Darth Sidious

Pro's & Con's, Is Darth Sidious Sidious evil?

No, because a different point of view isn't evil.

If only his father supported his speeder bike passion.

EDIT: I'll elaborate. Sheev had a passion for speeder bikes. His father wouldn't allow it, so he ended up buying books on Sith Philosophy and learned he was Force sensitive. The Jedi never found out, so he grew in power as a hobby of sorts. He would, of course, use this power to further his own goals and eventually became Emperor.

Then there is the Death Star. He didn't make it for the sole purpose of defeating the rebellion or to instil fear into his subjects, but also to combat an incoming threat he foresaw. It had two purposes, but the end goal was to protect his Empire.

Of course he is because Star Wars is a story of Good vs Evil and in this story Sidious is the bad guy, the antagonist.

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: Of course he is because Star Wars is a story of Good vs Evil and in this story Sidious is the bad guy, the antagonist.

An element of good storytelling is to have a villain that is the hero of their own story. Its the clash of ideals that separates Hero from Villain.

Arisaig wrote:

Kyrin Wyldstar wrote: Of course he is because Star Wars is a story of Good vs Evil and in this story Sidious is the bad guy, the antagonist.

An element of good storytelling is to have a villain that is the hero of their own story. Its the clash of ideals that separates Hero from Villain.

I always found Lucas to one dimensional for such subtly. However what Disney is doing with the Franchise now depicts that in spades!

Arisaig wrote: No, because a different point of view isn't evil.

If only his father supported his speeder bike passion.

EDIT: I'll elaborate. Sheev had a passion for speeder bikes. His father wouldn't allow it, so he ended up buying books on Sith Philosophy and learned he was Force sensitive. The Jedi never found out, so he grew in power as a hobby of sorts. He would, of course, use this power to further his own goals and eventually became Emperor.

Then there is the Death Star. He didn't make it for the sole purpose of defeating the rebellion or to instil fear into his subjects, but also to combat an incoming threat he foresaw. It had two purposes, but the end goal was to protect his Empire.

What about Operation Cinder? His contingency was in no way viewable as good, as far as I can tell.

JLSpinner wrote:

Arisaig wrote: No, because a different point of view isn't evil.

If only his father supported his speeder bike passion.

EDIT: I'll elaborate. Sheev had a passion for speeder bikes. His father wouldn't allow it, so he ended up buying books on Sith Philosophy and learned he was Force sensitive. The Jedi never found out, so he grew in power as a hobby of sorts. He would, of course, use this power to further his own goals and eventually became Emperor.

Then there is the Death Star. He didn't make it for the sole purpose of defeating the rebellion or to instil fear into his subjects, but also to combat an incoming threat he foresaw. It had two purposes, but the end goal was to protect his Empire.

What about Operation Cinder? His contingency was in no way viewable as good, as far as I can tell.

For that, I'd have to go to old age, perhaps a touch of madness. Those aren't necessarily his fault, I imagine a lifetime of thwarting assassination attempts on your life would drive one a bit batty, if not insane. Sometimes better to die a hero than live long enough to see yourself become a villain. But I never doubt for a second that he was the good guy in his story. Yes, Operation Cinder was horrific, but imagine the ravings of a man clutching to sanity hoping to punish those that he deemed part of the problem that led to his death.

Loved Sheev Palpatine, is one of my all time favorites! The depth that James Luceno gave this character in Darth Plagueis was unbelievably great!

Lets see:

He hides in disguise among good and kind people lying and manipulating himself into a powerful position. He leverages that position to gain more power with more deceit, manipulation and misinformation. He lies, manipulates and distorts apprentices to do his dirty work and has them killed when someone better comes along. Lies and manipulates information to appears to be a victim of the evil he created. He attempts genocide of the people that are a threat to his lust for power and control of the universe. He used the most powerful weapon of it's time to intimidate and subordinate the galaxy and it's populations.. He kills or has killed billions of people. He wants the ultimate uninhibited power to control the galaxy at any cost to those around him.

I think that he is evil!

People who deceive, manipulate, and exploit those that trust them and betray those who are loyal to them are the bad guys.

OB1Shinobi wrote: People who deceive, manipulate, and exploit those that trust them and betray those who are loyal to them are the bad guys.

So yes, you can come up with scenarios that seem to disprove this on the surface, such as "what if i infiltrate the nazis and finesse my way into Hitler's advisors, so i can help defeat them" or something. But the fundamental principle of all morality, the basic distinction between good and evil, is something like "regard for the sanctity or value or rights of other people". If that isnt it exactly then its something like that.

So even if you present a hypothetical situation which seems to disprove my above, quoted statement, your hypothetical would ony be justified it it were still demonstrating expressions of regard for other. Its perfectly congruent with the basic principle of morality to use violence and deception in the presence of an invading, conquering enemy. Just as it is congruent to decieve and wound, or even kill, an intruder or attacker that forces deadly violence upon you.

If a person(s) used lies, deception and manipulation to fight evil may be justified if it's only used infrequently and stopped when the objective is achieved. A life time of such activities that impacts and kills billions is a different matter and is evil.

Yes, he was evil. He took active delight in the suffering of others. That is one of the main reasons that he was so good with force lightning. You had to enjoy causing suffering to truly master it. That alone makes him evil. Never mind the murder of many innocent people during his climb to and time as emperor. I am sure there are sith you could argue are not evil, but I do not believe Palpatine is one of them

I believe the people that choose to emulate him and follow his example are evil too.