Having Palpatine’s machinations is cool, but it shouldn’t be an infinitely complex game of mouse trap while the Jedi sit on their butts.

I like the idea that Palpatine is, as well as a Senator, the intermediary between the Senate and the Jedi. In Episode 1, the Jedi will seek the power to act militarily without the Senate’s authorization because of what the Trade Federation’s doing. In Episode 2, the Jedi aren’t able to handle the conflict they got themselves into and they need an army to defend the Republic as it turns into a full-on galactic war. By Episode 3, Palpatine’s the middle man to this huge vortex of power the Jedi are accruing, and all he has to do to take it for himself is get the Jedi out of the way.

There can be tons of manipulation and Palpatining but the central steps from Senator Palpatine to Emperor Palpatine should be more clear.