Palpatine/Relationships

The relationships of Palpatine from the Star Wars universe.
==Family==
===Dathan===
Dathan was Palpatine's artificially created "son", a genetically modified clone (a strandcast) engineered from his DNA, that was created by the Sith cultists to give the Emperor a worthy receptacle to his soul. As the only survivor after many failed attempts to create other clones, Palpatine, as the clone's "father", was initially proud of Dathan as a creation, and called him his "son". However, the Sith Lord was disappointed when he realized that his son was another failure because he was not a Force-sensitive. Palpatine rejected him, believing something so weak ordinary could ever be produced from his bloodline, but he permitted his failed clone to live due to his healthy status, which he foresaw could provide at least some usefulness at some point.
Soon, in return for Palpatine's neglectfulness and harsh shunning, his son also rejected him and escaped from Exegol, leaving the Sith Lord furious as he saw this as an act of betrayal. However, having no more use for him as a vessel, Palpatine let his son leave, hoping that he would continue their bloodline through natural means. Several years later, after his father died and was revived in a clone body, Dathan married a woman named Miramir and Rey was born. Palpatine saw this as a new opportunity to acquire the vessel he needed, for the clone body wasn't strong enough to contain his dark side energy and was dying out. He sent an assassin, Ochi, to search for his son and his family. Ochi met Rey's parents and murdered them, but he was unable to find his granddaughter, Rey, who was abandoned on Jakku by her parents in an effort to hide her from Palpatine.
===Rey===
After being revived in an imperfect cloned body and his "son" got married to a woman named Miramir, which led to the birth of their daughter, Rey. Palpatine saw his granddaughter as the perfect new vessel for his soul and genetic heir to his legacy. He searched the galaxy for Rey, but after her parents abandoned her on Jakku, it would take many years until he found the girl again.
When Kylo Ren meets him on Exegol, Palpatine sees this as an opportunity to reach Rey through him. Upon finally meeting her, he tries to incite Rey's darkness and hate for him, so he will be able to possess her in the Sith ritual. He is very confident he will succeed and that no one will come for her, as he blames his last defeat at the hands of Anakin, due to the familiar connection Vader had with Luke, but Rey has nobody left as family but Palpatine himself.
However, Palpatine soon finds out he was wrong because, despite not having any family, Rey has a strong connection with Ben Solo, as they are a dyad in the Force. Ben comes to Exegol determined to rescue Rey from the Sith Lord, which encourages Rey fight and not to submit to what her grandfather wants. Upon seeing them together, Palpatine recognizes the true nature and power of their connection, and uses the energy of their bond to restore his imperfect body. But Palpatine underestimates his granddaughter, Rey's strong-will and power that manages to rise again with the help of the Jedi of the past, and this ends up leading him to his death, this time for good.
==Allies and Subordinates==
===Darth Plagueis===
Palpatine met Darth Plagueis, the Dark Lord of the Sith and leader of the Sith Order, by unknown means, and became his apprentice. Palpatine was renamed Darth Sidious, and trained in the ways of the dark side of the Force by his master. Eventually, Palpatine murdered his master in his sleep and became the official leader of the Sith Order.
===Maul===
Palpatine kidnapped Maul from his mother when he was an infant. After Plagieus gave him permission, Palpatine as Darth Sidious took the Nightbrother on as his apprentice and trained the Dathormirian in the ways of the Sith. Sidious mistreated Maul, however, merely seeing him as a tool that will obey his every command. Regardless, he assured his apprentice he was well-trained and the Jedi would be no match for him. But when Darth Maul was defeated and seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sidious felt no real loss and simply replaced Maul with another apprentice. His final act of faithful service to Palpatine was helping him become Surpreme Chancellor and helping him discover Anakin Skywalker.
When Darth Maul resurfaced with his brother Savage Opress, Palpatine saw the pair as a rival splinter faction and took Maul prisoner after murdering Opress. The Nightbrother later escaped, knowing that the end of the Clone Wars his master's plan was coming to fruition. Years after Palpatine formed the Galactic Empire, Maul fled to Malachor to obtain the Sith Holocron in the Sith Temple there. Sidious later had Darth Vader dispatch the Eighth Brother to hunt Maul and the Holocron down.
===Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus===
After Maul's defeat on Naboo, Palpatine took Dooku in as his second apprentice. Together, the pair created the Separatist Crisis which enabled him to remain in office after his term expired and the Clone Wars which forced the Senate to vote him emergency powers. Tyranus' allies also created the plans for the First Death Star. He also allowed Tyranus to train both General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. Tyranus' clumsiness however lead to the Jedi discovering Dooku is Darth Tyranus and about the bio-chips ensuring some of the Clones had theirs removed and enable themselves to disobey Order 66. When Anakin finally defeated Dooku, Palpatine ordered Anakin to kill him and Anakin complied. In the end, Dooku was merely a tool Palpatine used to convert Anakin into a Sith Lord.
===Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader===
Palpatine desired to have Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice since day one both due to the fact that Anakin's Force potential was high and because he saw a lot of his younger-self in the boy thus enabling him to realize that the boy was half-Sith already and didn't even know it. Anakin idolized Palpatine from the start.
When Anakin finally became Darth Vader, Palpatine finally unleashed the final phase of Darth Bane's grand plan and told Yoda, Vader would be more powerful than either of them. After Vader became a cyborg, Palpatine's faith in Vader was temporarily shaken due to sensing Vader was still between worlds. He sent Vader on many errands to help him complete his transformation starting with a mission to Murkana to execute Clone Troopers who disobeyed Order 66.
His faith in Vader was restored when Vader proved that becoming a cyborg had strengthened him instead of weakening him during the Subjugation of Kashyyyk. His faith in Vader was also strong to the point where he allowed Vader to found and train the entire Imperial Inquisition. Such was the faith in his apprentice's loyalty and ability that Palpatine ultimately told Vader the reasons for his remaking into a cyborg after the events on Mustafar that left him crippled; in order for the Empire to survive, Vader himself had to also survive.
Where Maul was but a loss and Darth Tyranus a tool to serve his purpose and be discarded, Vader was the true candidate to rule at Palpatine's side. But when he was disfigured, the plan to create the Galactic Empire was nearly ruined. However, by rebuilding him as the cyborg he would become, Palpatine saved both Vader and his plans for creating his Empire, therefore remolding him into what he considered to be the ultimate embodiment of strength and loyalty. This trust in Vader made him underestimate Luke Skywalker's positive influence on Vader and made him not take the matter seriously until it was too late.
===General Grievous===
Grevious was the only Separatist besides Dooku and the Separatist Council who knew about Sidious' involvement in the Clone Wars. However he didn't know that Sidious and Palpatine were the same person.
===Cad Bane===
During the Clone Wars, Palpatine hired Bane for several of his schemes. One was to abduct Force-sensitive children to create an army of dark-side warriors. Although this plan was foiled when Anakin and Ahsoka took back the kids.
Years later during the early years of the Empire, Bane operated as a class-one bounty hunter and was once again worked for Palpatine to track people with high midi-chlorian for a secret Imperial project overseen by the Advanced Science Division, a project that the Emperor himself regarded as of utmost importance.
===Wilhuff Tarkin===
Like Vader, Tarkin was one of Palpatine's most trusted followers. When Palpatine used his emergency powers to pass the Sector Governance Decree, a law that created the position of Moff and Planetary Governor, Tarkin became the first Moff. After Palpatine declared himself Emperor, Tarkin became the first Grand Moff and Palpatine placed him in charge of the entire Outer Rim and the construction of the Death Star.
===Thrawn===
Like Vader and Tarkin, Thrawn was one of the Emperor's most loyal and deadly followers.
===Gallius Rax===
Palpatine met Gallius Rax on Jakku during the events of Star Wars: Aftermath, where the orphaned boy had grown up. Upon meeting Rax, Palpatine offered him a choice; let Palpatine kill him quickly or accept the destiny Palpatine had foreseen for him. Choosing the latter, Rax became Palpatine's protege and was given the task of guarding the archaeological dig site Palpatine had commissioned there. Before leaving, Palpatine stated that he and Rax would be on a first-name basis with one another, as Palpatine stated that even an emperor must have friends. As such, Gallius Rax had the marked distinction of becoming one of the few if not the only person in the galaxy to truly be considered Palpatine's friend. Their friendship was such that it also eventually led to Rax's promotion to Admiral in the Imperial Navy.
===Snoke===
Palpatine created Snoke with the help of the Sith Eternal, to use a proxy in power to rule the First Order, and to indirectly oversee Kylo Ren's training, using the genetic strandcast to mold him into an heir worthy of the Sith legacy and test his capacity to inherit his grandfather's mantle. Snoke was viewed by Palpatine as little more than a tool to help find a means to end, and in the end when he fulfilled his purpose, the Sith Lord discarded him without a second thought. Palpatine didn't even consider Snoke to be a servant, and was (in the novelization for The Rise of Skywalker) "nothing but" Kylo Ren's test, yet still went as far as to credit Snoke for training the knight well, but still considered himself to be Ren's true master.
