Skip to main content

star wars - Why didn't Mace Windu consult Yoda before going after Palpatine?


After Anakin told Windu that Palpatine was a Sith, Windu made a plan on the fly to assassinate Palpatine with few Jedi present.


Why didn't he contact Yoda and other Jedi Masters who were in the battlefield before going after Palpatine?


They could have even reached the conclusion that the Clone Wars was a deceit (Dooku was on Separatists' side, so reaching this conclusion shouldn't have been difficult) and they could have returned to Coruscant. Or maybe, Yoda could have said, "Powerful may be, the Dark Lord. Wait for me, you must."



Answer



The Jedi learned that Palpatine was a Sith Lord when Palpatine told Anakin. Anakin decided not to attack Palpatine at the time but instead to report him to the Jedi Council, at which point he informed Mace Windu about Palpatine. When Windu learned the truth about Palpatine he had to realize that time was of the essence: a Sith Lord was the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and knew that the Jedi were aware of him (because he told Anakin). Windu knew that Palpatine, as the Supreme Chancellor, had considerable power that he could potentially use against the Jedi before the Jedi could act. Thus, Windu had to have concluded that he needed to attack Palpatine immediately.



At the time, Yoda was leading the Republic troops in the Battle of Kashyyyk and was unavailable to help. Nonetheless, Windu had Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto with him. It was reasonable for him to think that four Jedi Masters -- all on the Jedi Council -- would be sufficient to arrest one Sith Lord.


Since (a) time was of the essence, (b) Yoda was unavailable, and (c) it was 4 Jedi Masters vs. 1 Sith Lord, it was reasonable for Windu to attack Palpatine immediately and think that he could win the showdown.


(Review the Episode III synopsis if you don't remember the sequence of events.)


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

Could one of Voldemort's Death Eaters have killed or harmed Harry at Privet Drive?

In Order of the Phoenix , Dumbledore explains to Harry the protection that the Dursleys' home provides: While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years. Dumbledore says that he cannot be "touched or harmed by Voldemort". Does this mean that he could have sent a Death Eater to just bust down the door and kill Harry, assuming that Voldemort would allow them to? And even if he didn't want them to kill him, could they have harmed him in some other way (e.g. the Cruciatus Curse)? Answer No. Harry was protect...