Darth Sidious—Emperor Palpatine—was definitely the one above everything in the Star Wars galaxy. Under his rule, there were no Force-wielders left who could truly threaten him anymore. That’s why the day Palpatine realized Yoda was dead should’ve been the moment he felt happiest. But somehow, it was also the moment he felt the most afraid.
The Day Palpatine Felt Yoda Was Dead
This comes from a short Star Wars story that’s part of the Canon universe. In Star Wars: Stories of Jedi and Sith, the story titled “Masters” gives us one last confrontation between Darth Sidious and Grand Master Yoda—at least from Palpatine’s point of view.
But before the confrontation even begins, the Emperor senses something strange in the Force… something that makes him almost happy.
As the book describes it:
“The Emperor feels it. Maybe because he was thinking about the old Jedi again. His thoughts and feelings already turned in that inevitable direction.
Grand Master Yoda. Dead. As if he’s always been able to feel the ancient green Jedi and suddenly his presence is gone.
…The Emperor laughs. He laughs and laughs.
Yoda is dead.”
Palpatine can’t help himself. He actually speaks Yoda’s name out loud, like he’s savoring it. The smile on his face isn’t relief—it’s ugly triumph. His laughter rolls through the throne room and keeps going, bouncing off the windows, the walkways, and the high doors where the guards stand watch.
And even the Royal Guards feel it. They don’t move much, but you can tell the sound unsettles them—because this isn’t just a man celebrating. It’s the Emperor enjoying the idea that the last great Jedi has finally vanished.
The Moment Yoda Appeared in Palpatine’s Throne Room
However, that “victory” doesn’t last long. The Emperor suddenly feels something wrong in the Force. At first, he senses that Yoda’s existence is gone—but then, just as suddenly, he feels Yoda’s presence again, as if it’s returned. Palpatine blurts out, “Impossible!”
Right after that, Yoda begins to appear in front of the Emperor as a Force ghost. The book describes it clearly: “Yoda stands before him, hazy and surrounded by a glow as if lit from within.”
For a brief moment, Palpatine doesn’t even know if what he’s seeing is real. But he still forces out a laugh and snaps, “You are dead.” Then he mocks him: “But come to watch my final glory? I hoped you would see it.”
Palpatine goes on about how he’s going to crush the Rebel Alliance, and how he will take Luke as his new apprentice. But Yoda doesn’t argue or react the way Palpatine wants. He just stands there, listens, and replies with one simple line: “Win, you cannot.” And then he vanishes back into the Force.
And that’s what makes it unsettling for Palpatine. Yoda doesn’t try to stop him, doesn’t plead, doesn’t threaten—he simply tells him the outcome. Palpatine can kill Jedi, burn temples, and crush fleets, but he can’t imprison a Force ghost or silence a voice that isn’t bound to a body. Yoda disappears, but the line stays behind, like a splinter in Palpatine’s certainty.