Why Sidious Was Extremely Disappointed with the Empire - Star Wars Explained

[@LordWyatt]

Young Sidious: Why don’t the Jedi take over the Republic and rule as they wish? Old Sidious: *Oh.*

[@mr.boomguy]

In my view, if safety and security is the only thing you can provide your people, you will completly and utterly fail them

[@bodaciouschad]

@@mr.boomguy Food, energy, shelter, water and security allow them to provide themselves with purpose under your rule. Rule without any one of these provisions and your reign will be one catastrophe away from toppling.

[@LetholdusKaspyr]

​@@mr.boomguyGovernments that attempt to provide everything very quickly find themselves providing nothing, as they end up ruling over an entitled people who expect everything to materialize out of nowhere, and no one produces anything. The government should provide as little as possible, to allow the people space to exist and provide for each other. Everything being granted from above is a juvenile fantasy.

[@SchkuenteQoostewin]

@@bodaciouschad Trump anyone

[@Aim54Delta]

​@@bodaciouschad The needs of a society are not the same as a person's requirements to participate in it. Management vs leadership. People don't need (and frequently do not want) someone to provide the essentials for them. While the gene pool has introduced a degree of unconstrained broadening of the modality over the past thousand years or so, human beings are rather die hard things that tend to be pretty good at not getting un-alived. Kind of comes with the territory of being the apex critter on this glorified asteroid. There is a narrow line between a kind gesture and a condescending implication one would be "um-alive" without said gesture. People need the friction of challenge and success - they need the discomfort of failure. The question isn't how does a ruler provide food - the question is why do people provide food to the ruled systems of society? Continued in my response to your reference.

[@robbymanable]

Ironic isn't it: he could tear down both the Republic and the Separatists but he couldn't mold his Empire as he saw fit

[@celebrim1]

Sith can only destroy, not make. For Sith to be able to build something, they'd have to embrace the full spectrum of emotions and attachments - love, compassion, duty, hope, and joy. Both the Sith and the Jedi had lost the way.

[@aaronsmith7946]

Piso mi la mneoch deusner feu mar

[@Darthmgtow]

Is it possible to build a great empire....?

[@ericj6636]

​@Matthew Reynolds Nailed it. Even Vitiate abandoned the Sith teachings when he decided to build the Eternal Empire as Valkorion.

[@celebrim1]

@@Darthmgtow Some are better than others. The better ones come together more by consensus than conquest - very different groups of people deciding that they can live with and work together as a better alternative than fighting. You see unity through marriages, people giving up their native tongues in daily use in preference to a common tongue everyone understands, people who used to fight each other now in business together, diverse peoples celebrating the same triumphs together, and so forth.

[@77777Spooky]

"When the troops are undisciplined, the fault lies with their commander." -Tywin Lannister.

[@JamesRDavenport]

.....Who stole it from Sun Tzu ;)

[@Theruler091]

Advise Tywin did not follow

[@redjirachi1]

Tywin's like the biggest hypocrite in A Song Of Ice And Fire

[@jamesgravil9162]

"When the troops are undisciplined, the fault lies with their commander." Classic example of a man not living by his own words. Tywin's men Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch raped and murdered Elia and her children, a barbaric act that earned the enmity of House Martell. His forces also pillaged King's Landing when they took the city. Tywin didn't take any of the blame for that, but he should have done.

[@tommychappell6359]

@@jamesgravil9162 perfectly said, yeah annoying how little people get blame because of pop culture. Even as if no attention is ever drawn to that. If it is. Little attention/cares for guy that points in out. When huge hypocritical/bigger factor. So many things actually people do get away with. And it can be 100% true/fact/fully valid but societal perception dictates otherwise. Also funny how the more someone's states a REAL LEGIT problem the less REAL they become in eyes of society. like immediate say it/say something their voice is diminished. Until same fact comes from someone who is respected, they are suddenly heard. Hypocrisy 😡😡😤. In order to be listened to it doesn't matter how good of point have, what matters is what kind of respect and status you have to be believed. Like voice comes from the respect you have not from making a good fully legitimate point (best point in the world).

[@ansongordon-creed4047]

Palpatine pretty much bet everything on being able to live forever, but I feel most every Jedi, or anyone else familiar with Sith history would just tell him; "people smarter than you have tried."

[@AdeptKing]

Only one Sith succeeded at that and it still bit him in the end.

[@ericj6636]

​@@AdeptKing vitiate/valkorion?

[@YoungHarlem110352]

​@@ericj6636 I guess canonically, it was Bane via Essence Transference. Legends, yes, Vitiate.

[@zephyr8072]

I mean he did survive being exploded twice.

[@ericj6636]

@@YoungHarlem110352 I thought Bane lost the essence transfer fight to Zannah?

[@Jspider56]

fear as a negative motivator has never been one that causes people to go above and beyond. As Office Space put it "the fear of losing my job(life) but that'll only motivate you just enough to not get fired". There was never a chance for competence if being competent means Palpatine views you as a threat and guns you down hence why the Inquisitors all suck. Either you're going to be fair enough to make your underlings not hate/fear you or you'll have to accept that every single moment will require your direct micromanaging influence.

