Was Snoke a separate entity?

?

seems like a failed Sidious clone

Yes.

Like Cheth said, I imagine he was another Palpatine clone, like Rey's father. They succeeded in replicating a lot of Palpatine's power but not his body.

Wasn't Snoke alive during the PT though?

No. Not that I remember, at least.

The implication is that Snoke may have been one of the "unnatural abominations/genetic strandcasts" created by the Sith cultists while they were trying to make a suitable vessel for Palpatine to transfer his essence into. So yeah, I'd say he was a separate entity, but still intrinsically tied to Palpatine himself.

Azronger wrote:Wasn't Snoke alive during the PT though?

In the TFA novelization, Snoke stated that he had "watched the Galactic Empire rise and fall." That may still hold true if you assume that Palpatine(and the cultists) had been trying to create a vessel for him since the PT era... Which is entirely possible.

DarthAnt66 wrote:Like Cheth said, I imagine he was another Palpatine clone, like Rey's father. They succeeded in replicating a lot of Palpatine's power but not his body.

yeah, i believe he was a failed clone. actually, i thought someone semi confirmed this on youtube.. hmm