This brilliant Star Wars theory finally explains a 20-year-old mystery from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith that has never been resolved. Revenge of the Sith is one of the most important additions to Star Wars movies and TV shows because of its place in the Star Wars timeline. Not only did Revenge of the Sith depict Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side, but it also revealed precisely how the Jedi Order and the Republic fell.

While Revenge of the Sith therefore answered many questions, especially pertaining to Anakin Skywalker’s Star Wars timeline, it raised several as well, some of which still haven’t been addressed. In addition to why the Jedi couldn’t stop Palpatine, a major question raised in Revenge of the Sith was why the Jedi would send Anakin, of all people, to spy on Palpatine, given his attachment to Palpatine and his emotional state at the time. This theory could provide the perfect answer.

The Jedi Were Already Suspicious Of Palpatine

The News That Palpatine Was A Sith Confirmed The Jedi’s “Worst Fears”

Although the Jedi have gotten plenty of flak over the years—some of which was deserved—for being blind to what was happening in the Senate, throughout the Clone Wars, and with Palpatine, the Jedi weren’t as oblivious as they initially seemed to be. Yes, they were working alongside a Sith Lord for years, but Palpatine was likely using Force concealment, one of the trickier Force powers in Star Wars, to hide his presence in the dark side from them. In addition to that, though, the Jedi were actually suspicious of Palpatine; they just weren’t able to act.

By Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine had already engineered things so that, if the Jedi did attempt to come forward or stop him, they would seem guilty of treason or seen as behaving in self-serving, corrupt ways (which is ultimately exactly the narrative Palpatine weaved about them following Order 66). Yet, Mace Windu’s response when Anakin told him Palpatine is a Sith was quite revealing. Mace told Anakin that this news was the Jedi’s “worst fears” being realized.

This suggests that the Jedi had some inclination that Palpatine was behind many of these events, if not a Sith Lord himself. That makes sense, given Obi-Wan specifically warned Anakin about Palpatine’s ever-growing power and pointed out that he had held onto that power much longer than he ever should have. Because the Jedi already had these suspicions and knew Palpatine had Anakin in his pocket, they devised this plan to have Anakin spy on Palpatine with two key goals in mind.

The Jedi Needed Information… But They Needed Anakin To See The Truth, Too

Anakin Had To Uncover This Secret Himself, Or He Would Never Have Believed It

The primary goal in the Jedi sending Anakin to spy on Palpatine is the most obvious one and the one that is directly verbalized in Revenge of the Sith. Because Anakin was so close to Palpatine, and he had Palpatine’s trust, the Jedi knew they could exploit this relationship to get access to inside information that, without Anakin, they would be hard-pressed to obtain. The second reason is much more subtle and explains this odd misstep by the Jedi.

Sending Anakin in to spy on Palpatine was odd for many reasons, including that Anakin was unpredictable if not volatile even on his best day. That he saw Palpatine as a mentor and even father figure (which was no real secret) made this even more precarious. Yet, both of these factors—Anakin’s concerning nature and his bond with Palpatine—are precisely why the Jedi needed Anakin to be the one to expose this truth about Palpatine.

Had it been anyone other than Anakin to uncover this truth, it would have meant the Jedi needing to convince Anakin that Palpatine was evil. This would have been difficult even coming from Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was proven during their battle on Mustafar, when Anakin refused to take a beat and see things from Obi-Wan’s perspective. This strategy was therefore an effort to both have their suspicions confirmed and neutralize Anakin as a potential threat in this matter.

As The Chosen One, Anakin Was A Serious Threat

The Jedi Couldn’t Risk Anakin Being Against Them On This

This strategy was certainly a gamble, one that ultimately didn’t pay off, but it makes sense that the Jedi would want Anakin to be the one to reveal Palpatine’s true idenтιтy. As the Chosen One, Anakin was simply too significant a threat if he ended up siding with Palpatine. This wouldn’t be just any Jedi turning to the dark side. It would be one of the most powerful Jedi and the person the Jedi essentially thought of as a savior.

The fact of the matter is, this was really the Jedi’s best option, even with how horribly it went wrong. Anakin was remarkably stubborn, and it’s very unlikely he would have believed Palpatine was evil unless he saw it for himself. The issue with this plan was very simple: the Jedi had no way of knowing that Anakin was married to Padmé or that Anakin had recently become obsessed with keeping her alive.

This Plan May Have Worked If It Wasn’t For Anakin’s Attachment To Padmé

Anakin Saw The Truth, But He Wasn’t Willing To Risk Losing Padmé

Perhaps the saddest part about this entire plan is that it nearly worked. Arguably, had Anakin not had this romantic attachment to Padmé, this plan very likely would have been successful. In fact, this plan did work temporarily. Anakin went directly to Mace Windu when he discovered the truth about Palpatine, and he reported what he had learned. At that point, Anakin had done precisely what the Jedi wanted him to do.

The problem was Palpatine’s successful weaponization of Anakin’s fears about Padmé dying. It was really only because of this that Anakin ultimately turned on Mace Windu, solidifying his fall to the dark side. Without that fear over Padmé dying, or a relationship with Padmé at all, Anakin wouldn’t have had any reason to follow Mace Windu and save Palpatine’s life. He had a bond with Palpatine, sure, but it wouldn’t have been enough for Anakin to turn on the Jedi. Padmé was.

The Jedi choosing to send Anakin to spy on Palpatine has always felt like a bewilderingly bad idea, up there with sending Anakin and Padmé to Naboo together in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. With this explanation, that decision seems much less egregious. Based on this Star Wars theory, the Jedi wanted Anakin to have no choice but to see the truth about his mentor, but, as Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith proved, that backfired.