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star wars - In the prequel trilogy, are we (the audience) intended to know Palpatine's true identity?


I'm trying to keep this spoiler free-ish, just in case.


Disregarding the prequel trilogy not holding many surprises when the saga is watched in release order (such as spoiling the major reveal in The Empire Strikes Back), when taken in chronological order, is the viewer intended to know the true identity of Palpatine?


I remember watching The Phantom Menace at release and it seemed the movie took pains to keep the characters separate. At the same time, it was obvious to me given the actor is the same in both trilogies.




Incidentally, I think I can count on one hand the number of times in The Clone Wars that any hint was given as to Sidious' civilian alter ego.



Is there word from Lucas that this was intentional?



Answer



Yes and no. The blurb on the back of the DVD cover certainly suggests that it wasn't a big secret...



"Obi-Wan Kenobi, the wise old Jedi from the original series, is a determined young apprentice and Palpatine, well known as the evil Emperor, is an ambitious Senator in the Galactic Republic..."



But at the same time, there's no explicit confirmation that the two characters are connected within Phantom Menace film, assuming you're willing to overlook the fact that they're played by the same actor.



There's also a scene where Yoda asks if Maul was the master or the apprentice which then features an immediate pan to Palpatine but again, this doesn't outright tell you anything.



YODA : Always two there are....no more...no less. A master and an apprentice.


MACE WINDU : But which one was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?



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Where the novelisation is concerned, the answer is a qualified yes. Although there are scenes with both Palpatine and Sidious, they're never mentioned (or named) together in the same chapter.


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