[@blanktrigger8863]

I wish marxism understood this.

[@robgraham5697]

@@blanktrigger8863 Any form of authoritarianism struggles to understand this. You need only look at Nazi Germany for a perfect example of that.

[@sirtaelellevalerie1056]

@@robgraham5697 technically, marxism in it's purest form are anti-authoritarian. Unfortunately most marxist didn't get the memo...

[@KoflerDavid]

@@robgraham5697 To be fair, the various instances of Communism and Fascism only got so far because they managed to gather enough followers that truly believed in the cause. Maybe even more so than the people on top...

[@Chaogod1233]

​@@blanktrigger8863What? You mean capitalism? Marxism is about making sure you can live within your means. Capitalism is exactly what he just described. You fear losing your job because it means you don't have healthcare, income and etc. Read a book by dude and stop watching Ben Shapiro.

[@TheLostArchangel666]

The quotes from Nemik's manifesto come to mind: "Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear." What Palpatine wanted was impossible. It goes in against basic human nature. His ideas were doomed to fail from the start - it was only a question of when, and at what cost, not if.

[@michakoniecpolski5677]

Cope soyboy

[@TheLostArchangel666]

@@michakoniecpolski5677 Cope, fascist.

[@themanformerlyknownascomme777]

if you look at actual Authoritarian regimes, they are far more casual then we are lead to belive, this is exactly why: constant oppression is untenable, give people an opportunity for outlet and don't punish them too hard and you will last far longer. Power needs more then fear to survive.

[@Gamerk11-lv5ou]

If Palpitine is a Sith the empire should be about hunting down Jedi and killing whoever tries to stop them from killing the remaining Jedi.

[@karanhdream]

For all his brains and wits, Sheev Palpatine never changed. He is and always was an entitled spoiled brat who thought he could get away with anything and looked down on everyone. He was taken down by a humble farm boy and that is of underrated poetic justice

[@Archivist_of_Stupendous_Wave]

Oooooh love this take

[@samuellancaster6487]

Minor Critique: He was taken down by a former slave and his humble farm boy of a son.

[@katagonist]

@@samuellancaster6487 ahahha makes it even more funnier

[@DerelictusAnima]

@@samuellancaster6487 He was taken down by Rey (a self taught Jedi) in truth.

[@MortonMcCastle]

​@@DerelictusAnima Yeah, that's corporate canon.

[@brokenbridge6316]

So Darth Sidious got what he wanted only to be disappointed in the end. I think this should serve as a life lesson. Be careful what you wish for.

[@I.D.I.O.C.R.A.C.Y.]

I guess the star wars universe needed niccolo machiavelli..

[@Sunstar808]

Right

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@I.D.I.O.C.R.A.C.Y.----Good point

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@Sunstar808----Hello my friend. How are you?

[@Sunstar808]

@@brokenbridge6316 Hanging in Thx. How are you?

[@AdeptKing]

It's like Sidious forgot that he forged his empire through deceit and trickery. He also elevated people who relied on those paths to rise up. Of course his empire is going to be full of people only in it for themselves that fight amongst each other while the enemy is breathing down their necks. That kind of atmosphere does not breed camaraderie or competence.

[@tonyfelder1206]

As Luke said to him Sidius, "You're over confidence is your weakness". But more importantly, The emporer was too wanting. No matter how much power he gained, it would never be enough.

[@Kalf97]

One of the biggest flaws in my mind has always been that he applied sith thought and teachings to everyone. While things like fear, anger and hatred are great motivators for the few individuals that can become sith, to non-force sensitives it’s a miserable existence and they will ultimately want to be free of it. Another irony is that bane decided there should only be two sith. Two to know the teachings and pass it on. Then sidious goes and starts applying them to everything, not realizing he’s making the army (symbolically the weaker apprentices that band together in banes mind) that will overthrow their master, the rebels that is.

[@dragonace119]

Also wasn't The Rule of Two more because of the Sith Empire's downfall and for the few remaining ones not be discovered? In the end Palpatine's desire for control and power was his undoing.

[@ptolemeeselenion1542]

Hm.

[@dirk903]

Not taking accountability for the flaws of subordinates is a massive sign of personal weekness You have 100% of the power to move/remove/replace/retrain If they arent doing what is expected of them, palpi can deal with that problem... but it is *his* problem Lol

[@deemen7132]

He Feared them so much they couldn't act how they wanted to

[@davidnerswick]

The problem is, you have 20 million sentient species inhabiting 3.2 billion systems. Ever play Civilisation? If so, do you remember how long a single turn could take, especially if you want to micromanage everything so it's "perfect?" Palps basically set his units on "automatic" and then got pissed that they didn't do things the way he would.

[@ptolemeeselenion1542]

Hm.

