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Senator/Chancellor Palpatine (Emperor, Darth Sidious) of the Star Wars trilogies should be considered the most treacherous and deceitful villain in movie history. His cunning use of the Dark Force to promote his evil agenda is unchallenged in movie history. In the first trilogy the Emperor had limited screen time and Darth Vader dominated the Dark side�s agenda. However, it becomes apparent in Episode VI that the Emperor has been �pulling the strings� of the evil plot to replace Vader with Luke as the next Sith Lord�s apprentice (There can only be two Sith Lords). In the original trilogy there is a clear struggle between the good and evil.
In the new trilogy the name given to Episode I is superbly accurate (The Phantom Menace). The evil self fulfilling plot that Senator/Chancellor Palpatine is weaving is being done in complete secrecy. This phantom menace concept continues into the second Episode as well. The struggle between good and evil is �clouded� in mystery and the political intrigue is overflowing with personal agenda�s. Palpatine uses the political agendas of others to promote his evil script into action. In Episode I he forms a secret pact with the Trade Federation in order to create a crisis that he will in turn attempt to solve. He persuades the Trade Federation to invade Naboo in order to protest their displeasure with the Republic's taxation policies. In an attempt to protect her people, Padme - the senator of Naboo, travels to the senate to present her case against the Trade Federation. Palpatine manipulates her desperate situation by persuading her to call for a vote of no confidence with the current Chancellor. Palpatine, as Lord Sidious, had instructed the Trade Federation to have Padme sign a treaty in order to end the dispute. A major war would have been avoided at this time and Padme would eventually have protested to the senate. The Jedi's rescue of Padme and escape from Naboo actually accelerated Palpatine's devious plan. In the end, Palpatine is elected the new Chancellor and the Trade Federation is defeated by Anakin and JarJar(:)). Palpatine quickly recognizes Anakin as a formidable "force" and wittingly acknowledges his interest in the closing scene of Episode I. Palpatine has successfully stolen the position of Chancellor using the Trade dispute crises as a guise. His manipulative skills are sharp and his secrets still well hidden. In Episode II Palpatine, again manipulates the agenda to create a crisis that he will attempt to solve and promote his scheme to its next objective. It is very interesting to watch Yoda�s confusion as the �cloud� of the dark force hints of the oncoming crises. Take note of how he watches Palpatine with a curious confused look during their numerous interactions. Palpatine makes use of his position as Chancellor to place an order for a secret army of clones to be created on a planet whose existence has been erased from the Republic's star maps. Since the order originated ten years ago and altering the star charts can only be done by a Jedi we must assume that Count Dooko performed this deed before he left the Jedi. Palpatine establishes a new apprentice (Lord Dooko) and trains him in the Dark Forces during the ten year span between Episode I and II. Working independently, Lord Dooko brokers an alliance with the weakened Trade Federation and commerce guilds to create a secret massive droid army and initiate a movement to secede from the Republic. Dooko manipulates the Trade Federation�s lust for revenge, related to the Naboo incident, in Episode I to further the rift with the Republic. The Trade Federation also has demanded that Dooko arrange for the assassination of Padme in exchange for their alliance. Padme�s death would also benefit Palpatine�s agenda by escalating the crises in the Republic regarding the separatist�s who would be blamed for arranging her death. Working as a phantom team, Palpatine and Dooko successfully maneuver the galactic Republic to the brink of civil war. Manipulating the crises, Palpatine points out to high ranking senators that the impending attack by the illegally built Federation droid army can not be thwarted with the now exposed Republic's clone army due to the politcial ineptness of the senate. He schemes that the only way the Republic can be saved is to declare an emergency and be given executive privileges over the senate to respond to the growing crises. Jar Jar Binks is manipulated to submit the idea as a neutral party and the senate approves to temporarily relinquish power to Palpatine and he �graciously-deviously� accepts the task to "save/rule" the Republic. Many Jedi are killed in the climactic opening battle of the Clone Wars. Palpatine has successfully manipulated events allowing him to rise from a senatorial seat to dictator of the Republic with a loyal clone army at his command. The Republic is on the threshold to become the Empire and the Trade Federation has been double crossed again. The only entity standing in the way of Palpatine as Episode III begins, will be the remaining Jedi. He has already planted the seeds to cause the fall of young Anakin Skywalker. He specifically