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CT Internal Conflict In Palpatine?

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by Darth_Nabb, Jul 25, 2021.

?

Was there an internal conflict in Palpatine?

  1. Yes

    1 vote(s)
    1.7%
  2. No

    55 vote(s)
    91.7%
  3. Maybe

    4 vote(s)
    6.7%
  1. Darth_Nabb

    Darth_Nabb Jedi Grand Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2003
    In ROTJ, I sensed in Emperor Palpatine an internal conflict. I felt that there was still good in him, and with the help of maybe Luke, he could be turned from the dark side.

    Evidence:

    1) He had a warm laugh. His first scene closes with his laughter resonating throughout the hangar of the Death Star.

    2) When he said to Luke, "There is no escape, my young apprentice," he had such a sad look on his face. Such a look of pity. His good side was coming through in that scene.

    Thoughts?
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2021
  2. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    He gave Luke a nice view of the battle as well. He didn't have to do that.
     
  3. BlackRanger

    BlackRanger Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 14, 2018
    I think Palpatine's internal conflicts tend to run along the lines of "should I kill this person by chopping off their head, or with Force Lightning?"
     
  4. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    1) His laugh sounded pretty evil to me.
    2) He's being sarcastic, like his fake sympathy when telling Luke the Alliance fleet was heading into a trap.
    The only conflict in Palpatine's mind was which of his apprentices should be killed first.
     
  5. Darth_Accipiter

    Darth_Accipiter Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2015
    Palpatine's internal conflict is not any consideration of being good, but of being deathly, deathly afraid. Fear is one of the pillars of the dark side, Fear, anger and hate. When Palpatine fights Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar he is fearful, but that fear fuels his power. His anger and hate focuses that power. His chains are broken in that instance and he cuts them down like they're younglings.
    When Vader brings Luke before him, Sidious is fearful. He knows that the last Jedi stands before him, the one person capable of defeating both Vader and him is in the same room. He puts on a face of superiority, but in the end he is only human. He fears. Anger, Hate, Fear, is the way of the dark side. Sidious is the dark side embodied. Therefore Sidious is not a being without fear, and in fact he struggles with it. But rather than be cautious from it, like a jedi would, he becomes arrogant through the power it bestows him. And that's why fledglings like Luke and even Ezra defeat him.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2021
  6. CampOfSorgan

    CampOfSorgan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2020
    Well as someone who considers the Plagueis novel to be my own personal canon, there's really no room for me to believe there was any internal conflict with Palpatine. He was a really bad guy from the start, and that only was inflamed when he became a Sith. By the time of ROTJ, he's reached such a level of evil self righteousness that I doubt he had any internal shame or remorse within him. At least there's no indication of it whatsoever in the films. Maybe when he was screaming as he was going down the shaft, he regretted his choices? But that's about it.
     
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  7. BlackRanger

    BlackRanger Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 14, 2018
    People are taking this thread seriously? I thought it was fairly obvious this was some very dry humor. :p
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2021
  8. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    He did look like he was enjoying himself , and that's always a positive thing I feel.
     
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  9. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Kind of hard to tell these days but it is funny as hell if that’s how it was meant. I’m all for making fun of the overemphasis on “conflict” in characters.
     
  10. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I think "he had a warm laugh" gave it away.
     
  11. AEHoward33

    AEHoward33 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2019
    I think Palpatine's internal conflict was more apparent in the Prequel Trilogy in two specific scenes:

    *In "TPM", while trying to convince Padme to declare a vote of no confidence against Vallorum, there seemed to be hints of disgust in both his voice and eyes, while mentioning the corruption in the Senate and the Republic.

    *There was that moment in "ROTS" when he stroked the wounded Anakin's forehead, while clone troopers prepared to carry the latter to the Emperor's ship.

    Conflict from Palpatine in the Original Trilogy? I don't remember.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2021
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  12. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    There is kind've a cute moment between Palps and R2 early on in ROTS when the ship is coming in for a crash landing and they both give each other a look as Kenobi is giving out the status of the ship.
     
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  13. Darth Baga

    Darth Baga Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2021
    He also tries to flee before his duel with Yoda in Revenge of the Sith. He probably knew Yoda, Windu and (later) Luke were the only ones who could beat him.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2021
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  14. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2003
    I think Palpatine embodies the classic villain "pure evil" type, that is evil just cos they like to be evil. Kind of the "just like to watch the world burn" type.
     
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  15. DARTHLINK

    DARTHLINK Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 24, 2005
    Now all we need is a prequel movie with Palpatine as a little boy and how the fact his dad beat him left and right justifies his evilness. :p :D

    “Palps, why are you enslaving the galaxy and killing trillions of innocents?!”
    “My daddy was mean to me.”
    “Aww, OK, that makes sense. We automatically forgive you and think you’re a good person.”
    “Yay!!!”
     
  16. Darth Vader's Chest Plate

    Darth Vader's Chest Plate Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2013
    No conflict, he's self driven to achieve!

    The ever benelovent Sheev. The creator of mass employment across the galaxy.

    There is never any personal gain, he's just all about the job. He's so company centric.

    For example, he has an employee, newly promoted, who has a life changing injury, does he cast him aside? No! He provides him with medical aid and assists his recovery. He's even there, on hand, when the employee tries his new prosthetic legs alongside his breathing aid.

    He's that concerned for his legacy, he even clones himself, to ensure continuity of his vision.

    It all depend on your point of view!
     
  17. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    His parents had high profile jobs which occasionally required that they travelled. He was left with a babysitter and didn’t get enough attention. Who wouldn’t murder trillions of people after that?
     
  18. Dark Ferus

    Dark Ferus Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Jul 29, 2016
    Rey: kisses Palpatine
     
  19. Nehru_Amidala

    Nehru_Amidala Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2016
    Your kidding, right? Palpatine was an omnicidal maniac who cared only about himself and perpetuating the Sith Order.
     
  20. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    Well someone has to make the difficult decisions.
     
  21. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    He created a lot of jobs building 2 Death Stars. He was good for the economy. he seemed to be popular in the Senate.
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2021
  22. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    Yeah, he loved the Senate and the Senate loved him. It's almost like they were one and the same.
     
  23. Lord Exor

    Lord Exor Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 2019
    He's afraid of mortality. That's something I guess.
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2021
  24. Awushi Awere

    Awushi Awere Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    May 11, 2020
    I think it's almost a bit comical that we never saw him having some real talk. Like how is he after being weird oder evil? Ultimate power, sure, but what comes next? I mean...he even had some kind of humour. Can't be that hard to drink a beer with him. It's difficult to picture a figure not as a comic relief or stereotype when there is nothing but memes, memes and memes. But of course this is also the charming aspect of this character. He is mysterious, he is mighty, he is greedy and always hungry with an ace up his sleeve. I guess we should keep it like that. I by myself don't need a tragic origin story for him which makes us "understanding him a bit".
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2021
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  25. StartCenterEnd

    StartCenterEnd Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    May 2, 2006
    He enjoys opera and philosophy and good conversation. He believes in rule of strength and ultimate power being the best forces for keeping peace in the universe.
     
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