of ROTS. He says something along the lines of "You will not stop me, Lord Vader will become more powerful than either of us." I think this line explains his feelings towards anakin, perfectly. Anakin is and has always been, sidious' ace in the hole. The being that he had worked so hard to turn. This same man, is the one who would carry on the ways of the Sith, should sidious fall. Like I said, it's little hard for me to put this one into words, so that's just my two cents.

 

Palpatine does care, but not in the sens that he actually cares about Anakin's well-being. He only cares about Anakin because of what he can do. After Anakin turns into Vader and gets singed, he had a look of dissapointment that his all-powerful apprentince was reduced to this, but when he found that Vader was alive, he was relieved because he knew that he could get some more things out of Vader. His careing for Vader would be paralelled to someone caring for their smashed-up SUV. They aren't about to go sobbing over it, but they'll be concerned if it can run again.

 

Palpatine did not care for Anakin in the same way Obi-wan did. Palpatine only saw Anakin as a means to an end. He did sound genuinely concerned for Anakin, for one brief moment. But that's it. He only wanted Anakin to be his heir to the Sith dynasty and ruler of the Empire. Seeing the results of Obi-wan's handiwork shocked him as a) Anakin was still alive and b), he doesn't know what kind of long term damage came out of this. It isn't until he gets Vader mad enough to lash out, that he is satisfied. Now he has his heir and now he has someone who can be worthy. But as time passes, this changes and Palpatine wants more.

 

I've seen you mention stuff along these lines for a while, can you clarify? You seem to be saying that Sidious was satisfied with Vader even after his defeat on Mustafar and then apprently for some reason fell out of favor with Sidious. Would Darth Vader not have been worthy to carry on the Sith legacy if Luke and Leia had died with Padme? I think so, Anakin Skywalker was buried so deep in Vader that it took his son to bring him back. Palpatine wanting more, that doesn't mean he is disatisfied with Vader, but that someone stronger came along. That's just how the Sith work, it's not a slight against Vader.

 

He only really cared about if Anakin/Vader lived or not that was the extint of it.

 

Palpatine likes Vader because he knows Vader can help him maintain his rule in the galaxy. If he truly cared in a loving sense, he wouldn't be grinning when Vader learns about Padme's fate.