Summary
- Palpatine's success as a villain outweighs his shortcomings as a character, making him one of the greatest villains in cinematic history.
- Despite being a Sith Lord and having foresight, Palpatine often had to react to situations rather than plan ahead, leading to unforeseen problems in his plans.
- Palpatine's legacy lives on through the expansion of the Star Wars universe and its antagonists, despite his flaws as a master and his questionable decisions.
Emperor Palpatine is one of the most compelling villains ever created, and his role in the Star Wars galaxy has cemented his brilliance, even if some things still do not make sense about the Sith Lord. Like many threats, Palpatine’s success as a villain far outtrumps where his character falls short. Chronologically, Palpatine was first introduced in Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, where he acted as the Senator from Naboo. His work behind the scenes eventually led him to be elected Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Senate.
For years, Palpatine worked to not only dismantle the Republic, but also the Jedi Order. Being a Sith Lord, he felt he knew all of the Jedi’s weaknesses and exactly how to bring them down. His plan ultimately succeeded, leading to the rise of the Galactic Empire, but there were many decisions that Palpatine made during his tenure as Supreme Chancellor and Emperor that made little sense. Despite these confusing instances, Palpatine is still one of the greatest villains in cinematic history, and his legacy continues to live on through the expansion of the Star Wars universe and its antagonists.
Your browser does not support the video tag. 10 Palpatine's Not As Good A Planner As He Thinks He Is 
Despite how well-thought-out much of Palpatine’s plans were, he was very reactive to situations. As someone who uses the Force for foresight, Palpatine should’ve been able to see many more of his problems before they happened. The clone army was something Palpatine had to integrate into his larger plan quickly. After Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas originally commissioned the army with the Kaminoans, Count Dooku took over as the face of the operation, murdering the Jedi. This hadn’t been in Palpatine’s original plan, but instead, it was a happy accident for the Sith Lord.
9 Palpatine Didn't Know ALL The Sith Secrets 
According to the in-universe book The Secrets of the Sith, Palpatine claims he never went to the planet Korriban, despite it being a planet home to the ancient Sith and the final resting place of Darth Bane. Darth Bane was the Sith Lord who created Star Wars’ Sith Rule of Two. It’s also known that the Rule of Two meant Sith Masters benefited from keeping secrets from their apprentices, meaning Palpatine’s master, Darth Plagueis, likely kept much from him, too.
8 Palpatine Was a Bad Master 
Palpatine himself was a great Sith Lord, but he was not a good master. Just in the Star Wars prequels, Palpatine had three apprentices—Maul, Dooku, and eventually Darth Vader. All three of these apprentices would eventually be killed by Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi killed Darth Maul in Star Wars Rebels, Anakin Skywalker defeated Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, and Vader met his fate at his master's hands because he was weakened by his son, Luke. Even though Palpatine was able to defeat many Jedi, he was never able to save his apprentices from them.
