Arrest Scene(SPOILERS!)

[NecronLord]

Or, he could have been waiting for Anakin to show up, so he could do his little helpless act.

Err. That was what I was saying.

[fgalkin]

Sorry, misread your argument.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Faqa]

Also, did Anakin just fail to notice the 3 dead jedi masters in the door way?

"Oh oh, i'm old and helpless, but i managed to kill 3 bad ass mother fuckers."

This quote more or less disproves, in my mind, the "Sidious threw the fight" idea.

Palpatine isn't stupid. Wouldn't four Jedi cornering him be a much more effective spectacle than one if he'd planned on Annie walking in on him? Anakin presumably rushed in, and didn't notice the bodies in wake of Palpy cornered, but this is still an EXTREMELY stupid risk for Palpy to take.

"Ah!" You say. "What about his RotJ gamble! He does that a lot!"

Sorry, but RotJ was a POINTLESS risk, not a stupid one, and certainly not a gamble. He had Skywalker at his mercy if worst came to worst, he had a huge amount of troopers(if not, as Wong points out, his elite) guarding the generator, and SD's up the ass to trap the Rebels. If not for Vader and a stupid Imperial groundside commander, he WOULD have won. And Palpy saw Vader merely as a worn-out servant to be replaced by this point, whatever affection he might've had for him before. Vader was beneath Palpy's notice.

This is several large steps before "standing at the lightsaber point of the Order's greatest and most ruthless warrior in the hope your protege will do exactly as you want him to" in risk factor. If he HAD decided to take such a gamble, he wouldn't have left three bodies lying around to make the situation more against him.

"Maybe he was afraid Annie couldn't take four Jedi?", you next ask. Why not? We saw how fast Anakin acted against Windu. He could have cut through one or two on surprise alone, more than enough for Palpy to grab a saber and join him, after which the remaining Masters would be fucked very fast.

At any rate, counting on Annie to be good enough against four Jedi is much better odds than counting on him not to notice three bodies killed by a "weak and helpless" man.

I don't deny he was faking his "I'm weak" scene, nor his disfigurement. But he was planning to WIN the fight, and was fortunate that Anakin saved his ass from being sliced open by Jedi Shaft(though it's possible he could have won by knocking Windu off the ledge with full-blast lightning, that's iffier).

[fgalkin]

Maybe he killed the Jedi because he couldn't fight them off (+Mace) long enough to wait for Anakin to show up. He didn't have much choice in the matter, and hoped that Anakin, in his already clouded state of mind, would take greater notice of Mace towering over him than the 3 dead Jedi (plus, he could have spun it that it was Mace that killed them because they were loyal to the Republic and tried to stop him from overthrowing it).

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Faqa]

Maybe he killed the Jedi because he couldn't fight them off (+Mace) long enough to wait for Anakin to show up. He didn't have much choice in the matter, and hoped that Anakin, in his already clouded state of mind, would take greater notice of Mace towering over him than the 3 dead Jedi (plus, he could have spun it that it was Mace that killed them because they were loyal to the Republic and tried to stop him from overthrowing it).

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Possible. But as Palpy proved, those Masters were insignificant. Alongside Mace, they were irrelevant. Palpatine chopped them down on a moment's notice. If he wasn't worried about Mace(who was obviously bounds better than the guys with him), he wasn't worried about three relatively weak lackeys.

Besides, whichever way it's spun, the three dead Masters are too great a risk to take. If it came down to that, he'd engineer Anakin's turn some other way. Heck, why not surrender entirely? Just provoke the Jedi, find some way of looking helpless when Annie arrives.

What it boils down to is this:

If Palpatine had any PLANS to turn Anakin in that scene aside from spur-of-the-moment, there were ten better ways to do it than such a huge gamble. Particularly for a Galaxy-class smoothtalker and manipulator.

Does the novelization shed any light on Palpy's thoughts at the time?

