Following the release of the ninth and final installment in the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars fans were left bewildered by the return of Emperor Palpatine. After all, Palpatine apparently died after Anakin Skywalker threw him down a reactor shaft in Return of the Jedi. It seems odd that he would then return in The Rise of Skywalker with no reason given for how this is possible.
However, the novelization for The Rise of Skywalker has given fans the answers they were looking for. Evidently, Palpatine’s body in The Rise of Skywalker is not the same body that was thrown down the reactor shaft. Instead, what audiences saw in The Rise of Skywalker was a clone body that Palpatine’s spirit was inhabiting. Within the context of the movies, there are a number of reasons this concept works, but there are also some reasons it does not.
Does – Balance Of The Force
Throughout the prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker is hailed as the Chosen One. According to a prophecy that is referenced in those films, the Chosen One is meant to bring balance to the Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda lost faith that Anakin was the Chosen One after he aided Palpatine in destroying the Jedi. Nevertheless, Anakin eventually did bring about balance when he killed Palpatine in order to save his son.
The Rise of Skywalker is very clear that Palpatine’s return does not retcon this victory. Anakin’s spirit tells Rey to bring back the balance, “as I did.” If Palpatine is a clone in this movie, this makes sense. It means that Anakin did, in fact, succeed in defeating Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, ushering in an era of balance.
Doesn’t – Luke Couldn’t Sense Palpatine
The reveal that Palpatine never actually died creates a massive plot hole in The Last Jedi. In that film, there is a scene in which Luke Skywalker, who has cut himself off from the Force, reconnects himself to the Force and senses his sister Leia from across the galaxy. Clearly, Luke can sense the presence of people he knows from across the galaxy. So why could he not sense Palpatine? He had a traumatic experience involving the Dark Lord of the Sith. Surely his presence left an impression on Luke, and he would have noticed that that presence was not really gone. And even if he could not, the fact that Anakin did not sense his old master when he became one with the Force and did not then warn Luke is still hard to explain.
Does – Force Projection
The means by which Palpatine’s spirit was able to survive and possess another body was set up in The Last Jedi. That film’s climax sees Luke project his consciousness across the universe in order to distract Kylo Ren during the battle of Crait so that the surviving members of the Resistance can escape. It seems that Palpatine used a Dark Side equivalent to this power in order to possess his clone body.
According to the novelization, as Palpatine fell down the reactor shaft, he sent his consciousness across the galaxy to Exegol where his clone body was waiting for him. Since The Last Jedi already set up the idea that it is possible to project oneself across the galaxy, it makes sense that a Sith would corrupt this power in such a way that he could send his spirit into a body that is in a completely different part of the galaxy.
Doesn’t – Palpatine’s Presence Is Not Felt In Episodes 7 & 8
J.J. Abrams tried his best to make it seem like Palpatine being alive during the sequel trilogy was part of the plan the whole time by revealing that it was Palpatine, using the voices of Snoke and Darth Vader inside Kylo’s head, that seduced Kylo to the Dark Side. However, the only indication of something like this being set up comes in the scene in The Force Awakens when Kylo speaks with Vader. However, Vader no longer exists because of Anakin’s redemption, so it is clearly not Vader that he is talking to. So the logical assumption here is that it is actually Snoke he is talking to since literally every line of dialogue that references Kylo’s fall also mentions Snoke in the same breathe. This reveal may have been better if Snoke had made a passing reference to his own master, but as is, the revelation that Palpatine was pulling the strings all along comes way too out of the left field.
Does – The Tragedy Of Darth Plagueis The Wise
When Kylo first encounters Palpatine, Palpatine comments that he has been dead before. He then adds, “The Dark Side of the Force is a path to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.” This is a clear reference to Revenge of the Sith when Palpatine told Anakin about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. Darth Plagueis was so powerful that he had actually discovered a way to cheat death.
Palpatine making this reference here implies that his return is possible because of this secret power which Darth Plagueis had. Considering the fact that Palpatine makes the comment in Revenge of the Sith that Plagueis taught his apprentice everything he knew, this is a clear confirmation of what fans have suspected ever since first hearing the story: Palpatine was Plagueis’s apprentice, and he was able to use Plagueis’s secret to preserve his own life.
Doesn’t – The Snoke Clones
This is a frustrating element because it should work to the film’s advantage, but because of its execution, it does not. The fact that there are numerous Snoke clones lying in vat points toward the presence of cloning technology on Exegol. However, there is nothing presented in the film to link this technology to Palpatine himself. There is no vat full of Palpatine clones anywhere. Just Snoke. As far as a casual viewer can tell, this technology was only used for Snoke and not for Palpatine.
Does – Palpatine’s Cloning Obsession
Ever since the prequel trilogy, clones have been a key part of Palpatine’s plans. Without the clones, Palpatine would not have been able to generate the war that allowed him to reorganize the Republic into the Galactic Empire. They also played a crucial role in the destruction of the Jedi Order. Given the importance of cloning technology to Palpatine’s main plans, it makes sense that he would quietly rely on similar tactics as a backup plan in the event of his untimely demise.
Doesn’t – No Kaminoans
Cloning is implied to be a rather unique skill in Attack of the Clones. The Kaminoans are presented as the one alien race that has consistently given results on that front.
This being the case, it is odd that there is not a single Kaminoan in sight in The Rise of Skywalker. There certainly should have been at least one working the machinery with all of the Snoke clones. A good bit of visual storytelling might have even been to have a Kaminoan attending to Palpatine. That would have pretty clearly indicated that Palpatine was a clone.
Does – Palpatine’s Decayed Body
Palpatine is one of the most powerful Sith in the galaxy, and his life only persists because it is being contained by a body that was built in a lab. It would make sense that this artificial body would begin to break under the pressure of holding such a powerful being.
This also makes sense in light of Anakin’s assertion that he did bring balance. He did kill Palpatine, but this clone is merely delaying Palpatine’s final demise.
Doesn’t – Palpatine’s Appearance
On the flip side of this point, the actual character design for Palpatine hurts this understanding of what is happening. In the film, Palpatine looks rather zombie-like, which would imply that this is some kind of a failed attempt at resurrecting his old body. Without a clear piece of evidence linking Palpatine’s body to cloning technology, it is rather difficult to come to the right conclusion about the true nature of Palpatine’s existence when his appearance seems to tell a different story.
