Villain Therapy: SHEEV PALPATINE (Yes, that's actually his first name.)

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Head to squarespace.com/cinematherapy to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code cinematherapy.

[@SiriuslyBlack7]

When I saw The thumbnail,I IMMEDIATELY reported for duty!!The best description of how a truly great antagonist makes the "hero's journey" better!

[@LizPhillips-i3e]

Happy Star Wars day🎉🎉 May the forth be with you🥲

[@_meta_data_9992]

Hi Guys from Belgium Can you analyze Poor Things? Amazing movie!!!!!!!!!

[@pckrichards7980]

You guys should do a padme video sometime. There’s a LOT going on with her!

[@kazumajay]

Could you please take the time to consider to do a full dedicated episode for Mr. Rogers. Our friendly neighbour. It would mean everything.

[@mjlamey1066]

Ian McDiarmid absolutely understood the meaning of the term "deliciously evil"

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

He understood the assignment!

[@grant4360]

@@CinemaTherapyShow Have you watched Bojack Horseman? Might be too much content to handle, but interesting. Psych would be good too

[@edkwon]

He was arguably the ONLY good part of Rise of Skywalker

[@TheAsvarduilProject]

I remember an interview where Ian McDermod talked about how he viewed Sheev Palpatine. He literally said he's more evil than Satan, since Satan had to fall t9 evil. Palpatine always sort of was.

[@Hayden_Lummus]

The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural

[@SlothWithShades]

I love how Palpatine at the end of RotJ is the first person to call Luke "Jedi" and mean it. He spits it out like an insult. But to me it always carried the realization that "Yes, young Skywalker is a Jedi." Up to that point everyone either told him he's not ready or laughed at the idea of him becoming a space paladin.

[@Djorgal]

He's not, when Yoda died, he did say "Luke, when gone am I... the last of the Jedi will you be." So Luke has officially been acknowledged as a Jedi. But I agree, Darth Sidious calling him a Jedi does also give him legitimacy as one.

[@SlothWithShades]

@@Djorgal yes and no. Earlier in that scene, Yoda tells Luke that he has learned what there was to learn. And when Luke goes "So, I am a Jedi" Yoda explicitly tells him, that he's not. Not until he faced Vader. That's why I always understood Yodas "You will be the last Jedi when I am gone" as "[...] when I am gone, and you took the last step"

[@nightwingman666]

Guess when the archenemy of the Jedi confirms it then it must be true

[@adamwu4565]

Second, iirc. The first is Luke himself. Luke declares himself a Jedi, saying “I am a Jedi, as my father was before me.” And then Palpatine says “So be it, Jedi”

[@Grizabeebles]

Luke wasn't "the last Jedi knight", he was "the last padewan of a Jedi Master" HUGE difference.

[@J_Halcyon]

Hayden Christiansen gets a bad rap for a lot of the prequels but he acted the script very well. He pulls off "whiny, angsty, adolescent who thinks he knows everything" beautifully.

[@-Bella.Rae-]

Okay, in that sense, he did a great job . . . . . . . . but I still hate Anakin.

[@Crunkles1119]

@@-Bella.Rae-goooood, gooood

[@user-sm9zs7sc8u]

People from older generations just excuse the many, many flaws the OT has because of nostalgia, even though they have many of the same problems the PT and ST have.

[@emilymartin5418]

@@-Bella.Rae- that's the idea. The actor is separate from the character, but some people can't see that.

[@Digidragon55]

There's the 2003 film Shattered Glass. He's the lead (Stephen Glass).

[@TheRogueCommand]

I forget where I heard this, but someone described the brilliance of Palpatine's plan as "The jedi lost the clone wars the moment they chose to fight in it."

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Oof, yep.

[@daniellemusella1594]

@TheRogueCommand "The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun the clone war has." Frank Oz spoke that line with such pain, that I remember getting a bit sniffly the first time I heard it. It was like, "We got so played, and the entire galaxy will have to pay for that." (5/3/2024)

[@racernatorde5318]

It's from the books. The final punchline on their explanation on how to set a Jedi trap

[@AviRox1154]

Agreed. Mace said it himself at the beginning of AOTC. "We're keepers of the peace, not soldiers." As soon as they took on a role they were never meant to serve, they'd already lost the fight.

[@daniellemusella1594]

@@AviRox1154 Palpatine got them to compromise their principles. Once they did, in his mind, they lost the right to tell him that his behavior and choices were wrong. It's scary, how many people in this world operate like that. (5/10/2024)

[@redlox2]

The prequels do have their flaws but I feel them fleshing out Palpatine rise to power was definitely something the prequels had going for them.

[@rmsgrey]

It's usually "fleshing out" - metaphorically building something up from an existing skeleton to a fully-fleshed body - while "flushing out" is an entirely different process.

[@cdogthehedgehog6923]

​@@rmsgrey lol that mongoloid said "flushing out?" Hilarious

[@ztslovebird]

Without the prequels, we wouldn’t have The Clone Wars showing Palpatine wiping the floor with the Maul brothers.

[@TorquemadaTwist]

​@@ztslovebirdHe brought that true dark side smoke.

[@artemisiakyrell7727]

Also they are hilarious, the phrase "every frame a painting" comes to mind, except it's 'every frame a meme.'

[@rebeccat715]

I love the idea that Palpatine HATES Padmé (I guess as a sith hated is, like, the default emotion, but still.) She is constantly ruining his plans in E1. He wants to use her as a political prop, the poor 14 year old queen unjustly blockaded on her planet. But she escapes. Fine, we can pivot. Keep her visibly on Corusant where she can visibly generate sympathy. But NOOO she has to go back to Naboo, join with the gungans, and takes back her planet. And now Palpatine has to find a new apprentice. Palpy underestimating this 14 year old girl is the reason his evil plan had 37 steps and not 30. His plan ultimately worked out, but he would have gotten away with it sooner if it wasn't for that stubborn kid. So the look of deepest hatred Palpatine gives Luke is because he's Padmé's son, ruining complicated plans. (One of the best things of the prequels imo is things like that that make moments in the OT more fun- like obviously Palpy's look of hatred could not have been an intentionally portraying "ugh he's Padmé + the best of Anakin," but it fits and it's so funny)

[@collegebro85]

He does outright hate her as she is the other side of the coin in being the one to influence Anakin, but I take it as she is the greatest “pawn” in driving Anakin to the Dark Side. If not for that love for her and his unborn kids, how can you manipulate him? Sure he feels betrayed by the Jedi, but why would he want to side with him when he could just be his own master doing things his own self?? Anakin needed something Palpatine could give him, and without her life being in danger all through Episode II and then have that fear of her dying during birth (whether Palpatine had anything to do with that or not) is what led him straight into Palpatine’s eager hands

[@MarkusAldawn]

​@@collegebro85 on the flip side, if Anakin was not allowed to pursue attachment and had no other outlets, then his relationship with Palpatine is literally the only regular exposure he has to the Senate, the wider Republic, and to non-Jedi until the war and Rex. He would probably feel that much more insecure about losing Palpatine, because with Padme it's "if I lose access to one, I can always ask the other to check in, and I can always just wait for the heat to die down for a few months before hanging out again," but with just Palpatine, there an air of "it will be our little secret," because the alternative is that he could lose the only relationship he has external to his -cult- religious order. Palpatine would have planted evidence the Jedi are trying to kill him, or get Dooku to be overheard on a holocall saying "Yes, Master Yoda. Our plans are proceeding smoothly. Within three years, the Galaxy will belong to the Jedi. The Republic must not be allowed to refuse the will of the force." And then he'd leverage his relationship with Anakin to have him abandon the Jedi.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

And it would have worked if it wasn't for you darned kids!

