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I've seen too much posted here regarding Sifo-Dyas, much of which seems to contain holes or is just downright over-elaborate. This has dampened my usual apathy enough to get me to post my two cents worth, in the optimistic belief that others may be interested in clearing a few things up once and for all from what we've been given.
Applying Occam's Razor to what we know from the films, Lucas himself, and sources close to Lucas (eg Starwars.com & holonet news), the following is at least consistent and much less complex than some of the theories being proposed.
Sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.
First, let's start with what we know from the films:
o Both Darth Maul and Qui-Gon die during the events of TPM.
o AOTC is set 10 years after TPM. (OK not explicitly stated in the films, but universally accepted?)
o In AOTC, Count Dooku = Lord Tyranus = Darth Tyranus = Leader of separatist movement.
o There are always two sith (no more, no less). (The rule was supposedly implemented after the sith pretty much destroyed themselves by turning on one another eg 1 master with 2 apprentices leaves opportunity for the apprentices to gang up on the master. 1 master, 1 apprentice gives reliance on each other, at least until a better alternative shows up. Both the Emperor and Vader entertain the idea of Luke taking the other one out. Notice there is no suggestion of a menage a trois).
Therefore: o Darth Tyranus is the sole sith apprentice to Sidious in AOTC.
and: o Darth Maul is the sole apprentice in TPM.
o Sifo-Dyas was a genuine jedi master (may/may not have been on the jedi council), who was familiar to Yoda, Mace & Obi-Wan.
o The order for the clones was placed nearly 10 Years before AOTC (ie after TPM), by someone calling themself Sifo-Dyas.
o The person placing the order did not have the authority of the jedi council to do so.
o When Obi-Wan mentions the name 'Sifo-Dyas' to Yoda & Mace, they share a knowing glance, and then proceed to give the impression that they know something about him that Obi-Wan doesn't, and that they're not entirely keen to tell him either. (Come on, I know this wasn't just me - back me up here).
Therefore: o There's a tasty, twisty morsel yet to come (in EP3 hopefully) regarding Sifo-Dyas' backstory.
o Sifo-Dyas (as known by Yoda etc.) died before this order was placed. (I'm *sure* this was stated in the film - ie 'Sifo-Dyas died before then' and not 'he died about 10 years ago' as has been put forward elsewhere. Please, please someone confirm this either way once and for all).
Therefore: o Sifo-Dyas (as known by Yoda etc.) could not have placed the order.
Therefore: o Some other person used his identity (presumably knowing he was dead).
o Prior to leaving the jedi order, Dooku was regarded as a powerful jedi, if not a member of the council.
Therefore: o Dooku can be expected to have known about Sifo-Dyas' death.
o Darth Tyranus recruited Jango Fett (on some moon) to be the template for the clone army. When Jango says he doesn't know Sifo-Dyas, but was approached by Tyranus, he is talking about the cloning, and *not* the contract on Amidala as others seem to think. Simply, he has nothing to hide about being the clone template, but is unlikely to mention to one of the jedi knights who were with Zam Wesell when he killed her that 'Yeah! That was me! I hired her!'. Doesn't suggest much bounty hunter nous.
Therefore: o Count Dooku had become Sidious' apprentice (and adopted the name Tyranus) before clone production begins ie between TPM (death of Maul), and one year after TPM.
o Sidious' plans enveloped the creation of the clone army in secrecy, and the creation of a visible threat to the republic in the form of the separatist movement.
Therefore: o Ultimately, Sidious put in motion the order for the clones (either in person, or via Dooku or another other servant of his).
o Only a jedi, with access to the archives, would have been able to erase information regarding location of Kamino.
o During their battle, Yoda senses dark side in Dooku, realising he is now sith.
Still with me? Hopefully, we can all agree on the above, apart from where stated. Now then, from the twilight zone of canon, (somewhere between the books and the films), let's make some assumptions. Anyone who can actually provide reliable sources for these (eg Starwars.com, holonet news, Lucas interviews), or at least confirm that I'm not the only person to have heard them would be greatly appreciated. here we go:
o Sidious and Palpatine are two guises of the same person:- <Occam's razor> Always have been, always will be. IMHO the story is much stronger if this is the case i.e. sith lord works his way through legitimate channels to become leader of the republic, then Emperor by crafty manipulation of those around him, all the while concealing his sith identity and interacting with the very people he wishes to destroy, and who are unaware that the sith lord they seek is under their noses' all the time. This narrative seems to me far powerful and poignant than one involving Palpatine being a separate person under the control of Sidious. If I refer to Sidious here, I also mean Palpatine, and vice versa. </Occam's razor>
o Neither Sidious or Maul were ever jedi:- Sidious became the apprentice to some as yet unknown sith (let's call him Darth X), maybe before entering politics, but at least before TPM. After Darth X dies (however that happens), Sidious discovers Maul (then at a relatively young age, and off the radar of the jedi) as his apprentice (maybe not his first one, but at that point his only one).
o While still a jedi, Dooku supposedly studied a sith holocron in the jedi archives. Therefore he was already flirting with the dark side before he left the order.
