What If Mace Windu Had Killed Palpatine In ‘Episode III?’

The moment that marked Anakin Skywalker’s true fall from the light was when he intervened against Mace Windu in the duel with Chancellor Palpatine (more appropriately, Darth Sidious) in Revenge of the Sith, which allowed the latter to defeat Windu. Anakin would then pledge himself to the dark side and was thus named Darth Vader. However, one could reasonably speculate on what the outcome would be if Anakin was able to restrain himself, leading Windu to kill the Sith Lord. Below is a likely landscape of the events resulting from the hypothetical death of Palpatine at the hand of Mace Windu.

What Would Happen To Mace Windu?

Having killed such a widely known and prestigious public figure (since almost everyone in the galaxy knew Palpatine as Chancellor of the Republic), there would certainly be widespread shock and public outcry. The Jedi had long been doubted or even criticized as some form of religious group dominating galactic politics with little restraint, and such a shocking turn of events would most likely call for Mace Windu to be brought to justice, particularly since "Chancellor Palpatine" had quite a lot of supporters in the Senate. Such an outcome may even be foreseen by Mace beforehand. Nonetheless he took such necessary action as he genuinely believed that Palpatine was "too dangerous to be kept alive," thus sacrificing himself to end the Sith for good.

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While Windu would likely be arrested and put on trial, there remained a possibility for him to be able to walk away as a free man. Security holograms would likely be shown as evidence in court detailing the dramatic events. Unless Palpatine disabled them beforehand (which is unlikely as his devious plans would likely not envisage Anakin not intervening), the holograms would show the four Jedi entering his office to arrest the Chancellor rather than carrying out an assassination, reveal the true identity of Palpatine, and show that he is an extremely dangerous figure after him killing three highly-skilled Jedi warriors. The footage would prove that his death was arguably out of Windu's self-defence and/or other justificatory reasons. With that in mind, Mace Windu may be able to avoid imprisonment and his reputation would be largely preserved.

What Would Happen To Anakin Skywalker?

As Padmé's death was a consequential result of the downward-spiraling chain of events upon Anakin's fall to the dark side, by refraining himself from intervening against Windu and the death of Palpatine, Anakin would quickly realize that his fears stemmed from Palpatine's manipulation. By resisting the temptation of the dark side, Anakin would have avoided the self-fulfilling prophecy of Padmé's death in childbirth, and the family would be happily complete with the birth of Luke and Leia, who would be trained to be among the strongest Jedi.

Moreover, the dialogue between Skywalker and Windu back then when Palpatine was seemingly defeated would certainly raise a number of red flags. Why does Anakin "need" Palpatine? What prompted Anakin's desperate calls to keep Palpatine alive despite his usual brash behavior? All these would likely be addressed after the death of Palpatine, and his relationship with Padmé would be revealed to Windu and the Jedi Council. While such an attachment and violation of the Jedi Code would in principle lead to Anakin being kicked out of the Jedi Order, the Council would likely take into account his valiant resistance to the dark side's temptations, as well as the prophecy of the Chosen One being fulfilled, and pardon him of his violations.

What Would Happen To The Galactic Republic?

With Chancellor Palpatine’s death, the de facto "Prime Minister" of the Republic, the Senate would be left without a leader and there would be considerable political confusion and chaos. There would be a need to elect a new chancellor to lead the democratic government. Close allies to the chancellor would likely be scrutinized due to fears of nefarious connections to the Sith. A popular candidate like Bail Organa or Mon Mothma would be elected to lead the Republic.

As discussed above, with such a large-scale public relation crisis surrounding a Jedi killing the Republic's leading political figure, the role of the Jedi Order in the Republic would likely be questioned along with decreased public confidence in them being "keepers of the peace.” This was particularly exacerbated by the mythical and mysterious profile of the Jedi, and potential rumors of collusion and a real coup by them to overthrow the Republic's democracy. Thus, out of political (public opinion) and practical reasons (defeat of the Sith and peacetime), the Jedi would likely have to step down from their prominent roles in the Republic, particularly the military, and return to a position closer to the true peaceful way and virtues of the Jedi.

What Would Happen to the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Clone Wars?

With the death of Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, and General Grievous, the core military structure of the Separatist Alliance would likely collapse, and the war effort on the CIS's side would soon fall apart. While there were remaining members of the Separatist leadership (e.g. Nute Gunray), it is most likely that the tides of the Clone Wars would rapidly turn in the Republic's favor, leading to their eventual capture and defeat. Within a few months or a year, upon putting out the skirmishes in the Outer Rim, the Grand Army of the Republic would likely be able to put an end to the war and pull a Republic victory.

After the end of the Clone Wars, the necessity of the Clone Army would be reconsidered, leading to possible decommissioning of the clones or downscaling into smaller bands of security forces across galactic Republic territory. Notably, the Jedi would have time to continue with the investigation into the inhibitor chip issue that was discovered in clone trooper Tup and revealed by ARC trooper Fives. The last piece of Palpatine's evil plan would be revealed before the public's eyes.

With the Clone Wars being brought to an end, the main, if not only, remaining intergalactic threat would be Darth Maul and his Shadow Collective. While it is uncertain as to whether Maul would remain in hiding or launch a large-scale uprising with his criminal empire, the death of Palpatine and the failure of the Dark Side would have likely sealed his fate of eventual capture as the Jedi and Republic shift their focus from the taxing war effort.

READ NEXT: How Mace Windu Could Have Survived 'Revenge Of The Sith'

Written By Geoff Lo

Source(s): Quora

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