Observations on Star Wars #1

This article was originally written on TheSnakeSoup.org on Sun Nov 23, 2009 at 1:14 pm. Forgive any bad grammar as simply being what is most often seen on internet forums and the like.


I want to put in some observations I made while reflecting on the Star Wars series. Specifically, I am talking about the Dark side of the Force and its followers, the Sith.

When Darth Bane finally set in stone the Sith law of the Rule of Two 1,000 BBY, he created a custom that would be carried on for a thousand years, until Darth Krayt abolished it. It should be noted that there are a few purposes for this law. One is to secure the position of a ruling Sith Lord. There can only be two, Master and Apprentice. Power hungry Sith are cut out of the equation by not existing. A second purpose of the law is efficiency. Darth Bane noted how the bonds between Master and Apprentice were very strong among the Jedi, and how their teamwork got things accomplished. Another purpose was to have one Sith embody all that is the power of the Dark side, and another to crave that power. This lead to the inevitable conclusion of the Apprentice assassinating their Master.

But there is also another, much more secret reason. One that, if the Jedi were aware of, would create a chaos in the Order that might lead to a destruction of the whole galaxy. The last purpose of the Rule of Two is to concentrate the Dark side of the Force within only two Sith Lords, so as not to spread it thin as when the Sith Empire was ruled. This grants the two Sith powers beyond any Jedi, so long as they are united.

Once the Rule of Two was founded, the outcome was set in stone. The Apprentice would always kill the Master. Bane was well aware of this when he created the Rule. Now throughout the history of the Sith, after the Rule was created, it was only broken by two Sith, and on multiple times. Until Darth Krayt abolished the Rule, it was only ever broken by Darth Sidious and his Apprentice, Darth Vader.

Darth Sidious broke the Rule on a few occasions. One of which was the training Maul and Tyranus at roughly the same time. Another time was when he commanded his Tyranus to take on Grievous as a pupil. He broke the Rule a third time when he had Dooku killed after failing to defeat Anakin Skywalker, breaking the Apprentice killing the Master part of the Rule. And finally, he broke the Rule one last time when he attempted to sway Luke Skywalker to the Dark side and kill Darth Vader. Vader broke the Rule by taking on two Apprentices of his own, while still under the tutelage of Sidious, Galen Marek and Hethrir.

So two of the most well-known Sith Lords broke the Rule. The motives for this, on Sidious' side, was to gain power. Sidious was so power hungry that he actually broke Sith tradition to affirm and maintain his control of the galaxy. This inevitably led to his and the whole Order's downfall.

Vader tried to find Apprentices to overthrow the Emperor, and free himself from his oppressive Master. His actions do seem to be more noble, although he was still following the Dark side.

So does this mean that the Sith, whose ideals are that of complete power, would limit themselves by following the Rule of Two? The Masters could not surely gain complete power if they were fated to be killed by their own Apprentices? Perhaps, while on the outside, the Sith are all about personal gain, they have hidden motives of assuring the Dark side as the strongest force in the galaxy. The lust for power is not entirely what the Sith stand for. Maybe it's just a front? Maybe a true Sith, a true follower of the Dark side must understand their place in the Order and forgo their need for power to better the side of the Force they uphold?

We may never learn the answers...

This concludes my observations on the Sith.