In the Clone Wars Animated Series, we see Chancellor Palpatine take a moment alone with the clone trooper Fives. While we are not made privy to what transpires between the two, we do know that whatever it was kicked off the sequence of events that led to the death of the fan-favourite character.
What did Palpatine tell Fives offscreen? And why did he do it?
Here’s what you need to know.
Contents
Who was Fives?
Fives was a clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic with the designation CT-27-5555 (later ARC-5555 after his promotion to ARC Trooper). He served in Domino Squad and a unit stationed on the planet Rishi’s moon before being transferred to the distinguished 501st.
You can find out if clone troopers were considered Mandalorians here.
There, a fellow 501st trooper kicked off the events that led to Palpatine’s private conversation with Fives.
Fellow clone trooper Tup fired on Jedi General Tiplar, and he subsequently seemed to have forgotten his actions.
After this ordeal, Tup was still behaving strangely, which made Fives suspicious. Fives requested that he be allowed to escort his friend for a medical evaluation, which was how he discovered the organic inhibitor chips that are implanted in all clone troopers.
What did Palpatine Tell Fives?
While there is no definitive way to know what transpired in the room, one possibility stands out beyond any others. It is more than likely that Palpatine detailed his master plan to Fives when they were left alone.
There are a few reasons why this is probably the case, including:
The Events that Led to the Meeting
While there were a myriad number of topics that Palpatine could have decided to discuss at that point in time, the context makes it very likely that it was directly related to the nature of the inhibitor chips.
Fives had figured out that the inhibitor chips had been responsible for Tup’s erratic and violent behaviour and had taken the matter all the way to the Chancellor.
A little meta-analysis of the narrative structure would have us conclude that whatever was being said was directly related to the plot that Fives had just stepped into.
Palpatine’s Insistence That They Are Given Privacy
Following on from the first point, Palpatine’s insistence that he be left alone with Fives and his own personal security detail would likely imply that he had decided to share confidential information there and then.
It is obvious why a Jedi like Master Shaak Ti would not be welcome to any sort of secrets Palpatine would divulge.
However, his dismissal of Nala Se might shed more light on what exactly Palpatine revealed to Fives.
Considering that Nala Se was an ally that had already taken action to aid Palpatine in burying the incident by secretly drugging Fives, it is very likely that the revelation’s scope was all-encompassing.
While the Kaminoans would be privy to the nature of the inhibitor chips and even the existence of Order 66 within, Palpatine would likely not want the full scope of his master plan to get out, even amongst his morally grey allies.
You can find out if the Kaminoans knew about Order 66 here.
Five’s Reaction
The final point that all but confirms what Palpatine revealed to Fives can be seen in the clone’s reaction to whatever it was he was told.
Before this, Fives had held Palpatine in high esteem as the Chancellor and possibly as a mutual friend of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. He was speaking to him in a secure Republic facility with the Chancellor’s own security detail present.
Only a revelation of colossal consequence and personal significance could possibly compel Fives to lash out.
Despite being under a chemically-induced haze and recovering from surgery to remove his own inhibitor chip, Fives overpowers both guards present and is about to open fire on the Chancellor when he is stopped by Master Shaak Ti using the Force.
Only knowledge of Palpatine’s insidious plot to destroy the Jedi Order and reorganise the Republic would have internally justified such extreme action from Fives.
Why did Palpatine Tell Fives His Plan?
While we have some convincing reason to believe that Palpatine spilt the beans to Fives, there is still the question of why he would risk doing that.
There are two likely reasons why Palpatine would have revealed his plan to Fives there and then:
- To elicit the exact response from Fives that it did
- To satiate his Sith penchant for cruelty and grandeur
#1 Eliciting a Violent Response from Fives
From Palpatine’s point of view, Fives was a danger to his plan to destroy the Jedi Order and needed to be taken care of. However, there was very little he could do directly in his role as the mild-mannered Palpatine.
By giving a plausible excuse to get Fives alone and goading him into violence, Palpatine ensured that no one would believe anything the clone had to say.
The ploy worked to perfection, ending in Fives being taken care of for good.
#2 Satisfying his desire for cruelty and recognition
While his plan was effective in neutralising the threat that Fives posed, it is also likely that Palpatine derived pleasure from antagonising Fives with the full extent of his scheme for galactic conquest.
The Sith were widely known to be cruel, and Palpatine was more so than most.
Throughout Star Wars canon, we see Palpatine torture opponents in combat (such as his use of Force Lightning) as well as psychologically.
He likely knew that many of the Clones would have strong sentimental attachments, both to the Republic they bled for and the Jedi generals that led them. Palpatine was endlessly resourceful and would likely have had no problem formulating another course of action.
Despite this, he chose the path that would cause his unknown adversary the most anguish.
There’s also the fact that Palpatine is a classic villain, and the archetype is wont to monologue and reveal their plans to those about to perish.
After many years of concealing his true nature and diabolical scheme, it must’ve felt cathartic in a way to tell it all, knowing that your audience was powerless to stop you.
Palpatine was extremely scheming, which was one of the reasons why he was so powerful.
Conclusion
While Fives’ death was tragic and made many of us a little less excited to tune in, it served to drive one of the most intriguing plot points of the Clone Wars series.
It was also a very potent way to reiterate just how villainous and devious Palpatine and his master plan were in the grand scheme of events.
While he will be missed, Fives played a very powerful part in cementing the central villain of the Star Wars mythos.
You can find out why the Empire eventually stopped using clones here, and why Palpatine decided to spare Maul during the Clone Wars.
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