Best Star Wars Character of All Time Series (Chancellor Palpatine Character Analysis) Part 1 

Who do you think is the greatest Villain in Star Wars and why?

fun fact: In Qui-gon's funeral, when it shows Palpatine, there's only two people between him and Anakin; Obi-Wan and Padme

We will watch your Palpatine series with great interest.

"For the final touch Palpatine manipulates Jar Jar to do his bidding." That's exactly what Jar Jar wants you to think.

Ian McDirmid did an amazing job as this character. Iconic

I've been looking forward to this.

I love how Palpatine's Arc can explain to us how liberty dies by populism or when the institution becomes blind to events and rather than safe us from dictatorship, it prefers to preserve itself as Jedi Council did it.

It's very appreciated how you're able to keep the analysis so objective. No critiques or comments on the quality of the movies or writing, no jabs at weird plots or dialogue. Just critical character analysis.

I think splitting analysis videos in parts is a good idea for characters with whom it would take more than half an hour to cover their arcs and roles.

My thoughts when this popped up in my recomendations: A surprise to be sure but a welcome one

"hes playing chess and everyone else checkers..." lol that set me off! Haa! LOL!

"Once the Sith know what the Jedi desire. The Sith simply align Sith goals with the Jedi's desires and allow things to proceed, as the Sith have planned."

George Lucas is clearly a student of history. Palpatine seems to be a well put together combination of Hitler, Stalin, Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Caligula and Diocletian. George also seems to have mirrored historical events when writing about Palpatines plans, for example, Order 66 is an obvious copy of the Night of the Long Knives. This is very effective, as it makes the events in an otherwise unrealistic fantasy land seem very plausible. The fans who criticised the prequels obviously knew Fuck all about the world around them to not see that

Someone has been playing Battlefront 2 2005. That day we realized that the Jedi could be fooled. And if they could be fooled, then they could be killed. Great video you earned sub

Funny how we can recognize and appreciate this in a movie, but can’t see it happening in our own society. Star Wars wasn’t an entertaining story, it was a warning about our future.

That's why to me, the prequels are awesome. It's Palpatine's story overall, with Anakin having his life manipulated and ruined, bleeding out to all others. The story is awesome, it just wasn't executed that great.

14:20 Au contraire, this works to his advantage, because Gunray's anger at the betrayal pushes him for all out Separatism, and into Dooku's hands.

Palpatine also underestimated Qui Gon and Obi Wan tho. Maul wasn‘t able to stop them on Tatooine and that messed up the plan big time.

Impressive. Most impressive.

It's good you emphasize Padme's role so much. One of the character that deserved more screen time (alongside Dooku, Windu or Grevious, but her role is more important)

Great video. One thing I feel is actually underrated in the prequels is how Palpatine comes to power. I was expecting massive takeovers and such. But he wins over the Jedi by subtle and more clever methods

"Chancellor Palpatine" sure is a weird way of saying Jar Jar Binks.

The thing I love about palpatine is that we all know that he is the villain, but can also see why the other characters cannot. That makes the reveal all the more powerful

What I am convinced of is that Sheev's natural appearance from the beginning is that of corrupted flesh, white hair and Sith taint in his eyes along with a scratchy voice. I feel that he uses a dark force power to hide his real appearance under the visage we see. We can hear the voice coming from the masked visage on occasion. "Do it!" for example. Mace Windu is no match for a dark Lord who no longer needs a lightsaber and holds stooping to its use as a debasement. If he can give Anakin specific nightmares to push him bit-by-bit to the dark side, then holding Windu just at bay long enough for Anakin to arrive, attack Windu of his own accord and complete his fall is no great effort. Watch the duel and see Windu outmatched until it comes time to discard his saber so as to appear unarmed before Anakin, feigning weakness, only to proclaim "Unlimited power!" two seconds after being 'so weak...' Watch how quickly his hair restraightens as he gets up and composes himself. Windu was never a contest.