[@Dasharr]

I think Padme's escape from Naboo was part of the plan (or at least, planned for). Having the firebrand queen there in the senate to plead her case and depose the incumbent Chancellor certainly suited his plans perfectly. Where it went off the rails was when she chose to go back to Naboo. That's in Ian McDiarmid's performance too - normally he sounds prepared, almost rehearsed in what he says, but in his reply there he actually slightly stammers ("B-but your majesty, they will force you to sign the treaty"). That led to a quick end to the crisis that he no doubt intended to milk to start gaining emergency powers. That probably set his plans back years.

[@crimsoncrusader4829]

@@Dasharr Padme's escape was not part of the plan, otherwise Palpatine wouldn't have sent Maul to look for her. He is however, extremely good at adapting and use Padme to his advantage. It wasn't until Luke refusing to kill Vader, and Vader betraying Palpatine when his plan finally crumbled, and it was mostly by coincident it happened at all.

[@karanhdream]

They're doing our boy Palpy? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!

[@galacticemperorsheevpalpat219]

Indeed

[@BlueMoonlight777]

Ah I love the star wars Fandom always communicating with quotes 😅

[@Aashbard01]

A pleasant surprise

[@GomuGear4]

Your delight is 🙂🕶️ palpable 😎

[@raptortown]

This is where the fun begins

[@sporkleton]

Another contrast to Anakin and Luke is that Palpatine had years of whispering into Anakin's ear. Anakin was growing up in an unhealthy environment as a slave to Watto. Even when he got freed, he was just under "new management" under the Jedi. So Palpatine became Anakin's father figure. Luke had an actual father figure in Owen.

[@nostalji93]

"unhealthy environment" Thats quite the euphemism when talking about child slavery. I also wouldnt give it a back seat to daddy issues. Being treated like property and fearing to lose his mother, who could be sold anytime was way character defining than not having a father.

[@FelbloodStreaming]

The thing is Luke DOES have daddy issues that get exploited to turn him into a soldier, by Obi-Wan, with his "certain point of view.". Having already faced the pain of having his illusions shattered, Luke is that much less likely to fall into Sheev's manipulations.

[@aesirloki4833]

​@@nostalji93nah, not having someone to show him how to deal with his emotions properly, like Quigon wouldve done, was the exploit used by palpatine. Anakin was chasing to feel fufilled, to feel like he had a purpose, but Palpatine manipulated Anakin's goals to fill his own needs of political power + new apprentice. Because Palpatine new he could exploit Anakin's good side of wanting to feel recognise for his prowesses, he got closer to him over time, building trust and putting a veil on his sense of right/wrong. The death of his mother was just another event that weakenend his emotionnal state amongst other events that Sheev did and didnt orchestrate.

[@shadeon1851]

Palpatine’s such a villain that “If He tells you snow is white he’s lying”

[@ninjat-rex7472]

Love that game. Kinda iffy about Schiff's take on Odin, but it is SUCH A GOOD PERFORMANCE, and the writing is perfect.

[@Cooler7328]

*disneys live action snow white movie comes out*

[@nichole5652]

Okay Mimir!

[@jakobnunez4964]

I love odin as a villain in that game.

[@dragoninthewest1]

No matter how confident he says it, the snow is actually stained red

[@paigemalloy4276]

"I am a Jedi. . . Like my father before me." _Always_ gives me chills ❤

[@daniellemusella1594]

@TheSydneyLad I've always understood that pause-for-John-Williams-genius moment to be Palpatine, briefly searching through Luke's mind to look for any crack that he can get his claws into and rip open. When he can't find one, we see that tiny, angry twitch at the corner of his mouth, and the rest of the scene plays out. (5/3/2024)

[@chloehunter3428]

I just got goosebumps from that very line

[@pills-]

It's great how those 9 words speak to so many things: Luke standing for himself, a rebuff to Palpatine's lies/offers, and an appeal to Vader that it's not too late. It's almost poetry... (and now i have to go re-listen to William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return 😁)

[@downtime86stars17]

Did you also notice that Anakin tries exactly the same logic to get Luke to see things his way that he tries on Padme? And they both shoot him down.

[@daniellemusella1594]

@@downtime86stars17 Yeah. I know. Back then, he clearly thought, "How could anyone NOT want to be in charge of everything?" (5/17/2024)

[@DarthShunkle]

Palpatine is probably my favorite example of a Machiavellian character in all of cinema.

[@t.j.armendariz354]

Also the most perfect example of Machiavellian leadership

[@fightingfalcon777]

The way I took it when Palpatine says “It was only natural” isn’t so much him trying to convince Anakin it was his idea to kill Dooku, but rather that he was trying to get Anakin to think that wanting to kill him was okay. I read the Revenge of the Sith novelization (I would argue the greatest Star Wars novel of all time), and they provide some interesting context in their version of those events. Anakin has a moment of realization when Palpatine tells him to kill Dooku. He interprets Palpatine’s “do it” not as a command, but PERMISSION. He takes Palpatine saying that as Palpatine knowing he wants to kill Dooku, to take his revenge for maiming him and trying to execute him, his mentor/best friend, and lover, but is hesitating because the Jedi told him it’s wrong. To Anakin, Palpatine is basically saying Anakin’s feelings about wanting to kill Dooku is correct. And then when he does it and seems to regret, Palpatine is less trying to convince him it was his idea all along, but more so trying to help Anakin justify it to himself. “Yeah, you did the right thing, kid. Don’t worry about it. Totally natural to feel that way. He had it coming. You were right.”

[@ashert4918]

glad you said this because I was halfway through writing the same comment lol. it's permission and then justification. if there's a blame element, it's only to the extent that he's telling anakin 'you did this before, this is the way you are'---but from palpatine's perspective, seeking revenge isn't a bad thing, so it's not like he's trying to guilt anakin.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

Idfk what dark side magic Matthew Stover conjured when writing, but SOMEHOW he made Sheev slimier than he is in the film

[@chiju]

Yeah, was a little confused when Alan and Jono were talking about blame in that scene. I didn't recall Palpatine trying to blame Anakin, but was teaching him that killing out of anger was acceptable.

[@madelinegarber7860]

That’s how I interpreted it too. Him helping Anakin justifu it to himself.

[@darksylver77]

Mathew Stovers adaptation of Episode 3 was definitely one of the best things ever written.

[@colechapman6976]

Palpatine also engages in whataboutism. He deflects the ways in which the Sith do evil by saying the Jedi are just as guilty. He justifies the actions of the Sith by bringing up the ways the Jedi are bad or wrong. He uses whataboutism to absolve his whole ideology from any moral guilt they may have and shifts the conversation over to how the Jedi are guilty. He doesn't want Anakin to believe the Sith are good, he wants him to distrust the motives and morality of the Jedi.

[@Drums_of_Liberation]

Not really aboutism when Palpy was 100% right in saying the Jedi are just as guilty. The Clone Wars was the perfect catalyst to bring those flaws out by showing what a sociopath Ki-Adi-Mundi was or showing just how petty the Council is when they didn't have the decency to offer Ahsoka an apology when she was found innocent of the bombing Bariss Offee framed her for.

[@colechapman6976]

@@Drums_of_Liberation It is still whataboutism because while what he is saying is true, he is still trying to absolve the sith of any wrongdoing by pointing to the evils of the Jedi instead of reflecting on the evils that the sith perform. He justifies the bad actions of the sith and how they gain power through hatred and anger as noble and just because the Jedi are just as bad.