==Enemies==
===Mace Windu===
At first, Mace respected Palpatine due to not succumbing to the corruption in the Senate. However, after the existence of Darth Sidious was revealed to the Jedi Order, Mace resolved to keep a closer eye on the Senate and by the final days of the Clone Wars, he began to realize that Palpatine was not what he seemed. After Palpatine was revealed to be the Sith Lord in control of the Senate, Mace tried to kill him only to be stopped and literally disarmed by Anakin, which enabled Palpatine to kill him.
===Yoda===
Yoda got along well with Palpatine. However, by the final days of the Clone Wars, Yoda began to realize that the Chancellor was not what he seemed. After the Execution of Order 66, Yoda learned that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith who was behind all the trouble the Sith Order had been causing for thirteen years. He decided to kill the new Emperor. He failed but managed to gain an insight about the Banite Sith and escape. Palpatine never bothered to look for him. His not looking for Yoda proved to be the mistake that would destroy him because Yoda would go on to train Luke Skywalker, who brought about the event that would undo Darth Bane's grand plan; the return of the Jedi Knights.
===Obi-Wan Kenobi===
Obi-Wan did not think much of Palpatine even after the existence of Darth Sidious was revealed by Count Dooku, being the first to realize that the Chancellor was too good to be true. However, Obi-Wan began to become alarmed by Palpatine's increasingly dictatorial authority. These insights later saved his life. After the execution of Order 66 and the Proclamation of a New Order, Obi-Wan discovered that Palpatine was the Dark Lord of the Sith that Dooku warned him about. After Obi-Wan went into exile, Palpatine, unlike Vader, made no attempt to find him due to regarding him as not worth it. This proved to be a mistake that would become his undoing.
===Padmé Amidala===
Like her husband, Padmé saw Palpatine as a mentor and respected him for not succumbing to the corruption in the Senate. However, during the final days of the Clone Wars, Padmé began to realize that the Supreme Chancellor was too good to be true, and joined the Delegation of two thousand, a group that opposed the Chancellor's growing dictatorial authority.
During one such meeting, Padmé reminded the others that Palpatine had a supermajority in the Senate on his side and even went so far as to suggest turning to the Jedi Order for support. The others, however, felt that that was too extreme and, naively, believed that the Petition of two thousand would convince him to moderate his police state tactics and seek a diplomatic solution to the Clone Wars since it would show him that opposition to his methods was growing.
When Palpatine declared the Birth of the Galactic Empire and proclaimed himself Emperor, Padmé realized with horror that Palpatine had used the war to establish a monarchy with himself as the monarch and warned Bail not to speak out against him because she knew it was too soon. She was horrified when Obi-Wan revealed to her that the new emperor was Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Her twins would go on to bring Palpatine down.
===Bail Organa===
Bail Organa initially supported Palpatine. But as the Supreme Chancellor increasingly used his emergency powers to amass dictatorial powers, Bail realized that the Chancellor was not what he seemed. When Palpatine declared himself Emperor, Bail wanted to protest but was stopped by Padmé. Padmé advised him to be patient, telling him that Palpatine had the government in his hands and the people on his side which doomed any rebellion at this stage to failure and would just be used by the new emperor to destroy the Senate and what remained of the bureaucracy he had been forced to preserve in order to retain control of the galaxy. Bail knew she was right.
Afterwards, he learn from Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. When the pair's attempts to destroy the Sith failed, he helped them escape into exile. After Padme died, he took in Leia and raised her as his own. Bail later recruited Ahsoka Tano and had her establish the Rebel Network, a collection of Rebel cells, to undermine Palpatine until it was time for open rebellion.
===Ahsoka Tano===
Like her then-mentor Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka initially respected Palpatine. Though the Chancellor ignored the young Padawan in their first meeting, bringing Skywalker alone into his office. Eventually, the two became enemies after Palpatine oversaw Ahsoka's trial, which ended with her leaving the Jedi Order. After the Clone Wars ended and Palpatine declared himself emperor of the Galactic Empire, Ahsoka helped Bail Organa create the Rebel Network.
Years later, when Ezra Bridger saved Ahsoka from Darth Vader in the World Between Worlds, they saw Emperor Palpatine as he sought to gain access to the realm. Palpatine, believing she and Ezra were his, with the intention to kill Ahsoka and take Ezra for his ability to access the dimension, attacked them with blue flames but Ahsoka was much more powerful than Palpatine expected and though unable to repel Palpatine's attacks effectively, she was still able to save herself and Ezra and help him escape while Palpatine failed to kill her.
