The story of Star Wars is greatly about the concept of balance: the coexistence of light and dark, good and evil. There can be no light without the dark, and vice versa. While there were a number of characters who represented the light side of the Force throughout the saga, perhaps the greatest threat from the dark side was Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious.
Palpatine plays a crucial role throughout each Star Wars trilogy (and even within The Clone Wars). In the beginning, he was part of the senate for the Galactic Republic, representing the planet Naboo. He eventually worked his way up through the ranks of the government, all the while pulling the strings behind the scenes as Darth Sidious.
Eventually, Palpatine became the Supreme Emperor of the Galactic Empire, leading a massive army on his conquest of galactic domination. His journey to such power was anything but simple, involving manipulation, treason, and years of patience.
Palpatine’s Time in Politics
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Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious |
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Original Portrayal |
Marjorie Eaton (Episodes IV and V) |
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Official Credited Actor |
Ian McDiarmid (Episodes I, II, III, VI, and IX) |
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Appearances as Sheev Palpatine |
Episodes I, II, and III |
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Appearances as Darth Sidious |
Episodes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and IX |
The first time viewers see Palpatine (chronologically within the Star Wars timeline) is as a Naboo Senator in The Phantom Menace. However, his journey to the dark side started years before. As Palpatine started to realize his sensitivity to the Force, he began researching aspects of both the light and dark sides of the Force, eventually secretly training as a Sith Lord under the command of Darth Plagueis. Simultaneously, he became involved in politics and eventually became a Senator for Naboo.
While Palpatine was building his reputation as a trustworthy politician, Darth Sidious continued plotting against the Republic, conspiring with other powers such as the Trade Federation and the Separatists. In his scheming, he convinced the opposition that he was working with them to help them gain power. In reality, it was all a ploy for Palpatine to have control over the Republic.
Palpatine made his way up. First, he convinced Queen Amidala of Naboo to call for a Vote of No Confidence against the Chancellor, Finis Valorum, after he refused to intervene with the Trade Federation’s blockade on Naboo. (This was in fact a demonstration conducted by Palpatine himself as Darth Sidious). In turn, Palpatine was voted in as Supreme Chancellor.
Meanwhile, Palpatine had secretly ordered the construction of the Clone Army. This military force was supposedly being made for the Republic, but in reality, they served only Palpatine. When the Separatists, led by Sidious’ apprentice and former Jedi Count Dooku, posed a threat to the Republic, Palpatine was granted emergency power. He ordered the Clone Army to serve as the military for the Republic, ending both the Republic’s and the Jedi’s long run of peacekeeping. Thus, Palpatine initiated the Clone War against the Separatists, giving him his first taste of leading his massive army that would one day transform into the Galactic Empire.
Palpatine’s Role as Darth Sidious
A common law of the Sith is that they work in pairs: master and apprentice. Sidious was the apprentice to Darth Plagueis. But Darth Maul was a Sith Assassin who was contracted by Sidious and approved by Plagueis. Upon Maul’s apparent death in The Phantom Menace, though, Sidious sought out an actual apprentice so that he could be a true Sith Lord master. So, he murdered Plagueis and appointed Count Dooku as his new apprentice.
Dooku, however, saw through the future Emperor’s corruption and shared the same desire as Sidious, wanting the power for himself. Sidious suspected his treason and had Dooku taken out by Anakin Skywalker, making the young and impressionable Jedi his new target for an apprentice. Anakin was a perfect target for Sidious, too. He was considered the “Chosen One” according to prophecy, and he was extremely powerful at a young age. Most importantly, Anakin had reason to join the dark side.
Anakin was an impulsive Jedi who thought the peacekeeping days of the Jedi Order were a thing of the past. And so, Palpatine gained his trust as a mentor, speaking to him about the issues with the Jedi and the differing powers of the Sith. One power that particularly intrigued Anakin was the ability to bring others back from death. Perhaps the first effective turning point for the young Jedi was in Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin feared for the life of his pregnant wife Padme. Palpatine decided to tell him the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise:
Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? […] I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a dark lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge for the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying […] The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
Palpatine goes on to explain that Plagueis was killed by his apprentice. Anakin asks if it was possible to learn the power Plagueis wielded, to which Palpatine responds, “Not from a Jedi.” This conversation made Anakin further doubt the teachings of the Jedi, while also introducing a desirable power that could only be achieved by learning the ways of the dark side.
Soon after, Palpatine was revealed to be Darth Sidious, but it was far too late. He had already recruited Anakin as his apprentice, under the name Darth Vader. He turned the Clones against the Republic via Order 66, which conducted the annihilation of the Jedi Order. From then on, until his downfall, Sidious became the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
What Happens to Palpatine?
Palpatine ruled the Galactic Empire for years in the shadows as Supreme Leader Darth Sidious, building his Stormtrooper army, the immense fleet of Star Destroyers, and managing the construction of the planet-destroying space station, the Death Star. He and Vader dominated the galaxy until they discovered that a young kid from Tatooine was practicing the ways of the Jedi, and intended on working with the Rebellion to take down the Empire.
In fear of history repeating itself, Sidious revealed to Vader that the new Jedi was in fact his son, Luke Skywalker. Sidious’ plan was to go one of two ways: Vader would kill his own son and remain Sidious’ apprentice, or Luke would eliminate his father and replace Vader as an enforcer of the Sith. However, when Luke had the opportunity to strike down Vader, he resisted, prompting Sidious to see no other option but to kill Luke himself. Vader sacrificed himself to save Luke, throwing Sidious down a shaft to his apparent death before dying himself.
Years passed, and the former Emperor was thought dead, until the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren, discovered he was still alive somehow. Ren learned of his location and consulted him, learning he never died thanks to some sort of cloning and the unnatural ways of the dark side. He also learned that the young Jedi padawan, Rey of Jakku, was the granddaughter of Sidious. Kylo Ren soon had a change of heart and sought to take down the former Emperor.
Sidious’ initial plan of recruiting Ren as his apprentice went awry. His new plan involved Rey killing Sidious out of rage, which would force her down the path of the dark side, and she would finish what he had started. But when she refused, Sidious decided he would take the life force from both her and Kylo, truly bringing him back to life and with ultimate power. However, Rey rose again and channeled the power of all the Jedi to have ever existed. She deflected Sidious’ Force lightning back against him, killing him once and for all.
While this is the end of Sidious and Palpatine in the Star Wars saga for now, it’s clear he has ways of returning to life. So, whether it is truly the end of Sidious is yet to be determined. But for now, he has fallen.
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