[Admiral_K]

Maybe he killed the Jedi because he couldn't fight them off (+Mace) long enough to wait for Anakin to show up. He didn't have much choice in the matter, and hoped that Anakin, in his already clouded state of mind, would take greater notice of Mace towering over him than the 3 dead Jedi (plus, he could have spun it that it was Mace that killed them because they were loyal to the Republic and tried to stop him from overthrowing it).

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Possible. But as Palpy proved, those Masters were insignificant. Alongside Mace, they were irrelevant. Palpatine chopped them down on a moment's notice. If he wasn't worried about Mace(who was obviously bounds better than the guys with him), he wasn't worried about three relatively weak lackeys.

Besides, whichever way it's spun, the three dead Masters are too great a risk to take. If it came down to that, he'd engineer Anakin's turn some other way. Heck, why not surrender entirely? Just provoke the Jedi, find some way of looking helpless when Annie arrives.

What it boils down to is this:

If Palpatine had any PLANS to turn Anakin in that scene aside from spur-of-the-moment, there were ten better ways to do it than such a huge gamble. Particularly for a Galaxy-class smoothtalker and manipulator.

Does the novelization shed any light on Palpy's thoughts at the time?

What I'd like to know is, do we know that the other Jedi were in fact masters? How do we know it wasn't just Mace and 3 spare Jedi he happened to have around?

[Ghost Rider]

Maybe he killed the Jedi because he couldn't fight them off (+Mace) long enough to wait for Anakin to show up. He didn't have much choice in the matter, and hoped that Anakin, in his already clouded state of mind, would take greater notice of Mace towering over him than the 3 dead Jedi (plus, he could have spun it that it was Mace that killed them because they were loyal to the Republic and tried to stop him from overthrowing it).

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Possible. But as Palpy proved, those Masters were insignificant. Alongside Mace, they were irrelevant. Palpatine chopped them down on a moment's notice. If he wasn't worried about Mace(who was obviously bounds better than the guys with him), he wasn't worried about three relatively weak lackeys.

Besides, whichever way it's spun, the three dead Masters are too great a risk to take. If it came down to that, he'd engineer Anakin's turn some other way. Heck, why not surrender entirely? Just provoke the Jedi, find some way of looking helpless when Annie arrives.

What it boils down to is this:

If Palpatine had any PLANS to turn Anakin in that scene aside from spur-of-the-moment, there were ten better ways to do it than such a huge gamble. Particularly for a Galaxy-class smoothtalker and manipulator.

Does the novelization shed any light on Palpy's thoughts at the time?

What I'd like to know is, do we know that the other Jedi were in fact masters? How do we know it wasn't just Mace and 3 spare Jedi he happened to have around?

The novel clears it up, but in the movies Kit Fisto is a noted Master. In fact the other two are seen in the council chambers sitting in both Phantom Menance and Attack.

[Xisiqomelir]

As I have pointed out, Palpy's disfigurement looks a bit too regular to be a result of having his Lightning directed back at him, so I'm going for the idea that it's his 'true' face. Note that the 'disfigurement' involves him getting the Sith eyes, which is a bit too much of a coincedence.

I concur.



"Unmasked" is different from "disfigured".

[Eframepilot]

Look at the caption in the upper right, "Face deformed [by] Sith lightning". Describing Sidious's transformation as an unmasking is ambiguously figurative and offset by the more direct description above.

[2000AD]

On second viewing i just relaised that he does actually yell "ULTIMATE POWER!!!!!"

I thought that was just a funny thing people had made up, like "Vitoly!"

[His Divine Shadow]

What I'd like to know is, do we know that the other Jedi were in fact masters? How do we know it wasn't just Mace and 3 spare Jedi he happened to have around?

Yes, the novel says they are the greatest bladesbeings the order has ever produced or something like that.

[Lusankya]

Why would he worry about being ugly in any case? He's a megalomaniac, and when you're at the Galaxy-controlling level, you don't sit around and go, "Yay! I'm the Supreme dictator of thousands of star systems, but... but... I'm UGLY! Oh! Woe is me! What I wouldn't give for the return my good looks!" No. You just do your job and make sure that you get even more powerful, and revel in that.

