Why Palpatine's Plan in The Phantom Menace is Genius

The Phantom Menace receives a lot of criticism online, and for good reason, however some reviewers tend to bash the plot/the evil plan in the movie. This is false, Palpatine's plan is actually so genius than non of the characters, and most of the audience, don't even know its happening.
In this video essay I explain why Palpatine's plan is the best part of the film and how he is playing 6D chess.
Co-written by: Blank

[@redjirachi1]

Palpatine actually has a number of setbacks in The Phantom Menace. However, his genius is making a plan adaptable enough to deal with those setbacks. He wins no matter what in The Phantom Menace, but the variable is "by how much"

[@Hunter11725]

Hell, Palpatine wins in the Prequel Trilogy no matter what. Maul died and the blockade failed? That’s okay, he became the chancellor and now rules the Republic. Obi-Wan, Padmè and Anakin survive Geonosis thanks to the Jedi? It’s all good, he got the Death Star blue prints, Dooku as an ally, the giant false flag operation that was the Clone Wars has begun to slander the Jedi, and Palpatine has emergency powers. Revenge of the Sith needs no explanation, Palpatine wins straight up in that movie.

[@What_do_I_Think]

@@Hunter11725 The genius of Palpatines plan was, that it worked no matter what happened. Naboo falls? -- Great, so he can draw even more sympathy from the senate! Trade guild loses? -- Great, Naboo is the shining winner and he can claim the winner bonus in the senate! The Jedi are clueless -- Great, easier to mess around with them. The Jedi find the ultimative force user -- Great, he can draw him to the dark side.

[@wyattcole5452]

@@Hunter11725the moment they accepted the clone army they were doomed, it was either that or let the separatists have their portion of the galaxy

[@Hunter11725]

@@wyattcole5452 Yeah… that was the point of no return. The Jedi proved themselves as hypocrites when they took on the clone army as they weren’t keepers of the peace anymore, they were soldiers. The Clone Wars was really just a giant smear campaign against the Jedi, it’s no wonder why they are largely hated by the Original Trilogy. The Jedi had ONE more chance during the Clone Wars with Fives during the Order 66 conspiracy arc, but sadly Fox quashed any hope of the galaxy being saved.

[@LifeofSquidMann]

Finally understanding Palpatine's machinations during the Prequels solidified him in my mind as the greatest villain ever put to film.

[@gnc623]

YES! I have said this about Palpatine for years. Greatest villain in all of cinema!

[@dumbass100]

Whaaaaat Man the phantom menace is a GREAT BADASS movie man I LOVE the prequels JUST AS MUCH as the originals Those.......fffffffffucking.......SEQUELS tho.......those.......fucking.................................................. sequels

[@seanchernov7178]

Agree, though I like the prequels even better then originals

[@PurpleMageC]

I’m starting to think the prequels aren’t that bad. Yeah, they have some issues with acting but the plots are actually really complex. I’m coming to appreciate them more as I’m seeing how their story fits into the bigger picture.

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

I think that is how many prequels fans are made. Me personally, I enjoyed them when I was very young and came to dislike them, but once i was old enough to comprehend the plot and the narrative they have become my favorite films.

[@SamvedIyer]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 From this comment of yours, may I hazard a guess concerning your journey of intellectual development? When very young, you were held in awe by the visuals. When a little older, perhaps the virus of internet groupthink caused you to dislike, if not hate, the movies. And now that you are older still, you discern the genius behind them. My own friends detested them as teenagers, and now, in their twenties, have revised their opinion. Does this resemble the evolution of your opinion, too?

[@Pinpadprompts]

People loved them as a kid as they had podracing and jar jar antics. People hate them as a teenager as they have jar jar antics and and poorly aged CGI. But when you are old enough to understand the plot beyond baddies and goodies shooting lasers at each other, it is actually incredible.

[@doltBmB]

They are bad, they're not irredeemably horrible films with nothing good in them, but having good parts in them does not make them good movies overall.