[@ColdHighway7]

Putting Tarkin in charge of the Outer Rim was a huge mistake. One of the first things the Empire should have done was go for an all out massive crackdown on the various criminal organizations; Golden Dawn, Pikes, Hutts, etc. That would've been the first steps to gain loyalty from the citizens of the Outer Rim but other worlds were organized crime had a strangle hold. Next would've been economic development

[@enthusiasticgrog465]

Palpatine's first mistake was trusting the Dark Side of the Force and not caring about people.

[@jsbcody]

"You may find that having a thing is much different than wanting a thing. It is not logical but it is often true."-Spock from that other SciFi series. Also, Palpatine help increase the corruption in the Republic......corruption that even a Sith Lord Emperor couldn't control.

[@HysjMysj]

Perfectly sums up the Norwegian phrase "Mye vil ha mer". It translates to "A lot wants more", and basically refers to the billionaire "curse" where you still crave more despite already having everything.

[@ladygrey7425]

And Norse history has a tale regarding that to, that of Fafnir and the cursed ring.

[@chadflanaganCFC]

I think it serves Sidious right to have his empire be as big of a failure as it was, Palpatine only got to be emperor on the backs(usually dead backs) of those he betrayed so much so that he gave up the perfect apprentice to help him run the empire, as Dooku would of been an ideal right hand man for the empire, as he was far too weak to be a threat to Palpatine but at the same time all those issues he had with Vader were on things Dooku himself excelled at you can look no further than the inquisitors, compared to Dooku's dark acolytes

[@highlanderc]

The problem with Sidious is that he changed his mind after Vader's defeat in Mustafar. Had Sidious tag teamed Vader on key missions, it would have shown Vader that Palpatine was NOT all he had, it was all he wanted... a father....

[@hafblkhafamazin6179]

Nothing to you might have misinterpreted the motivations of Anakin but the lack of having a father was not his issue... You can't miss something that you never knew or had experience... He was a young child thrust into an amazingly great position of responsibility and the fact of the matter is he was not equipped in terms of being trained properly or just having the mental makeup to accomplish such a task the way it was presented to him so essentially he has always been a lost soul looking for purpose which Jedi gave him more time until he became disillusioned with it... The original script was never meant to have padme being the source of his issues with the Jedi that was a rewrite that they didn't really do a great job of intermingling with the narrative originally filmed, that being the Jedi having a lack of clareview and perception of what was really going on in front of their faces the whole time and more of us losing their way as to what was really the core tenants and philosophy behind the Jedi... The Jedi basically became the Catholic Church except with way less child abuse...

[@darthrevanthedestroyer9003]

To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised. Especially given how the empire ended up.

[@aliastheabnormal]

If only Sidious had access to an army of soldiers based of the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy. An army of Clone troopers perhaps?

[@colbylawson5331]

@@aliastheabnormal Even the best army couldn't help Sidious. Sidious made an Empire in his own image, but he couldn't control the people who were against him, so an army of Clone Troopers is just a silly idea. Plus, any and all troops in the Empire _were_ Clone Troopers.

[@rowdyverboven9286]

​@@colbylawson5331no palps disband then clones watch bad batch

[@darthrevanthedestroyer9003]

@@rowdyverboven9286 you are absolutely correct!

[@colbylawson5331]

@@rowdyverboven9286 I sense Stormtrooper sarcasm.

[@detroitmiracle1797]

But it was the emperors plan that led to the empire's failure at endor. He didn't have more troops on endor, he told his imperial fleet not to attack the rebel fleet, and he sent his personal guards away in his throne room, so they couldn't protect him.

[@jaredschmidt8013]

Palpatine killed his master Darth Plagueis too early. Plagueis’s monetary influence could’ve drastically helped with the Republic’s transition into the empire and his knowledge of the force could’ve taken a lot less stress off of Palpatine in discovering the secret to immortality while simultaneously also running the empire. But Palpatine’s arrogance in believing he could have done it all without Plagueis is untimatelu what lead to the downfall of the empire and Sith.

[@Shadx27]

Sidious, you made the Empire... if you want to know whose fault it is and who failed it, look in a mirror. In one of the books, it was said the King in chess would blame the rest of the pieces if he fell, but shouldn't he blame the player? That was how the dark side dumbed down Palpatine.

[@Kazlide]

Soldiers are not chess pieces. Many times soldiers in real armies are unpredictable, disobey, turn into deserters, betray you and so on.

[@Shadx27]

@@Kazlide Palpatine didn't have that issue though, unless you go Legends and Grand Admiral Zaarin, but he was dealt with. Palpatine chose most of the leaders of the Empire for loyalty and obedience, not skill.

[@krislarsen6546]

The problem is that once victory was in his grasp he let his guard down with the dark side.

[@DamienWongHK]

Vitiate to Palps: "First time?"

[@richietribe9487]

Virgin Palpatine vs Chad Vitiate. Both tried immortality, both ran dissappointing empires. But only one actually achieved his ambition with satisfaction. Vitiate succeeded. His demise ultimatly didn't kill him. Just trapped his immortal spirit

[@-88012]

"Why Sidious was disappointed with the empire?" Cuts to scene of Ewoks taking out an entire legion of his best troops.