Besides, when you're that powerful, you'll have no shortage of people telling you that you're good-looking anyway. It's when they stop telling you that you're sexy that you have to be worried.


I already mentioned this in a previous thread, but I swear that when Palpatine "loses" his lightsaber, you see it go up his sleeve (which, by the way, is where it undoubtedly was when he was "recklessly" exposing himself to Anakin). It's also odd that you don't see him throwing the room around when he's fighting Mace. Why didn't he just pick up the desk and use that to push Mace out the window unless he was deliberately holding back?

As for the killing of the other three Jedi, he's gutsy, but he's not a complete fool. He had to fight back, or otherwise the Jedi would simply arrest him, and that wouldn't help his Galactic domination plans any, and likewise, it's not really sensible to try to hold off against four Jedi Masters for that long. Killing the other three Jedi also showed Mace that he was a credible threat, and probably encouraged Mace to try to kill him there and then (which is, strange as it would seem in most situations, exactly what he wanted). In the end, he only needed one Jedi trying to kill him in cold blood in order to turn Anakin, and it was indeed a happy 'coincidence' that it was the Jedi Master who already seemed to piss Anakin off the most.

[Justforfun000]

What is the reference above from? The pic of Palpy....Is it "Canon", or just somebody else's opinion that threw a book out on Star Wars......

[Faqa]

I already mentioned this in a previous thread, but I swear that when Palpatine "loses" his lightsaber, you see it go up his sleeve (which, by the way, is where it undoubtedly was when he was "recklessly" exposing himself to Anakin). It's also odd that you don't see him throwing the room around when he's fighting Mace. Why didn't he just pick up the desk and use that to push Mace out the window unless he was deliberately holding back?

A - In neither of my two viewings did I notice that saber going anywhere but toward the window. A more conclusive answer will have to wait for the DVD, but I really doubt it, having seen no hint of it.

B - Easy. Mace was surpressing his abilities. To those who ask why Yoda didn't do the same, we have no proof Yoda is much stronger than Mace. Mace is the Order's prime fighter, and presumably the best of all in battle skills(under which the ability to block offensive attacks certainly falls). Further, Yoda might've surpressing Palpy's abilities in part in the office, else raise the same question why Palpy didn't whack the little muppet with his desk or a Red Guard's spear there.

As for the killing of the other three Jedi, he's gutsy, but he's not a complete fool. He had to fight back, or otherwise the Jedi would simply arrest him, and that wouldn't help his Galactic domination plans any, and likewise, it's not really sensible to try to hold off against four Jedi Masters for that long. Killing the other three Jedi also showed Mace that he was a credible threat, and probably encouraged Mace to try to kill him there and then (which is, strange as it would seem in most situations, exactly what he wanted). In the end, he only needed one Jedi trying to kill him in cold blood in order to turn Anakin, and it was indeed a happy 'coincidence' that it was the Jedi Master who already seemed to piss Anakin off the most.

Even taking the point that three extras posed ANY danger to him alongside Mace that wouldn't have let him hold long enough, what you're saying is that for the set-up to work, THREE JEDI HAVE TO DIE.

The deck, in which case, is stacked heavily against him from the start here. And, as I've said, Palpatine's overconfident, but he ain't a gambler. He would not risk his protege on such a stupid risk. He had NO idea what was going down before it did, and he got saved by dumb luck(though, more accurately, by Mace's stupidity and Anakin's rashness). Can't a leader have some of that once in a while?

Edit: For the second part of Lusankya's post.

[Lusankya]

[A - In neither of my two viewings did I notice that saber going anywhere but toward the window. A more conclusive answer will have to wait for the DVD, but I really doubt it, having seen no hint of it.

I've had three viewings, and I pay extra special attention on that scene. I swear it doesn't look like it falls. I could be wrong though. I have to see it again.

B - Easy. Mace was surpressing his abilities. To those who ask why Yoda didn't do the same, we have no proof Yoda is much stronger than Mace. Mace is the Order's prime fighter, and presumably the best of all in battle skills(under which the ability to block offensive attacks certainly falls). Further, Yoda might've surpressing Palpy's abilities in part in the office, else raise the same question why Palpy didn't whack the little muppet with his desk or a Red Guard's spear there.