[@MessyGamer616]

@@Drums_of_Liberation Something to consider is that "whataboutism" isnt bad because its a lie, though much of the time it is, it still can be such if its the truth, the really nefarious part of whataboutism is that its used to deflect the question or distract from the topic by reducing the conversation to being about how "If nobody is in the right, then how can anybody be in the wrong?" It plays into our built in beliefs as a people that there is always a "Good guy" and "Bad guy", in that as long as you paint the other person, group, or thing, as a bad guy, it muddies the waters for people looking at you to believe that you're also a bad guy. The reason why it works so effectively is because once you muddy the waters, even just the slightest bit, people that already had an inclination to trust you or respect you, will immediately view YOU as the "Good guy" because by that very notion, as long as the other person is the bad guy, you MUST be the good guy.

[@colechapman6976]

@@MessyGamer616 Exactly. You can be truthful, because people doing bad things obviously does occur. Russia loves to shift away the evils of Putin by saying that America has done worse, but by following that logic, I could say even though I murdered someone, I can use whataboutism and argue, "but what about Jeffrey Dahmer? What about Kim Jong Un? What, you think the world is so innocent? Many people have murdered others. Do you think the CIA is so innocent? How can you be mad at me when many other people have committed worse crimes?" What Palpatine says is true. The Jedi are corrupt, they are feckless living in ivory towers while completely abandoning their principles, but he then uses their failings as a way to justify being an evil Sith Lord. He tells Anakin, we may be part of the "dark side," but our actions pale in comparison to the Jedi's evils. The issue with this line of thinking is that it uses the past behavior of other parties to excuse the actions that have been committed by the offending party. Since Palpatine uses the Jedi as a reason for Anakin to join the Sith, he is engaging in whatabutism by saying the Jedi are just as corrupt, so you should feel great about joining the Sith. We may be evil, but what about the Jedi being corrupted by war? What about their inability to recognize your pain and emotions? What about them denying your rank of being a Jedi Master? He is saying that all actions share a moral equivalency, since the Jedi have turned away from being peacekeepers to now being pawns in a deadly war, they are hypocritical when they complain about how the Sith use anger and hatred to amass power. Since nobody is perfect, not even the Jedi, all criticisms are hypocritical and there is no morality, there is only evil. So when the Sith do commit evil, it is completely justified because everyone else commits the same crimes

[@brandonlyon730]

@@Drums_of_Liberation Ignoring that the war was started in the first place because of Palpatine’s manipulations and only did it to serve his own ego.

[@Moompl]

A visual parallel I have noticed throughout SW is the image of a Palpatine goading his new apprentice to kill a defenseless person. He does it with Dooku and Yaddle, Anakin and Dooku, and finally Luke and Darth Vader (Anakin). Each time he encourages them to do something that goes against their morals (killing a friend, a defenseless person, or their father) and the choice they make is telling to who they will become in the future. Luke is the person to break this cycle when he refuses to kill his father after seeing Vader’s mechanical hand. He looks to his own hand and realizes that to destroy his father is to become him. He holds fast to his ideals in the face of Palpatines attempts to change them. It’s a nice way to keep consistency with Palpatine’s character and form of manipulation.

[@andrewft31]

Palpatine also had Dooku kill his friend Sifa-Dias after Sifa-Dias told him about the clones… Dooku told Palpatine and Palpatine had Dooku murder his close friend

[@hugomendoza5665]

It's the epitome of the trope, I think. When I watched Wonder Woman and Ares goads Diana to kill the Nazi doctor, I was like, well this is basically Star Wars. He even yells at her "Do it!" lol

[@chrissonofpear1384]

@@andrewft31 Technically that was a bit less direct - as the Clone Wars show revealed Dyas was killed by mercenaries. Still, Dooku did apparently arrange it.

[@violax3735]

TBH, the scene in Return of the Jedi looks kind of weak in retrospect when you consider Palpatine's skillful manipulation in the Prequels. Like, Palpatine spent *years* grooming Anakin, and he almost failed anyway at Turning him - despite his numerous dark deeds, Anakin's first instinct in ROTS is still to arrest Palpatine, and he is deeply conflicted even when Palpatine is offering him "everything he wants" (be all-powerful, save Padmé). Meanwhile, what has the Emperor done to get Luke to listen to him? Yes, Luke is angry at Vader (a part of him might hate him), but why in the world would he listen to the Emperor who runs the whole show, is currently murdering Luke's friends and pulls Vader's strings? The explanation I guess is that Sidious has become complacent over the past two decades at power and "lost his touch", so to speak, because the way he went around turning Luke feels positively clumsy compared to what we see in Episodes I-III.

[@trinathebookworm8977]

I still remember you guys describing Palpatine as the scuzzy boyfriend always looking to trade up.

[@Sofia.K.CheerYT]

Haha when was that 😂 plus Palp as bf material?? He's more of a cult recruiting priest lol

[@JAY-ee6xm]

@@Sofia.K.CheerYTsome boyfriends really be giving off that vibe tho 💀

[@bookishwriter9460]

They said that in the Video on Anakin

[@Phoenixtear101]

When you said that, all I can think was Charles Mansion. 😂

[@MatthewTeachout-xj4yy]

@@Sofia.K.CheerYTso Mormon boyfriend material

[@unsightedshadow2780]

I would like to point out something in the meadow scene: when Anakin says he doesn't think the system works, he SOUNDS like Palpatine. He literally subconciously imitates his tone. That scene is more layered than people realize,and that's why it works. And mad respect for Hayden Christensen for that small detail.

[@venanziadorromatagni1641]

One of the reasons Anakin is so shunned by the Jedi-Community is his stubbornness and unwillingness to ever consider others PoV. He basically outright objected to and dismissed everything that didn’t ‘feel right’, without ever learning to consider pros and cons of a viewpoint. And as a result, in the face of a skilled manipulator, he has no tool, no technique, no experience available to balance the words of the other person with his own considerations and memories.

[@dietotaku]

basically anakin is an example of why critical thinking skills are so important.

[@NIX-FLIX]

It wasn’t just Anakin, it is the entire galaxy fooled plus other individuals

[@Drums_of_Liberation]

You mean like the Jedi Council was equally guilty of?

[@nightwingman666]

And according to Dave Filoni there was only one Jedi in the entire order who gave him validation but also knew how to be firm with him. And that Jedi died at the hands of Darth Maul.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

Yeh. Palpy had everyone fooled…. Everyone.

[@michelletheia9853]

A great thing McDiarmid does, and it’s often very subtle, is switch between a Sheev Voice and an Emperor Voice. When he’s being gracious, smarmy, political or disarming he speaks in a lighter voice, more nasally, higher pitched, and with a slight smile to everything. Everytime he talks to Padme, when he’s speaking to the Jedi in the first two prequels, and similar scenes. His emperor voice (or maybe with voice) is deeper, has a gravelly but strong aspect, comes from his chest and throat, and is projected from the diaphragm (and with emotive force), even when low volume. His “Do it!” Is peak emperor voice. His entire opera house interaction with Anakin is in emperor voice. He even goes back and forth within scenes. When he is creating the grand army of the republic he starts out briefly in Sheev voice but is deep in emperor voice for “…when this crisis has abated!” Interestingly when he reveals himself to Anakin he is mostly in Sheev voice, playing on Anakin’s sympathy and their connection. When Anakin teeters he pulls out the E voice to show strength and redirect anakin’s focus. It’s so damned masterful and incredibly subtle at times

[@potitishogun2961997]

Palpatine is one of those characters that's just flat-out irredeemable. In Legends, it was explained that even as a child, Sheev was a monster of a kid. A bully, a black sheep, a character that saw everyone as "below" him, and took advantage of his dad's wealth and influence. He murdered his own family to prove himself towards the Dark Side, and grew his influence from there. He has no attachments, no people to love or care about, no... redeeming qualities. Just a monster, in and out, thriving in the murder and torture of others. Putting up a kind, polite, decent font to hide his intense sadism and disdain towards life in general. I'm not sure if therapy would even help for this guy. He's only gonna try and carve out that need for power further. It's only when he rules the universe, when he's truly content. That being said; how would you guys feel about doing a Hero Therapy for Mace Windu? What could this stone-cold bastard have done different to save the universe?

