Post by kuatorises on Apr 4, 2020 18:55:12 GMT
Do you think Snoke was capable of thinking independently and the Emperor allowed him to be the public face of the First Order or he had no mind/soul of his own and was just a literal puppet controlled by Palpatine?
When I first saw the movie, I came out of it thinking he was just an empty shell. No mind, soul, nothing. It was all just Palpatine inside.
But as time went on, I got away from that. Palpatine's own kid had a mind of his own. He rejected his "Dad's" beliefs and ran away, got hitched, and had Rey. Plus, we know that before they were "activated" the clones in the Clone Wars, while obedient, did have personality and ability to think on their own. So, Snoke was his own thing imo. Palpatine created him and controlled - or at the very least was his master - but his own thing. A copy of Palpatine.
That makes me wonder though, was he happy being subservient to Palpatine? Was it something he did willfully or just because he knew Palpatine was more powerful and like most Dark Siders secretly wanted to kill his master and become the boss?
That actually makes me wonder if there were ever more than just the two of them that existed at once, would there be a power struggle? That could be a fun comic. I actually belong to a Facebook group of guys who create Star Wars-themed dioramas. One of them is a bunch of Palpatine action figures, from him at various stages/ages, standing around Snoke like they were all about to kill him. It was pretty awesome.
I guess that’s an interesting question to ponder until it’s explained in some novel or comic (if they ever bother to explain it).
At the outset of TROS they show clones of Snoke in “growth tanks”. So he seems to be a composite clone for unspecified purposes. But it’s clear he was used as a puppet Darkside dictator.
It’s really tough to say whether he was an empty shell or not. The fact that he knew everything Palpatine could’ve possibly known is an argument in favor of him being an empty shell. And Palpatine tells Kylo that he’s been every voice inside of his head. And Snoke’s voice is included in that. But the thing that argues against it is I think it would be pretty difficult to do with a clone. They always have a measure of independent thought.
But I honestly don’t think that was the original plan for Snoke. I think he was originally intended to be a powerful Darksider who was not Sith. But he had special knowledge of all the events of the previous movies. And he was seizing on an opportunity to take over where Palpatine left off.
Unfortunately, despite Snoke being a refreshingly original creation by Abrams - I don’t think his backstory was ever really fleshed out. This was likely more of JJ Abrams notorious “mystery box”. A character with compelling questions he didn’t have answers to.
There was that ominous head wound on Snoke. That’s not something you would associate with an empty shell “puppet” (like, say, the Great Oz in the Wizard of Oz). There was probably some intention to make a story around that in the future. Something very important in Snoke’s past.
But Snoke has become a retcon hack job twice over.
That's on Rian Johnson, not Abrams.
The scar could have just been a result of the cloning process. A mutation, defect, or just damage considering bodies don't seem to be able to house Palpatine's evil without deteriorating.