Where does it say that Mace is supressing his abilities?? And if Yoda's suppressing his abilities in the office, why does he stop when he reaches the senate chamber? I think it's more likely that Palpatine was too busy calling Yoda names in the office to throw furniture at him.

[Tsyroc]

What is the reference above from? The pic of Palpy....Is it "Canon", or just somebody else's opinion that threw a book out on Star Wars......

It's from the RotS Visual Dictionary so it's canon to some extent.

I'm sure someone around here knows what level because I don't.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Look at the caption in the upper right, "Face deformed [by] Sith lightning". Describing Sidious's transformation as an unmasking is ambiguously figurative and offset by the more direct description above.

The book contains another passage. If your face is struck with energy, it will not deform in real time like that. Moreover, his face and neck and especially obvious - cheeks and forehead - is actually fatter and more volumnous than before; Sith lightning cannot create flesh. It must be his real face. Why would his changing change his voice? He clearly altered that too.

[Faqa]

I've had three viewings, and I pay extra special attention on that scene. I swear it doesn't look like it falls. I could be wrong though. I have to see it again.

Now, now, you know that's just an excuse to watch ROTS again...

Where does it say that Mace is supressing his abilities?? And if Yoda's suppressing his abilities in the office, why does he stop when he reaches the senate chamber? I think it's more likely that Palpatine was too busy calling Yoda names in the office to throw furniture at him.

It's a reasonable supposition, considering that in AOTC we saw that combat between Masters has a whole dimension seldom seen onscreen. For another example, take Anakin and Kenobi in ROTS - you think neither of them had the brilliant idea of shoving the other guy into the lava? They COULDN'T, since they WERE suppressing each other's ability to do so. We even SEE them trying to Force Push either, and failing because of the other's resistance at one point. ANY Jedi can do this to another, it's a question of skill and power.

Point B: Maybe Palpatine broke through? Remember, Yoda, experienced as he is, is NOT primarily a fighter like Windu. He probably just couldn't hold it(or not completely, anyway, since if Palpatine had had free reign, he probably could've thrown two pods at once from different directions, turning Yoda into green goo).

[Lusankya]

I've had three viewings, and I pay extra special attention on that scene. I swear it doesn't look like it falls. I could be wrong though. I have to see it again.

Now, now, you know that's just an excuse to watch ROTS again...

Fool! I need no excuse to watch ROTS again. That is merely a narrow-minded dogmatic Jedi view of the world! I have a complete understanding of all aspects of the Force, and through this I know that watching ROTS is GOOD, and that watching it on Tuesdays is even better because it means I get tickets for $AU5.50, which is nice and cheap.

Where does it say that Mace is supressing his abilities?? And if Yoda's suppressing his abilities in the office, why does he stop when he reaches the senate chamber? I think it's more likely that Palpatine was too busy calling Yoda names in the office to throw furniture at him.

It's a reasonable supposition, considering that in AOTC we saw that combat between Masters has a whole dimension seldom seen onscreen. For another example, take Anakin and Kenobi in ROTS - you think neither of them had the brilliant idea of shoving the other guy into the lava? They COULDN'T, since they WERE suppressing each other's ability to do so. We even SEE them trying to Force Push either, and failing because of the other's resistance at one point. ANY Jedi can do this to another, it's a question of skill and power.

I thought that that was because they were both pushing at the same time and the forces were balancing out. Besides, we didn't even see the Emperor trying to force push. Surely if he was trying to do it and failing they would have shown it in some way.

Of course, I haven't read the book (Hardcover, my arse) yet, so perhaps there's something in the novelisation that I missed in the movie, but I saw no signs of any of them suppressing each other's power. In fact, I've never seen any signs of any force-users ever suppressing each other's power. The best reason I can think of for the general lack of throwing the furniture around is that it distracts the thrower from the actual matter of using the lightsaber. That would explain why you only ever seem to see that kind of stuff when the thrower of furniture is not fighting someone with a saber.

