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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We love opening RU-vid and seeing something posted 15 seconds ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Palpatine is your classic sleazy boyfriend always looking to trade in for a newer younger model

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

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

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

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

I’m writing about how Anakin is a monster for my English research paper and using your video as a source! This just came out at just the right time!

I think one of my favorite of Palpatine's was during the Undercover Arc in The Clone Wars. More specifically when he was congratulating Anakin and the Jedi for the brilliant idea of putting Obi-wan undercover to route out the assassins, only for Anakin to reveal that he wasn't in on the plot to begin with. Now of course Palps probably already knew this, but he feigns ignorance and questions why the Jedi wouldn't let a Jedi as close to Kenobi like Anakin know about such a crucial plan, which of course planted even more seeds of doubt about the Jedi Order into Anakin.

"They're my babies. Some of them are bad babies, but they're still my babies." If that ain't the quote to sum up our favorite flawed stories, Sheev can't sell speeders.

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

Be mindful of your pal, Friendpatine

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

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

Jono's "Do it!" is a fantastic imitation, but Alan's "Good" is actually terrifying. Sir.

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

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

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

One of Palpatine's most skillful demonstrations of his skill at manipulation is during the Bad Batch

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

My sister and I were very recently talking about how incredibly good at being completely evil Palpatine is. The way he slowly gets Anakin under his control over multiple years is scarily good. He is a legitimately good villain who is an absolutely terrible man but he handles it in such a….almost unnoticeable way. Until it’s too late. The way he slowly manipulates Anakin throughout the trilogy is just so scary and perfect. He uses the little bit of darkness that Anakin has as well as uses Anakin’s very strong personality and ambition in the absolute worst way. It’s so creepy and horrible

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

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

Palpy is my favorite part of the whole saga. My boy loves doing evil 😈

I just knew this video was gonna be full of impersonations of Palpatine. Overall great video again guys. Keep putting out good content😊

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

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

Honest Sheev's Previously Loved Landspeeders sounds great! He's got those XP-38s on back-order but here's a sweet little number with one careful farmboy owner.

10:59 I love the music in this section. It’s sinister, mysterious, and creepy.