[@lynco3296]

Next video idea: Why the Empire completely failed at teaching basic marksmanship skills to stormtroopers

[@Kazlide]

And for next: Why the Republic completely failed at teaching basic marksmanship skills to clone commandos in The Bad Batch? is simple, the plot has to follow a script where the good guys have to win. If the empire had been real, with all the military power they had, they would have wiped out every single spark of rebellion there was.

[@joshuakim5240]

It should be noted that "stormtroopers" are lumped in with common "troopers", which were very different. Stormtroopers were the professionally trained troops (Obi-won even commends their marksmanship), but they were also the tiny minority of the overall Imperial Army's basic troopers which were basically just glorified garrison fillers. Palps after winning the Clone War needed a metric crapload of troops to maintain order, but the clones and droids were both deactivated so he hired a massive wave of randos, gave them minimal training, slapped on some old Clone trooper gear, and told them to stand around and basically be mall cops on a galactic scale. So in other words...Palps went full Soviet with his army and it went exactly as you'd expect.

[@bioshocker3206]

@@joshuakim5240 The idea that the Imperial Army Troopers are poorly trained is also something not supported in the actual lore.

[@HorizonStronghold]

@@joshuakim5240 Obi-wan comments on the accuracy of stormtroopers after he’d been living on a desert planet in the middle of nowhere for decades. The last “stormtrooper” he’d seen was likely still a clone trooper in stormtrooper armor. In every other iteration of the characters, stormtroopers have such legendarily terrible aim even the characters in the show have begun making fun of them for it.

[@VERITASnpg]

First, the Sith succession plan is their undoing. There were bound to be mistakes and errors from his underlings because he was never going to train them to beat him- thus creating competition. But what Sidious experienced is a treatise on the difference between gaining power (The Prince) and day- to -day governing (To his Generals- Kaiser Wilhelm II rebuttal to the Prince). The problem with gaining power through sinister means is that you can never really rest. You wind up governing with knives at your throat. It's easy to get the Jedi out of the way or to make snarky remarks on Space Twitter to get likes- when that's all you have to plan for. Honestly, Sidous lacked a strategy to rule outside of crushing the opposition under his metaphorical thumb. A costly, expensive, and tiring endeavor. He should have immediately got those worlds on some economic stimulus and got food in bellies and jobs to those who might pick up arms- instead of putting all the galaxy's money into a death weapon or relying on poorly trained operatives to carry out crucial missions.

[@supernautacus]

The irony is this. The SITH really ended up paying the most for THEIR lack of Vision.

[@graveyardshift6691]

The irony in that is that he did just that by creating a massive star spanning Imperial Army. Understand that for the thousand years that the Jedi watched over the Republic, the Republic itself hadn't had an army and relied mostly on the planets to govern themselves and relied on the Jedi to handle interplanetary policing. There was no Army of the Republic. The purpose of the Clone Army was to keep the people helpless and unable to defend themselves while a specially designed force did the bulk of the fighting. And even that wasn't enough as proxy wars between systems made up most of the Clone Wars. By creating the Imperial Army, The Imperial Navy, and the Stormtrooper Corps, and make them galaxy spanning security forces, he created a literal moving economy that would funnel Imperial credits through trooper occupations not just in personal spending, but sourcing resources it would consume just being a standing army. The problem was, as Princess Leia put it: "The more you tighten your grip. The more star systems slip through your fingers." You get it right that he had no plan other than crushing the opposition under your thumb and rule by force. That is the Sith Way. Might Makes Right and the Weak serve the Strong who Rule them. This is the one failing of the Sith and why despite their desire to rule, will never succeed at least for the 'forever' they think they're promised. They're so focused on the throne they miss the damaclies lightsaber hanging from a precarious thread pointing straight down at the one siting on it. By the time the realize it's there, it's too late. "He who rules by tyrannical means must always sleep with one eye open."

[@VERITASnpg]

@@graveyardshift6691 good points. I might add that Darth Plaquies would have made a better operational emperor because he was willing to disregard the rule of 2 and would have been content to rule extensively in the shadows and make the decisions to remove the conflict but step up the manipulation. Someone had to realize that you have limited resources to cover an entire galaxy and eventually you’re going to run out of manpower and equipment if you have to fight every battle on every world. And the Death Star is a boondoggle if all it does is blow up planets when you’re just losing those resources in an instant

[@NYPATRIOTBX]

As with all leaders, arrogance is their one inherent weakness. And for all of his wisdom and power, Sidius failed to see this.

[@DarthArachnious]

You have to remember Sidious's original plan for Anakin. To use his natural connection to the Force to rediscover lost powers and create new ones. In surprised Sidious didn't try to clone Anakin and possess a far more powerful body than his own.

[@thegamingenderman]

I think Mustafar threw a wrench into cloning Anakin.

