Supreme Leader Snoke: Skywalker Patriarch?
"The dark side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." Chancellor Palpatine: Revenge of the Sith
Nowadays theories on the true identity of Supreme Leader Snoke are about as numerous as fleas on a bantha. He's Anakin Skywalker one day and Wilhuff Tarkin the next. Some fans are even so cruel as to propose he is Jar Jar Binks turned Sith. My personal theory is not a new one, nor do I believe I was the first one to seriously consider this theory. What's my belief? Snoke is Darth Plagueis, and that makes him the Father of the Skywalker family.
The evidence I will present to you today is 100% canon; in fact all evidence presented here is from the Star Wars movies themselves. Much of the original supporting information for this theory came from the book Darth Plagueis, written by James Luceno and published in 2012. As we all know however, that book is regrettably no longer considered canon, so the stories contained therein cannot be used to make the claim that Plagueis is indeed Snoke. If you've read it though, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to, and if you haven't, you should certainly give this book a read at your earliest opportunity. It should be noted that James Luceno also penned Tarkin, in which Tarkin considers the possibility of Palpatine being a Sith, and the book also makes mention of Plagueis himself. I do not believe it is a coincidence that Luceno was responsible for both these masterful works.
So let's take it from the top, chronologically speaking. In Revenge of the Sith, Chancellor Palpatine tells Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker "The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise." Palpatine explains to Anakin that "the dark side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." Knowing full well that Anakin was worried about losing Padme in childbirth (I also believe the Sith Lord may have been responsible for Anakin's nightmares, but that's a separate article I suppose), Palpatine tells the young Jedi that Darth Plagueis could influence the midichlorians to keep people from dying. Midichlorians were first introduced in The Phantom Menace as microscopic organisms that allowed living beings to interact with the Force. More importantly to my theory however is when Palpatine states Plagueis "became so powerful he could even influence the midichlorians to create life."
That takes us to The Phantom Menace. When Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn first met young Anakin Skywalker, he immediately noticed how strong Anakin was with the Force. Thinking possibly that he may have descended from a Jedi, Qui-Gon asks Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother, "Who was the father?" The key to my theory rests in Shmi's simple answer.
"There was no father."
Shmi explains to the Jedi how she carried and raised the boy, but couldn't explain his origins. This is precisely why Qui-Gon rushes to tell the Jedi Council that he has found a vergence (or nexus point) in the Force. Anakin's remarkable ability to use the Force and the fact that he was apparently born out of the Force leads Qui-Gon to believe Anakin is "The Chosen One" from ancient Jedi prophecy, said to bring balance to the Force.
An even stronger connection between The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith occurs when Qui-Gon runs a simple blood test on Anakin. Obi-Wan Kenobi is astounded when they receive Anakin's midichlorian count, which is "over 20,000." Although these numbers are never explained in great detail in the movies, that is a number so high that it even exceeds Master Yoda's, considered by many Jedi to be the most powerful of them all. So how could Anakin have a midichlorian count that is literally off the charts? By Darth Plagueis influencing the midichlorians within Shmi "to create life."
Since I know you pay close attention, I'm sure this is the part where you say, "Well, all that may be true, but Palpatine clearly stated Plagueis's apprentice (Sidious himself) killed the Sith Lord in his sleep." True. He did. And admittedly this is where I ask you to take a minor leap of faith, but based on a couple of facts. First, Palpatine was a liar. He routinely used falsehoods and half-truths to get exactly what he wanted. So maybe he didn't even kill Plagueis. Maybe over the years he had told that story so many times he had actually come to believe it. Second, if Plagueis was so powerful with the Force that he could create life, is it so hard to believe that he could have influenced the midichlorians enough to keep himself alive after Sidious believe that he had killed him?
That would surely explain Snoke's ghastly appearance, as well as the (lightsaber?) wound down his forehead. Lastly, how cool and Sith-like is it to know that Palpatine, who singlehandedly engineered the downfall of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Order, was being played the entire time by his former master?
