Somehow Palpatine Returned
Part of a series on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. [View Related Entries]
Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; read at your own caution.
About
"Somehow Palpatine Returned" is a memorable quote uttered by the fictional character Poe Dameron in the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Online, some mocked the line, criticizing the lack of specificity for the return of the character of Emperor Palpatine, the film's antagonist.
Origins
On December 19th, 2019, the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiered in the United States. In the film, the character Poe Dameron (portrayed by Oscar Isaac) tells a group of resistance fighters, "Somehow Palpatine has returned."
Shortly after the release, an anonymous 4chan [1] user in the /tv/ forum announced that an unauthorized copy leaked online. Another user responded to the thread with "'>somehow palpatine returned' lol" (shown below).
Spread
Over the next few days, others continued to criticize the line. The following day, Twitter [2] user @magiccola tweeted, "~ My Rise Of Skywalker Review ~ Early in the film Poe briefs the resistance by saying 'Somehow… Palpatine returned' followed by several gasps and frowns. Also I had to stifle hysterical laughter during what was supposed to be a super dramatic scene mid-way through" (shown below, left).
Twitter[3] skyelo_ren tweeted, "Does anyone else lie awake at night thinking about how Poe Dameron saying 'Somehow, Palpatine returned' is the full extent of the explanation that we receive about how Palpatine returned?" The tweet received more than 4,200 likes and 790 retweets in less than one week (shown below, center).
The following day, Twitter[4] user @frigginhegg posted two screenshots of Poe saying the line with the caption "……. somehow palpatine returned." The tweet received more than 7,400 likes and 880 retweets in less than one week (shown below, right).
Others used the line to joke about other situations. Twitter[5] user @theblastjedi tweeted, "friends: wanna hang out tonight? me: i can't. somehow, palpatine has returned." The tweet received more than 3,500 likes and 700 retweets in less than four days (shown below).
On Januar 2nd, 2020, The Daily Dot [6] posted a report on the meme.
Various Examples
Search Interest
Not Available.
External References
[2] Twitter – @magiccola's Tweet
[3] Twitter – @skyelo_ren's Tweet
[4] Twitter – @frigginhegg's Tweet
[5] Twitter – @theblastjedi's Tweet
[6] The Daily Dot – ‘Somehow, Palpatine has returned’ is the best new ‘Star Wars’ meme
Top Comments
wisehowl_the_2nd
Jan 03, 2020 at 11:57AM EST
King Edgelord
Jan 03, 2020 at 11:17PM EST