I love videos like this because none of this was hidden in the prequels. True they got fleshed out significantly over 7 seasons and 2 additional films. But the context is there in that trilogy that was SO DERIDED by critics and fans

You never fail to amaze me with your excellent in-depth analysis! I have not seen another video that puts us in Palpatine's POV so well, and explains so clearly how he achieved his goals every step of the way. At times, this video makes me feel like I am Palpatine playing his 'Game of Thrones' and empathize with him. Ironically, he, has zero empathy hahaha Palpatine, in my humble opinion, is the greatest villain of all times in the cinema. A being of pure evil, much like the Devil himself, who corrupts the good, magnifies the bad, and manipulates essentially all of existence to his use. Also, I know, and I can see you don't like the Sequel trilogy and do not acknowledge them, but I do think the idea of Palpatine behind everything, his Contingency Plan in Final Order, including the manipulation of Ben Solo from birth is a brilliant twist. Also, I think Kylo Ren is a rather interesting character worthy to be analyzed!

I think that Palpatine's machinations on Naboo go deeper than many believe. There are signs that, before leaving Coruscant, Jar Jar was supposed to be replaced with a shapeshifter (Although this seems to have been dropped due to Jar Jar not being popular). If that had been the case, Palpatine knew what Padme was planning and urged the Trade Federation to attack, right into the trap Padme was setting. He made sure the Trade Federation lost, because he needed a prolonged war. I wish this had actually been allowed to go forward in the prequel trilogy, because it would all have made Palpatine far more insidious and clever than before. Yes, even in those moments where it seemed Palpatine was miscalculating or lacked full control of the situation, there was no miscalculation and everyone simply continued to dance within the Sith Lord's palm. Padme saved Naboo only because it furthered Palpatine's plan that she succeeded. *From beginning to end, everything had moved according to his design.*

10/10 would watch again can't wait for part 2

Is anything known about Palpatine's past, his youth for example? Why was he so vicious and power-hungry? Other villains in Star Wars are more ambiguous - as far as I know, Palpatine is the only ultimate evil one.

Gooooood It's surprising how the genius of the character goes over people's heads. It's been seen before many times in fiction, but Palpatine's plans in episodes 1-6 often get lost in the details. It's a little obscure, but that's because we're not seeing his perspective. It's only by paying close attention that you actually see the plot, and how he stays in control no matter how often it gets derailed. A good strategist makes a win-win situation, and always has a plan B that still gets them what they want- the battle of Naboo was lost, but he still won. Anakin was captured on Geonosis and Padme survived the campaign, but Palpatine got his army and his war. He wasn't able to overpower Mace and Yoda in combat, but he didn't need to. He lost the Death Star, but Vader kept the Empire on the upper hand. A good politician knows how to appeal to the base of power, and how to bring people together to support them- the double role thus got everyone to dance to his tune weather they wanted to or not. Potential threats are limited, derailed, and thus can be dealt with. It's not until Luke throws a spanner in the works that his plans don't work out. A good villain isn't just powerful and scary- they also have to be smart; that intelligence gives them an extra power. A wizard is scary. An army is scary. But what's scarier is a wizard who doesnt' need to shoot fireballs to get his way, and someone who can lead an army completely undercover. It's the subtlety that adds terror; you don't know you're playing his game until it's too late. Thus while Palpatine is indeed based on Hitler, Nixon, and Napoleon, his flaws are subdued and his successes increased. Nixon made a rookie mistake despite all his under the table smarts, and it backfired. Hitler and Napoleon were never in control of their enemies and simply became overwhelmed. Palpatine goes one step further. I feel that as Lucas developed the character between Episodes 4 and 6, he added in more archetypical characters, more ancient inspirations- he's Iago to Anakin's Othello in the end. Eventually Palpatine became Satan himself, perched on Luke's shoulder in the climax of the series.

As well as Sauron and Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort!

Impressive most impressive

Wow this is a fantastic analysis. I'm particularly impressed with how much you compared palpatine and Padme. It was a fantastic note that palpatine accepted additional power while Padme rejected it.

This was so well thought out. Excellent work man

If Ian MacDiarmid had been more movie famous, that nose would go down in movie history with Bob Hope and Jimmy Drurante. You notice the nose in both Sidious and Shiv Palpatine. It really sticks out!

Fantastic analysis!!!! Finally someone who analyses the politics of Star Wars soooo well!!!!

