PT If Master Windu had succeeded, what would the Jedi have done with the Republic?

"The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Republic to ensure a peaceful transition."

If Master Windu had succeeded and killed or captured Palpatine, what would have happened? We saw a Jedi War Council meeting which suggested that the Jedi would have had to take over the Republic/Senate to ensure peace, law and order and to remove the corruption that had engulfed it.

What would they have done? Would Mace Windu have been the Chosen One if he had made the kill or Anakin had not cut his hand off (if he saw he was being manipulated by Palpatine)? Would Mace Windu have turned to the dark side, or would he have maintained his Jedi wisdom having done what needed to be done? Would the Jedi Order have been able to take control? Would they have been able to rid the Senate of the corruption and end the war?

Would the Jedi Order have been able to give up their power or would they rule by decree using the Clone Army to enforce their peace?

or would the wise Jedi Council have been accepted as better leaders than the corrupt Senate, and the populace demand that they stay in power?

 

No Empire for Palps, that's for sure.

Send that team of Jedi to take Palpatine down, since they were already on to him.

Probably not, but he would be considered a hero among many people.

Bye bye Palpatine.

I'm certain he would've kept his wisdom and did what needed to be done.

Positive, without Order 66, I don't see any contradictions to the Jedi having many issues with taking control of the Senate, but there most likely would've been riots from those who dislike the Jedi to begin with.

The corruption maybe, but ending the war, probably not.

IMO, they would rule by decree and use the Clone Army to enforce peace. Jedi do not want war, but if that'd be the only way to defend peace, so be it. As far as being accepted, as I said above, there most likely will be riots. You have those who support the Jedi, and those who even despise them.

Hope I had a few good answers at least.

 

I could see Palpatine's immediate allies (Tarkin, Mas Amedda, Sly Moore, etc) being the first to decamp before the Jedi can arrest them - and becoming the powers behind the opposition.

 

I didn't take that into consideration. Good one.

 

Yeah Iron_lord is right I think. They would be opposition-in-exile. The jedi would have tried to purge the Senate.

And with Palpatine's government ousted, they likely would have assumed government duties until a new chancellor could have been elected.

It would essentially have been a coup-de-tat.

 

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Anakin and Dooku may have been highly susceptible to ethical compromises to begin with, but they are not uniquely so. The Jedi Council becoming the ruling junta of the Galactic Republic would probably have a fairly degenerative effect on the Jedi. Whatever the controversies surrounding the Order's actions during the Clone Wars, they never cross the line into outright oppressive rule, which is what a coup d'etat would necessarily entail.

There would be a handful of senators on their side, but as the Delegation of 2000 scenes show, even (or rather especially) those wary of Palpatine's growing power are somewhat distrustful of the Jedi as well. This isn't surprising, considering that the Jedi are the ones who have overseen the Republic's massive military build up, directly command the GAR and Republic Navy on the Senate/Chancellor's behalf, and are considered part of Palpatine's inner circle in AOTC. Even Padme, who is as pro-Jedi as they come, would probably fall back on her core principles and refuse to co-operate with a tyrannical Jedi junta, though given some of the words thrown around after Anakin enters the duel in Palpatine's office, they would have certain leverage against her.

By the time Luke Skywalker comes of age in this alternate timeline, the Republic and the Jedi Order would be unrecognisable.

A very interesting scenario to consider...

 

I hope Disney does pursue prequel era spinoffs. I could see one with Mace.

Intro is the duel in ROTS. Then Mace flies out the window. He's hurt badly. He barely regains consciousness as he is falling through the sky of Coruscant. At the last moment he uses the Force to fall into something softer that stops the hard landing. Then he lands with a hard thud onto a flat surface. Fade to black.

We fade in to Windu lying in the street, motionless. Someone walks up to Mace, body out of frame, feet only showing. This person drags Mace off.

Fade out.

 

Arresting Palpatine is one thing, removing the corruption within the Republic is another. As guardians of peace, it might be within the Jedi's role to usurp and overthrow a violent dictator. Removing the corruption of a democratically elected Senate is a whole other thing. They could toss Palpatine but they have no place rooting out corruption or going after other officials. Ideally, they would have had to arrest the chancellor and then return power to a reconvened Senate. It is up to the senators to lift the emergency powers and elect new leadership.

