The original Star Wars trilogy introduced Darth Sidious to the franchise before his later prequel trilogy backstory, marking a discrepancy in his usage of lightsabers between the two time periods. In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine’s first official appearance after his holographic scene in The Empire Strikes Back, Palpatine is shown not to use a lightsaber at all. However, in the prequels’ Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, set 23 years prior, Palpatine engages in two different lightsaber duels, one against Mace Windu and the Jedi sent to arrest him, and the other against Yoda after his rise to power as the Emperor.
There are actually a few reasons why Palpatine goes from using a lightsaber to not having one at all in Return of the Jedi, stemming from Palpatine’s disdain for the weapons. Despite his hatred for lightsabers, Palpatine could have used one in the prequels because he was infiltrating the Jedi Council. Palpatine operated in the open, in full view of all the Jedi, meaning a lightsaber was a source of protection as he was not yet at his full power. Also, the dark side of the Force was not at its peak until after the Jedi fell, meaning Palpatine had to use other powers at his disposal such as lightsabers.
Palpatine Always Hated Lightsabers
Palpatine’s hatred of lightsabers actually explains both why he used one in the prequels, and mostly why he did not in Return of the Jedi. In broader Star Wars canon, it has been confirmed that Palpatine despises lightsabers, and sees them as a large contribution to the Jedi’s dogmatic beliefs. He believed that the Jedi’s lightsabers, created as the order’s primary weapon, clouded their vision and blinded them to the fact that everything around them is a weapon through the Force, and that the Jedi put too much stock in lightsabers. Palpatine prefers to use manipulation, fear, and the dark side’s other attributes as weapons, as shown fully in Return of the Jedi.
Why Palpatine Uses A Lightsaber Before Return Of The Jedi
However, one of the reasons why Palpatine still owns lightsabers in the prequels is actually to mock the Jedi. It fits Palpatine’s character that, despite hating the weapons, he can use them almost better than every other Jedi who revered them as shown by his dismissal of Mace Windu and the other three Jedi sent to arrest him. Palpatine also bested Jedi Grand Master Yoda, proving again that he is still skilled with lightsabers. Sidious’ belief that the Force is truly his greatest weapon and the Jedi’s faith in lightsabers is only made better by the fact he can wield both better than the Jedi, truly driving home his mockery of the Jedi through using their weapons against them, despite his disdain for them.
Why Palpatine’s Lightsaber Doesn’t Create A Star Wars Prequel Plot Hole
While the discrepancy between the two Star Wars trilogies and Palpatine’s lightsaber usage (or lack thereof) in both can seem like a plot hole, there are actually a lot of factors that make everything flow nicely. Firstly, Palpatine’s hatred of lightsabers mentioned above and mainly his reasoning for still using them perfectly explains why he does in the prequels. The mockery of the Jedi, and his need for more protection while behind enemy lines, explains his mastery of the lightsabers in Revenge of the Sith.
This mainly explains why his lack of usage of lightsabers in Return of the Jedi is not a plot hole also, especially when considering the wider Star Wars universe. At Return of the Jedi’s point in the timeline, Palpatine believes himself to be at his most powerful. Palpatine has a second Death Star that can destroy the Rebel fleet, Darth Vader at his side, and is manipulating Luke Skywalker into joining him. All of this contributes to Palpatine’s false sense of security and power, explaining why he does not feel the need to use a lightsaber against Luke, instead using the dark side powers that allowed him to become the Emperor in the first place.
Also, Luke is the last Jedi – so he believes – after the deaths of Obi-Wan and Yoda during Return of the Jedi’s timeline. Because of this, Palpatine has no reason to use his lightsabers to mock the Jedi anymore. His usage and mockery in the prequels were made better by the fact he was using a Jedi’s weapon, while hating them, in front of their very eyes. In Return of the Jedi though, Luke was the only Jedi, and Palpatine believed he could turn Luke to the dark side using his other Force abilities, which likely would have worked if Vader had not intervened. All of this only goes to show why Palpatine’s switch in lightsaber usage works and does not create a Star Wars plot hole after all.
