I actually believe his offer to Luke was genuine, as well. And for what it's worth, I think that if Padme would have said 'Oh, the hell with it...let's give it a shot' he would have tried it. And failed, because of his lack of experience. In the situation with Luke, I'm guessing he would have tried it, as well. And failed as well, this time because of a lack of knowledge. Don't think for a moment the Emperor didn't see Vaders little 'offer' to Luke coming all along. Now that I have seen all six movies, I am strengthened in my belief that right up to the moment where Luke throws down his lightsaber and says what basically amounts to 'fuck you', everything goes exactly according to Palpatine's plans.
Yes. Palpatine was in control of the
entire galaxy until Jedi. There is way too much disagreement about this.
I honestly don't understand what you are trying to say here. Palpatine was ruling the galaxy, but he didn't have an iron grip until Episode IV.
Ah, but that in and of itself is a misleading thing to say. It is true that Palpatine did not fully reveal and consolidate his powers until ANH; but that's not because he has to wait three movies - ANH begins precisely because the emperor has entered the last stages of his plan at that particular time. Palpatine COULD have orchestrated to come to power much sooner, but he decided to play everthing safe and completely undermine the power of both the Jedi Council and the Senate before pitting the Republic against itself. Seducing Anakin to the dark side was important to Palpatine and made him take risks, but it wasn't as important as achieving absolute control over the galaxy - a result he meticulously and brilliantly orchestrated for a long time, from before Anakin was even conceived.
I wasn't misleading anyone - I was just recognizing the fact that he couldn't disband the Senate until the Death Star was completed and until Leia was caught fronting for the rebellion.
If Plagueis was the first Sith powerful enough to influence the mini-chlorians to create life, would it be such a leap of faith to think that Plagueis 'concieved' Anakin? This for me puts Palpatine's interest in the young boy in a whole now light. Also, I think it's a fairly important question if Anakin was the product of the Force or of the Dark Side in particular.
I very strongly opposed to one aspect of this idea - that Palpatine was Anakin's "father." Palpatine was a very powerful seer like other Sith before him, but it doesn't make sense for Palpatine to create his own apprentice in the way that Anakin was created. It is a far better to take Qui-Gonn literally, and say that The Force itself bore Anakin in order to correct the imbalance of power started by the cunning and deception of Palpatine. The Emperor manipulated and used Anakin for his own ends, but even he could not see the ultimate end of either him or his apprentice.
But Palpatine isn't - Plagueis is. Even if Plagueis caused the midichlorians to conceive Anakin, I don't think that takes away too much from the Prophesy of the one. The question raised by this film is what the prophesy means precisely. What is balance? Does balance mean that the Sith would be destroyed? Or does it mean an equal distribution of dark and light side users? At the end of Episode III there are exactly two sith and two jedi. Is that what is meant by balance? Or is the actions of Vader at the end of Episode VI what is meant by fullfilling the prophesy? I tend to think the former - particularly given the conversation between Yoda and Mace Windu.
Palpatine saw one end, but he couldn't see all ends. The rebel plan wasn't that Luke would kill the Emperor. Luke was a destraction. The plan was that the fleet would blow up the Death Star and take Luke, Anakin, and Palpatine with them. Leia would presumably become a Jedi then. Luke's goal was to face the Emperor and his father as a full Jedi. He even told the Emperor - "soon I'll be dead and you with me."
There are unresolved ambiguities in these films.
Another question of note is the true extent of Palpatine's powers. In the novelization of Episode III, Dooku describes palpatine as an "Event horizon" in the force. Even seen through the power of the dark side, Palpatine reveals absolutely nothing in the force. Whereas, Obi-Wan is described as a sunlit meadow of the force, and Anakin as a storm cloud that threatens a tornado. Obviously, Palpatine must have tremendous powers of desguise to hide from so many powerful Jedi on the seat of the Republic, but just how powerful is he revealed to be here? Palpatine is able to sense that Vader is in danger half a galaxy away. Windu also kicks Palpatine's saber out of his hand a moment before Anakin arrives. That is appears to be no coincidence.
One other question is the extent to which the Separatist leaders knew of Sidious. In Episode II, Dooku says that Nute Gunray told him that the Senate was in the control of Darth Sidious. Dooku clearly knows the identify of Sidious, but the Separatist leaders appear not to know in Episode III when they talk about the Chancellor's kidnapping.
