#enabled and perpetuated whatever classism and corruption benefitted their ‘greater good ‘ because it was easier

[gch1995]

Palpatine is the pure evil “big bad” antagonist/cartoon villain of the prequels. Everyone else in the main cast sucks, in spite of their good intentions, and kind of got what was coming to them for not doing better under the pressures of systematic abuse, corrupt authority, crime, high expectations, in their insecurities, pride, fear of the unknown, and self-interest. However, it’s still tragic because they got worse than they deserved in the end, and they had so much potential to be amazing when they used their powers for good.

The prequels aren’t merely a story about Palpatine, Anakin, and the Sith ruining the lives of everyone else in the old Jedi Order and Republic they grew up in because they are the worst. If the Jedi Order and Republic were blameless victims in the prequels, then more of their members wouldn’t have felt the desire to eventually turn on them under pressure with compromised agency. If the adults involved in the old Republic government and Jedi Order had been blameless victims, then Darth Vader and the Empire couldn’t have existed in the first place. Where do people think that ends justify the means mentality came from in the first place? It certainly wasn’t something they learned from just Palpatine. It was a mentality that got reinforced in the Jedi Order and Republic many members of the Empire grew up in.

I feel like the Star Wars prequels fandom would be a lot more peaceful if people were more familiar with tragedy as a genre. It means everyone is problematic. All the characters make significant mistakes that have terrible consequences, which might have been averted had they chosen differently. Every character, every institution - they are all flawed and they're supposed to be flawed. It doesn't matter which flaws you, personally, find more or less acceptable. They all have cracks a mile wide. That's the point.