Star Wars: Everyone Who Knew Palpatine Was a Secret Sith Lord

Precious few people in the Star Wars galaxy knew Palpatine was actually a Dark Lord of the Sith – here’s a complete list.

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The Emperor carefully concealed the fact he was a Sith Lord – even when he ruled the entire Star Wars galaxy. Darth Sidious was always a schemer, preferring to operate in the shadows rather than stand in the spotlight. When he finally became Emperor in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, he saw no need to abandon the secrecy that had served him so well for years. The Empire he ruled was characterized by deceit and mistrust, with only the upper echelons knowing the truth about their leader.

Indeed, the first Star Wars novelization suggests the Emperor had managed to deceive the entire galaxy into continuing to believe he was a kindly and generous man. The evils of the Empire were blamed on Palpatine’s advisers and military leaders, with the public believing the Emperor himself was unaware of what was going on. It was the grandest deceit of all; even as he plotted acts of darkness that gradually corrupted the entire galaxy, Palpatine retained the reputation of being naïve and incorruptible. Leaders of the Rebel Alliance knew better, with many former Senators such as Mon Mothma having long since recognized the Emperor’s hand in manipulating events, but even they never seem to have suspected he was a Dark Lord of the Sith. All that appears to have changed after Return of the Jedi, when the Emperor’s robots initiated Operation Cinder in Palpatine’s name, and the Empire abandoned any pretense of morality. By the time of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine was able to send a message out to the entire galaxy associating himself with the Sith.

Still, it’s interesting to look back at who knew the Emperor’s secret during his reign as Emperor and the Galactic Civil War. The canon list is a lot shorter than it would have been under the old Expanded Universe, but curiously enough it follows roughly the same pattern; the upper echelons of the Empire, some dark side cultists, and precious few of the Rebel Alliance. Surely his Imperial Guards also knew, but as none of them are given individual identities in canon, they won’t be addressed in this list.

Darth Vader

As Palpatine’s apprentice, Darth Vader was well aware of his Master’s true identity; indeed, the revelation that Palpatine was Sidious was instrumental in Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Darth Vader became the public face of the dark side Force cult, known to the galaxy as the Dark Lord of the Sith but in reality subservient to his Master. Few knew enough of the Sith to understand there should not be one Sith but two, and any who did know that much probably assumed one of Vader’s Inquisitors was actually a Sith Apprentice.

Darth Maul

Although Darth Maul was considered a Sith Apprentice, in truth Palpatine always thought of him as little more than a tool. As such, until the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars it was difficult to say just how much Maul knew – including whether he was aware Darth Sidious was actually Palpatine. Those questions were answered during the Siege of Mandalore, however, when Maul teased Ahsoka Tano with just enough information to suggest he knew all about Order 66 and Darth Sidious’ plans for Anakin Skywalker. Maul seems to have viewed this knowledge as power, however, and there’s no evidence he ever told anyone in the various criminal cartels he ran over the years.

Mas Amedda

A Chagrian politician who served in the Galactic Senate from the time of Chancellor Valorum onwards, Mas Amedda was one of Palpatine’s closest political allies. Mas Amedda proved himself useful during Palpatine’s rise to power, helping him navigate the treacherous waters of galactic politics and ultimately witnessing the Sith Lord’s ascension to Emperor. He remained implacably loyal to Palpatine over the next few decades, but curiously he was not approached by the Emperor’s droids in order to participate in Operation Cinder after Palpatine’s death in Return of the Jedi. Mas Amedda was ultimately the one who brought the Galactic Civil War to an official end when he signed a peace treaty with the New Republic on behalf of the Empire.

Sly Moore

Another of Palpatine’s closest allies, Sly Moore served as his Chief of Staff during his time as Chancellor. Not only was Sly Moore aware of Darth Sidious’ true nature, she herself was actually a Force-sensitive, successfully concealing her own dark side powers from the Jedi. The Umbaran woman’s past is still something of a mystery, but she remained unflinchingly loyal to the Emperor throughout his reign, and recent issues of Darth Vader have confirmed she was still a power-player in Palpatine’s government until shortly before Return of the Jedi. She appears to have vanished after the destruction of the Second Death Star; it is possible she was one of the Sith cultists who knew the secret of the Sith redoubt of Exegol in the Unknown Regions, and that she headed there to attempt to resurrect her master.