"Balance" means one thing - the dominance of the light side over the dark side. The prophecy is not difficult to interpret at all. The only people that it is ambiguous to are the Jedi, because they don't know what is going to happen. Balance is achieved at the end of Episode VI. Anakin fulfills his destiny and restores dominance over the force to the Jedi.
I don't see how you can say this with such certainty. There are so many variables at play and Balance is inherently ambiguious. I think I agree with your basic approach, but I'm not sure I would phrase it in that way.
In Labyrinth of Evil, the prequel book to Episode III, Yoda describes how during his long life he has noticed the Dark Side waxing. Those with shorter life spans would not have noticed, but given his perspective he has see how Jedi have become more aggressive and arrogant, and how the Dark Side of the force has grown stronger while the Jedi have grown increasingly weaker. We see this in Episode II. If Balance is what you say it is, then it wasn't as much orchestrated by Anakin as by Palpatine.
For those two reasons, I don't think I would say that the light side was "dominating." It seems pretty clear that the Jedi and the Sith are locked in a terrific battle that basically resolves down to Anakin's actions at the end of Jedi. The problem is that if he is bringing so much balance by removing light side domination, then what do Anakin's actions at the end of Jedi do? They remove dark side users - the Sith from existence. There is no one left to take up their teachings. Since the time of Darth Bane there had always been a Sith - and now there is none.
Palpatine DOES have tremendous powers. I have had many debates about the fight between Windu and Palpatine. I agree that Windu is physically stronger and is more dangerous in combat. However, there are many people who feel that Windu could have defeated him, and that is sadly just completely wrong. Palpatine could see so much, he knew the Jedi were coming for him, and he knew that Anakin would come. Windu discovered the important information much too late. Palpatine never would let himself be destroyed so easily - what he did was an act, put on purely to turn Anakin's loyalties and make him commit himself. Palpatine could have struck Windu down the moment he opened the door to his office, but that didn't happen.
The Separatists knew nothing, just as the Republic and Jedi Council knew nothing. The Sith were the only ones who understood Palpatine's plans, and even then they could not see anything close to what he could. Palpatine lied and betrayed everyone in order to arrive at absolute control over the galaxy.
There are a lot of details that Lucas does not give a clear answer for, but these are really major plot points.
I'm inclined to agree with you, but I am very hesitant to take such a strong stance. You speak with such certainty and convinction in an area that is simply not well mapped.
We know almost nothing of the early contacts between the Neimedians and Sidious but we know that there is a relationshiop. Sidious had helped them out some years before Episode I began. They are very much aware that he is influencing the Senate - he even says as much to them.
I also wouldn't talk generally of the separatists since there so many different parties that make up that organization. Obviously, Dooku knew everything except for the final role he was to play.
One thing that is not entirely clear either is the extent to which Sidious intended to betray each party.
Something struck me last week that bears mentioning. Someone in this thread said that EVERYTHING had gone according to Palpatine's plan until the final act of ROTJ. This is not true.
Palpatine did NOT anticipate that Queen Amidala would escape Naboo. He thought she would sign the treaty. He also was NOT certain that the Chancellor would send Jedi to interfere, although he suspected Valorum would. Palpatine's plan was to get Amidala to sign the treaty to legitimate the Nemoidian occupation. In the end, it worked out the same way. But the devil is sometimes in the details.
I think you are right when we say that Palpatine is a powerful seer - but it seems to me that he is not infrequently wrong. The difference is that even when Palpatine is wrong, he is successful. T hat is, no matter how events actually play out - no matter which path they take, he wins. If the Separatists win the war, he wins becuase he controls them. If they lose the war, he wins. If the Neimodians take control of Naboo, he wins, if they don't, he wins. He puts himself in a position that no matter what happens, he wins.
It would be interesting to map out all the major events in the Star Wars movies and try to count up when intended plans were foiled - both from the good and bad guys. Because it happens quite frequently.
EDIT:
It's worth noting that the entire reason for Palpatine's kidnapping was that the Jedi were very close to capturing him. In Labyrinth of Evil, the events of which are repeatedly referenced in the Episode III novelization (which I am only a third into), the Jedi with the help of some ARC Troopers have pursued clues linking the separatists to a "Darth Sidious." They found the Neimodians holochairtransceiver which had a stored hologrammic image of Sidious. They find the chair's designer, the freighter, and track it to the Works - the place we see at the end of Episode II. They then find footprints of Darth Sidious and find clues that lead to 500 Republica - Palpatine's Apartment complex. The attack by Grevious on Coruscant was supposed to be the final stage of the war - a long planned moment that was hurriedly accellerated becuase of the Jedi's investigation.
