Dropping by the mall today to pick up some extra large pants, suitable for layering, for upcoming trip to parents in Upper Peninsula Michigan.  (Got stupidly good deal. Ahh, after-Christmas shopping…) 

Along the way, I passed the Hallmark store. Something caught my eye, and I nearly gave myself whiplash with the double-take.

Emperor. Palpatine. Christmas ornaments.

Wait, what?

Little throne and everything. Not what you would call festive, and let’s not even TALK about the "final confrontation" ornament next to it, where a teeny Darth Vader faces a teeny Luke. (Twelfth in a series! What was number seven–an excitingly seasonal severed hand!? Was number four a Ton-ton with Luke nestled jollily among its entrails?)

Now, I will admit, somewhere or other, I have a Boba Fett Christmas ornament, because Boba Fett makes everything cool, but even that I found a trifle peculiar. Emperor Palpatine is NOT CHRISTMASSY.

In a merciful universe, I would never have had to utter those words.