Chat corner 71: Darth Plagueis

[annathecrow]

Welcome to this week’s chat corner!

Optional prompt

This week, the topic is “Darth Plagueis”, the Legends novel about Sidious’ own Sith master. The book was released in 2012.

Have any of you read it? Would you recommend it? It has the interesting position of a Legends book not yet overwritten by current canon. Would you like its plot to be “recanonized” eventually, or would you rather have something better?

 

Comments

[annathecrow]

The Dark Side post link, use as per the rules.

[fleurviolette]

Darth Plagueis was a good read. It does a good job of setting up the events that lead into The Phantom Menace. Also there’s some more backstory on the Naberries.

[annathecrow]

The setup for the prequels is the reason I'm actually considering the book, tbh. It might be useful as fanfic fuel, if nothing else.

[fleurviolette]

Yes, it is useful for lore building that ties more closely to the movies.

[kittywhite]

I've read it but found it a bit of a slog to get through, it took me ages to finish but the information included was valuable enough to make it worthwhile.
What I enjoyed the most (apart from insight to Sith training) was that it was clear that there was never any signs that Palpatine was ever a good person, coming into the book I was worried that they'd try to make a sympathetic backstory for him as everyone wants to do for villains nowadays.
Whilst that does make for more realistic characters it also ignores that some people are just shitty and selfish and there's room for both types of villains in media.

Also if you have a copy of this book in Hardcover Non-Legends it's worth a fair amount to collectors. The recent reissued paperback cover is pretty cool too.

[annathecrow]

"there was never any signs that Palpatine was ever a good person" -- oh, that's a relief. I'm torn on sympathetic villain backstories, I like to imagine them and I certainly loved some (I love Maleficent to bits, for example), but a sympathetic backstory for Sidious of all people is not what I'm into. Sometimes you just need someone to hate, you know?

Writing a good villain is difficult! Especially in Star Wars I think, where it's so damn easy to make them scenery-chewing caricatures because of the Dark Side. I mean, I love KOTOR, but Malak is just. Siiiiigh.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I like OT's villains the best. Darth Vader obviously, and Sidious, but Tarkin is great as well - I love to hate that guy - and Jabba is obviously Jabba (not a fan of the sexualized violence but well, the movie is old).

[kittywhite]

Yep to have a sympathetic backstory there needs to be hints beforehand that things might have been different under other circumstances and we never got that from Sidious.
(Anakin is probably the best example for this, I hate what he did but I feel sympathy for what led to it. Especially reading the High Republic books nowadays and seeing all the things that could have helped him. Special Training tailored to his unique situation? Help rather than punishment if you're slipping? Open attitudes to discussing taboo topics etc
All these things are present in the Order during that era and it's really upsetting to me that had he been born earlier he would have had a better chance.)

Agreed on Malak, Bastila should have been the final boss but the writers didn't have the guts to upset the fanbois and make the prize waifu do anything too bad. There's hints in the game that she's quite messed up but it's ignored because uwu hot girl. On my first play through I thought the twist would be that she was actually manipulating "me" given her powers, the player's rewritten personality and that she's grown resentful towards the council controlling her.
(I always laugh too when people say "omg she's if Leia was a Jedi", first off Leia IS a Jedi and no Bastila is closer to being Fem Anakin, right down to
the creepy possessiveness)

Jabba was actually regarded as a perve by other Hutts for liking human women and I've gotta say, now I don't wanna know what's "normal" for Hutt attractiveness ;)

[annathecrow]

Re: Bastila, I... would not have enjoyed that. XD I'm afraid I count as one of the fanbois in this instance, oops.

Although I do agree, there were many hints of Bastila creeping toward the Dark Side, and the fact that Malak turns her by torture feels a bit like a cop-out. It would have been more interesting if she was more active in her fall. That was definitely a lost opportunity. Almost makes me think it was planned that way, but the devs chickened out because of the love interest angle. Which, boo. As if women couldn't get a bit complicated.

"Bastila vs Leia as a Jedi" -- ha, no, definitely not. Leia has a lot of personality flaws that wouldn't vibe with either KOTOR-era or Late Republic era Jedi Order, but hers are a different flavor than Bastila's, I think.

"Bastila as female Anakin" -- that's a good point! I can see the similarities.

[extrapenguin]

I have yet to read Darth Plagueis, but I probably should, tbh. Not now, though, I have my FFFX project, soon will have my FIAB project, should still do the final vexercise, and oh, there's my independent longfic canon divergence project... Actually, let me share a quote from it. I have a grand total of four named OCs so far, only two of whom have more than one line of dialogue, but one of them is Like This and it's super amusing to write:

"This is Commodore Usha Retek of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. We have liberated Felucia from the Imperial yoke and have no intention of surrendering its right to self-determination on its behalf." Usha paused dramatically. "Tell me, Admiral, are you alone on the bridge? I have information that will shock and upset the foundations of your psyche."