 

In the original drafts of SW it was suggested when the jedi discovered corruption within the senate they tried to purge it and were declared outlaws of the republic by the emperor.

 

I've read somewhere that there was a subset to Order 66, that in the event of the death of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, all clones were to execute Order 66 immediately. Not sure where that's from, but if it were true, any attempt by the Jedi to rule the Republic after removing Sidious would be short-lived.

 

Had Palpatine mistakingly said, "Execute order, 65." That would've been the biggest plot twist in history.

Link to Order 65 in case you're wondering why.

 

The Jedi seemed to have planned to take on the executive powers of the Chancellor until the war was over, and then give it back to the Senate.

 

Tyranny is against the Jedi code. The entire Ruusan Reformation was because the Jedi wanted to hand down power to the Senate.

 

To build on my earlier point, I doubt the clones would have followed the Jedi if they learned that the Jedi had murdered the Chancellor. I can see Mace and the other Council members going to the Senate and explaining that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and that they had had to kill him to save the Republic and being promptly attacked by the clone guards in the Senate Chamber. Word would quickly spread and the Jedi across the galaxy would be gunned down and the clone forces on Coruscant would assault the Temple. I doubt the Jedi would have been able to control the Republic if word got out that they had murdered the Supreme Chancellor. We see in TCW that the Jedi's popularity was rapidly declining and that most citizens held them responsible for the war.

 

Very good answers. So ultimately the Sith would die, and the Jedi would take over the Republic.

There might be some riots and dissent from corrupt Senators, but ultimately if the Jedi command the GAR, they should be able to keep order. So long as the next official Chancellor supports them (the Chancellor is ultimately Commander in Chief), it should work.

In terms of whether they hand power back, I'm not sure too many galactic citizens would mind. If the galaxy runs smoother without the corrupt bureacrats, then they would probably support them. Whilst some do not like the Jedi, many respect them and are in awe of their powers. Some Jedi, including Skywalker, are seen to be heroes in the Clone Wars.

The only thing is the view that they were an entitled order who seemed to command prestige and wealth.

 

True. However, with the Jedi in command of the GAR, there is little that Tarkin, Mas Ameda and Sly Moore can do, unless they somehow get a Chancellor elected who is against the Jedi Order.

All that matters, is who the Clones follow. That is where Palpatine had the advantage.

Investigations would also reveal corruption and Mas Amedda would probably just jump ship to avoid being looked into.
Tarkin could not be let loose as Palpatine was dead.

 

The Galactic poplace might actually prefer a Jedi run Republic. It would have been founded on noble thought and action. The Jedi Council whilst having been complacent and self entitled perhaps, were not corrupt. They would not have tolerated corrupt administration or bureacrats.

And if the Jedi commanded the GAR, they could clean up the Republic by force.

 

Extremely good point. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Perhaps even the great Jedi Order itself could have fallen prey to the corruption. Only thing is that power would have been through the collective wisdom and decision of the majority of the Jedi Council. I cannot see Master Yoda not taking a balanced view. Master Windu also seemed genuinely intent on doing good. He might have sought the thrill of the fight through Vaapad and even been an "end justifies the means"/ask questions later type of Master, but I can't see him harming the innocent or quashing freedom. But it is not impossible that the Jedi Council junta would have had repercussions for the entire Order as well as the Republic itself. It would have been a coup d'etat after all. Palpatine was extremely clever in playing the system.

But what would the poplace's view have been? Some might support.. and after all just like Palpatine, the Jedi would command one of the largest armies ever amassed.

That's true. There would be political turmoil. But I think there would also be some stability. The Jedi would use their skills with the Force and command of the GAR to establish order and prevent anyone taking advantage of the situation. I think they would have been true to their intention to reestablish the Republic of old. However, they seemed only content to do this, once corruption had been removed. Would they have moved to arrest Senators and clean up the Senate using the troopers at their command? What if some should resist?

I agree. It would be extremely interesting. It would be cool if they made an alternate series like this!

