Summary

Palpatine may be consider the sterling baddie of theStar Warsfranchise , but there are many moments that evoke he was n’t the flair everybody intend he is . Although Emperor Palpatine like to claim everything was proceed as he had foreseen , in realitythe Emperor was particularly skilled at reacting to unexpected circumstances . The clone United States Army , for example , was commissioned byJedi Master Sifo - Dyas to protect the Jedi against the Sith ; Palpatine ascertain the opportunity , taking over the project and ensuring theOrder 66programming was implant within every clon .

Darth Sidious also excelled at pick out his agents with care . According to Charles Soule , Ramon Rosanas , and Rachelle Rosenberg’sStar Wars # 7 , the Emperor believe only two of his top strategists could have easily drive back the Rebellion ; Grand Moff Tarkin andGrand Admiral Thrawn . Palpatine ’s Holy Scripture suggest he allowed his most skilled police lieutenant a lot of room to operate , trusting in their skill and judgment . He had good reason to delegate decisiveness to wiser mind , because there are some key consequence in theStar Warssaga that hint the Emperor was far too reckless .

10Palpatine Blew 1,000 Years Of Secrecy On A Failed Attack

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Palpatine inherited a plan that had been a thousand years in the making , and he almost fuck up it with one reckless decision . The Sith had operated in arcanum since Darth Bane install theRule of Twoa thousand years ago , and the Jedi believe them extinct . As seen inStar war : Episode I - The Phantom Menace , Palpatine decided to flub it all by bring out an learner he was n’t even peculiarly interested about .

Darth Maul was a instrument to Palpatine , nothing more , and Palpatine post him on an badly - give notice mission to support the Trade Federation ’s occupation of Naboo . This drew Maul into fight with a Jedi Master for what seems to be the first time - and , worse still , Maul went up against one of the few Jedi Masters who could survive a first encounter with the Sith Apprentice . By the clock time of the prequels , few Jedi excelled at lightsaber dueling , because they had n’t experience the need for propagation . Qui - Gon had been train by Dooku , however , who loved duel .

A thousand years of secrecy , blown because Darth Maul revealed himself to the Jedi .

Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars The Phantom Menace, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars A New Hope, Daisy Ridley as Rey from Star Wars The Force Awakens

A thousand old age of secrecy , blown because Darth Maul divulge himself to the Jedi . Even if both Qui - Gon and Obi - Wan Kenobi had fallen during the Battle of Naboo , the prequel eraJedi Councilwould have logically derive Qui - Gon ’s word of advice of a Sith were dependable . This aspect ofThe Phantom Menaceis one massive Palpatine mistake , even though he made it work to his vantage .

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9Palpatine Displayed Sith Sculptures Around His Apartments

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Palpatine seems to have liked the idea of cover in unmingled pot - although his idea of hiding will a set to be desired . Sith artifacts litter Palpatine ’s officeas Chancellor of the Exchequer , the very bureau where he regularly host Jedi Masters and member of the Jedi Council for both stately and informal meetings . It ’s easy to think a member of the Council growing bored during the meeting , glancing around the room , and suddenly doing a double - take as they realizedthey were effectively seat in a Sith museum .

Sith artifacts in Palpatine ’s function

Ancient Sith smell urns

Keanu Reeves looking over one shoulder as John Wick in Ballerina

Bronzium statues of the Four Sages of Dwartii , one contain Palpatine ’s lightsaber

A bas - stand-in of the Great Hyperspace War , a crucial battle between Jedi and Sith

A Sith chalice from the forbidden planet Malachor , used for rituals and meditation

Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefanie looking horrified in Final Destination Bloodlines

This may seem absurd , but recentStar Warsnovels have suggest at the reason for Palpatine ’s apparent unwariness . Sith are fueled by ira and hatred , and there were occasion when Palpatine struggled to keep his fury in bridle . When this happened , he would wait until the meetings were over , and he ’d seal his chambers . Then , according to E.K. Johnston’sQueen ’s Hope , he would let loose a barrage fire of Force Lightning against dark side artifacts that could absorb his mightiness without damage . He’d still have been well keeping these concealed behind a screen or partitioning , though .

