Villain Therapy: SHEEV PALPATINE (Yes, that's actually his first name.)

How do skilled manipulators get their way?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are delving into the dark side with Emperor Palpatine. They discuss his master plan and how he uses others to seize power and get his way. Jonathan explains the many techniques that Palpatine uses, like gaslighting, grooming, and manipulating. Oh my! You may be surprised when Jonathan proposes to step in with therapy. Though Alan struggles with the prequels (don’t forget, the prequels hurt Alan), he talks about why he likes the Palpatine story line. How many prequel memes did you spot?

May the 4th Be With You!

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: Emily Colton
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[mjlamey]

Ian McDiarmid absolutely understood the meaning of the term "deliciously evil"

[SlothWithShades]

I love how Palpatine at the end of RotJ is the first person to call Luke "Jedi" and mean it. He spits it out like an insult. But to me it always carried the realization that "Yes, young Skywalker is a Jedi." Up to that point everyone either told him he's not ready or laughed at the idea of him becoming a space paladin.

[J_Halcyon]

Hayden Christiansen gets a bad rap for a lot of the prequels but he acted the script very well. He pulls off "whiny, angsty, adolescent who thinks he knows everything" beautifully.

[rebeccat]

I love the idea that Palpatine HATES Padmé (I guess as a sith hated is, like, the default emotion, but still.) She is constantly ruining his plans in E1. He wants to use her as a political prop, the poor 14 year old queen unjustly blockaded on her planet. But she escapes. Fine, we can pivot. Keep her visibly on Corusant where she can visibly generate sympathy. But NOOO she has to go back to Naboo, join with the gungans, and takes back her planet. And now Palpatine has to find a new apprentice. Palpy underestimating this 14 year old girl is the reason his evil plan had 37 steps and not 30. His plan ultimately worked out, but he would have gotten away with it sooner if it wasn't for that stubborn kid. So the look of deepest hatred Palpatine gives Luke is because he's Padmé's son, ruining complicated plans.

(One of the best things of the prequels imo is things like that that make moments in the OT more fun- like obviously Palpy's look of hatred could not have been an intentionally portraying "ugh he's Padmé + the best of Anakin, " but it fits and it's so funny)

[shadeon]

Palpatine’s such a villain that “If He tells you snow is white he’s lying”

[TheRogueCommand]

I forget where I heard this, but someone described the brilliance of Palpatine's plan as "The jedi lost the clone wars the moment they chose to fight in it."

[redlox]

The prequels do have their flaws but I feel them fleshing out Palpatine rise to power was definitely something the prequels had going for them.

[sporkleton]

Another contrast to Anakin and Luke is that Palpatine had years of whispering into Anakin's ear. Anakin was growing up in an unhealthy environment as a slave to Watto. Even when he got freed, he was just under "new management" under the Jedi. So Palpatine became Anakin's father figure. Luke had an actual father figure in Owen.

[karanhdream]

They're doing our boy Palpy? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!

[michelletheia]

A great thing McDiarmid does, and it’s often very subtle, is switch between a Sheev Voice and an Emperor Voice. When he’s being gracious, smarmy, political or disarming he speaks in a lighter voice, more nasally, higher pitched, and with a slight smile to everything. Everytime he talks to Padme, when he’s speaking to the Jedi in the first two prequels, and similar scenes.
His emperor voice (or maybe with voice) is deeper, has a gravelly but strong aspect, comes from his chest and throat, and is projected from the diaphragm (and with emotive force), even when low volume. His “Do it!” Is peak emperor voice. His entire opera house interaction with Anakin is in emperor voice.
He even goes back and forth within scenes. When he is creating the grand army of the republic he starts out briefly in Sheev voice but is deep in emperor voice for “…when this crisis has abated!” Interestingly when he reveals himself to Anakin he is mostly in Sheev voice, playing on Anakin’s sympathy and their connection. When Anakin teeters he pulls out the E voice to show strength and redirect anakin’s focus.

It’s so damned masterful and incredibly subtle at times

[trinathebookworm]

I still remember you guys describing Palpatine as the scuzzy boyfriend always looking to trade up.

[unsightedshadow]

I would like to point out something in the meadow scene: when Anakin says he doesn't think the system works, he SOUNDS like Palpatine. He literally subconciously imitates his tone. That scene is more layered than people realize, and that's why it works. And mad respect for Hayden Christensen for that small detail.

[DarthShunkle]

Palpatine is probably my favorite example of a Machiavellian character in all of cinema.

[paigemalloy]

"I am a Jedi. . . Like my father before me."


_Always_ gives me chills ❤

[potitishogun]

Palpatine is one of those characters that's just flat-out irredeemable. In Legends, it was explained that even as a child, Sheev was a monster of a kid. A bully, a black sheep, a character that saw everyone as "below" him, and took advantage of his dad's wealth and influence. He murdered his own family to prove himself towards the Dark Side, and grew his influence from there. He has no attachments, no people to love or care about, no... redeeming qualities. Just a monster, in and out, thriving in the murder and torture of others. Putting up a kind, polite, decent font to hide his intense sadism and disdain towards life in general. I'm not sure if therapy would even help for this guy. He's only gonna try and carve out that need for power further. It's only when he rules the universe, when he's truly content.

That being said; how would you guys feel about doing a Hero Therapy for Mace Windu? What could this stone-cold bastard have done different to save the universe?

[FruitMeate]

"It is with... great reluctance"

I almost spit tea all over my computer.

[codenamelarry]

Hard to believe Ian McDiarmid was only in his late 30s when he was in Return of the Jedi.

[youngcanuck]

21:32 back in Knights of the Old Republic, Jolee Bindo said something very similar. “Love doesn’t lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled… but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love… that’s what they should teach you to beware. But love, itself, will save you… not condemn you.”

[fightingfalcon]

The way I took it when Palpatine says “It was only natural” isn’t so much him trying to convince Anakin it was his idea to kill Dooku, but rather that he was trying to get Anakin to think that wanting to kill him was okay. I read the Revenge of the Sith novelization (I would argue the greatest Star Wars novel of all time), and they provide some interesting context in their version of those events. Anakin has a moment of realization when Palpatine tells him to kill Dooku. He interprets Palpatine’s “do it” not as a command, but PERMISSION. He takes Palpatine saying that as Palpatine knowing he wants to kill Dooku, to take his revenge for maiming him and trying to execute him, his mentor/best friend, and lover, but is hesitating because the Jedi told him it’s wrong. To Anakin, Palpatine is basically saying Anakin’s feelings about wanting to kill Dooku is correct. And then when he does it and seems to regret, Palpatine is less trying to convince him it was his idea all along, but more so trying to help Anakin justify it to himself. “Yeah, you did the right thing, kid. Don’t worry about it. Totally natural to feel that way. He had it coming. You were right.”

[DarkLightHuntress]

Cinema Therapy: *Posts Villain Therapy video on Palpatine*
Me: *Palpatine cackle*