Although the Rule of Two Sith was established in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom MenaceDisney Star Wars found a huge loophole – which Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious promptly exploited. There have been a number of major Sith events in Star Warsincluding wars both with the Jedi and among the Sith themselves. It was because of the infighting and how this self-sabotage nearly brought about the demise of the Sith that Darth Bane established the Sith Rule of Two Centuries Before. The phantom menace.
The rule essentially dictated that there would only be two Sith Lords at any one time, a master to wield the power and an apprentice to desire it. Star Wars It has since been proven that this rule is a bit more complicated than just two Sith living at the same time, but in general, this rule is true. However, Star Wars TV shows revealed that Palpatine found a way around this rule, and that’s part of what made him nearly unbeatable.
George Lucas’ Rule of Two Defined the Sith
The Prequel Trilogy Revealed Much More About the Sith
Before the prequel trilogy, little had been revealed about the Sith on screen. The Sith were secondary in the original trilogy, so much so that the term Sith was one of several words not used in the original trilogy. The Sith were explored in much more detail in Star Wars books following Return of the Jedialthough many of these books were removed from the canon and became Legends when Disney purchased Star Wars.
This changed radically in the prequels. For one, two new Sith, Darth Maul and Count Dooku, were introduced in the prequel trilogy, which doubled the number shown on screen so far. Palpatine’s role as a Sith and the details of what that meant also gained considerably more attention, especially since he was shown orchestrating nearly all of the terrible events in the Shadow prequels. It was in The phantom menace that the notion of the Rule of Two Sith was first explained.
At the end of The phantom menaceAs Master Yoda and Mace Windu watch Qui-Gon Jinn’s body burn, Yoda explains about the Sith, “There are always two. No more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” This was a huge update for the Sith in Star Wars. The original trilogy revealed that Palpatine was Vader’s master and that Palpatine was willing to replace Vader with Luke Skywalker as his apprentice, but it has not yet been confirmed whether this was the structure the Sith should always follow. Of course, Palpatine was always a little more flexible with this rule than most.
Palpatine was always a little more flexible with this rule than most.
Star Wars Canon Suggests Palpatine Never Completely Followed the Rule of Two
Palpatine was always several steps ahead, which meant never actually following this rule
While Yoda told Mace Windu that there was “no more, no less” than two Sith at a time, Palpatine had already begun to find ways around this rule. Throughout the prequel trilogy and Star Wars: The Clone Warsit becomes increasingly clear that Palpatine has never invested so much in a specific apprentice. Instead, even before Darth Maul died in The phantom menacePalpatine was clearly grooming Count Dooku to take his place. While this didn’t necessarily mean that Dooku was still officially a Sith, he was interestingly already using the name Tyranus – his Sith name.
This became more complicated when The Clone Wars revealed that Darth Maul had not died in The phantom menace. This meant that Palpatine, Dooku, and Maul were all alive at the same time (and eventually Palpatine, Maul, and Darth Vader were all alive at the same time, after Anakin’s fall). Arguably, this didn’t entirely alter the Rule of Two Sith, as Maul was no longer Palpatine’s apprentice and thus not exactly a Sith, but it proves that Palpatine played fast and loose with that rule enough to cause complications. However, There was a much more significant way for Palpatine to get around this rule.
Star Wars Rule of Two Workaround Makes Empire Even More Dangerous
The Inquisitors wanted to say that the dark side was dominating the light
Palpatine may technically only have one apprentice at a time, but he had a small army of dark side Force users with the Imperial Inquisitors. This gave him access to incredible power the likes of which other Sith Lords who followed the Rule of Two Sith had never seen and meant that the dark side was dominating the light at this point in time. Star Wars timeline. Especially since the Inquisitors were tasked with killing the remaining or Force-sensitive Jedi, or turning them into Inquisitors themselves, the Sith found a way to surpass the Jedi, even with the Rule of Two.
Palpatine may technically only have one apprentice at a time, but he had a small army of dark side Force users with the Imperial Inquisitors.
This made Palpatine and the Empire much more dangerous. The Sith were no longer inhibited by this ancient rule, but had the ability to attract as many dark side Force users as possible.; Palpatine effectively had over a dozen apprentices at his disposal. Narratively, this also made sense.
With the Inquisitors, the Empire’s threat extended far beyond Palpatine, Darth Vader, and the storm troopers. This new group allowed the reach of the Empire and the dark side of the Force to expand considerably, and gave the remaining Jedi legitimate adversaries who were not as dangerous as Darth Vader but still posed a greater threat. Shows how Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire have proven how formidable the Inquisitors are.
This also made games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order possible, as Darth Vader can act as the final boss, while the Inquisitors essentially become mini-bosses whose fates (unlike Vader’s) are not predetermined. Although this may seem secondary to the importance of the Inquisitors in Star Wars shows, reveals how much greater the Imperial threat has become because of the Inquisitors. Although the Imperial Inquisitors may be a Disney invention Star Warswhich many continue to oppose, they have undoubtedly made the Empire and Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious much more dangerous.