By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When you think about it, the rise and fall of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars is fascinating: we witness Emperor Palpatine singlehandedly transforming a millennia-old Republic into a fascist empire over the course of a few years, but the entire thing falls apart a couple of decades later. Both fans and in-universe characters would be right to ask themselves how the heck Palpatine managed to fumble things so badly after all of his earlier manipulations proved to be a success. The answer, though, is depressing: simply put, Palpatine’s Code of the Sith ultimately doomed him and his Empire.
The Rule Of Two And The Code of the Sith
That’s because the Sith are obsessed with the Rule of Two, which means there must always be a Sith Master and a young apprentice who is just waiting for their turn to betray their teacher and assume ultimate power for themselves. On paper, this philosophy ensures that the reigning Sith Master is always as strong as possible and, should he falter, he gets replaced by someone better. In reality, though, this vaunted Code of the Sith ensured that Palpatine had no real successor to run his Empire after he died.
In the real world, major leaders have replacements standing by; corporate leaders take proteges under their wings, for example, and presidents are supplemented by vice presidents. Of course, this system works because the newer person isn’t simply waiting to stab their boss in the back and take his place. In Star Wars, for example, it seemed abundantly clear that if and when Grand Moff Tarkin died, another member of the Imperial Bureaucracy (like those stuffed shirts Vader uses the Force to scare) would be able to step up and easily replace him.
However, we can see the problems with the Code of the Sith begin to present themselves in The Empire Strikes Back. It turns out that Tarkin’s replacement is Darth Vader, but Vader spends all of his free time plotting to betray and murder his own boss, Emperor Palpatine. Vader’s desires lead directly to the film’s climax, where he reveals that he is Luke Skywalker’s father and implores the young Jedi to team up with him and overthrow the Emperor so they can rule the galaxy as father and son.
If Luke had said “yes,” the Code of the Sith wouldn’t have been a problem. They’d simply kill Palpatine and begin ruling the Empire themselves. But Luke’s refusal to join Vader leads into Return of the Jedi, where Vader at first appears to be cowed by Palpatine’s power. 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 Mandalorian, the Empire quickly falls apart in the absence of the Emperor.
Therefore, if Palpatine hadn’t been such a stickler for the Code of the Sith, the Empire would have been in a much better place after he died. He could have had some kind of Junior Tarkin type of figure waiting in the wings who 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 Grand Admiral Thrawn’s intelligence and charisma on hot standby, that person could immediately assume control and fight back against the Rebellion before the Empire had been reduced to a shadow of its former glory.
Of course, Palpatine was true to himself to the very end: he both lived and died by the Code of the Sith, and the same forbidden instructions that helped him achieve power in the first place ultimately doomed his Empire. Maybe all of this is the will of the Force, a message from the cosmos about hubris and shortsightedness. Or it could just be a message from George Lucas, reminding us of the dangers of letting religious cultists rule us (even if they do have cool laser swords and can charge your phone with their fingers).