[@wyattcole5452]

The acting isn’t even that awful, there’s some takes that are meh but it was fine, rlly not as bad as I expected it would be, but yea after seeing the prequels im starting to realize they might be en parre with the OT

[@timi_ro]

Well we have to thank Disney sequel trilogy, for making some Star Wars fans look again, into the prequels and discover the genius of George Lucas!

[@PenguinFace32]

Finally

[@metalheadmartyr]

I see what you did there.

[@johannnuschke9445]

Well said

[@wyattcole5452]

I never watched the movies till this year, this rlly isn’t a deep plot I understood it just fine, everyone had a mental block with politics before game of thrones apparently

[@harbour2118]

Which makes me feel like we needed a bad sequel trilogy (a.k.a. bad disney movies) If it was actually good, the prequels would continue to be scoffed at

[@colonelquack]

When I first watched Phantom Menace decades ago, I went in with the impression it was a bad movie. It isn't, at all. I also had no idea Palpatine was... Yeah. I had no idea. This is why the Machete Order works. (Though, I would suggest adding the last four episodes of SW: CW s07 between episode 2 and 3.)

[@SamvedIyer]

I may add that the music playing during the celebration of Naboo is, in fact, the brighter version of the Emperor's theme. It is not identical in its notes, but basic attention would suffice to convey the similarity.

[@What_do_I_Think]

I absolutely agree. The prequels where slammed by so many -- but in spite of their existing flaws, they at least had a real story arch over all three movies and an interesting plot. The sequels in contrast have neither, they just have stupid, cheap visual effects.

[@Cdeseco]

I never been a star wars fan, I watched the movies as a teen and found them nice to watch. I used to wonder what was the idea behind the phantom menace plot, just to palpatine to be elected chancellor ? Seemed a little cheap. Years later I read the darth plaguis novel and I understood far better what it was all about.

[@gaelofariandel6747]

I mean, he had plans in all 3 movies AND the shows that made him the victor no matter who won. Friggin genius.

[@SithAesthetics]

J'adore tes vidéos, ça fait plaisir de te voir ici !

[@gnc623]

It's ironic how most prequel critics complain that the Phantom Menace is too childish, but they even admit they don't understand the plot. Lol.

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

I guess that is pretty ironic haha

[@Finnegan-s-cake]

That's not what irony means

[@gnc623]

@Finnegan-s-cake Irony: strange or funny because something is different from what you expected. (Britannica). You would expect someone complaining that the movie is too childish to understand the plot because childish implies simplicity. Yes, this is the definition of irony. C'mon, if you've seen Revenge of the Sith, you should know what irony means! 😄

[@wyattcole5452]

lol agreed but it is too childish in ways, though the podracing not as much as people wanna believe

[@wyattcole5452]

@@Finnegan-s-cakeyes it is

[@thomasjcox]

I think what we know the least about is construction of the clone army, dooku, sifo dyas, etc. it would have been nice to see Dooku have had a cameo in phantom or some other Star Wars story etc.

[@mgoblue9389]

Since growing up, I've always said (I was 6 when TPM came out) the prequels are written like great plays, but clunky films

[@ionceexisted]

clicked for the thumbnail, stayed for the analysis. Well done!

[@u.v.s.5583]

You forgot the Darth Jar Binks role as it was planned for the whole trilogy when the first movie was created. Even though that storyline was changed, it is all there in the Phantom Menace.

[@wyattcole5452]

Lmao This wasn’t a plan made by George Lucas 😂

[@codemancz798]

People don't realize what Palpy's original plan was. It was to have Padmé sign the treaty and use the loss of his own word against Valorum, which he did anyway.

[@gc3k]

It's interesting that Palpatine, one of the central characters and clearly the arch villain of the prequels, doesn't appear in the original posters until Revenge of the Sith as Darth Sidious, hidden in the bottom corner

[@gnc623]

Personally, I think that was a brilliant move. Even though he's the big bad, they don't overplay him. Even in Clone Wars, they use him sparingly. But when he does show up (namely to fight Maul and Savage), it packs a punch. Not overusing Sidious has been one of the brilliant moves of the prequels and Clone Wars. It gives the villains a chance to shine, but it also builds up anticipation all the more to Revenge of the Sith when the Master behind it all comes out into the spotlight.