8Palpatine Even Risked Using The Force In The Jedi Temple

Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston

Set during the Clone Wars , E.K. Johnston ’s novelQueen ’s ShadowrevealsPalpatine even used the Force in the Jedi Templeitself . Displeased when Padmé Amidala interrupt his plans by dislocate aside on a mission , Palpatine pressures her doppelganger Sabé using the sullen side of the Force . He ’s so open that Sabé even suspects what he ’s done , although she send away her suspicions .

If he did it once , he no doubt did it on infinite other occasions too .

Palpatine was intelligibly confident in his mysterious Sith power to conceal himself from the Jedi . This , however , shows an cocksureness bordering on cockiness , one that could have so easily backfire . What is in truth noteworthy , though , is just how small it took to goad the Sith Lord into using his tycoon like this ; if he did it once , he no doubt did it on countless other occasion too . In this case , all it would have taken was for Sabé to bring up her suspicion to Padmé;Darth Sidious ' total deception could have been undo at the very commencement of the Clone Wars .

Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars

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7Palpatine Deliberately Antagonized The Zillo Beast

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The monstrous creature known as theZillo Beastfirst look inStar Wars : The Clone Warsseason 2 , episode 18 , and it directly caught Palpatine ’s attention . The Zillo Beast have the kaiju - corresponding power to absorb energy and grow in sizing as it did so , and Palpatine coveted that world power . Unfortunately for the Sith Lord , the Zillo Beast was able to perceive the terror he posed . It determine out on a rampage across Coruscant to kill him .

This was a ludicrous gamble on Palpatine ’s part , not least becausehe had no theme whether the Jedi and the clones could vote down the Zillo Beast . While Palpatine could sure enough have bested it himself , he ’d have had to expend the Force to do so , and he ’d have discover his straight nature . Palpatine ’s lustfulness for business leader blind him to the risk .

6Palpatine Almost Bankrupted The Empire Building Superweapons

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Palpatine seems to have had something of a fetish for superweapons . Darth Vader may have believe the power to ruin planet was nothing equate to the dark side , but the Emperor seems to have wanted both . He shovel Brobdingnagian resource into monolithic superweapon projects , with twist of the Death Star begin even before the Empire was establish , and plans to transmute the kyber - robust planet Ilum into Starkiller Base began within a year ofStar warfare : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith .

It ’s of import to understand the economical wallop of this , though . As see inStar Wars : The Bad Batch , the Empire shut down countless other projects so they could focalize resourcefulness on Imperial superweapons - and , given their superweapons only ever oversee to fuel a brace of nip before they were destroy , many of these projects would be wise investments . Star Wars Rebelsrevealed Grand Admiral Thrawn ’s tactical ideas - ranging from Interdictor Cruisers to more modern TIE Defenders - competed directly with the superweapons for funding .

Palpatine was lucky the Death Star was finished in time .

Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Return of the Jedi

Palpatine ’s obsession with superweapons had another outcome , though . Imperial resources were hive off to manufacture these , and his political opposite began to notice the unknown movements of resource . Rogue One : A Star Wars Storyrevealed Saw Gerrera in finicky was very close to joining the dots together and uncover the Death Star ; Palpatine was lucky it was finish in time .

5Palpatine Disbanded The Senate Too Quickly

A New Hope

Palpatine never like checks and Balance on his powerfulness , and this always made the fact he took 20 years to disband the Senate seem rather odd . Part of it was that Palpatine seems to have like the political games , but there was another face to it ; the Senate dish as a useful cock to ensure his enemies ' focus stay on political strategy rather than unlimited rebellion . Palpatine only disbanded the Senate when the Death Star was quick .

This is revealed in Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca’sDarth Vader#1 , where the Emperor scold Darth Vader after the Death Star ’s destruction . " Now , we no longer have the Senate to hold order , " Palpatine fumed . " We do not have the Death Star to force it . Our greatest weapon is gone , our production is in ashes . We are besieged . In all these years , we have never skirted closer to catastrophe … "

Palpatine would have been wiser to waitress until the Rebel Alliance had been destroyed .

Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious

Palpatine waited 20 years to dissolve the Senate , and ironically he rush along it . He ’d have been wiser to wait until the Rebel Alliance had been ruin , give him elbow room to maneuver when the Death Star failed . It seems thedestruction of the Death Star affect Palpatine ’s planseven more than viewers realized .

4Palpatine’s Whole Endor Trap For The Rebels Is Absurd

Return of the Jedi

Palpatine think only two of his lieutenant could have turned the tide against the Rebel Alliance - Grand Admiral Thrawn and Grand Moff Tarkin . Both were lost around the beginning of the Galactic Civil War , with Thrawn deport to a distant galax courtesy of Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger , and Tarkin kill in the end of the first Death Star . This perhaps explains why , inReturn of the Jedi , Palpatine place together the most ridiculous strategic plan in the chronicle ofStar Wars .

Rather than wait until the 2d Death Star was complete , Palpatine seems to have encouraged news of its construction to leak out to the Rebels . He hop to lure them into a gob , and he made himself the lure , confab the Death Star so they ’d consider they could neutralize the Empire with one flak . There ’s an sometime saying about not lay all your eggs in one basket , but presumably there ’s noStar Warsequivalent to that saying .

Palpatine would have die on the Death Star even if Darth Vader had n’t turned against him

Star Wars

Why did Palpatine make this tactical blunder ? The most probable scenario is that he lost centering , becoming obsessed with Luke Skywalker ; he pick up visions of Luke stand before him in the Death Star ’s throne room , and cast off carefulness to the air current . It was literally a fatal mistake , because Palpatine would have die on the Death Star even if Darth Vader had n’t turned against him .

3The Emperor’s Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker Confrontation Makes No Sense

It does n’t help that the Emperor ’s entire scheme inReturn of the Jediis self - patently flawed . Palpatine goad his current prentice into a duel with the one he desire - a strategy he ’s used before - and seems blissfully ignorant things could make for out in a way he has n’t foreseen . Although he knows full well Darth Vader ’s allegiance is split , it never occurs to him that Vader could wrick on him .

This is Palpatine ’s dandy flaw;bound to the dark side , convince the darkness is supreme , he never realized the top executive of love . Luke Skywalker inspired a selfless human action of dear from his father , something the Emperor could n’t anticipate and plan for , and it threw all his program askew . While it is honest Palpatine had cloning plans as a back - up , these were n’t quick , and he would never again wield as much power as inReturn of the Jedi .

2Palpatine Should Never Have Based His Fleet On Exegol

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Somehow Palpatine returned , but his schemes inStar Wars : The upgrade of Skywalkerare easily about as flawed as hisReturn of the Jedimasterplan . There was a reason Palpatine himself was based on the ancient Sith redoubt of Exegol ; George Mann’sDark Legendsrevealed it is a powerful dark side vergence , a home where the veil between life and dying is outstandingly thin . Palpatine ’s cultists took reward of this when they summoned his intent from the underworld of the Force , and placed it within a ( lame ) clone body .

Palpatine was unable to leave Exegol , due to the limitations of his new form . However , curiously , he choose to reconstruct his full fleet of Xyston class Star Destroyers on the major planet , even though its inclement weather condition meant they would be ground there . The Resistance took full reward of this , and Palpatine ’s fleet was destroyed . He ’d have been wiser to base them elsewhere , on another less baffling satellite in the Unknown Regions .

1Palpatine Keeps Using Force Lightning, When He Knows Other Tricks Would Win

Sith have access to a wide kitchen range of dark side powers , but Palpatine seems to love Force Lightning - even though the movies have leaven time and again that it can be turned against him . Chronologically , Mace Windu was the first to do this , successfully reflecting Darth Sidious ' lightning back at him and leaving his torso hideously scarred . Butnobody pulled it off better than Rey , who literally killed the Emperor with his own ability .

To be fair to Palpatine , there have been intimation Force Lightning is addictive . It involves an emotional spill of hatred and anger , and blasting it out must be a tremendously enjoyable experience for a Sith Lord . Still , by the time ofStar Wars : The emanation of Skywalker , Palpatine should surely have learned . TheStar Warsstory would have end very other than if he ’d just cracked Rey ’s skull with a telekinetically - lifted rock and roll .

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