[@arcanegamer2723]

​@@thegamingenderman even then if any undamaged DNA survived he should have tried it

[@kurtpunchesthings2411]

Tbh I think he learned the lesson from what Plageious did messing too much with the Mediclorians

[@arcanegamer2723]

@@kurtpunchesthings2411 if anything palpy didn't learn enough from plaugus after he conquered the galaxy he had very little plan for what to do next beyond immortality

[@JADub87]

LOL, poor Palpatine! I actually feel sorry for him. Unlimited Power is not what it's cracked up to be 😂...an Inquisitor drowned? 😂

[@lucagerulat307]

Sidious: kills every competent person in the Republic because they are a threat. Empire does not have any competent leaders. Sidious: surprised pikachu.

[@markcrum5312]

Ya he had every right to be angry but maybe if sidious actually had his people work together instead of stab each other in the back all of the time it might have been a little bit better

[@Scottington666]

No tyrant wants their immediate underlings to actually like each other. He is constantly wary of their conspiring to rebel against him.

[@dkronikmusic]

You mean be a sith?

[@markcrum5312]

@@Scottington666 that’s true but sidious never had to worry about his people being able to overthrow him without Vader

[@colbylawson5331]

He had zero right to be angry. He created the Empire. He committed genocide. At what point should he have any right to be angry?

[@markcrum5312]

@@colbylawson5331 the only thing he had the right to be angry about was the fact that most of the people he put in power were all idiots then again he would only have himself to blame in this situation.

[@markbenand]

The proverb "wanting is better than having" is very appropriate here. Further, beings like sidious will never be content because they seek to fill a void in their souls with what they think they want rather than what they need. You can never find contentment if you rely on external things for validation.

[@scarease1]

The Empire became the Chains that bound him enslaving him .

[@blanktrigger8863]

His emotions were already those chains.

[@scarease1]

@@blanktrigger8863 Also agree on that to Both his Emotions and his Empire end up chaining him .

[@AustynSN]

“Having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting.” -Spock

[@magnusdiridian]

Imagine how he must have felt watching the ewoks

[@daniels7907]

How many of his minions even knew what the Empire's secret purpose was? Being prone to secrecy and hoarding information for himself, Palpatine was too self-absorbed to consider that minions who have no idea what the real goal is will instead focus on what they see as their objectives. He also expected the population of the galaxy to simply submit to his will. In many ways the problem was his general contempt for everybody else. Those who toed the Imperial line were often rigid and unimaginative. Those opposed to the Empire insisted on rebelling against him. But, at the same time, he couldn't risk allowing any rivals, which meant that those who were too competent had to be watched, and if necessary eliminated.

[@spectrezero6834]

It's almost like ruling 3,200,000,000 potentially habitable systems and all of the various sentient beings effectively is too much for one body to accomplish be they good or evil, dictatorship or republic. :)

[@WSFM_Rex]

That’s the moral lesson of Star Wars at this point

[@blanktrigger8863]

The republic could do it, inherently, that's why it was so successful for so long, but it requires that everyone is good for it to remain forever. The only system that can achieve maximal efficiency is delegation.

[@RAAM855]

Which is why the Rule of Two is holding The Sith back then before it was implimentef

[@DarkEinherjar]

There's also the fact that Sidious needed to keep the facade of the good and kind Palpatine, so he could never get his own hands dirty outside of very secret operations.

[@kypli1511]

Ruling with fear only works until people have nothing left to fear.

[@Psych1_-]

This actually shows that Sidious would have been better off with Doku as his apprentice instead of Vader. He was very motivated in ruling a powerful Empire, the same as Sidious. He was a natural leader and could have ran a lot of things for Sidious.

[@enthusiasticgrog465]

To quote a far greater man than Palpatine (a man who could have easily defeated and humbled him) - "Fear is an incompetent teacher." The Federation and Starfleet broke the back of the Dominion, it could easily hand the Empire it's ass.

[@Whit-wy2ow]

Lmao it's funny that sidious was so disappointed in Vader when honestly, he stayed true to his base character. Vader/Anakin never wanted to be in charge of anything, he always wanted to right wrongs and protect people he valued. The empire was always going to be completely irrelevant to him. It was a means to stop and prevent certain crimes, but Anakin didn't care about the means, only the result. The fact that sidious chose to ignore this fundamental character trait, then get mad about it later? Cue surprised Pikachu

[@djnavarro3212]

I always knew that Darth Sidious was disappointed in his Empire. Right after he renamed the Republic into the Empire I knew that he would be disappointed at it sometimes

[@vortega472]

For Palpatine's main problem, I'll put it in the words of a wiser man than I: “You won, Walter. You got the job. Do yourself a favor and learn to take yes for an answer.“

[@anthonyortiz350]

Could you please elaborate on what you mean by that?

[@bbfissingle1715]

Sidious was a man with a god complex in an empire of mortals and finite resources. He was always going to be a bottomless cup.

[@hakim6933]

This is the ultimate proof that "power" is an illusion of control

[@Sunstar808]

Palpatine didn’t want Uber powerful force users around him so he got what he paid for in the quality of The Inquisitors. Too bad so sad Dark Lord.