suggests that Anakin be assigned to protect Padme during the assassination attempts of Episode II. He does this knowing of his feelings for her and the conflict that it will cause relating to his Jedi training. As we await Episode III, in 2005, we must ask the following questions. How will Palpatine manipulate Anakin to the dark side? How will Palpatine enrage young Skywalker to hunt down all of the Jedi Knights? Will Palpatine finally reveal himself as the Phantom Menace? Who will kill Padme? Who will be blamed for Padme�s death? Where does the DeathStar fit in? Who will kill Dookoo? Was Dookoo attempting to turn Obiwan to the dark side and together challenge Darth Sidious as Vader tried with Luke in Episode V? Will Vader be portrayed as a victim of a tragedy (Lucas has stated that Episode III will be a tragedy) or an arrogant immature Jedi? Will more light be shed on how Sido-dyas (very close in spelling to Sidious) ordered the clone army without anyone's knowledge? Will the remnants of the Trade Federation become the Rebel alliance of the original trilogy? That would be rather interesting since the Federation appears to be the aggresors in Episodes I and II. What will be the name of Episode III? The Dark Force, The Fall to Darkness, The Tragedy of the Jedi, The Fall of the Republic, The Revenge of the Sith, The Tragedy of Destiny... Updated�05/2005 In Episode III (I correctly surmised the title three years ago) Palpatine�s agenda comes to a climactic finish as Anakin Skywalker is converted to the dark side of the force and becomes the infamous Darth Vader. His judgment is clouded by his love for Padme and lust for acceptance. Palpatine initiates final battle with his executive powers as Chancellor, loyal clone army, and willing Trade Federation enemy accomplices in order to eliminate the only thing stopping him (The Jedi) from accomplishing his true objective of becoming Emporor. The Jedi are double crossed during battle by the clone army with the execution of directive 66. In executing Palpatine�s plan, he double crosses Count Dooko, the Republic, the Trade Federation (the phantom enemy), Anakin Skywalker, and of course the Jedi. Anakin gives in to the lust of the dark side and becomes a slave to Palpatine. Padme surrenders to death in heartbreak but gives birth to Luke and Lea Skywalker to set the stage for �Episode IV A New Hope�. Yoda and Obi Wan go into seclusion while the Republic gives birth to the Galactic Empire. Did Anakin Skywalker bring balance to the universe? Now there are only two Jedi and two Sith Lords. And by the way. Is Palpatine�s manipulative devious phantom agenda reminiscent of any current day politicians? I honestly "can�t recall" because I do not know what you mean by the word �is�, which is a perfect example of why American's underestimate the power of the dark side. Politicians crave power. Power needs favorable perceptions. Passing perceptions, especially presented by a "dumbed down" press, are not necessarily the true politician's agenda. Even Star Wars says so. Every time a politician says we need to "do" more to solve a problem, take a serious look to see if what they promoted previously could have caused the new crises. Also investigate to see if the proposed solution to the current problem will actually do what they suggest or just sound good but in reality promote a hidden agenda. Examples of these self fulfilling prophecies are social programs that create monetary dependencies that, in turn, promote the need for more monetary dependencies. Another example is crime fighting and the legality of profiling. A sure self fulfilling prophecy toward higher crime rates and calls for more gun control laws. Another example is the illegal filibusting of judicial nominees. This ridiculous action is all about setting a precedent for the impending supreme court nominee and the litmus test they want to impose on any judge nominee. The nominees are only considered radical because they don�t espouse judicial activism such as overturning public ballot initiatives based on interpreted constitutional rights and the like. The dark side of the force (liberalism) has lost the presidency, the house, the senate, the governorships and the only thing left is the courts. It seems the current democratic party has no agenda but to promote anti American propaganda and attack a president fighting a war. What is the current democratic agenda? Are they aiding the enemies of the republic? Could they want to change the Republic into a Ideological Socialist state? Why do they punish successful businesses that create jobs and wealth? Does independent success remove their ability to control and influence an individual�s life? Why are the democrats always pitting groups of citizens against each other: rich vs. poor, fair vs. unfair, religious vs. liberals, race vs. race. More importantly are all these side issues just being used to hide their true agenda? Do they really want to bring down the Republic? Do the Democrats have a Directive 66? As Palpatine would say "Everything is going as I have foreseen". But America, is starting to wake up for the Republic is under siege from internal and external factions. May the force be with us! |