Grand Moff Tarkin

One of the Empire’s foremost military minds, James Luceno’s novel Tarkin confirms the Grand Moff became close enough to figure out his master, the Emperor, was actually a Dark Lord of the Sith; he likewise deduced that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker. But Tarkin had no real interest in the secrets of the Sith, nor was he at all interested in challenging the Emperor’s reign. He proved himself a loyal ally, with his so-called “Tarkin Doctrine” – of using fear to bring the galaxy to heel – fitting in nicely with the Sith philosophy. Tarkin died on the First Death Star.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

The Chiss strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn was the only alien to attain such a high military rank in the Imperial Navy, primarily because his knowledge of the Unknown Regions was useful to the Emperor. Timothy Zahn’s novels have strongly suggested Thrawn – like Tarkin – swiftly deduced Palpatine’s true identity as a Dark Lord of the Sith. Lacking any real interest in the ways of the Jedi and the Sith, Thrawn viewed all this as some sort of intellectual curiosity and disregarded it in order to continue doing his duty in service to the Emperor.

Gallius Rax

Gallius Rax was a Sith cultist who was introduced in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy. He appears to have numbered among the Emperor’s closest advisers, even anticipating his resurrection after the Battle of Endor. Still, for all Rax held Palpatine in high esteem, he did not fully understand the ways of the dark side; he was aware the Emperor sensed a dark presence in the Unknown Regions, most likely the ancient Sith world of Exegol, but he was unable to understand why only Palpatine could detect it. He actually thought the Emperor had gone mad.

Ochi of Bestoon

The Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon was first mentioned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, identified as the agent of Palpatine who killed Rey’s parents. He’s since been woven into the Star Wars timeline, introduced in the current Darth Vader run as an agent of the Emperor who was assigned to target Vader himself for his failure in The Empire Strikes Back. Ochi seems to know far more of the Emperor’s secrets than even Darth Vader, with dialogue hinting he was aware of Palpatine’s attempts to conquer death and the cultists who were based on Exegol.

Master Yoda

Master Yoda learned the painful truth about Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and he even engaged the Dark Lord of the Sith in a desperate duel in the Senate chambers. Yoda subsequently retreated to the planet Dagobah to meditate upon the ways of the Force and continue his apprenticeship to the Force Ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn, aware he was not the one who would put the galaxy to rights.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Like Master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi learned Palpatine’s true identity in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Where Yoda went after Palpatine, Obi-Wan targeted Darth Vader himself. He subsequently retreated to the desert planet Tatooine to watch over the infant Luke Skywalker, and he came to believe Luke was the true Chosen One who was destined to destroy the Sith. Obi-Wan seems to have largely kept his head down during the time of the Empire, wary of drawing too much attention to himself for fear of exposing Luke to danger, and he died in the first Star Wars film.

It’s difficult to say whether or not any of the Rebel leaders knew Palpatine was a Sith Lord. Although Bail Organa heard Yoda and Obi-Wan talking after their fateful battles with Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, he was never actually told; he may well have put the pieces together, however.

Ahsoka Tano

Anakin Skywalker’s old apprentice Ahsoka Tano was one of the few to figure out Palpatine was a Sith Lord. E.K. Johnston’s novel Ahsoka is largely set shortly after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and it sees Ahsoka hunted by one of the Inquisitors. “The shadow was almost certainly one of the dark side’s creatures. Ahsoka had no idea what sort of thing it might be, but whatever it was couldn’t be that powerful, because it hadn’t been able to track down Hedala,” Ahsoka reflected. “That ruled out Palpatine himself, not that the Emperor could just show up on a planet without causing a great deal of alarm.” This would explain why Ahsoka was unsurprised to see the Emperor wielding the Force when she encountered him in the World Between the Worlds. There was also an encounter planned between Ahsoka and Sidious in the finals seasons of The Clone Wars, but the series got canceled and the story arc is one of the many left unfinished in the eventual season 7 on Disney+.

Ezra Bridger

That fateful encounter in the World Between The Worlds almost certainly saw Ezra Bridger work out the Emperor was a Dark Lord of the Sith, however. Ezra was no stranger to the ways of the Sith, having learned from a Sith Holocron and mistakenly entertained a bond with Darth Maul, and he would undoubtedly have recognized Sith lightning. The curious question is whether he ever chose to tell any of his friends; Ezra may well have simply assumed everybody higher up in the chain of Rebel command knew this, and so kept it to himself.

Eneb Ray

One Rebel spy did, however, discover Palpatine’s Sith powers – and almost fell prey to them. In Marvel’s Star Wars annual #1, the Emperor tricked an agent named Eneb Ray into mustering all the Rebel spies on Coruscant to make an assassination attempt. They successfully killed a Palpatine body double, but the Emperor destroyed the entire installation they were in – and blamed the Rebellion for the supposed act of terrorism. Eneb Ray managed to escape the trap and launch an attack upon Palpatine himself, only for the Emperor to block the blaster bolts and project a deadly volley of Force lightning. Although Eneb Ray survived, he was demotivated and discouraged by his failure. He abandoned the Rebel Alliance because he believed their tactics were too weak, and sought revenge upon Palpatine and the Empire. Needless to say, he didn’t last long.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-everyone-knew-palpatine-secret-sith/