 

This would indeed be EPIC. I made a thread on this possibility: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/...er-council-members-survive-order-66.50024578/

A prequel spin off would be awesome. I really hope they do this, though I am worried they might only pursue bounty hunter stories or the like. Whilst those would also be good, it would be nice to see something relating to the events of the main saga.

When the person drags Mace off, they could be a Jedi sympathiser, or one was saved by the Order. They could attempt to smuggle him off Coruscant by putting him experimental stasis at a prototype "Carbon freezing" facility which was receiving Republic funding.

When exiting hyperspace, the ship could be attacked by smugglers, and the precious cargo lost for years... when it was suddenly found by other Jedi or even those in Episode 7 or 8. The Koran Jedi Master could be unfrozen to meet the Jedi of new..

 

True. It would essentially be a coup d'etat. The plotters would be the noble Jedi Order who possess incredible powers through their mastery of the Force. Some might be distrustful.

Key would be who replaced Palpatine as Chancellor. The Jedi would command the GAR up until the point powers were transferred to a new Commander in Chief.

 

According to the Star Wars website and order book, I don't think there was a subset order. There was a list of contigency orders which could be given to the GAR. Order 65 stipulated the arrest and removal of the Chancellor. Order 66 was an executive order that could only be given by the Supreme Commander in Chief, which stated the Jedi were acting against the Republic and lethal force was to be used.

However, if not given by the Chancellor, (i.e. either he or she did not give the order personally, or else if someone else tried to issue it), then there was no obligation or requirement to follow it. It was a contigency order in case the Jedi turned on the Republic.

Unlike Order 65, which required approval by the Security Council (which included other military and Senatorial officials as well as the Jedi Council), Order 66 could only be issued by the legitimate Chancellor. If say Palpatine had been arrested and legally stripped of his title by the Senate, whoever the new Chancellor would inherit the Commander in Chief role. So Palpatine himself as a person could not issue the order from a prison cell for example.

If the Chancellor was overthrown in a Jedi coup, unless the order was given, the clones would not have executed it. They would not make judgements either. They were not politicians. Clone troopers would merely follow orders from whoever the highest authority was. If the Chancellor position was unfilled, they would have most likely followed the next in high command. The Jedi Council would have filled the vacuum. Not to mention the troopers seem to have a good rapport with their Jedi Generals. Unless the Senate voted by majority to declare the Jedi as traitors and ordered their execution, the GAR would have functioned normally under Jedi command.

 

Unless Order 66 was given explicitly by the sitting Commander in Chief, the clones would have no reason to carry it out. They were not politicans, lawyers, or judges. Clones merely followed orders. If no order had been given, then they would simply carry on as normal under the command structure. Executive power would have been with the Jedi Council as they were next in the command chain.

Otherwise, by your argument, the Chancellor was acting against the interests of the Republic by not returning emergency powers back to the Senate. The Clones could have made a judgement that Order 65 should be followed.

Clone troopers would be loyal to the Commander in Chief, but unless a clone was actually present and a Jedi just attempted to slash his lightsaber at the Chancellor, a clone would just follow the command chain. That is how since Palpatine was alive and still in his position of authority, he was able to issue Order 66 explicitly by passing the order through the command chain to kill the Jedi usurpers. The clones did not think about whether the order was right or wrong, or whether it should really have confirmation from a secondary source. They carried it out.

The GAR would have been under whoever was next in command which was the Jedi Council. E.g. imagine if the Chancellor had been killed in an accident, or by Grievous, or Dooku at the beginning of ROTS. The clones would not have started firing at Jedi all of a sudden since Order 66 had not been issued. It was one of many contigency orders. It had to be issued to be followed.

 

Order 65 is Legends content and non-canon....

 

I was waiting for someone to point that out. That's why I linked it.

 

I know all about Order 65. I never really like it though. But you have a good point about the clones needing specific instructions from Palpatine to execute Order 66. However, Palpatine planned for every contingency and it's possible that he indoctrinated the clones with hidden programming that would prompt them to execute Order 66 if they ever heard that Palpatine had been murdered by the Jedi. Just a possibility though.