[@wolfsbanealphas617]

Yeah in dark empire he got Uber force users a d the moment they could they betrayed him

[@AmericanCalabar]

It was the goal of the sith but Sidiuos's plans went beyond ruling a galaxy he seeks to become a god. UNLIMITED power! If he wasn't angry and unsatisfied, he wouldn't be SITH!

[@Koellenburg]

... lol that video makes Robot Chicken Palpatine so much more belivable :D

[@gumdeo]

It seems, in your anger, you made a crappy Empire. "Noooooooooooooooooooooo!"

[@oron61]

Palpatine failed half because he could only teach the empire to fear him, never getting enough of his people to love him. Second, his system rewarded followership in the image of the leader, making his middlings and underlings as utterly selfish as he was. Palpatine clearly did not display an ostensible vision except to rule, which is why the only people on board with him were also there to rule over others. He gave no cover-story or ideology that could work in parallel with his own goals, so the empire had no bridge crew, forcing him to steer the ship himself. If he would have crafted an ideology that worked as an allegory to his own quest for immortality and vision, and then have embodied this set of goals, rather than ideologizing himself and creating a pure cult of personality from the start, he could have gotten a solid grip before he began molding his world. Darth Sidious should have vanished the day the Emperor arose, never to have been heard of in the criminal underground again, and the Emperor should have launched a crusade against the outer crime lords from borrom to top.

[@greasymoth4172]

Sidious: "The empire sucks." My brother in christ, YOU made it!!!

[@cancerstinks1]

This whole operation was your idea

[@johnvosarogo1785]

Sidious may have been disappointed with his empire but this channel should be proud of its content. Yall got the best SW deep dives I've seen so far. No frills, just straight info in a digestible package. Respect

[@ReiMari12]

It's almost like building a system around ruthless competition and cut throat intrigue in a bad idea.

[@Sasuke81a]

The First Order would've been only a taste what Sidious's envisioned Empire could've been as he rules as their god emperor. However, this is the reason for the Final Order and Operation Cinder was to destroy and burn away the flaws of his existing empire even if it means that thousands of worlds gets destroyed.

[@robertdole5391]

The thirst for power is never quenched

[@comradeblin256]

Sidious= why i am surrounded by fools and incompetence? Also sidious when shit happens= i'll let someone else handle it, i am the EMPEROR after all!

[@dexter1009]

(Sidious spending possibly decades formulating a plan to overthrow the republic and eradicate the jedi and finally achieving both those goals) also Sidious "I hate it"

[@rikutheguru4674]

Talk about irony. Imagine winning the ultimate game, and not be happy you’ve won…

[@TheEmpressPalpatine]

All who build empires find out they are not as perfect as envisioned. Lenin found this out. Stalin was more rough about it. If your expectations are realistic, you will be less disappointed. Another thing, Palpatine had no revolutionary party unlike Lenin or Hitler. He got a hold of power through maneuvering and deception. He wore a false face even to his close supporters. After becoming emperor, he was another person. He would likely lose followers. He could gain others, but there was no time to organize them. If he had wanted a more solid takeover, he would have had to form a revolutionary party. He would then have had a well oiled machine by the time he took over (forming a state within a state). He seemed to be a person who wanted to pursue esoteric knowledge. I would wonder, does he want to try the empire thing again or perhaps spare himself the headache and just go after the knowledge he wanted.

[@NightBane345]

I always feel that, if Palpatine had kept the clones around, either with Jango template, or some new candidate, he'd have an easier time to control worlds. And could still have planets send troops to him, but twist the truth of having clones, being for shock and awe, keeping his people safe, while allowing them to serve, among so many other lies to inflate the ego of the Empire. Whatever made people trust Palpatine having the best of the peoples interest in mind

[@mattturner6017]

*Imperial Agents are incompetent* Emperor: "How can I run an empire with such useless minions?" *Imperial Agents are very competent* Emperor: "They're going to try to overthrow me. I should get rid of them soon."

[@damaddog8065]

This is to close to real life, this is how all Authoritarians end up when they get their way.

[@TK199999]

In Legends Sidious felt that Thrawn was his most capable underling. But at the same time he feared him because of that capability. So that was always Sidious's failing, Sith Empires always collapse because of the failings of authoritarian regimes. They can't function as efficient competent organizations and still be oppressively. Every Sith Empire after the Great War wanted to recreate the restored Sith Empire. Not understanding it only survived because of its united goal of revenged against he Republic. But once it got it, even just few major victories over it. Then like all Sith Empires before and after, the restored Sith Empire turned on itself and eventually collapsed.

[@kic8523]

I find it funny that it took him 30 years to bring down a 1000 year jedi rule, but only had control for 20 years or so.

