Summary
- Recent Star Wars Disney+ series are finally addressing the infamous plot hole of Emperor Palpatine's return, which was poorly explained in The Rise of Skywalker.
- Shows like The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch are exploring the aftermath of Palpatine's death and the efforts of the Imperial Remnant to bring him back, including secret cloning facilities.
- It is revealed that Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker involved a clone of the Sith Lord, and the series suggest that his manipulations and research into cloning extend back to before the Galactic Civil War.
Star Wars has experienced a resurgence in recent years thanks to its Disney+ television shows, including the brand-new Ahsoka series currently airing its first season. In the past, the franchise has been known to use its television series, including The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, to fill in plot holes that were left behind by the main films in the saga. Now, it is becoming abundantly clear that Star Wars' recent round of Disney+ series are finally answering one of the franchise's most infamous recent plot holes.
Many Star Wars fans weren't happy with the explanation of Palpatine's return in The Rise of Skywalker, which was largely glossed over in favor of a line spoken by Poe Dameron: "Somehow, Palpatine returned." This line was immediately singled out as a massive example of lazy writing on the part of Lucasfilm, providing little real explanation for how Emperor Palpatine was able to survive his death in Return of the Jedi. Naturally, Dameron's quote became a meme in record time. However, as Star Wars has always been prone to do, recent series like The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, and more have been slowly working toward a proper explanation for the major villain's return in the conclusion to the sequel trilogy.
Star Wars Is Finally Explaining How Palpatine Returned
While the very act of bringing Emperor Palpatine back for Rise of Skywalker was controversial in and of itself, the main criticism of the villain's return was how it was handled. The ninth Star Wars film received plenty of mixed reviews, in part due to its somewhat lackluster storyline. Many fans felt like the film couldn't even find the time to explain the reappearance of its main villain, who hadn't been present in the previous two installments. However, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau both seem determined to finally answer this question, crafting a subplot between series like The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch to explain how Palpatine could survive his apparent death. This plotline ties several recent Star Wars shows together as the Imperial Remnant works to bring back their infamous leader.
Shows like The Mandalorian strive to explain Palpatine's return by exploring what happened to the Empire after his death. In the wake of the Empire's fall at the end of the Galactic Civil War, several Imperial warlords continued to do Palpatine's work in the galaxy. They worked from behind the scenes, right under the nose of the New Republic to sow discourse in the galaxy. This included the continuation of projects that appear to have been part of a contingency plan put in place in case the Empire should ever fall. Other series, mainly The Bad Batch, reveal that these plans have been in place for many years, with extra research into cloning taking place in the years just after the Republic was consolidated into the Empire. When all the details revealed in each show are combined, the explanation behind Palpatine's return seems much clearer.
Everything Star Wars Has Revealed About Palpatine’s Return SoFar
From the information provided by the recent series, it appears that it was a clone of Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker, not the original Sith Lord. The Mandalorian's third season in particular backs up this idea, with Moff Gideon revealed to have been behind the formation of several secret cloning facilities which could easily have been used to bring Palpatine back to life. Additionally, the Imperial Remnant's fixation on locating Force-sensitive children like Grogu suggest that their plan includes studying these individuals in an effort to produce a Force-sensitive clone--the very same being that would later appear in Rise of Skywalker.
The Bad Batch and Andor both suggest that, in addition to the post-Return of the Jedi events in the Disney+ series, Emperor Palpatine's master manipulations extend all the way back to before the Galactic Civil War. The Empire is particularly interested in the defective Clone Force 99, especially Omega. This would suggest that Palpatine was already in the practice of experimenting with new types of clones, perhaps in anticipation of creating a Force-sensitive duplicate of himself in case of his death. Andor even provides the perfect test subject in Andy Serkis's Kino Loy, who remained in Imperial capture by the end of the first season. Serkis also portrays Supreme Leader Snoke in the sequel trilogy, leading to theories that the Empire used Loy as a guinea pig, turning him into the villainous leader of the First Order as a test of new cloning techniques in anticipation of the Emperor's return.
As unsatisfying as Rise of Skywalker's explanation of Palpatine's return may be, it has led to a Renaissance of Star Wars Disney+ series. Star Wars has frequently used TV series to fill in plotholes that are left behind, much like Anakin's devlopment in the Prequels. Now the current plotlines of the shows all point toward the ultimate reveal of Palpatine's resurrection--and a much more satisfying story overall.