Saga Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious appreciation thread

Usually the Dark Lord character type is established as the main threat, the ultimate evil from the very beginning. Sauron and Voldemort are established early on. Throughout the story, every character talks about how dangerous and evil they are. The story builds them up nonstop and while I like both characters, there isn't much of a payoff from all that buildup. In the movies, Voldemort turns out to not be nearly as intimidating or scary as you've been led to believe, and Sauron ends up not really having an active role in the story. Star Wars does the opposite though. Both in the original trilogy and the Clone Wars era. They don't tell you "HERE'S THE VILLAIN OF THE STORY" right off the bat. Instead, there's a bit of a red herring villain for both sets of protagonists, and the true evil of the story isn't revealed till the final act.

Vader and the Separatists serve as the face of evil to the protagonists. The audience assumes Vader is the ultimate evil throughout most of the 3 movies. But then you see him bow to this robed, hooded demonic looking old man...Then you see who's been really pulling the strings the whole time. While you know in the Clone Wars era right off the bat that Palpatine is pulling the strings, it's still very subtle and easy to forget the entire war is a sham. It's also quite interesting how the protagonists have no idea of it. To them, the main threat is the Confederacy and its Droid Army. Palpatine's plan and true identity as Darth Sidious is hinted at throughout the War but his status as main villain isn't truly revealed till Revenge of the Sith. I love how he hides in the shadows throughout the saga, probably not wanting to be noticed. I like how there's never really a point where the good guys are actually concerned with him. Even when Palpatine rules the galaxy, Vader seems to be the one everyone is worried about. Great villain, great role in the story

TLDR; I love how subtle of a villain Palpatine is. The protagonists hardly ever know he's the villain,The audience barely knows he's the villain, He just pulls strings from the shadows and doesn't reveal himself til the final act. He's a refresing take on the Dark Lord archetype since he isn't built up as the main threat the entire time like others are.

 

I agree, Palpatine is an interesting villain. If you look at his dialogue generally, he always has some hidden motivation, and speaks in half-truths.

I did some extensive ranting on his dialogue in the PT here if you haven't read it:

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/an-essay-on-palpatine-sidious-in-rots.50032812/

 

Palpatine is Star Wars. Everything happened because of Palpatine. He is the beginning and the end of GLs story. He is The Phantom Menace, the reason why the Clones Attacked, and gained Revenge for the Sith. He is the template and prototype for the Ultimate villain. He is up there with The Joker, Lex Luther, Green Gobblin, Dr Doom, Magneto and Megatron. Palpatine gave us Maul, Dooku, Tarkin, Grevious and Vader. They all reported to Palpatine while Palpatine reported to no one. The Grim Reaper got his swag and mojo from Palpatine. It was Palpatine that taught Norris how to kick, Presley how to rock and Jackson how to dance. Fox didn't have enough to pay Palpatine in A New Hope and the only had a few million to spare for his brief Empire Strikes Back cameo. There is no Star Wars without Palpatine. End thread.

 

Palpatine. Such a phenomenal arc throughout the trilogy. It is rare for a director to take such time and nuance a character as such. Every single line of dialogue Ian delivers is brilliant.

 

My favourite character ever since I first saw Return of the Jedi.

 

Same. His role in the Clone Wars era is the cherry on top

 

I am very much a fan of Sheev. A brilliant man.

 

I agree. Palpatine had a very meticulous plan and executed it perfectly. What a mastermind. Plus, how he got Anakin to finally join him was amazing. He fought Mace until Anakin finally ran into the room, and he knew he had him hooked then.

My favorite TCW duel includes Palpatine:


Makes a mockery of Maul & Savage's efforts to defeat him