[@SeeAndDreamify]

If the goal was to acquire knowledge without restrictions, it might have been a better idea to instead mold the republic into a slightly less regulated version of itself, or possibly just having the separatists win. Then you could give up your position as chancellor and instead start running a megacorporaton. This megacorporation could at first focus on things that help make either the republic or whatever world order you have function better, building up strong status and respect similarly to what the Jedi order did, and then slowly transition to pursuing your actual goals, one of the first being immortality. This way you would have the vast resources of a major galactic megacorp at your disposal, while all the glue that holds society together would be handled by others without any need for your direction most of the time. You would probably still face some resistance, but nothing on the scale of a full rebellion, not directly against you anyway. With more of your focus directed at your goals rather than scattered across everything needed to run an empire, you should be able to find more competent underlings for the most important tasks.

[@felixthescholarlytitan4437]

Ah, but that’s just smart planning and being willing to allow cooperative actions between your underlings. The problem of so many Sith is that they are driven to micromanage and rule by fear, all the while they bulk at cooperating and helping others. Ironically this then normally leads to them over extending their reach like ol palpie did, or have incompetent/untrustworthy staff again like Palp.

[@SeeAndDreamify]

@@felixthescholarlytitan4437 I suppose having your power be based on hatred makes it difficult to steal good ideas from your enemies.

[@hoplophobic]

A snake rots from the head down. If the Empire is inefficient and incompetent it's because Palpy created a system where that could flourish.

[@MrBROTHERFELDER]

Even in the real world, the wicked usually end up hanging themselves when given enough rope.

[@mstcrow5429]

Find it very difficult to believe a brilliant man of near infinite deception and manipulation, involved in politics for decades, would suddenly forget about human nature once emperor.

[@NinjaBuddha503]

Sheev Palpatine reminds me of Kreia, both held the galaxy by the throat and were still unhappy.

[@mr.boomguy]

Sidious had eveything to do with the failing of the empire. You may hide your own emotions and ambitions to others, but the thing that reflects them the ones you chose. And he chose the rich families who went to the millitary for either prestige or for their ego or both. He rarely value intelligence and independent thought, not bothering to gain their loyalty and therefor ended up with arrogante backstabbing and foolish admirals and generals.

[@deemen7132]

He wanted Yes men

[@mr.boomguy]

@@deemen7132 Yup. And Yes Men can't/won't critique you for your manegement and how to improve it. Like how Sidious rejecting Thrawn's critisism about the Death Star

[@blanktrigger8863]

Just like irl tyrants.

[@Wishmaster787]

​@@deemen7132 He may have lightning and telekinesis but underneath that he just a sad little weasel of a man.

[@Issa.nicholas]

This just gives me the vibe of “Reality can be whatever I want” “Reality is often disappointing.”

[@thibaud1832]

"And then Sheev Palpatine realized that maybe the real Empire, was the friends he made along the way"

[@sharkythe1st1]

Ah, Palpatine is just an old man who's grumpy because things don't turn the the way he wants them to.

[@dreadrath]

In a way, Sidious kind of screwed himself in killing off Dooku. Had he kept the count around (Not as an apprentice, he could still have Vader/Anakin for that) but as an administrator or charismatic figure, he'd have had a very competent individual who could've helped shape things more to their liking. Dooku was already all for building the empire, plus Dooku would've been far less likely to attempt betrayal with both Sidious and Vader always looking over his shoulder. Really, Vader wasn't cut out for that kind of work, all the scheming and whatnot, he could do it, but it just wasn't his wheelhouse.

[@Oleg_Odarchenko]

Dude, PLEASE, give the title of that mysterious music at the beginning

[@XenonPrimeSBSV]

Sideous was incapable of building or nurturing anything, thus he failed to build his Empire and his ego too great to commit to a new Great Plan.

[@AlfredoGarcia-bc7ot]

Happy May the 4th everyone! May the force be with you!

[@TheNeoVariable]

It honestly makes sense. Imagine your machine of domination, power, and efficiency being undone by teddy bears, your best and brightest dying in known and unknown ways, and the pinnacle of your power being shot down by a ragtag force of people.

[@rimok.2765]

If Anakin doesn't try to take the high ground and goes back and trains more the Empire wins for the moment though he probably kills palpatine in the future just in a different way and becomes emperor himself. Pretty sure Lucas said he would have been way more powerful than anyone but lost a lot of force power when he lost his limbs and became deformed.

[@rocketraccoon1976]

05:44 Palpatine should have knocked up ole Jar Jar. Governor or Grand Moff Jar Jar Binks. 😁

[@lonelychameleon3595]

My brother in darkness you made the Galactic Empire

[@akale2620]

With victory, my chains are broken. Sheev was born rich, always had strength and power. Got his final victory by executing order 66. Then got weighed down by the chains of responsibility.

[@Toldoris]

There Are Only Two Tragedies. One Is Not Getting What One Wants, and the Other Is Getting It

[@an-animal-lover]

You're forgetting the Third Tragedy. The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise

[@Toldoris]

@@an-animal-lover Great comment!

[@xhagast]

In my opinion the basic problem was that empires are always hard to rule. If Palpatine had been a wise, efficient, just ruler he would have had just as many problems.

[@Foebane72]

Palpatine's elite forces being defeated by a bunch of teddy bears would've been the last straw for him, if he'd lived to hear about it!

