Highlights
- The weakness of the Jedi in the prequel trilogy is a common theme, with plausible explanations including the Force being clouded and the balance of the Force being thrown off.
- While some characters were suspicious of Palpatine, they didn't suspect him of being a Sith Lord. The Jedi felt there was no need to investigate him closely and his close proximity to them made them believe in his innocence.
- Palpatine used his powers to hide his true nature from the Jedi, utilizing Force Concealment to completely hide his presence in the Force while clouding the Force for the Jedi. The Clone Wars also kept the Jedi busy and weakened, preventing them from realizing his true identity.
While they were once a thing of scorn, the Star Wars prequels have seen a resurgence of sorts in the minds of fans. Whether that is due to unhappiness with the sequel trilogy or simply due to a shift in tastes, the Star Wars prequels now rank as some people’s favorite movies in the series. Regardless of where anyone stands, there is one tiny thing that tends to throw a lot of people off, and that surrounds Palpatine.
The emperor of evil is in close proximity to the Jedi, and not just any Jedi. Some incredibly powerful Jedi like Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi failed to realize what he was. For whatever reason, none of these Jedi could sense that Palpatine was the Sith Lord they’d be searching for. The question is, why couldn’t anyone sense Palpatine’s evil presence?
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Were The Jedi Weak During The Prequels?
One common theme across the Star Wars prequel trilogy is that the Jedi are vastly weaker compared to the Jedi of previous generations. Believe it or not, despite there being many plausible interpretations for why the Jedi were so weak, there isn’t any confirmed reasoning out there. The most commonly cited explanations are Yoda’s mention of the Force constantly being clouded. As many Star Wars fans know, a connection to the Force is vital to the strength of a Jedi or Sith. This may be why they were weakened.
The balance of the Force for Force-wielders had been thrown off to a large degree, potentially due to the amount of practicing users on either side. This seems to have created a lot of struggle within the Force. There is another potential explanation that involves Palpatine using his immense power to somehow depower the Jedi, but even though he is incredibly strong, that can be a little hard to believe. Realistically, the Jedi didn’t seem all that much weaker than the Jedi that came before. Instead, the proximity of the greatest evil the galaxy far, far away has ever known likely caused some level of Force interference.
Were Any Characters Suspicious Of Palpatine?
This is a bit of a complex question. There is plenty of potential evidence that some characters were suspicious of Palpatine; however distrusting his intentions is very different from suspecting him of being a Sith Lord. Most of the highest-ranking Jedi appeared suspicious of Palpatine to some extent, but more so because of the nature of his position as a politician. As keepers of peace, the Jedi always need to be wary of who’s rising in power and what their goals are. It’s possible that many Jedi like Yoda didn’t think Palpatine had the best intentions for the galaxy in mind.
The Jedi had Palpatine particularly close to them, meaning they always had the ability to know what he was up to if they wanted to (or so they believed). As such, they felt there wasn’t any need to look too deep into him. Palpatine was also occasionally a target of nefarious forces, resulting in the Jedi’s need to protect the politician, which further solidified the man’s innocence. The time to investigate Chancellor Palpatine finally comes in the ever-twisting Revenge Of The Sith. The Jedi Council has Anakin spy for them, which likely added to their eventual downfall.
The struggles of the Clone Wars put the Jedi in a vulnerable position. However, they needed Anakin to use his friendship with Palpatine to understand what the man was up to, considering he had held power far longer than he was ever intended to. Anakin himself may develop suspicions about Palpatine after he is told the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise and all of his Sith powers, but at that point, it doesn’t matter. Anakin is so determined to do whatever he has to in order to protect Padme that it has ceased to matter whether Palpatine is a Sith Lord.
Why Couldn’t The Jedi Sense Palpatine?
Going back to the previous idea of Palpatine using his powers on the Jedi, this is the most commonly understood reason why the Jedi were unable to sense him. Palpatine had a plan that he executed to perfection, and that means he needed some way to keep himself from being found out by the Jedi until the right time. Being close to someone as powerful as Yoda would complicate Palpatine’s plan to remain hidden. Luckily though, he was strong enough to make expert use of a relatively common Force ability: Force Concealment (also known as Force Stealth).
With Force Concealment, Palpatine was able to completely hide his presence in the Force, while still being able to cloud the Force for the Jedi. Of course, it should be noted that the canonicity of a Force power like this seems up to interpretation. But with what is known about the powerful teachings of the Sith, this ability is not out of the question for Palpatine. If the master of evil was capable of living through the Force itself long enough to enter a clone body after his first death, it’s not a stretch to believe that Palpatine would be capable of such a feat.
An additional aspect to keep in mind during the prequel trilogy is the Clone Wars. This massive war was time-consuming, costly to the lives of the weakened Jedi, and resulted in a struggle across the galaxy. The Jedi were spread out and struggling to assist with maintaining piece while they were fighting a war. Palpatine kept his rivals busy and slowly weakened them, which was likely another stroke of genius in his plan that managed to keep the Jedi from sensing that he was the true culprit behind all the evil.
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