Point B: Maybe Palpatine broke through? Remember, Yoda, experienced as he is, is NOT primarily a fighter like Windu. He probably just couldn't hold it(or not completely, anyway, since if Palpatine had had free reign, he probably could've thrown two pods at once from different directions, turning Yoda into green goo).

The Emperor acted like an idiot through that entire fight, which was a pity, because I expected so much more of him.

Had it been up to me, I would have zapped Yoda like he did the first time, and then I would have zapped him some more on the way over to him, and then I would have chopped him up into tiny little pieces before he got up, and then and only then would i have started bragging about the destruction of the Jedi to "my little green friend."

I think the Emperor might have been enjoying the fighting a bit too much, and was protracting it because of it. Imagine how frustrating it must have been to have had to hide himself beneath the noses of all these people who had been oppressing the Sith for millenia. Imagine how that hate must have been brewing. It certainly looked more like rampant revelling in the fact that he could finally throw bits of the senate chamber at Yoda than serious fighting.

[Faqa]

I've had three viewings, and I pay extra special attention on that scene. I swear it doesn't look like it falls. I could be wrong though. I have to see it again.

Now, now, you know that's just an excuse to watch ROTS again...

Fool! I need no excuse to watch ROTS again. That is merely a narrow-minded dogmatic Jedi view of the world! I have a complete understanding of all aspects of the Force, and through this I know that watching ROTS is GOOD, and that watching it on Tuesdays is even better because it means I get tickets for $AU5.50, which is nice and cheap.

*ignites canon-breaking purple lightsaber*

You are under arrest, ROTS-watcher....

Where does it say that Mace is supressing his abilities?? And if Yoda's suppressing his abilities in the office, why does he stop when he reaches the senate chamber? I think it's more likely that Palpatine was too busy calling Yoda names in the office to throw furniture at him.

It's a reasonable supposition, considering that in AOTC we saw that combat between Masters has a whole dimension seldom seen onscreen. For another example, take Anakin and Kenobi in ROTS - you think neither of them had the brilliant idea of shoving the other guy into the lava? They COULDN'T, since they WERE suppressing each other's ability to do so. We even SEE them trying to Force Push either, and failing because of the other's resistance at one point. ANY Jedi can do this to another, it's a question of skill and power.

I thought that that was because they were both pushing at the same time and the forces were balancing out. Besides, we didn't even see the Emperor trying to force push. Surely if he was trying to do it and failing they would have shown it in some way.

Of course, I haven't read the book (Hardcover, my arse) yet, so perhaps there's something in the novelisation that I missed in the movie, but I saw no signs of any of them suppressing each other's power. In fact, I've never seen any signs of any force-users ever suppressing each other's power. The best reason I can think of for the general lack of throwing the furniture around is that it distracts the thrower from the actual matter of using the lightsaber. That would explain why you only ever seem to see that kind of stuff when the thrower of furniture is not fighting someone with a saber.

Yet you claim Palps should've been able to do so while cornered by Windu? No, while without a doubt it takes a split of concentration, it's not beyond a good Jedi to do both at once.

Much more reasonable is that Jedi can block each other's abilities, to some degree. C'mon, Obi Wan couldn't have split his concentration to just shove Anakin backwards while on higher ground?

Point B: Maybe Palpatine broke through? Remember, Yoda, experienced as he is, is NOT primarily a fighter like Windu. He probably just couldn't hold it(or not completely, anyway, since if Palpatine had had free reign, he probably could've thrown two pods at once from different directions, turning Yoda into green goo).

The Emperor acted like an idiot through that entire fight, which was a pity, because I expected so much more of him.

Had it been up to me, I would have zapped Yoda like he did the first time, and then I would have zapped him some more on the way over to him, and then I would have chopped him up into tiny little pieces before he got up, and then and only then would i have started bragging about the destruction of the Jedi to "my little green friend."

