By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When you think about it, the rise and the fall of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars are fascinating: We are witnessing the Emperor Palpatine alone transforming a republic of millennia into a fascist empire in a few years, but the whole collapsed a few decades later. Fans and characters in the universe would be right to wonder how the devil Palpatine managed to grop so badly after all his previous manipulations have proven to be a success. The answer, however, is depressing: quite simply, the Palpatine code of the Sith finally condemned it as well as its empire.
The rule of two and the code of the Sith
This is because the Sith are obsessed with the rule of two, which means that there must always be a master of the Sith and a young apprentice who just awaits their turn to betray their teacher and assume an ultimate power for themselves. On paper, this philosophy guarantees that the master of the Sith in title is still as strong as possible and, if it vacillates, it is replaced by someone better. In reality, however, this code boiled by the Sith assured that Palpatine had no real successor to manage his empire after his death.
In the real world, the main leaders have standing replacements; Business leaders take protégés under their wings, for example, and presidents are completed by vice-presidents. Of course, this system works because the more recent person does not just wait to stab their boss in the back and take their place. In Star WarsFor example, it seemed very clear that if and when Grand Moff Tarkin died, another member of the imperial bureaucracy (like these stuffed shirts that Vader uses force to scare) could replace it and replace it easily.
However, we can see the problems with the Sith code start to present The Empire retreats. It turns out that the replacement of Tarkin is Dark VaderBut Vader spends all his free time plotting to betray and murder his own boss, the Emperor Palpatine. Vader’s desires lead directly to the culmination of the film, where he reveals that he is the father of Luke Skywalker and implores the young Jedi to team up with him and overthrow the emperor so that they can govern the Galaxy as a father and son.
If Luke had said “yes”, the Sith code would not have been a problem. They would just kill Palpatine and begin to govern the Empire themselves. But Luke’s refusal to join Vader leads Return of the JediWhere Vader seems to be intimidated first by the power of Palpatine. But Luke convinces Vader to destroy Palpatine and effectively save the galaxy, leading directly to the fall of the Empire. As we see in shows like The MandalorianThe Empire collapses rapidly in the absence of the emperor.
Therefore, if Palpatine had not been such a stick for the Sith code, the Empire would have been in a much better place after his death. He could have had a sort of junior Tarkin figure who waits in the wings that could assume command in his absence. For example, the man himself was stuck on the other side of the galaxy, but if Palpatine could have had someone with the intelligence and charisma of Grand Admiral Thrawn pending hot, this person could immediately take control and retaliate against the rebellion before the Empire was reduced in the shadow of his old glory.
Of course, Palpatine was faithful to himself at the end: he both lived and died by the Sith Code, and the same prohibited instructions that helped him reach power in the first place finally condemned his empire. Perhaps all this is the will of force, a message from the cosmos on pride and myopia. Or it could be just a message from George Lucas, reminding us of the dangers of letting religious cultists govern us (even if they TO DO Have cool laser swords and can load your phone with their fingers).