A very interesting, well-done video. Two points you didn't mention: - I don't know whether it was intentional the way I'm thinking of it (since Palpatine's looks and expressions in Episode I are not *extremely* subtle, probably so that the viewers can catch on) but when Palpatine announces that his nomination to the position of chancellor is "a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one", he seemingly catches himself in his inappropriate enthusiasm and eagerness before continuing more humbly. Now you can read that as exactly that - Sidious letting a little too much of himself show - or you can read it as a more subtle move of Sidious presenting Palpatine, this seemingly-perfect mentor and senator character, with an understandable flaw of ambition. Palpatine now looks like someone who is human, who does feel giddy about being nominated to this position despite their trying times, but, crucially, who is absolutely lousy at hiding it. So the other characters can think of Palpatine as someone whose flaws they've seen, someone who may be ambitious, but who could *never* be some secretive mastermind. Which suits Sidious just fine. - In Episode II, I think it's not just that Jar Jar wants to take decisive action like Padmé would have done, but that it's an "only Nixon could go to China" moment. Padmé calling for emergency powers in the Senate could gain traction precisely *because* her anti-military voting record is so impeccable. Jar Jar and the others could well be excused for thinking that in this kind of situation, even Padmé *would* come around to the idea (after all, even Bail Organa implicitly and reluctantly does so), but since she can't be there to actually call for the vote in person Jar Jar, as her representative, will have to speak in her name. And the senators will see that regardless of what private doubts they might harbor about this 'emergency powers' idea, if the *Naboo* Delegation is all for it, despite them being so at odds with the Chancellor before, it must have its merits.

I'm loving all the prequel appreciation vids I've been seeing lately. The politics went over most peoples heads I think.

"Your father cannot be turned!" My favorites character. After Vader, of course. :)

For yoda having over 800 years on Palpatine it doesn't make any sense that he especially couldn't sense past Palpatine broken unrealistic force concealment to not only hide his eyes but also how deep he was in the dark. Only real explanation could be the Jedi werent wrong Palpatine didn't win cause he was smarter or better than the Jedi (if he was dont think he would've let Windu almost clean his ass & disfiguring himself painful with his own powerful lightning only an idiot would believe he was holding back after dusting 2 others instantly & 1 other after a short time, since SITH DONT HOLD BACK IN A FIGHT & he very much enjoys fighting. Maul & Savage fight for example) but its all the will of the Force. Its like some cruel game that it knows how it will play out but likes to watch it play out.

Good....... Can't wait for part 2

18:38 Love that Battlefront 2 Rise of the Empire reference. Hope your channel explodes with subs.

Virtually every line Ian states in the three movies is epic.

7:54 some amazing in depth analysis (like this one) of GOT characters perhaps? :)

Never noticed the size of that man's 6 head bruh

The more videos like these I watch, the more I love the prequels. I love this sort of in-depth character analysis too

Palpatine: The Level 99 master chess player! "Excellent! Everything is going as planned" hahahaha. Great job and analysis!

Good very good! I’ve been looking forward to this

I am pretty early. Gotta say man you smashed the yoda video. I absolutely loved it. Please try to do Obi wan next. Love from India

Yes!!!! I can’t believe I missed your upload 2 weeks ago. I can’t wait for part 2!!! Can you give us a clue on who’s next?! I’m hoping it’s someone who hates sand and grows up to have a breathing problem

@KraziKazi Brilliant analysis with some points I never thought of before. But please include Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. Because Palpatine’s role in those is crucial too.

I’m glad something got you to finally DO IT. Great video subbed for the next one

Watching The Phantom Menace first. You realize how smart Darth Sidous is. Regardless, of how Padame end up. Palpatine would gain the favor of The Senate. Stated by the villains wiki.

Greatest villian ever

Now here’s a 64 million $$ question: How could a Palpatine be prevented from turning Starfleet into the mirror universe Terran Empire were he in the UFoP? He wouldn’t have any Jedi or Sith abilities, but he would have his intellect, intelligence, patience and ability for subterfuge.

Your video really makes me look at these prequels in a whole different light.

Your Palpatine essay is undoubtedly one of the best I enjoyed watching this series from the first to the third part in all its glory.

I really like this breakdown and analysis of the character, really fantastic work! This is the first time I'm seeing a video of yours and a great introduction to your channel! I think breaking character analysis into parts (even if just part 1 and part 2) would really boost these sorts of videos in the landscape of a youtube algorithm. Keep up the great work!

Just wanted to say I enjoyed your style and presentation.

Gotta love and respect Palps. But wow, this video was amazing! Very excited for part 2

Fantastic in-depth analysis! I've been looking for things like this, and I'm glad I found you! Subscribed :)

I like the part intervals. Great work btw.