[@dubnubgtd8538]

The phantom menace was not a bad movie, could they have removed jar jar bunks with somthing better? absolutely. But it wasn’t a bad movie.

[@What_do_I_Think]

Maybe the plot of Episodes 1-3 was just to intelligent for a huge percentage of its audience. (yes, I admit that some things were bad, really Jar Jar!)

[@Lionhearted626]

I don't think it's a bad movie. :( I think it's a great movie.

[@Jared_Wignall]

Star Wars I-VI are my favorite films ever made. While I do enjoy the original trilogy more, those are the ones I saw before the prequels, there are a lot in the prequels that has a rewatch ability to them that Disney’s trilogy doesn’t have. When George Lucas is no longer involved in the franchise, you can really feel his absence.

[@geoffstonehouse5829]

There is still one giant hole that doesn't make sense to me. Why did Palpatine care if Padme signed the treaty to accept control of the trade federation on Naboo or not? In fact, had Padme accepted control she probably wouldn't have fled to courscant, and in turn wouldn't have started a vote of no confidence in the current chancellor, and Palpatine wouldn't have been elected. Even if Naboo lost to the federation it made little or no difference to what would have eventually happened. So after he could get elected why did he care? The first part of his plan was already in motion, playing out exactly as he needed it to.

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

I think that palpatine had leverage either way. If Padme accepted the treaty, it would mean more worlds would be angry about corporation's having too much power, therefore stirring the conflict, and on the other hand we see how things played out since she didn't sign it. Palpatine is always playing these games where it is a win-win situation, although one way might favor him more, he is always two steps ahead.

[@luisgarrido5185]

The treaty is a deceit or the pretext for galactic conflict. I think the "treaty" in Palpatine's scheme was going to be used against the Republic by the Trade Federation if Amidala signed it (hypothetically). It was the motive in order to create a civil conflict within the Republic. I think what Palpatine's design was: to become elected as chancellor and queen Amidala stayed at Coruscant while that happened. In that regard, after he was elected he could have expelled the Trade Federation from Naboo by using jedi knights. In that scheme, perhaps the Clone Wars (or a politico-military conflict similar to that) could have begun way before it actually did in Episode II.

[@lightning2034]

​@luisgarrido5185 yeah I agree I think he was trying to push that as plan a but when queen amidala fled the planet it became more of the distraction. palpatine was a master of misdirection

[@justinezafra]

I just can't see TPM as a bad film. It has far more good points than bad. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jager35]

I see this phrase *everywhere* but I'll be the one to say it too. Thank God th sequel trilogy was made so we all could go back to see how good we had it with the prequels and clone wars

[@jager35]

I remember being a kid watching The force Awakens when it came out and being bored nearly to tears. Finally got around to watching A New Hope and fuck yEs did I finally understand starwars!!!

[@otterthewise]

awesome video dude

[@RunnerX13]

Did people not know that Senator Palatine was Emperor Palatine or that Palatine was Sidious? I don’t remember Episode I trying very hard to not make it completely obvious who the bad guy was.

[@mertc8050]

Thats the point we never see the sidous's face we only see that oh thats that emperor guy we saw in e6 and he is called sidious also emperor's identity was never known by anyone at the time irl so senator palps the litteraly a side character was the villain and this isnt revealed until e3 so nobody understood shit watching e1 since palps identity wasnt even revealed

[@RunnerX13]

@@mertc8050 it’s not true that people didn’t know Senator Palatine is the Emperor. They have the same name and played by the same actor. Maybe if you were 5 it would have been a surprise that he’s also the guy in the hood.

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

I see what you are both saying, but Palpatine's name was never spoken in the original trilogy. It was only used in the 1977 novelization of A New Hope. This means that the VAST majority of people during the prequels coming out would not have known this. Also, my video was more focused on how people knew that Senator Palpatine was Sidious, however they thought his plan was dumb because it didn't make sense to them. The point of my video was to outline why those critics were wrong.