I think the Emperor might have been enjoying the fighting a bit too much, and was protracting it because of it. Imagine how frustrating it must have been to have had to hide himself beneath the noses of all these people who had been oppressing the Sith for millenia. Imagine how that hate must have been brewing. It certainly looked more like rampant revelling in the fact that he could finally throw bits of the senate chamber at Yoda than serious fighting.

Certainly he prolonged the fight unneccesarily. But to think he wasn't using any other tactic than just plain "throw straight at Yoda"....

Besides, even if he ain't the Order's best fighter, I think Palpy knew better than to treat Yoda as anything but a serious threat. He tried to neutralize him with Lightning pretty fast. No, I'm pretty sure he was trying to kill him from the start.

[Lusankya]

Yet you claim Palps should've been able to do so while cornered by Windu? No, while without a doubt it takes a split of concentration, it's not beyond a good Jedi to do both at once.

It would also involve a split of "Force resources". Assuming that everyone has only a finite supply of Force to call upon, and that Force helps them with things like enhancing their reflexes and their strenght, then diverting some of that Force to picking up a desk and throwing it at someone not only saps your concentration, but also reduces your overall ability as a fighter.

Much more reasonable is that Jedi can block each other's abilities, to some degree. C'mon, Obi Wan couldn't have split his concentration to just shove Anakin backwards while on higher ground?

Obi-Wan didn't really want to kill Anakin. (He said as much before he went to fight him.( He just stood there and told him it was over - that's the mark of someone who wants their opponent to give up and come with them like a good boy, not someone who wants to kill the person they're fighting.

I can accept that they can resist each others' abilities when they're directed against each other, however generally 'blocking' appears to be an active attempt to arrest the movement of objects, rather than a subconscious muting of their opponents' abilities.

Certainly he prolonged the fight unneccesarily. But to think he wasn't using any other tactic than just plain "throw straight at Yoda"....

There could have been any reason for that. Perhaps he liked the way it lookd as it was going down towards him. Perhaps it was easier for him to throw them hard if they were all going in the same direction. Perhaps Palpatine's just lazy. Does it mention "Force blocking" in the novelisation? If it does I'm quite happy to accept your word on that, however as a theory it's utterly ungrounded.

Besides, even if he ain't the Order's best fighter, I think Palpy knew better than to treat Yoda as anything but a serious threat. He tried to neutralize him with Lightning pretty fast. No, I'm pretty sure he was trying to kill him from the start.

C'mon! Yoda was there standing up; brushing himself off, and Palpatine was just standing there laughing and saying "I've been looking forward to this for a long time my little green friend." No, I think Palpatine was spoiling for a fight. I'm not saying that he wasn't trying to kill Yoda, but I think that at the same time he was reveling in the fact that he didn't have to pretend to be a normal person any more, and that that made him a bit less controlled than he otherwise would have been. Everything was going his way - he had become Emperor, he'd brought peace to the galaxy and he'd turned Anakin to the Dark Side. He wanted to let his hair down a bit, and what better way to do that than to beat up a little green Jedi Master in the most wantonly destructive way possible?

[Faqa]

It would also involve a split of "Force resources". Assuming that everyone has only a finite supply of Force to call upon, and that Force helps them with things like enhancing their reflexes and their strenght, then diverting some of that Force to picking up a desk and throwing it at someone not only saps your concentration, but also reduces your overall ability as a fighter.

Again - that doesn't mean a good Jedi can't use his reservoir for both at once and survive. And in close quarters like Palpy's office, it doesn't have to be sustained for very long, either.

If it was a tactic available to Palpy, he would've used it. Windu was blocking that ability, so he didn't(or, he was diverting HIS concentration to blocking Mace from doing so, if you like, though I lean towards the first).

Obi-Wan didn't really want to kill Anakin. (He said as much before he went to fight him.( He just stood there and told him it was over - that's the mark of someone who wants their opponent to give up and come with them like a good boy, not someone who wants to kill the person they're fighting.

He had no problem bisecting Anakin when he could've just jumped out of the way. Obi was fighting to WIN, and would've used any(Light-side) tactic to do so.