Well done!

Great video so far. Some what at the beginning but already love the format. I love me a good video essay 💜

In politics, we all are puppets, and the politicians of the Senate, for example, puppets... But... HE is THE SENATE.

Brilliant video. Bravo.

Your over-use of "EMBICILE!!!" was on point. A style I would have chosen myself. Well done. I was eight when ANH came out in theaters. I had Darth Vader nightmares. But there was another... Ooh. Just gave myself chills.

First, I really like the video and the analysis. It is always fun to learn new points of view, especially about masterpiece stories like Star Wars. This is a defence of the jedi, who are often seen as less then they represent. I have always seen the jedi as selfless, benevolent, highly trained, self-controlled altruists, who think twice before acting, look inside before blaming the outside. That is because a saw their actions in the movies, shows and books that I have read. This fact comes in conflict with the public opinion on the jedi (of the real-world people). From what I have seen in various videos, articles and comments, people see the jedi in 2 ways: -1: Selfish, arrogant, stupid warriors with power they cannot control and blind faith in wrong, strict dogma. This view usually includes the “The jedi got what they deserved” statement and puts the jedi in a darker position than the sith themselves. -2: This view is milder with the criticism. It recognizes the skilled and selfless character of the jedi however treats them as foolish in the long run. The mistakes that are usually attributed to the jedi are: Being blind to Palpatine’s ascent. Being too strictly bound to their dogma. Not trusting Anakin enough / not helping him enough with his emotions. Being hypocritic by doing things like trying to kill Palpatine without a trial, fighting in a war instead of preserving peace, not solving big problems like slavery. Both these 2 views seem wrong to me because they undermine the whole core of the jedi order and imply that even the wisest, most selfless men (and women of course) in the galaxy were old stubborn fools. Before all, let’s agree that the first described view is wrong. The amount of proof against those kinds of accusations is huge and almost all of it is a result of wise and selfless actions taken in the name of good. The second view is harder to combat due to the ultimate fall of the jedi, event that, at first glance, favours the presented description. Therefore, I will address the 4 flaws attributed to jedi (that I listed above): The jedi were blind to Palpatine’s ascent. Yes, that is true. The jedi did not see the sith emperor rising and growing power. Why? Because he was HIDING. Not only was Palpatine powerful enough to hide his dark side from even Grand Master Yoda, but he was hiding in a pool of darkness and deception: the world of politics. He was not a wolf disguised as a sheep; he was a wolf disguised as a sheep in a heard of wolfs disguised as sheep parading between a handful of true sheep. Also, the public opinion considers Master Windus statement “I do not believe that the sith could have returned without us knowing” to be arrogance. It has been 1000 years since the destruction of the sith. The surprise was huge. At no point did the jedi deny the existence of the sith. These words were spoken simply due to the unexpected nature of the events. The jedi blindly followed their dogma. No? Did their rules allow for Anakin to join the jedi order? No. Did Anakin join the jedi order? Yes. Why? Because the jedi counsel, although disagreeing with Qui Gon Jinn, TRUSTED his judgement. Could the council not reject the training of Anakin after Qui Gons death? What other proof is needed? The jedi did not trust Anakin / did not help him with his relationship with Padme. Ah, yes. We got here: “the jedi failed Anakin”. The jedi never agreed to train Anakin. Why? Because: -He was too old. -He had to strong a bond with his mother. -They could sense fear in him. The existence of fear was not a problem. The fact that earning trust in a grown child is very difficult was the problem. Despite all this, Qui Gon Jinn could have put him on the right path, not because Qui Gon was the best jedi, but because the chain of events lead Anakin to view him as a father figure. BUT. Qui Gon died - Here begins the tragedy of Anakin: his father dead, his mother lost, his brother (not in blood, Obi Wan) young and unexperienced. Why was Obi Wan trusted to train Anakin? Well, who else? Obi Wan was the closest thing to a (still alive) father to Anakin, and a father figure was the only thing that could save him. So, what did the jedi fail to do with Anakin? Nothing. They did the best they could, but it was not enough. One cannot condemn them for that. Hypocrisy. The jedi tried to kill Palpatine before a trial. “The senate will decide your fate” is the line a true jedi should have spoken. Followed by the capitulation of Palpatine. Of course, Palpatine did not capitulate and killed 3 jedi masters. And then everyone expects master Windu to put him in a box and bring him in front of competent authorities. See the problem with this logic? It’s not like Windu had a choice, nor was his action bad. Palpatine was guilty of enormous crimes and no neglection of a prior legal procedure can judge Windus actions as bad, especially in those circumstances (Palpatine basically controls everything on both sides). The jedi fought a war instead of preserving peace. What should they have done instead? Stand by and watch? They tried to bring peace even in those trying times. The jedi never wanted war, they were simply not able to stop it from happening. The jedi did not solve a lot of big problems, like slavery. That is an oversimplification of politics in the Star Wars universe. It's not that simple. As a recap, allow me a comparison: The jedi are like the police, paramedics, firefighters … . They do their best to save people and stop bad things from happening. However, blaming them for tragedies they could not prevent is wrong. The story of Star Wars is a tragedy. Actions of evil that the good were not able to stop in time. And by evil I do not mean only Palpatine, but also all the corrupted and ill-intentioned people that fuelled the conflict (and lead to its appearance in the first place). Also, by good I mean more than the jedi. I will end this message with a quote from another franchise: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” - Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