===Mon Mothma===
Like Padme and Bail, Mon initially respected Palpatine for not succumbing to the corruption that plagued the Galactic Senate and the Republic bureaucracy. However this respect was shattered as the Surpreme Chancellor used the emergency powers granted to him during the Clone Wars to obtain increasingly dictitorial powers. Mon joined the Delegation of two thousand to draft a petition to demand an end to the Clone Wars and his police state tactics. When the Chancellor declared himself Emperor, Mon, like Bail, pledged to dedicate her life to restoring the Republic and democracy that the new emperor destroyed. When the Rebel Network Bail created became the Rebel Alliance, Mon became its leader.
When she learned about the second Death Star and how Palpatine would be onboard during its completion, Mon approved orders to attack due to seeing it as a chance to finally overthrow him. When the Rebel Alliance won the Battle of Endor and became the New Republic, Mon became its first Chancellor. Chancellor Mon dedicated herself to ensuring that the New Republic never succumbed to the same incredible corruption and dangerous complacency that made the Birth of the Galactic Empire possible and after the Galactic Concordance was signed, she relinquished the emergency powers she was granted and passed the Military Disarmament Act. She also allowed Leia Organa to create and lead the Resistance to keep the First Order in check.
===Leia Organa===
Unlike her father, Anakin Skywalker, Leia hated Palpatine from an early age; Bail raised her to be dedicated to overthrowing the Emperor and restoring the Republic he had destroyed. He also taught her to keep these sentiments to herself so Alderaan would not get in trouble. When Leia was discovered to be a Rebel, Palpatine used her allegiance as a pretext to do what he always intended; to dissolve the Imperial Senate permanently and destroy what was left of the Old Republic's bureaucracy and make himself an absolute monarch. After Leia's death near the end of the First Order-Resistance war thereby disrupting Palpatine's plans, which in part turned Kylo Ren to turn back to Ben Solo, the Emperor believed her foolish act would be in vain.
 
===Luke Skywalker===
Unlike Luke's father Anakin Skywalker, he hated Palpatine from an early age; when Luke's existence was discovered, Palpatine supported Vader's decision to convert him into a Sith Lord. Palpatine tried to bring Luke over to his side the same way he brought Anakin to it, but Luke saw through it and refused. Angered, Palpatine tried to kill Luke with Force lightining, but Vader became Anakin again and killed him.
===Ben Solo/Kylo Ren===
Palpatine is the one behind Ben Solo's fall to the dark side. Palpatine started telepathically speaking to Ben since he was a child. Investing in the Skywalker bloodline, Palpatine desired to turn him to the dark side like he did to Ben's grandfather before him, and began to act as a secret guide and tormentor to the Skywalker heir. Palpatine played on Ben's insecurities, making him believe he was weak and that he could not survive without his help, and encouraging his negative thoughts and fears about his family, but also comforted and guiding him, telling him secrets and offering him warnings of danger.
He is the creator of Snoke, who started to communicate with Ben since he was an apprendice at Luke's Jedi academy, and Palpatine himself also whispered into young Ben's mind until he was corrupted with doubts about his family and the Jedi. After Ben feeling betrayed by his uncle, both Snoke and Palpatine finally managed to convince him to follow the dark side path. Ben decided to seek Snoke, becoming his apprentice and falling to the dark side as the Emperor had wanted for the Skywalker heir. As such, being the one that was manipulating Ben Solo from the beginning, Palpatine seems himself as Kylo Ren's true master.
A year after killing Snoke, Kylo meets a revived Palpatine on Exegol, and the Sith Lord reveals the truth about the manipulation to him. Palpatine is also pleased that Kylo killed Snoke, because of the ancient costume of the Sith apprentice to kill the master to assume his/her place. Thus, by murdering Snoke, Kylo proved himself worthy to be the heir of the Sith. Despite all these revelations, Kylo states that he won't serve Palpatine, as he refuses to serve another master after becoming the Supreme Leader.
Palpatine offers a Kylo the command of the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, and the Throne of the Sith if he kills Rey, ending the Jedi. They seem to reach an agreement, however, they are both just using each other for their own personal goals. While Kylo attempts to use the information about Rey's true lineage to convince her to join him and overthrow Palpatine, the Sith Lord uses Kylo as means to find Rey to possess her body to replace his imperfect cloned one.
In the end, Palpatine is surprised to find out that his granddaughter and Vader's grandson are actually a dyad in the Force, and exploits this powerful connection to rejuvenate himself. He then shows his contempt towards Ben and the Skywalkers when he mocks him and throws him into a pit to avenge his previous death at the hands of Anakin Skywalker.
Category:Relationships
Category:Star Wars relationships