STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Dir. Irvin Kershner 

It tickles me that the empire is literally an ouroboros eating its own tail

A New Hope (1977) dir. George Lucas

— George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant

LEIA In Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back (2003)

«I used to bring Qui-Gon here as a boy. He was fascinated with this tree, having been born here on Coruscant, a planet of steel and stone. He knew nothing like it».

Andor 2x01 (2025) // Star Wars Rebels 4x15 (2018)

The thing with Palpatine is that I do believe he cared for Anakin, like, he really did! In a extremely twisted way, because see, he really DIDN'T need Anakin, seriously he didn't. Palpatine's plan was going to work either way and he already had power over a republic already becoming a failed state.

For him Anakin was kinda just a whim, a little extra thing to rub on the face of the jedi to take their golden powerful chosen one and make him a menace from the inside. He really DIDN'T NEED to put on the work to groom him for over a decade, exhaust him emotionally and isolate him to the point of extreme distress, like he seriously put a lot of work on it and it wasn't needed.

So he cares for Anakin like the thing he's a bit obssesed with, he cares for Anakin the same way you care for an extra score, like the cherry on the top, he cares for Anakin in a possesive 'Look what I made of him', which is pretty much what abusive parents that see their children as just an extension of themselves do. But there is some very twisted and awful love in there, and Vader probably knows that, and in his fried mind he's unable to be anything else but grateful that there's someone that cares for him even if is for, yknow, a walking weapon.

Palpatine didn't really to put on the work to go and look for Vader when he sensed he was in danger, nor to put on all the work to put him into an Iron-Maiden-Suit, like yeah he relished in the torture, but he didnt want him to lose him just yet. It isnt until 20 years later that he seems to be kinda okayish with Vader dying, and partially i think is because at that point he got a bit bored of Vader lol

But my point is that he did put an awful lot of work for something completely unnecessary for his plans, an awful lot of work just to rub it on the face of the jedi that didnt even exist anymore for the most part. Except to maybe have the last laugh at Yoda and Obi-Wan. So yeah, Anakin was Palpatine's little prized pet, and probably his little obssesion, like I'm sure it just made his game more entertaining; but also he's repeating the cycle that all sith have been doing.

He's in a way just doing exactly what Plagueis did with him, because man being a sith lord surely sounds lonely, after a while you might as well start caring for the guy that you're trying to manipulate into murdering everything that moves since he was 9, even if is in a very selfish and dehumanizing way.

The way Biggs literally smacks Luke on the ass.

This may be the only thing I do that matters.

The light of Alderaan still travels through space and time, if you look up at the night sky it's like it never really left ✨ Happy May the 4th!