This is brilliant!

People call the phantom menace a pointless movie, but fail to realize that the invasion of Naboo was the perfect hand for Palpatine to play in order to become supreme chancellor. Naboo is a mostly peaceful world, therefore an easy target. He’s from Naboo so he’s able to easily earn Padme’s trust to vote for him since there’s common ground among them both. The Trade Federation is an easy army to manipulate as Gunray is both cowardly and greedy. It’s like he was testing how playing both sides in a war would’ve gone, so he went for Naboo before trying it on a galactic scale. And the decade that happens between Ep 1 and Ep2 not only shows him taking his time meticulously on both the republic and the CIS instead of jumping straight into the clone wars, it also allows him the opportunity to corrupt a former jedi (Dooku) before he can do it to skywalker. Everything leading up to the end of attack of the clones is just Palpatine testing his grand scheme on smaller targets

i really like this way of video making !!

23:50 Padme: You’re not going to turn this into a meme, right? Anakin: Padme: Right?

I think one of the saddest things for Maul is having to realize everything he did was for a master who never planned on ruling with him.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

I just noticed that the separatist council is set around a table / desk that looks a lot like the Empire's logo. Probably it was unintentional, but it's a cool detail that forshadows the creation of the Empire.

That was beautiful 🎨

Well, considering the clusterfuck that was made in the sequel trilogy, the entire saga has basically become the saga of Sheev Palpatine.

Excellent....

Brilliant!

I really like palpatine

A great video about the senate

I love your videos

This will be a video long remembered

This is where the fun begins.

Oh you mean the man who’s only really motivation being power for the sake of power. Not love, revenge, greed, fear, idealism, or enlightenment. Nothing relatable or justified. Just power, that’s it. For what? Just to have it. Yep, incredibly deep character there lol

A perfect character, in every way. So much unexplained within his story and I hope nobody tries to ever explain it all away. From Episode 1 there are so many times he has those looks towards certain things like talking to Padme about the Chancellor and how he was being a sorry character and being somebody who is manipulated by the people in the shadows. Amidala becoming the first one to edge towards Palpatines wishes through his machinations through her as he did with Anakin.

I wouldn't be surprised if Palpatine is directly inspired by Sauron/Annatar they are very similar.😎

Thank you all for keeping this universe alive ! I’m slow, so I find all of this late

I have read Darth Plaguieis it explains a lot about how he manipulates everyone.

Palpatine is by far the best Star Wars villain (episode 9 doesn't count), but a close second for me is the Confederacy. We spend three whole movies fighting these systems in a civil was as they plan to leave the Republic, only to find out that they had the right idea. The very people who were so dedicated to the Republic end the trilogy on the opposite side, planning to stage a coux and rid the Republic of it's current leader.

I look at Palpatine as an allegory to our politicians today.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

Palpatine could have written the 48 laws of power...

Need to do this after reading Darth Plagueis

palpatine is nothing short of genius

My favorite character in the series!

Go for Papa Palpatien

Dooku was based honestly

Good stuff! Maybe could mix your voice volume little bit lower. Other than that excellent.

Kreia would like a word. If we count the games of course.