[@theodoremccarthy4438]

In Sideous’ frustration we see the ultimate flaw in Bane’s Rule of Two and focus on secrecy. With only one apprentice and the need to stay hidden the Sith lost the arts of leadership. They forgot how to cultivate skilled followers and delegate responsibilities to them. The Empire was doomed from the start because Sideous himself never had the skills to make it work.

[@Transilvanian90]

Palpatine was an extremely smart and powerful individual whose vision overtook his actual ability to make it work. The Empire was basically a giant bureaucracy full of incompetents that couldn't live up to the dark utopia Palpatine envisioned. By the end, his ambition also outgrew even his considerable ability, and he made a crucial mistake.

[@paulpritchard206]

May the 4th and force be with you all have a great day and Star Wars day

[@shoresean1237]

Ruthless Imperial Governor: For this uprising, destroy their main granary! Palpatine: Idiot! Even slaves need to eat! Messenger: Indeed they did - my lord - they ate him. Palpatine: See if we can appoint the head chef as the new Governor.

[@karlmiller7188]

Wonderful job, per usual.

[@worldhearth1]

Reminds me of a quote from a Sith Empire rebel in TOR: "The Empire is corrupt." Um... it's run by Sith. What do you expect? If you create an empire using dark side methods - bribery, fear, corruption, murder, xenophobia - it's always going to be held back by those dynamics. Only direct patronage from the top could allow someone of Thrawn's caliber to rise through the ranks, and even then, he's always by nature a threat to the system, because he's not going to toe the Empire's often self-destructive ideological line or refrain from alienating the corrupt sycophants around him.

[@BierBart12]

The ultra star destroyer copypasta is the only thing that comes to mind whenever I hear about Palps' megalomania. A 260km long ship (Executor was 9km) meant for extragalactic travel. I can't find the copypasta, but it was an engineer's log of the absolute chaos inside the ship as nobody could find their way anywhere, whole departments turning into defensive tribes while half the ship lost power

[@venkelos6996]

I can't say I feel too bad for the Emperor, in this regard, and it might purely be a case of the side effects of narcissism, where he can't acknowledge his own fault in events, but I'm confused about how he was surprised? Palpatine was many things, but he was not dumb. He made a life goal out of finding useful people, who he could manipulate, gauging how useful they could be, getting that use out of them, and then probably being ready to slip in the next variant of them when they outlived their usefulness. He was actually usually very good at reading such people, and knew what they thought, wanted, and how they'd behave; that's why his scheme did work as well as it did, so these "shortcomings" many of them had, he should have known about, and even been planning with, as it kept them under his influence, and less a threat to him, directly. He wouldn't usually want someone more like himself because he knew such a person wouldn't be satisfied until they were the top, just as he had been. As for Vader, I'll never understand the current dichotomy of them. Vader had no purpose, and Sidious didn't give him one. He was half a man trapped in a cage, be that his suit, his servitude, or his loneliness, and Sidious wasn't going to fix that. A happier Vader would be weaker, and a stronger Vader would be a threat. The fact that Vader didn't want to rule anything, or seek the higher mysteries of the magical part of the Force, was what kept him from dogging his master's footsteps, waiting to replace him, and try his own hand at it. I also get that Palpatine was repeatedly disappointed by Vader, and that Sith aren't kind, so I can see him constantly belittling Vader, or making sarcastically kind comments, but he didn't give Vader a new place to fill. "Be my enforcer, but not against threats that might actually require a you-level response." "Be my underling, but have no say of your own, or reason to care." Palpatine never gives me an idea of what he wanted Vader to do, that Vader would find fulfilling, were he just willing to shut up and be obedient. Before he was a good attractant for Luke, I really don't get why he didn't just kill Vader, and replace him with something better, especially since someone of Vader's ability was hardly needed, save as a trophy, and anyone close to that, bur without the wrakneses, again, becomes a threat, and we already see that the Emperor bith never plans to be totally unthreatened, and isn't prepared for Eben lesser threats, at times.

[@HiddenMis7]

I'm happy you started including sources because I thought you were making this stuff up

[@tribalwestcoastartenterpri603]

One day they will make a movie about him

[@Robert-hz9bj]

“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard” -The Great Khan

[@xiaolanwang4264]

You know what... Palps had a vision. Also can I just say that Palpatine actually feels very relatable in this vid...

[@veermudambi5795]

I know right? I think we’ve all been there.

[@alsimmonshellspawn6021]

Exar Kun had over 10,000 years of sith acknowledge magic rituals archemy lightsaber skills on his possession ones his temple 🛕 was destroyed everything was lost I highly doubt papaltine was able to recuperate that acknowledge

[@errormessage1611]

No disrespect but could you please try to fix your grammar because it was hard to read what you were saying even though I understood what you meant.

[@RAAM855]

Nihilius: Why rule the galaxy when you can eat it?

[@ronniewestherly3435]

First he should have stopped the crooks in the empire and then put people in positions because of their merit not money or family names.