[@JediAcolyte94]

I agree with the sentiment on them cover Mace Windu but it would only really work if you factor in Windu's appearances in Shatterpoint and the Revenge of the Sith. They fully give him the depth he needed for viewers. to understand his point of view.

[@madhatterline]

Therapy probably wouldn't help Palpatine, he doesn't want 'help', he wants to win. But it could help his victims & potential victims.

[@EH23831]

@@madhatterlineyes - therapy tends to make psychopaths WORSE they get insights and understanding on how to manipulate people better 🫤

[@FruitMeate]

"It is with... great reluctance" I almost spit tea all over my computer.

[@codenamelarry6518]

Hard to believe Ian McDiarmid was only in his late 30s when he was in Return of the Jedi.

[@dietotaku]

that was actually the same actor the whole time?! that is wild, i was sure whoever had played the emperor in the original trilogy had died and they just managed to cast someone who made a convincing younger counterpart. also nuts to think that he was young when he played old palpatine and old when he played young palpatine.

[@antonakesson]

@@dietotaku They did have another actor for him in The Empire Strikes Back but I can't remember why that man couldn't reprise the role. The Special Edition replaced him with Ian in that scene.

[@andrewft31]

@@antonakessonactually in the Empire Strikes Back, Palpatines is played by a woman with the eye portion of a chimp superimposed onto her face… Marjorie Eaton is the actresses name, she died in 1986 at the age of 85

[@codenamelarry6518]

@@dietotaku I know it's crazy. Old Ian did in fact play Palpatine in the special editions of The Empire Strikes Back. He wasn't in the original Episode V though. Crazy to think The Emperor was a character who was re-cast from his original actor.

[@directorforplastic7929]

@@andrewft31just to add, while she did physically play Palpatine, he was voiced in ESB by Clive Revill (who’s apparently still alive)

[@youngcanuck5397]

21:32 back in Knights of the Old Republic, Jolee Bindo said something very similar. “Love doesn’t lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled… but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love… that’s what they should teach you to beware. But love, itself, will save you… not condemn you.”

[@pills-]

KotoR! Honestly, i'm surprised (and also relieved...) no one has tried to make a movie of Kotor 1 or 2. It's such a great story!

[@blackelve18]

what i do love (it was cinemawins who pointed that out) was that first palpatine said he was too dangerous to be kept alive as a reason to kill someone and later mace windu uses that exact same reasoning to attempt killing palpatine which "shows" anakin that jedi and sith are the same and he might as well take his chances with palpatine who at least promises help for padme

[@bemasaberwyn55]

EGA the prequels is so AMAZING

[@Loop_Kat]

I always read the scene of Anakin killing Dooku not as Palpatine doing a sudden 180 to convince Anakin that _he's_ to "blame" for killing Dooku, but rather that Palpatine used that moment to finally give Anakin _permission_ to act on his darker impulses. I mean, you can see it on his face, Anakin is already conflicted about whether or not he should finish off Dooku and those emotions were apparently strong enough that all it took was Palpatine barking a quick little "do it" for Anakin to start slicing. Even if Palpatine wasn't present, that inner conflict would still be there That's why Palpatine immediately follows it up with "it is only _natural._ He cut off your arm and _you wanted revenge_ ", he's well aware of Anakin's volatile emotions and uses them as justification for violence. It's not a cheesy blame game, it's a more subtle manipulation tactic that causes Anakin to question his own morals during a moment of weakness, places unnecessary guilt on Anakin, and opens the gateway for Palpatine to further convince Anakin that his increasingly deranged bidding _is_ the morally correct option (especially under the escalating tensions of a literal galactic war). If the Jedi are being horribly unhelpful and Anakin feels he can't even rely on himself anymore, then the only choice left is to turn to ol' Palpy

[@jameslivingston2258]

I agree. I was looking for this comment because I disagree with their interpretation of the scene. It's about how Palpatine is warping Anakins view on what is right and wrong. Hence the line "it's only natural". He's saying that killing Dooku was the right thing to do.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

There were so many chances Anakin could've been saved...What really grinds my gears is he WENT to Yoda for help. He told him he needed help and Yoda just... oh the advice he gave was so, _so_ bad. I think the nail in the coffin was Ahsoka being outcasted and framed. Losing yet another person he had grown to care about so much was what broke his trust in the council. Understandably so.

[@DevJannz]

I don't think Yoda's advice was bad, it is exactly what a Jedi would say to another Jedi, they believe that when people die, they become one with the Force, so when you die, you will be reunited with them and so there is nothing to be afraid of. The problem is that Anakin is not a normal Jedi and Yoda failed to see that. It also didn't help that Anakin was keeping secrets. It's hard to give good advice on a subject when the person asking for it is not giving you all the information.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@bwhere45 _and yet_ they gave him Ahsoka Tano not because they thought he could train her. But to teach him a lesson in learning to let people go. Yeah yeah yeah give him ANOTHA person to grow attached to Council that's SUCH a good idea. F**k.

[@DevJannz]

@@bwhere45 - I guess a better way to put it would be that Yoda failed to take that into account rather than failed to see it. At that moment he was just dealing with him the same way he would have any Jedi.

[@revpembroke3082]

Well, yeah. That's what makes it tragic - can't have a tragedy without it being preventable. Also, Yoda is 900 years old and has outlived *generations* of Jedi. That will have skewed his view on death. It's not so much that Yoda gives the wrong advice here, it's that Yoda is just the absolutely wrong person for Anakin to go to. A being able to outlive generations of people is going to have to have found some way to cope with knowing they'll outlive all (or almost all) of their friends and companions. Anakin, meanwhile, absolutely can *not* handle the death of people close to him. So Anakin going to Yoda - someone who, by necessity, had to develop a level of distance between himself and all of his companions because he outlives them all - is not a good mix.

[@robertmiller9735]

Yoda isn't even paying attention. The signs that Something's Going On in Anakin's life are so blatant an autistic person could see them, yet Yoda doesn't notice.

[@Unlimitedpowah]

One thing I really liked about Star Wars books (pre Disney) was how they illustrated Palpatine. It was very clear that Sidious wasn't so powerful because of planning and control... he was so powerful because he was the master of improvisation and adaptation. Sidious was never in control of as much as he seemed, but he was always able to turn the changing circumstances to his advantage, and that was how he rode the wave to Galactic domination. Even his decision to kill his master Plagueis was a split second choice in the moment. When he was struggling against Mace Windu and sensed Anakin coming he immediately hatched a scheme to both defeat Windu and turn Anakin to the dark side. "For every solution, there are two problems." -Darth Sidious, "Shadow Hunter"

[@matthewcline2405]

We meme on the "dew it" scene, but it fits into that manipulator ultimatum moment. That moment where the manipulator is so sure in their position that they can tell the victim to do something antithetical to their belief and they'll do it. It's chilling, but it shows just how wormed into Anakins brain Sheev is.

