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Palpatine ensnares Anakin
Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith
Writer: George Lucas
Director: George Lucas
Did you ever hear of the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?
When Chancellor Palpatine uttered those enticing words to Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, no one had heard of Darth Plagueis or his tragedy. New Star Wars lore was being unveiled right before our eyes and it turned out to be one of the most discussed and celebrated scenes of the Star Wars prequels. The appeal was twofold. This was the moment in which Palpatine’s long game of seducing Anakin to the dark side finally took hold and it was delivered with such juicy, diabolic aplomb that all you could do was sit back and enjoy Ian McDiarmid’s full Shakespearean lean into being the gothic villain. Anakin was hanging on his every word and we couldn’t get enough.
That Anakin would fall prey to the Emperor was no real surprise, even if you didn’t already know what happened. Attachment was his weakness. First, it was about leaving his mother and then it was about not being able to save her. Falling in love with Padmé only made Palpatine’s job that much easier. The Jedi Order had put up the one wall Anakin never really wanted to climb over, dispassionately leaving his connections behind. Palpatine needed only to provide him with the one thing that would pull him down off the wall entirely: a way to save the ones he loved.
Palpatine had been waiting for this moment for a long time and that is one of the tasty morsels in this scene. As he tells the tale of the great Sith Lord Darth Plagueis, we understand what he’s implying. It’s subtle at first, but clearer as you chew on the scene itself. He has been watching Anakin for a lot longer than we knew, perhaps even back to when he was an apprentice to Plagueis as it certainly seems like he’s boasting that Anakin’s miraculous birth might have come from the dark machinations of his master or, even more juicy, from himself after he learned the skills from Plagueis. This has been building and building and now Palpatine is delivering a pitch-perfect monologue made for the stage. In fact, that this scene is underscored by them attending a Mon Calamari ballet called Squid Lake at the Galaxies Opera House is not just a fun trivia note, (but that does often get you points in a trivia contest) it’s the full embrace of the theatricality of this moment. This is high theater and Palpatine knows it.
One almost has to pause and relish the idea that, in his free time, Palpatine had been practicing this monologue like an overzealous theater kid. Planning each little taunting laugh and feigned scoff. Mulling over what details to give and what to hold back. Asking Mas Amedda or Sly Moore if it would be more effective if he turned his head slowly while telling Anakin Plagueis could create life?
“Is that too obvious? I think it might be too much, but it just seems like the right thing to do.”
Regardless of how he got to this point, Sheev Palpatine delivers the goods. Anakin is absolutely ensnared in his trap. This the peak of his journey, it’s downhill from here. Anakin Skywalker has been in turmoil his entire life, that we know, but he always found a way back to shore. He was a Jedi, after all, and didn’t just believe in the good ideals at the core of the Order, he practiced them. He was good hearted and that tracks all the way back to his youth. So, every impulsive move, burst of anger, and growing doubt about the way of the Jedi or the direction of the Republic always faded to the background. What remained was Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight. But his nature is to help others. From volunteering to podrace in an effort to help get Qui-Gon Jinn off Tatooine, following Padmé and her desire to help Obi-Wan on Geonosis, and being the only one to believe and fight for the falsely accused Ahsoka Tano, Anakin wants to help others. And that’s where Palpatine always knew he could get him. He lays it out simply. You can learn the power to keep the ones you love from dying. How do you learn this?
Not from a Jedi.
Message received. Anakin now needs to learn this power from Palpatine, which means he also has to keep Palpatine alive. It’s the final attachment Anakin cannot break away from. It’s here, at this moment, that he takes the bait. Palpatine has his new apprentice right then and there. The eventual turn is just a formality. What a victory for Palpatine and what great moment for Ian McDiarmid.
That is the second part of this moment’s appeal. A real-world reason to love it. McDiarmid doesn’t chew up the scenery here, he is the scenery (not unlike later when he proclaims, “I am the Senate.”). McDiarmid was a respected Scottish theater actor with little screen time when he first donned the Emperor’s robe for Return of the Jedi. He only was in his late thirties but masterfully embodied the decrepit evil overlord. The Phantom Menace brought him back to the role if you don’t count the 1997’s special edition footage added to The Empire Strikes Back and McDiarmid again expertly portrayed him. But it all leads to this scene. Everything before is beautiful subtleness and shadowy intrigue and everything after is bombastic and charmingly over the top. It’s here, though, that McDiarmid plays every aspect of the Emperor, a secret Sith Lord who killed his master and is about to rule the galaxy. It’s a one-man show. He’s not just getting to Anakin and dangling the power he seeks, he’s telling his own origin and gleefully reliving the act of murdering his master. McDiarmid plays with each memory. Every line is one step forward on Palpatine’s long journey toward being unstoppable and he feels it. As the ominous music plays and the exotic imagery of an alien ballet dances in the background, McDiarmid’s Emperor tells us the story of passion, attachment, power, and murder.
And, now, we don’t just know the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. We’ll never forget it.