[@RunnerX13]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 right. Maybe the name was not commonly known but anyone watching the movie above a certain age could put two and two together. The name was used in many different books over the years.

[@danielsimms4262]

​@@RunnerX13True, but do the vast majority of people read the books? Especially journalists?

[@SaveWesternCivilisation]

The prequels are glorious, colourful, full of joy and life, and infinitely broader in scope than the feeble minds that mock them. To all prequel haters: what have you achieved in life? Will you go down in history as a greater, more influential person than George Lucas? (He created not only the Star Wars series, but Indiana Jones as well.) Or are you just some anonymous blowhard, who will never achieve anything? Can you even imagine how many things George Lucas had to juggle to create his masterpieces? I know, it can't compare to you banging away on your keyboard and expressing contempt, but I reckon he's done a pretty damned extraordinary job. Palpatine wanted Amidala to sign a treaty with the Trade Federation. Whilw she was on Tatooine, one of the chaps said. "The death toll is catastrophic, you must contact us." If she could be pressured to sign, then she would have caved in to the Trade Federation. Palpatine could have been the great hero who saved the entire planet. Not only would the entire planet view him as a hero, but many others throughout the Republic would have viewed him as a great hero. So- Palpatine arranged for the Trade Federation to conquer Naboo. Amidala would sign a treaty, in order to prevent further loss of life. Palpatine would then swoop in, save the planet, and become a great hero. This would immeasurably increase his status throughout the Republic. No one would ever seriously question his integrity or his motives. This would make his rise to power infinitely easier. Capisce? Good. George Lucas has a vast worldview. This means he often doesn't give a damn about the minor details. Thus, you get some cringe worthy moments ("I'll try spinning, that's a good trick," etc.) You simply must accept that George Lucas is human. He only has 24 hours in every day. When creating something utterly extraordinary, when building one of the most extraordinary creations in all modern culture, he's going to have moments of mediocrity since he's trying to create such a broad canvas. What can match his creation, SW and Indiana? The James Bond series? Created by a huge team. HP, LOTR, Dr. Who, of that unspeakably atrocious TV sci-fi show where every single alien is a human dork with a wrinkly forehead? All of those were created by a team. George's creations will be watched - and adored - in 1000 years' time. How about your achievements? Will your name live for over 1000 years, as George's will? or are you some prequel hater who should just STFU? Best wishes all. If you wish to know what my personal achievements are, see my site. Cheerio!

[@samkaplan9562]

I am your 90th sub and I am excited to see where this channel goes!

[@s-a-r-a-h]

I liked it a lot (and understood the plot completely) when I was a little kid, and that's all that really matters - super-nerd little kids like me were the target audience of this movie

[@jmace2424]

Maul didn’t actually die, though, despite being chopped in half.

[@user-vc9hh7is3e]

why palpatine's plan is genius- because it worked. the end of video... I would have taken three seconds to answer this question... and the remaining two seconds I would spend to rolling my eyes so that they make one full circle

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

Bro didn’t watch my video 💀

[@user-vc9hh7is3e]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 agree. even viewing the acolyte can be considered as a more productive time of bringing. So... Let the force be with you)

[@notswervo]

keep making these videos bruh

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

bet kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4mVgpmsprWoZ80

[@Kickback-dm7zt]

Much respect to my bro.... Old man palps. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@dabigdikdangler]

I tried to re-watch "The Phantom Menace" last night but Jar Jar Binks and the annoying kid that played Anakin kept stopping me. I'd pause the movie at particularly cringe points and forget and do something else. After 3 hours I still wasn't through with it.

[@wyattcole5452]

All I can suggest is sticking with it, jar jar is annoying but the kid isn’t that bad, and it gets better later

[@fer8agp]

George: what? I mean.... Yeah... Genius

[@kevin2125]

your aware he made this movie right? its not like things randomly fell into place and he barely did a thing, he designed this. purely for the art of making it

[@taylorandreas695]

Disagree that Obi Wan wasn't able or wise enough to train Anakin. Anakin was manipulated by the Dark Side from a young age. In a different Multiverse, he became the strongest of all Jedi and took the grey path bringing true light and dark to the balance of the universe through understanding and training

[@wyattcole5452]

Obi Wan was just a bad match, Qui Gon would’ve been perfect for Anakin, maybe Mace Windu

[@Tripp393]

lol Phantom Menace is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination.

