Who Is Darth Plagueis? Palpatine’s Sith Master Explained

Even with Darth Plagueis dead and gone, Sheev Palpatine remains committed to his master’s political cause. He tactfully overthrows the Galactic Republic and becomes the Emperor of the reorganized Galactic Empire, ruling with an iron fist. When he loses and the Empire falls at the end of the Galactic Civil War, he hides in the shadows for decades before reemerging with effectively the same plan. With countless troops and ships at his disposal, he attempts to sidestep the Resistance and First Order conflict to make the Sith Eternal the dominant faction in the galaxy.

Throughout all of this, Palpatine maintains the Sith studies he began with Plagueis and continues their pursuit of immortality. He spends much of the Empire’s reign exploring cloning, though, as seen with projects like the clone body he occupies on Exegol in «Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,» he doesn’t quite nail it. Seeing as he moves his mind from one body to another, it’s fair to say he at least figures out Force transference. He also creates artificial beings like Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) along the way, and uses Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Ben Solo’s (Adam Driver) Force dyad to regenerate himself.

All in all, Darth Plagueis is a victim of his own ambition. He wants power, eternal life, and Sith glory so badly that it never even occurs to him that he’s outlasted his usefulness to his apprentice. At the same time, his knowledge, techniques, and goals very much live on through Emperor Palpatine. In a sense, he achieves the enduring life he so strongly desires. He’s just not alive to see it.