I can accept that they can resist each others' abilities when they're directed against each other, however generally 'blocking' appears to be an active attempt to arrest the movement of objects, rather than a subconscious muting of their opponents' abilities.

Well, did you expect to see subconciouses fighting on-screen? Let's take another example:

Maul vs. Obi. If TK can be used freely by any Jedi, and can only be canceled out when used directly, why the fuck wasn't Maul ready for a TK maneuver? He was trained from a young age, Force abilities have got to be a fact of life to him. Simple - he's used to being able to block such abilities in general, so he's not naturally suspicious. He let his guard down - and Obi saw his chance. Neither of them needed their agility up for combat at that time.

Point is, duels in all six movies have seen FAR too many cases where powers could have been used far more - and were not. SOD-wise, the ONLY way to explain that is by a constant blocking of the abilities. When they ARE used, it's always a one-sided fight - Anakin vs. Dooku in AOTC, Luke vs. Vader in ESB, Palpy vs. Luke in RotJ. In all cases, the loser was untrained to deal with such abilities, or didn't have the concentration to mute them.

There could have been any reason for that. Perhaps he liked the way it lookd as it was going down towards him. Perhaps it was easier for him to throw them hard if they were all going in the same direction. Perhaps Palpatine's just lazy. Does it mention "Force blocking" in the novelisation? If it does I'm quite happy to accept your word on that, however as a theory it's utterly ungrounded.

Much as I'd love to, I haven't read the novelization. This is all my speculation.

As for ungrounded... see above.

As for Palpy - there ARE any number of reasons... but when facing a Grand Jedi Master, I'd say "can't" is a better bet than "won't" when it comes to being anything less than lethal.

C'mon! Yoda was there standing up; brushing himself off, and Palpatine was just standing there laughing and saying "I've been looking forward to this for a long time my little green friend." No, I think Palpatine was spoiling for a fight. I'm not saying that he wasn't trying to kill Yoda, but I think that at the same time he was reveling in the fact that he didn't have to pretend to be a normal person any more, and that that made him a bit less controlled than he otherwise would have been. Everything was going his way - he had become Emperor, he'd brought peace to the galaxy and he'd turned Anakin to the Dark Side. He wanted to let his hair down a bit, and what better way to do that than to beat up a little green Jedi Master in the most wantonly destructive way possible?

Yet he blasts him off the bat(after Yoda knocks out the guards), runs for the door, then tries to blast him a few more times in the Senate Chamber. That's not a man who's toying with his opponent, it's one who's afraid of him.

[Straha]

For the people who claim that Sidious was undamaged during the Maul fight I give you this:



He doesn't look very decrepit at all, does he? Is the damage seen to his face completley caused by lightning feed-back? No, that's just stupid, but it seems to me that a fair amount of what we saw there was indeed caused by uncontrolled feed-back from his attack.

As for his abilities versus Mace look at it, he managed to drop three Jedi Masters, no small feat, but mainly due to their sheer arrogance bunching up at the door and expecting Palpatine to come with them without murmuring (and if that's not enough proof of their arrogance just look at the fact that after Anakin tells them that Palps=Sidious they don't bother to bring anyone else with them). When he starts duelling Mace alone he's challenged, admitedly Palps misses opportunities to strike Mace down, but those come up in almost every light-saber battle we see on screen and no one questions it there, and I'd be inclinded to put it down to either "he didn't see it" or force trickery. So why did he throw the fight, which, let's face it, he did, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stand up to Yoda as long as he did (though he also ran away from Yoda, which makes me think that Palpatine knew he could be beaten by someone on a Yoda/Mace level but who was also willing to take the risk of being beaten)? Because he knew Anakin was coming, him being matched or about to be beaten by Mace and him throwing the fight are not mutually exclusive, and because he knew Anakin would save him from Mace delivering the ass-whooping to end the Sith and join him, or at least keep him alive, both of which would further Palpatine's objective.

Bah, sorry if that's too muddled to make sense, if it is I'll come by and clean it up later after I've eaten (no food and no drink for Ten hours make Straha something something...)