[@jmace2424]

Did you change Yoda in these scenes? He looks so much better than in the movie!

[@BreMue]

The special edition(?) Updated him from the wack ass puppet from I The puppet looks great in the OT but the prequels look better with CGI yoda

[@ertymexx]

Wait, this isn't obvious to everyone?

[@philnorfleet1371]

Palpatine did nothing wrong.

[@produksiyonfortinaytibabaji35]

OMG pig darth maul angry birds star wars canon confirmed😳

[@dumbass100]

The sequels just............they're so fucking terrible.... And NOW.....NOW THEYRE TRYING TO GO HECK AND CHANGE THE PREQUELS TO FUCKING MAKE THEIR SHITTY IDEAS FOT YOU KNOW FUCK NO MAN WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN PEOPLE WE STAR WARS FANS MUST UNITE INTO ONE BIGASS POWER RANGERS ROBOT TYPE OF DEAL AND FUCKING DEFEND OUR BELOVED STORY WHOS WITH ME

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

are you talking about that book that says Palpatine wanted to make a dyad with vader? Cuz that is stupid

[@dumbass100]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 yea man yea exactly And you know what If we let them go back to the prequels and change that Then what's to stop them from feeling like they can go and change whatever else You know You know George hasent looked at what's become of the star wars story since he's sold it to Disney And he's on record saying that its because if he was to watch it unfold Hed be trying to control it and would be upset if it went wrong Witch it has So we owe it to George and his ex wife to make sure ATLEAST the originals Originals as in the star wars movies that aren't the fucking sequels lol DONT get messed with You know ......atleast But ALSO we owe it to ourselves to keep this great story we all love just that A GREAT STORY and don't let it get ruined by this big corporate company just trying to make a dollar You know When George first wrote star wars He was going against the big corps and all that by Getting it made and filmed You know

[@dumbass100]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 anyways LOL Yea you're right man I'm SURE that there's a few OTHER THINGS that theyll go to the prequels and the originals and change around to make their bullshit fit if we let them go and change this detail all up this time

[@darkgreenrifleman4871]

This is an amalgamation of the excuses for the justification of bad writing.

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

How so? Like what do I say specifically that is an excuse? I genuinely don’t know

[@lenircotia]

1:20 min Dislike because of your rediculous critic

[@slimdankbeams8165]

"Well.. yes... it's a bad film". *shows one scene that's very minor to the film and doesn't elaborate* Alright, well we had a good run

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

That was supposed to relfect the child-like humor and the films shortfalls from a traditional filmmaking perspective. The shots are bland, the dialogue is rough, and humor is terrible. I love the Phantom Menace for many reasons but I also realize that it has a lot of shortcomings. Its still better than 7,8, and 9.

[@slimdankbeams8165]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 "child-like humor", you realise it's a kids movie, right? I agree that it's better than the sequels but you're wrong about everything else and I think you've only got those opinions from other critics who have no idea what they're talking about

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

@@slimdankbeams8165 it’s like you didn’t listen to my whole video that is literally all about praising this movie. Guess you found a few seconds to complain about. Again, from a traditional filmmaking perspective, MOST Star Wars movies are “bad”. However the difference between that and what makes Star Wars good seems to be lost on you.

[@slimdankbeams8165]

@@theskywalkercantina3810 yeah, I stopped there because it was such a pathetic criticism, and it seemed like you just said it cause were trying to win brownie points with prequel haters, otherwise you would've given a better argument than that

[@theskywalkercantina3810]

@@slimdankbeams8165 i really dont know how to respond simply because I already told you why that is a completely valid criticism. Again, I'm a huge prequel fan and fan of The Phantom Menace, but I'm also not blind to its shortcomings. Why would I want brownie points with anyone? Im a tiny channel and when I uploaded this video I had 10 subs, I'm not chasing any kind of views or anything like that. Everything in these videos is geniune.