[@KingCasual1986]

Indeed. But this is the internet, so we’re gonna keep meming it!

[@Kiarean]

9:45 - Can't help but think of the Ben Franklin quote there. "He who gives up a little freedom for a little security will deserve neither and lose both."

[@BB_Creative]

Palpatine will probably be on of my favorite villains due to the simple fact he is very good at manipulating you and what makes it scarier is that people like him, exist. While most people aren’t trying to take over the galaxy, his skill of manipulation does happen in real life, and there are people out there that are just that good. That’s great character writing for me. You write a character that can and does exist in real life despite where the stories setting is. That is probably the biggest reason why I love his character and him being scary ass villain.

[@andrewft31]

That is why Dolores Umbridge is more hated than Voldemort because Umbridge exists in the real world…

[@BB_Creative]

@@andrewft31 exactly! We love to hate these characters

[@eternyti]

@@andrewft31 I mean people like Voldemort also definitely exist in the real world, since he's basically a magic-wielding fascist dictator, but due to the extreme nature of his character you tend to see less people like him in the real world, and have little to no experience with such people outside of history books (at least in the Western world). Umbridge as an abusive teacher / principal and authority figure is more mundane and commonplace, thus more likely to speak to real and lived experiences that a lot more of the audience is likely to sympathize with due to having dealt with people and situations just like Umbridge. Hence why she's more hated.

[@preciousotoakhia9789]

Palpatine being a skilled manipulator reminds me of Merrit Rook tho love these villains

[@BatAmerica]

Palpatine is also great at capitalizing on insecurities. When manipulating Anakin, he talks about the distrusting Council, when influencing Padme he talks about the heavy casualties of that conflict and her survivor's guilt. Even with Luke, he uses the Death Star as a source of suffering toward Luke's fear of not being able to protect his friends stemming from Han's capture.

[@tylerquebedeaux3492]

My all time favorite villain. Zero redeeming qualities. Just outright evil. And he WON!

[@Djorgal]

Gotta love a good villain's win. Those are so rare.

[@daniellemusella1594]

@tylerquebedeaux3492 "So, this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." (5/3/2024)

[@lorashukuryan4121]

No he didn't, his life was a misery))(

[@tylerquebedeaux3492]

@@lorashukuryan4121 he ruled the galaxy for 20 or so years, nearly wiped out his entire enemy, and got space Jesus to be his leather clad flying monkey. Pretty sure that’s winning

[@lorashukuryan4121]

@@tylerquebedeaux3492 He was hated by everyone, he was ugly, no woman ever loved him (only in new movies we somehow learn, that he has granddaughter) he had no friends, he had fear, that he'd be killed by that space Jesus and he eventually got killed by him etc.... he wasn't happy in general...

[@SirSpuddington]

Something to keep in mind when talking about Anakin's apparently rapid fall to the dark side in episode III due to Sidious' manipulations is that it wasn't rapid at all. Anakin is a fundamentally loving person, and by the time of the opening of episode III, almost all of the primary relationships in his life have been destroyed and their memories turned to evil use by Sidious over the course of years. First was Shmi Skywalker, whose memory Sidious invokes in that scene where Anakin kills Dooku. Anakin felt in episode II that he wouldn't be able to save her, and has been stuck ever since with the guilt that his fears came true. Anakin's lover, Padme, is a relationship that is considered illicit according to everything the Jedi have taught him, but he cannot bring himself to stop loving someone he cares about, thereby putting his natural inclination towards love (as clumsily as it is executed) in conflict with the creed of the organization that he respects and wants to be a part of. Furthering his rift with the Jedi Order is the situation with Ahsoka, who was like a little sister to him. The force of will he shows in his willingness to do *anything* to protect her in the Clone Wars series demonstrated how much he cared for her as a guardian and teacher, and the Order basically tossing her aside as if she meant nothing ripped that bond away from him against his will. Then there's Obi-Wan, his closest friend, his own teacher turned brother-in-arms. They become like brothers over the course of the Clone Wars, but that relationship is poisoned by Sidious, whose manipulations cause Anakin to become victim to his own fears and jealousies and come to see Obi-Wan as the representation of all the bad stuff that had happened in Anakin's life that had taken away the people that he loved. Anakin's big brother, his younger sister, his mother, and his lover - all four relationships were broken and eliminated, leaving their scars on Anakin's psyche that Sidious was able to take advantage of by filling in one of the most influential roles in a young person's life: his father. Sidious positions himself throughout Anakin's life as being the supposedly steady, dependable presence who is the only one able to recognize Anakin's brilliance when everybody else can't or won't, and Anakin buys into the lie hook, line, and sinker because Sidious has been the only fatherly presence he's ever had. The epic track that plays over the duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul is titled Duel of the Fates because the outcome will decide who gets to be Anakin's father figure: Qui-Gon, the wise Jedi who can see more clearly than anyone on the Jedi Council at the time, or Sidious, the incarnation of the evil power of the dark side. Essentially, either through direct intervention or just by taking advantage of circumstance, Sidious manipulates Anakin into relying on him for all of the personal care and acceptance that he needs, playing on Anakin's fears of loss as Anakin's personal relationships - Shmi, Qui-Gon, Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan - are all lost or corrupted. In the end, Sidious seals his control over Anakin by making him a prisoner of his own guilt as he is reborn as Darth Vader. Say what you will about the errors of execution of the story in the prequel trilogy, but taken together with the Clone Wars series, I still think the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker as told by the Clone Wars and episodes I-VI is one of the greatest tragic epics I've ever seen.

[@inallthechaos2774]

10:19 Count Dooku never thought the leopards would eat his face.

[@brucejones950]

Only Orlando Bloom can kill Christopher Lee!

[@gentlemanlygeeky4088]

@@brucejones950 Peter Cushing has killed him many times during their time working on Hammer horror movies.

[@cassiedevereaux-smith3890]

I just love how Palpatine is at any moment living his best life. He's having a GREAT time.

[@BuddyHoyt]

I wish you’d have spoken about the danger of unmasking a narcissist. When Palpatine realized that he was unable to manipulate Luke, and that Luke knew this too, his reaction was to destroy Luke. A narcissist will likewise set out to destroy you if they realize that you’ve become wise to their tactics and are no longer under their control. It may be wiser to discreetly disassociate from the narcissist than to directly confront them, as Luke did.

[@cobracommander8133]

+1

[@pong9000]

I know a few narcissists who soured on people for having social awareness that is not even directed at the narcissist. They know those people are trouble just from second hand accounts they are "wise" or "perceptive" etc.

[@angeleskaxxi]

They do go over that point when discussing Gilderoy Lockhart from Harry Potter

[@hONdAK1DdA]

The novelisation of RotS makes Palpatine so much more insidious as you get the sense of him being genuinely caring, kind and honest towards Anakin and in general until his unmasking as a Sith.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

Matthew Stover was a BEAST for that novelization

[@c.k.mcknight8921]

Agreed. Once he's unmasked, he even goes so far as to basically tell Anakin, "You're the last person who should be upset about someone keeping a secret."

[@dragoninthewest1]

I just noticed in the Opera scene that Palpatine very subtly admits he's a Sith Lord. *"We both [Jedi & Sith] seek* greater power." He was testing the water.

[@Djorgal]

He doesn't say that. The closest to that he actually says is: "The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way. Including their quest for greater power."

