Oh, man. I approached this article with a "meh, here we go again" mindset but came away loving this theory. It's as perfect of an idea that I can think of on every level:
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Screenrant: Who is Snoke? A Theory...
As skilled as Sheev Palpatine may have been at playing politics to get power, the films show his rule is surprisingly crude, relying on fear and little else to maintain it. Frankly, the theory that a wiser, more extreme underling would conspire to build a bigger, better empire would actually have human history on its side.
It resolves aspects both in
TFA and in the
OT. I was ... less than impressed with Snoke, and the new movie didn't spend a lot of time dealing with him. And while Palpatine played the role of sheer evil manifest well, his Empire was quite short-lived for all his machinations and his downfall a little short-sighted. Really, really good at being an evil menace. Not quite as good at sustaining an empire. But he's put the machinery in place such that there are even crazier dudes in his ranks might.
This resonates in a lot of ways. We know there's a heavy theme of "What if the Nazis had successfully regrouped and kept on?" -- a topic that, even if overplayed, is still captivating today. And it reflects current realities in the Middle East, where our modern idea of evil manifest (al-Qaeda) has been pummeled, only to be superseded by a more extremist faction that rose from the ashes of past defeats, but barely even respects al-Qaeda anymore. Those developments are gripping, and so is this idea.
And, why not re-introduce an old character as underutilized as Tarkin was? He was powerful, menacing, and could order Vader around. He's intimately familiar with the history of Vader, Luke, and the Empire. He's ruthless and exactly the type of former Imperial leadership who would mastermind the First Order (
also, he'd be exactly the sort of man that Hux could aspire to become! I find the idea of Hux's insane loyalty to a weird magical alien to be far more questionable). It's a weaker idea to have the First Order arise from hitherto unintroduced 3rd party observers, and if it did come from within the Empire itself, Tarkin is a far, far better candidate than "Generic Hitherto Unintroduced Officer Who Is Also Really Vile." There was always so much potential with his character and it was very unexplored. It can be explored in great detail now -- and it makes Snoke and the First Order an incredibly compelling set of antagonists in the film
without imbueing them with supreme magical powers.
I'd find it hard to stomach the idea of a Dark Force user that outdid Palpatine in evilness or ability. But in ambition and ruthlessness? Absolutely. On top of clarifying his dynamic with Kylo, Hux, and the former Empire in a truly fascinating way, it would really tell a far darker, realer tale of human evil: defined by sheer human will, and not by prowess.
What do you all think? I definitely had some other ideas about where they could take Snoke, but they were not *nearly* as good or credible.