<Occam's razor> o Dooku is the only one with access and motive to delete info regarding Kamino from jedi archives. Surely we are firmly nudged towards this idea in AOTC, and anything more complex is over-elaborating? </Occam's razor>
Therefore: o Dooku has been recruited by Sidious *before* officially leaving jedi order, (perhaps by using the death of Dooku's former padawan to breed disillusionment with all things jedi).
o Dooku's family is vastly wealthy (enough to finance a clone army if necessary), and after renouncing the jedi order, he had access to this wealth.
o Early, supposedly leaked versions of the AOTC script, had Sifo-Dyas as Sido-Dyas, whose name was *not* known to the jedi ie the name of a non-existent jedi, which sounds even more like Sidious than Sifo-Dyas. This suggests that originally it was a simple case of deception on Sidious' part, but was subsequently altered to leave room for a new twist.
o Palpatine is about 50 in AOTC (not that important, but for clarity's sake I'm guessing...)
Phew. From the above, let's deduce a timeline relative to AOTC:
-40 to -10 years: Palpatine born. Palpatine recruited by Darth X, adopts the name Sidious. Darth X dies (maybe at the hands of Sidious' first potential apprentice). Sidious recruits Darth Maul at a relatively young age (maybe after previous, now dead, apprentices).
Also during this era: Dooku takes on Qui-Gon as a padawan. Master jedi (& council member?) Sifo-Dyas dies.
-10 years (during TPM): Sith reveal themselves to jedi (so to speak). Darth Maul killed. Qui-Gon killed.
-10 to -9 years: Sidious recruits Dooku as his new apprentice, who adopts the name Tyranus. Dooku deletes info regarding Kamino from jedi archives. Dooku leaves jedi order voluntarily, claiming to be upset at the death of his former padawan, and at the general bureaucracy of the jedi and the senate. His subsequent movements are largely unknown to the jedi council. Tyranus recruits Jango Fett to be template for creation of a clone army. Sidious/Tyranus/unknown_minion places order for clone army with Kaminoans, under the identity of (dead) jedi master Sifo-Dyas.
-9 to 0 years: Dooku (in the eyes of the jedi order) re-appears, at the head of a separatist movement, expressing a lack of confidence in the republic.
0 years (AOTC): Creation of clone army discovered by Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan told by Dooku that the senate is under the control of the sith lord, Darth Sidious. Yoda realises Dooku is sith.
OK then. Now for the point of this tale. If the above holds true, then it follows that:
It was either Sidious, or someone at his behest (eg Dooku or some random minion) that placed the order for the clones under the assumed name of the (known to be dead) jedi master Sifo-Dyas. Since Dooku is explicitly shown to have recruited Jango Fett (as Tyranus), it's no biggie to go further and state if he had personally placed the order. Since we are not told this, my money's on it being Sidious. Personally, I don't think this will ever be confirmed or denied in the next film, and in reality it's a minor point. So long as it's shown that ultimately the plan was Sidious' (which is established at the meeting between Dooku & Sidious at the end of AOTC), it doesn't really matter who personally placed the order. I'm not even 100% sure that the Kaminoans even state that they physically met with 'Sifo-Dyas' (as opposed to just receiving an order in the post). As for who pays for it all, the (not-in-the-film) backstory regarding Dooku's personal wealth is presumably a device to suggest that he had the resources. If you don't like that idea, then it's not much of a leap to assume that our resident Machiavelli Sidious could raise the funds required without breaking sweat. Again, the exact details add little to the story, and I don't expect we will hear them in Ep 3. Oh, and just because they used Sifo-Dyas' name, doesn't mean they were responsible for his death. More likely it's just a bit of opportunism on Sidious' part.
As for other candidates for impersonating Sifo-Dyas, when the order is placed Qui-Gon and Maul are dead, so not them. Tyranus and Sidious are the only sith around when it happens, so it's not Mace or another jedi being a
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