[@bemasaberwyn55]

​@Djorgal A person observing from the outside would immediately ask "how do you know what the sith do?" Because you have to consider the fact that as an order. Nobody should know that they exist. Outside of the jedi council who is trying to destroy them

[@Djorgal]

​@@bemasaberwyn55 The existence of the Sith is no secret. Their order, their creed, many of their stories would be known to people. Especially someone with as much access to information as the Chancellor. If asked how he knows so much about the Sith, he could easily point to the incident in Naboo when a living Sith was sighted, fought and defeated. That's a very good reason for a senator then chancellor to do his due diligence and research the subject of an order that once ruled about half the galaxy... A person observing from the outside would have just as much cause asking him how he knows what the Jedi do. Sure, he's not one, but he can know about them.

[@TinyTyranitar95350]

i just loved the look on Dukus face when Palpatine says "kill him" just the cold disbelief and realization of what Sith are

[@Techydad]

I'm so happy that you called out the Clone Wars series. I think it really fleshes out the universe. It gives more depth to Palpatine turning Anakin. It's clear that he spent years subtly influencing Anakin (as well as the entire Republic) until it was time for him to become Emperor. By contrast, he only had a few minutes to influence Luke. Luke was more centered and not as easily influenced. If Palpatine had years to work on Luke, maybe he could have turned him, but it wasn't going to work in a matter of minutes. I'd also argue that Anakin wouldn't have turned had Ashoka not left the order and had he been able to be open about his relationship with Padme. By one relationship being severed and another being suppressed, Palpatine was better able to turn Anakin to the Dark Side.

[@nathankosanke2093]

I love the scene right after Dooku's death and Palpatine's gaslighting, where Anakin goes to get Obi-Wan, and Palpatine repeatedly tries to convince him to leave his best friend behind. To me, this shows that Palpatine is pushing his luck, trying to get Anakin to lose something very important to him. Palpatine realizes this when Anakin outright refuses to leave him behind, even declaring that he'd rather they all die than leave him. Palpatine wisely shuts up after that.

[@hannahnern4755]

We love opening KZbin and seeing something posted 15 seconds ago

[@memoreno9]

Same

[@JoshConder]

15 minutes now.

[@hotdogworld8907]

amen

[@BlackenedSunsets]

Same

[@SpaseAxolotl]

Yea ikrr

[@blackbeltgamer98fire-spitt96]

Ian McDiarmid had so much fun playing Sheev “Darth Sidious” Palpatine since 1980. Every time I see him playing this character, I can sense he is enjoying every second of it, even with Rise of Skywalker’s lackluster writing. From that first moment he showed up there, with that smile and laugh, I knew that it was going to be a fun performance. A round of applause for Ian McDiarmid!

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

👏👏👏

[@RAWDEAL064]

Im amazed there isn't an animated short on KZbin about Sheev the Salesman. Genius.

[@eugenewang4650]

Palps is such a well written character. Usually evil characters are written with some form of 'goodness' in them but purely evil characters with absolutely no redeeming qualities are so hard to pull off- usually they come off as cliche and goofy and over the top like Sauron but Mcdiarmid has pulled off a realistic portrayal of a cunning manipulating highly intelligent psychopath so well.

[@luigicorporationgaming224]

Ian McDiarmid looks like he is having so much fun with his performance. That is one reason I like this character.

[@TimParker-yw6by]

You can tell how much Jono has been looking forward to this because of how much visible fun hes having with the Palp references and jokes🤣

[@GediRitter]

I saw your Anakin Episode Yesterday and was like 'Where is the promised Palpatine Episode?' Well, here it is xD

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Here it is!

[@MortMe0430]

Dooku's face in his last scene... "when I joined the backstabbing murderers party, I never expected them to backstab and murder ME!!"

[@Draeckon]

It's because the plan was to corrupt Anakin and Dooku live. But it was in that moment he learned that even he was truly just a pawn to Palpatine, and he was trading out his apprentice for a shiny new one.

[@TheSydneyLad]

I had a sociopath manipulator of a dad. This video is telling me what could've been if I naturally wasn't interested in the things he was saying/offering.

[@DarkLightHuntress]

Cinema Therapy: *Posts Villain Therapy video on Palpatine* Me: *Palpatine cackle*

[@firestorm165]

I watch these vids for research and inspiration for stories I write. One of my characters has actually said verbatim "Politics is simply the subtle art of telling someone that giving me what I want gets them what they want in such a way that they think it was their idea", after watching this vid I am more proud than ever of that line

[@ShadowyKatz]

"I love this franchise, but I have been hurt by it so many times, and I just want it to be good" is a very common fan sentiment.

[@WilliamDoheny]

I loved that moment in Return of the Jedi when Luke refused to turn to the dark side. You could see & feel (Thanks, John Williams!) how angry Palpatine was.

[@KirstenWakiesa]

You know I love Star Wars and I love the two of you and you making Star Wars episodes is super fun, loved it. May the force be with you my friends.

[@DJTS1991Yes]

Palpatine has two weaknesses. He doesn’t understand love. And he sees himself above primitive life forms. His disgust sensitivity for them is so great that can’t foresee alliances between the Naboo and the Gungans and the Rebels and the Ewoks. Which is ironic, really, because in what we tend to find disgusting is where we have the most work to do emotionally. When the mask comes off, Palpatine truly is primitively Space Hitler.

[@zealgaming8161]

So he's a sane person, because Love + Furries makes my mind reel too.

[@jamesreedy1710]

His overconfidence was his weakness

[@Giles316]

​@@jamesreedy1710 your faith in your friends is yours

[@themr_wilson]

15:27 also love that little grin. Love even more how it doesn't reach his eyes, that it's a fake smile solely intended to put someone at ease. I love _even_ more that with someone of Ian's caliber, it's a conscious acting choice to not let the smile reach the eyes. I'm so thankful for his role as Palpatine

[@Rubber_Monkey]

Stuff I would love to you guys cover: - Psychology of a Hero: Balto, Rey from Star Wars, Maximus from Gladiator, William Wallace from Braveheart - Villain Therapy: Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, Commodus from Gladiator, Fletcher from Whiplash - Friendship Therapy: Superbad and Ted - Couples Therapy: Mia & Sebastian from La La Land - Poor Things - The Wolf of Wall Street - Mare of Easttown

[@martinapodaca4576]

Would love to see one on Commodus and Ted

[@chill-lady-brook]

Would love to see something on the characters from The Great Mouse Detective. Basil and Ratigan are both amazingly deep characters.

[@paranoiarpincess]

You did a great job of compiling a list of things I've never seen (minus Gladiator) without even knowing I exist! Well done lol.

[@moviemelody2210]

Villain Therapy: JARETH from Labyrinth

[@Ver_Cae]

BALTO! MY CHILDHOOD! YES PLEASE

[@aepaschen]

The book: Darth Plagueis is all about Palpatines rise to power, he had everything in the palm of his hand before the prequels even began. He is completely the master manipulator and knew how every single act was going to happen. Such a good villain. I highly recommend the book

[@christophergarrett7082]

The fact that iam McDermott was able to take the dialogue in the prequels and rise of Skywalker snd make it sound good is a testament to his talent

[@anjelica948]

As someone who has been caught in the tractor beam of an evil manipulator, the only way I have ever found to break loose from them is to surround yourself with people who do truly care about you. I literally had to move over 5,000 miles away and go back to the only family I trusted, which was also where my best friend lived. And it was only by staying close with them that I was able to ever so slowly put myself back together after he completely deconstructed and nearly destroyed everything that I was as a person. It is possible to get away from them. There are lingering scars, some wounds will never fully heal. But it is possible to recover, to be happy, to find a new and better version of yourself. Let go of the idea you can be who you were before them. I’ve never seen it happen and it definitely didn’t happen for me. But you can still have a fulfilling life.

