Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Good design and balance
Cons: Overly black;
don't quite get Palpatine as an ornament
The Bottom Line:
A big character
But I don't see appeal
As an ornament
Hallmark's Star Wars Ornament Series Turns to the Dark Side
While Hallmark's official Star Wars ornament series has focused mainly on the heroes from the original trilogy, they have included two villains. Early in the run, they did Darth Vader. For the twelfth ornament in the line, they went even further into the dark side and gave us Emperor Palpatine.
This ornament is the largest in the series to date because
it's not just Emperor Palpatine. Since
he spends most of his on screen time sitting in his massive chair, they've
included that as well. It's a big, black
thing with a round stand. The back
circles up over his head, so his face is sitting in shadow. He's got some controls by his right hand, and
the padding for his back is brown. But
the rest of the chair is black.
The Emperor himself is mostly black as well. (The movies aren't subtle in their symbolism,
are they?) That's because he's wearing a
black robe and black shoes that pretty much covers his body. You can see his hands sticking out fairly
easily. You have to really tip back the
ornament to see his face, which is properly scarred and disfigured, although
not quite as bad as it is in the film.
Frankly, this ornament doesn't really grab me. It's not depicting any famous scene, although
the Emperor himself is important enough that I understand why he is included in
this series. What bothers me more is
just how black it is. Yes, it does
accurately depict him in his chair, but couldn't they have found some other
pose to give us a little more color.
I don't think I'm geeky enough to like having this character
on my tree. Yes, I get Darth Vader, and
love that ornament. But the Emperor
doesn't have quite the same appeal for me.
Not quite sure why that is, but there you have it.
Most of the base of this ornament is the round base of the
chair. That provides a nice platform, so
the ornament sits flat if you chose to display it on a table or shelf. That's also where the series marking and
copyright information are located.
The top of the ornament has the hook you can use to hang it
on your Christmas tree. He hangs
straight, which isn't a big surprise since they had so much room to play with
on top that they could put the hook wherever they wanted it.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Star Wars ornament series
Original Price: $15.00
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