Now, finally we can fast forward to The Force Awakens. If the creators of this film inserted certain clues just to make gullible folks like myself incorrectly believe that Snoke is Plagueis, they went to awfully great lengths to do so. The first subtle clue is the accompanying music that is playing when Kylo Ren initially speaks to Snoke. It is nearly identical to the music that is playing with Sidious tells Anakin about Plagueis. If you don't believe me, I encourage you to listen to John Williams's masterpieces "Snoke" and "Palpatine's Teachings."
When Han Solo confronts Kylo Ren — also known as Ben, Solo's son — Ren tells Solo that "the Supreme Leader is wise." If you recall, in Revenge of the Sith, Sidious refers to his master as "Darth Plagueis the Wise." Again, this is a long way to go merely in an attempt to throw us off.
Perhaps you're calling all this evidence "flimsy at best," and maybe it is, but I would like you to consider why Snoke wants Rey so badly. The obvious answer is: he wants to train her. Think more deeply though. When he finds out how powerful she is, he immediately tells Kylo Ren, "bring her to me." Why? Because don't forget he can influence midichlorians to create or sustain life. He can drain the Force from her to keep himself alive. Farfetched? Think about Han Solo telling his son "Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you. You know it's true."
After all this, if your response is, "But his name is Snoke, not Plagueis," I will simply tell you that you can count on one hand how many people in the galaxy actually called Palpatine by his Sith name, Sidious.
In conclusion, Disney and Lucasfilm have made it clear that the core Star Wars movies are about the Skywalker family, and Snoke being Plagueis makes it the ultimate family affair. Plagueis begets Anakin, Anakin begets Leia, Leia begets Ben. That makes Snoke — you guessed it — Kylo Ren's great-grandfather! (And if Rey does turn out to be related to Kylo Ren, that makes it even more convoluted.)
And you thought the midichlorians would never matter….
Originally posted in Future of the Force!
Published by Brad Tracy
JFK historian and assassination researcher. Member of Citizens Against Political Assassinations and Assassination Archives Research Center.	View all posts by Brad Tracy
movies, science fiction, Star Wars, theory
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6 thoughts on "Supreme Leader Snoke: Skywalker Patriarch?"
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blivengo says:
You make some good points, and bring up things that aren't universal within the general "Snoke is Plagueis" theory, but I still don't think that's the case. I wouldn't be surprised, nor upset, but it's not my theory of choice. I'm way out in left field and want Snoke to be the canon equivalent to the Yuuzhan Vong. I have basically nothing to back this up, however, except for the idea that the Vong practiced self-mutilation and Snoke is clearly pretty messed up. Outside of that, it's just wishful thinking…but a boy can dream… #SnokeisNomAnor #Vong4Life
enviousdan says:
WE EXIST! There are obvious clues that Snoke is from the far reaches of the galaxy if not extra-galactic completely. I think this blog posted an obviously strong theory, and at the very least I think it's what we're meant to believe even if it's a misdirection. But I swear if Snoke is in a ship that suddenly swallows up laser fire with a black hole I'm going to be sitting in the theater sobbing with joy. When they first showed his hologram I was watching HARD for his eyes to sparkle like a rainbow, hahaha.
Stardust Legacy says:
Reblogged this on Tatooine Dreams and commented:
I am personally okay not knowing who Snoke is, but this a really nice read on the topic!
JbScripts says:
Very well reasoned and written. This is my preferred theory of all the Snoke ideas bandied around, I love how it ties back to the original films and actually throws Lucas a bone of respect (which have been pretty rare of late). The idea really just works, within the context of the films and backstory we have, and I wouldn't be let down at all if they went that route.
Looking at the picture of Snoke – wouldn't you say it looks like he took a lightsaber through the face?
Snips (@lanadelzelda) says:
Considering how there are even theories about Snoke being a pear from the prequels, I have to say this theory is definitely one of the more sound ones out there. I'm still on the fence if I would like to see more Skywalker drama or have Snoke be someone else, but it's certainly interesting to entertain– it always bugged me that there was simply no mention of Anakin's father and that we were supposed to simply believe that Shmi had a Virgin Mary moment, but this would definitely go ahead and explain that.
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