[@Vooorhees1738]

That thumbnail is so cursed but so great at the same time

[@s.s.8029]

As someone who was gaslit and manipulated for nearly 20 years, I am now more easily triggered by these behaviors, both in movies and in real life. As hard as it was to overcome the years of being treated poorly, I am grateful because I can now recognize it and deal with it (and hopefully help others deal with it). I truly want to see the good in everyone, but when a person treats multiple people the same way for many years, it shows who they truly are. I think the projection is often worst thing. It is truly sadistic!

[@babs3241]

The Jedi had no idea what to do with a kid who really needed therapy when he got there... and the fact that they forbade him to go rescue his mother and never made any attempt to help her themselves provided, I think, the first wedge between Anakin and the Jedi. (Also, I think Obi-Wan saw him as a little brother, while Anakin needed him to be a parent.) Because of that, Palpatine was able to slide right in and say, "Look, you know they aren't doing the moral thing... how can you say I'm less moral than they are? After all, if I had total power, I would send you to rescue her. And then I would end slavery in the outer rim, just as you wished when you were a child... as soon as everything else is taken care of, of course, it will be my very first priority." But of course, with that kind of person, the "crisis" never ends, so the emergency measures are permanent.

[@ztslovebird]

Sad fact - Captain Panaka became a die-hard Imperial when Palpatine rose to power, even being promoted to Moff of Naboo & basically usurping the Queen. The worst part is Panaka genuinely believed the Empire was a good thing. He ignored the corruption, the oppression, everything but Naboo’s “safety.”

[@kamentrainerhorn2073]

No... It's not true... *That's impossible!*

[@alexspain9103]

It's always important to remember that Anakin was born a slave, in a place where the system was at its most broken, while Padme was born in privilege, in a place where the system worked beautifully.

[@garrettviewegh9028]

I love the subtle change in Palpatine's tone when he orders Anakin to end Dooku. Palpatine's mask doesn't slip, he lets it slip. Then you see Dooku glance over to Palpatine, shocked. That's when Dooku realizes he was just a pawn. That his own master was willing to betray him. They were all pawns in the war, and Palpatine played on both sides of the chessboard.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

Thanks for covering Palpy. I always say that parents should be the ones their children love and run to instead of fear and run away from, because predators exist. Palpy is a predator. He might not be a sexual predator. But he is a groomer and a textbook narcissist who pried open Ani’s vulnerabilities and isolated him from those he trusted while finding a way to hold him hostage for the life of his wife. “They should be made to” to me was a bit of Ani’s resentment coming out. I read a meme that said “Anakin lived his entire life always calling someone master”… but in his last moments when Luke called him father and it was familial love that helped him overthrow Palpy after decades of abuse. People forget that Ani grew up as a slave child and was separated from his mother who he only reunited with after she was abused by slavers and died in his arms when he was an adult and could have done something about it if he was allowed to go to her earlier. In that alone, it showed me the corruption of the Jedi Order and why they fell. They were so afraid of feelings and attachments that they forgot to take care of their own people.

[@Moraenil]

This also shows though, the dangers and trouble caused when someone like Palpy IS a parental figure. There are many parents that are like this, so they aren't all good and loving. My parents are both a lot like Palpy, which, unfortunately, I didn't start to realize until after the prequels came out and I'd had a chance to really analyze it all and compare it all. It's just too bad I was in my 20s when most of this happened.

[@tiffanypersaud3518]

@@Moraenil I am glad in the sense that you sound like you’re in a better place about this now, and that can’t have been at all easy. I’m grateful for films like these that let the vulnerable realize things about themselves. And vulnerable and strong can coexist.

[@Tooberculosis]

The sheer amount of scenes from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings that are quotable has always astounded me

[@dylanfarris7647]

I just noticed how palpatine says Duku was too dangerous to be kept alive, which is exactly what Mace says to Anakin when trying to kill Palpatine

[@redlox2]

Sorry for the following rant. I am not necessarily defending mace windu or anything but I do feel Palpatine motivations to get Anakin to kill Dooku is different then Windu motivations to kill Palpatine I mean yeah. I get people like to say how hypocritical Mace was but Anakin himself admits he wanted to kill Palpatine just learning he was a Sith Lord. True Anakin isn’t the best example but the fact is there was not real way to stop Palpatine without killing him, Heck Anakin says he “needs him” (aka he didn’t think saving palpatine was some heroic thing for the republic and it was his own selfish desire to save Padme) It was just Anakin realization that he unintentionally helped Palpatine kill Mace (probably) that Anakin surrendered to the dark side as he didn’t have any other options at that point.

[@daniellemusella1594]

@dylanfarris7647 The reason why Anakin chose to kill, and then NOT kill the second time, was because both incidents tied into something he wanted. Killing Dooku was revenge for HIS hand being cut off, not someone else's. Saving Palpatine was to save HIS wife, not someone else's. To add a third moment, back in "A.o.t.C", wiping out the Sand People village was about the abuse and murder of HIS mother, not someone else's. So, during the conversation with Palpatine in the opera house, when he says that the Sith only care about themselves, he doesn't realize how heavily he's already been leaning into that. (5/3/2024)

[@racernatorde5318]

And that has been 100% intentional by GL

[@brandonlyon730]

@@redlox2 Considering how likes of Gunray was able to escape Justice despite all the horrible things he did in Naboo in episode 1, Mace may have a point with Palpatine at the very least.

[@xger21]

Sometimes Palpatine is refreshing simply because he just enjoys being evil. There's not complex motivations, he's just evil and wants power. There's no attempts to redeem, he is just allowed to be evil in the story.

[@CheyenneSedai]

One of the reasons I love the prequels as much as I do is ngl Matthew Stover's novelization of RotS. It's excellent and it adds so much depth to all the characters.

[@corinneferrarolam5101]

I actually just purchased this book - I’ve heard great things and am excited to read it.

[@TheZamaron]

The thing about Palpatine isn’t that he thinks he the best for the job, this is all for him to seize power, nothing more. What’s great is that we the audience know who he is, but most of the heroes don’t. So it’s fun to try and watch this from their perspective, when you look at Palpatine’s fake moments of compassion through the character’s perspectives, Ian does a good job making him kind and appear wise and fatherly, he’s so good at wearing this mask of kindness you get why people and the public who see less of him love and trust him.

[@charles1412]

Anakin Skywalker is a broken person, with his own trauma, he’s literally the perfect candidate for Palpatine to manipulate. Anakin is searching to be accepted and loved. Of course he’s gonna latch on to Palpatine.

[@MysteryTako]

That cut to the "Lifted" short. *Chefs kiss*

[@a.jthomas6132]

I recommend you all to read James Luceno‘s ‘Darth Plagueis’. It really shows how Sheev Palpatine becomes Darth Sidious.

[@JediAcolyte94]

And the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover.

[@preciousotoakhia9789]

​@@JediAcolyte94so revenge of the sith and darth plagueis book are saying Palpatine was Satan and skilled manipulator they day he was born

[@JediAcolyte94]

@@preciousotoakhia9789 More or less a sociopath with psychopathic tendencies. And a master manipulator.

[@nicosy282]

I love it how Ian McDiarmid portrays such a wonderful villain in the Star Wars saga

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

18:03 that is LITERALLY a Robot Chicken episode, where instead of being emperor yet he's working some small business in the middle of nowhere

[@didyouhearaboutpluto]

I *adore* whoever splices in the "I heard it both ways" line from Psych

[@leahjk97]

“because they accused ahsoka of murder!” that is the right answer jono

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Many thanks and happy belated *May* *the* *Fourth* to Jonathan, Alan, Megan, Corinne, Emily and Bradley! 🌌

[@joshuanicolai4776]

Having a personality disorder like narcissistic personality disorder and when manipulating and using people comes naturally it's hard not to feel like a bad person and learning compassion and selflessness has been very hard

[@NeliaMTulik-nc2ht]

What a great way to spend my lunch break on May the 4th. I told my boss it was a holiday for my religion but, alas, he did not agree 😒 Thank you so much for brightening my day ❤️ It was a wonderful and very needed episode.

[@rmsgrey]

The thing is, Palpatine isn't entirely wrong - a dictatorship is usually more efficient than a democracy. Even within a democracy, you usually have a single executive who has the notional authority, and there are many examples of autocratic structures within democratic societies - on a movie set, the Director directs; in a classroom, the Teacher is in charge; in the military, whoever has better decorations on their sleeve gets to (literally!) call the shots. Of course, the problem with a dictatorship is that it's hard to find a dictator you agree with... On another note, the long pause before "So be it, Jedi" doesn't just serve to build tension; it also empahsises and confirms Luke's resolve - it's not just "I won't give in! I could never eat that wafer thin mint!" - not something that Palpatine could talk him around from; it's a new truth being established, and when Palpatine has thought around it, trying to see whether he has any way of reversing that decision (possibly also probing with the Force to try to sway Luke again), he accepts and acknowledges Luke's decision. And it's Palpatine's final seal of approval that confirms Luke as a Jedi.

[@Scuzzlebutt142]

Not sure I'd agree. The problem with Dictatorship is someone always wants the power, and so attracts narcissists and people who want power, than those who want to lead. Single points of decision are often more efficient, yes, but also rely on the expertise of the person in that position, so if that persons expertise fails them for some reason, you get not so great decisions. Ego is also often a issue.

[@c.k.mcknight8921]

I love how the starfighters flew by, firing in battle, in the brief moment while Anakin hesitates before killing Dooku. Really added to the tension.

[@selenawolf2466]

Wow, youtube on point with notifications for once, not 2 days late! "Yet somehow, Palpatine survived" 😂

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Somehow!! 😂

[@daniellemusella1594]

@@CinemaTherapyShow I stifled a giggle in the theater, when he said that. It was such a blatant, "Even the writers couldn't figure this out. We can't explain it. Just accept it, and move on." (5/3/2024)

[@Geekus]

Dang, Alan’s end of episode line delivery was actually pretty solid. True used landspeeder dealer energy.

[@joshuayarrington9684]

Please do video essays on the following: -Dracula Untold -Thank you for your Service -The Covenant -Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse -John Wick series -Pete Mitchell from Top Gun -Samantha Carpenter from Sream 5 & Sream 6.

[@gonaldginkus6228]

“Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken. THE FORCE SHALL FREE ME.”

[@jaspermooren5883]

The Sith code is actually a pretty good code to live by. They just interpret passion in a very dark way. If you think of passion as love or inner motivation than the mantra is actually pretty valid. It's doing what you love and doing things for the people you love that give you the willpower (strenght) to be succesful (victory). And you will live a fullfilled life that way, or, in a metaphorical sense, your chains are broken. It's actually a pretty good text to live by. But all the Sith see is hatred and all the Jedi do is shunning their feelings. Both feels very wrong to me.

[@kamentrainerhorn2073]

Those are the facts of this galaxy, and you will all surrender to them! *YOU BANTHA IN HUMAN CLOTHING!*

[@Truck-kun11]

So much of Palpatine's plan depended on luck and coincidence that I'd say he's less of a master tactician and planner and more of someone who's really good at improvising and using the cards at his disposal.

[@xger21]

Palpatine is also the type to have contingency plans for everything. So, if some part didn't go right (i.e. Padme returning to Naboo), he pivots to a different plan. It's not an inflexible, "only this way", plan.

[@dietotaku]

it's a thin line between master tactician and xanatos or light yagami.

[@speedracer2008]

I'd say it's a mixture of both

[@constructivecriticism6203]

You can tell Ian McDiarmid is having an absolute blast playing palpatine

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Absolutely!

[@naturalave]

After learning that Lucas tried to find someone else to direct these, I give them a lot more lenience. He is not a strong director - his wife won the academy award fixing A New Hope, he needed someone to tell him no. I respect his ability to write a story and understand his material. I love these movies, because of how they give us a compelling story

[@Scuzzlebutt142]

I mean, as much as so many people give the prequels shit, they tell a coherent and cohesive story compared to the Sequels. And possibly more than anyone else in the last 40 years, George Lucas has revolutionised film on a simply technical level. Modern Special Effects? Most can draw a line of origin to ILM. THX sound? Lucas. Digital Cinematography? Lucas.

[@Quinn-cw4pt]

"A Monster in Paris" (2011) has an excellent analysis of villainy and stereotypes. For example, one character is assumed to be dangerous because of his appearance, while another is assumed to not be dangerous for the same 'reason'

[@sabertyranous]

Another thing that the Clone Wars does as well is that throughout the series Palpatine consistently drives Anakin and Padme apart either directly or indirectly. Mostly because he knew that she was biggest threat to his plans as she could help keep Anakin grounded.

[@davidx.1504]

This is a great consolation video to make up for the labyrinth vid

[@andrew4233th]

Palpatine episode! I’ve waited long time for this moment

[@NameOptional-p9u]

I have watched star wars episodes 1-6 a million times, and I never thought about the scene with Anakin and Padme discussing governing.... I never thought about how Anakin describes a dictatorship and thinking how he got to that reasoning...I think you two nailed it... I think it was definitely from conversations with Palpatine. Never really examined that scene before. Cool pickup

[@FantomGoat]

11:24 I didn’t read that scene as Palpatine “blaming” Anakin, but more of Palpatine giving Anakin an excuse or rationalization for why he did it. Channeled his current actions to the trauma he suffered on Tattooine (sp?).

[@henriquesouza8704]

The thing is. It's very clear in the prequels that the Jedi during the clone wars severely lack spiritual and mental guidance. So yeah, Anakin fell for Palpatine and was "stupid", but that's because his Jedi training didn't prepare him spiritually to deal with this, and because Palpatine has been there for him when the Jedi hadn't. He is trying to convince Anakin that "yes, I told you to kill him, but I was only helping you do what you really wanted all along" and Anakin falls for it because he DID want to kill Dooku right then and there. Palpatine was right. But if it wasn't for Palpatine's pressure Anakin would have done the Jedi thing. Palpatine twists the truth and makes Anakin believe he would have killed Dooku either way, and he believes that, because he doubts himself and his ability to control his dark impulses, and Palpatine is using that against him.

[@selenawolf2466]

"I want good Star wars!" ...i admit, lots have been iffy. But Rogue One blew my mind, stole my heart, made me cry and cheer and love Star Wars all over again. They need more like that.

[@snorpenbass4196]

Andor and Rogue One made me love the franchise again. Edit to add: I didn't hate it or anything, it just got a bit too much, and then R1 and Andor reminded me of why I used to love it all over again.

[@corinneferrarolam5101]

If you loved Rogue One you must watch Andor. It’s probably my favorite show, ever. Not just Star Wars Wars. Possibly the best show I’ve ever seen!

[@Oakleaf012]

Rogue One is hands down my favorite Star Wars ever, and given how much I love Obi-Wan, that’s saying something lol

[@Mighty_Spoon]

I might be alone in this but I really enjoyed Solo

[@corinneferrarolam5101]

@@Mighty_Spoon I thought solo was excellent!