Palpatine’s return in the Star Wars sequel trilogy surprisingly improved one aspect of Return of the Jedi. Palpatine’s controversial appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was unexpected, to say the least. Since 2019, the franchise has been playing catch-up to create a believable narrative foundation for Palpatine’s return across several productions, including The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, tie-in novels, and more.

It didn’t just influence Star Wars’ newer projects, however. Palpatine’s resurrection has also had a profound impact on how audiences view older Star Wars тιтles. This includes 1983’s Return of the Jedi, and one scene from the original trilogy’s last installment in particular. Something always seemed odd about Luke and Palpatine’s confrontation on the second Death Star, after all.

During the sequence, Palpatine goaded Luke into harming him. “Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger.” Perhaps Palpatine was merely trying to incite a duel between Vader and Luke, but that explanation always felt wrong for such a nefarious and meticulous villain. Thankfully, The Rise of Skywalker finally revealed Palpatine’s true intention.

We Now Know Palpatine Possessed The Power Of Essence Transfer

Thanks to The Rise of Skywalker and subsequent Star Wars stories, we now know that Darth Sidious possessed the power of Essence Transfer. Also known as Transference, Essence Transfer essentially allows dark side Force-wielders to transfer their consciousness and spirit into another host body or tether them to an object or place, granting them another chance at life when their physical body decays.

In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine appears in a clone body, but clones (and the more genetically complex artificial life forms known as strand-casts) were incapable of properly channeling the power of the dark side. As such, these created bodies degenerated quickly. Palpatine needed a better host, so he set his sights on Rey, who was not only genetically related to him but had also inherited her grandfather’s strength with the Force.

Palpatine Would Have Won, Even If Luke Struck Him Down

When Rey arrives on Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine tells her:

“Kill me… and my spirit will pᴀss into you. As all the Sith live in me, you will be Empress… we will be one. With your hatred, you will take my life, and you will ascend.“

This is eerily similar to the way he first taunted Luke in Return of the Jedi. The dark side is driven by hate, fear, and anger. Seemingly, the key to Essence Transfer is that Palpatine needed to be struck down by someone under the influence of the dark side.

It’s why he needed Rey to strike him down in a fit of rage. It also explains why he originally tried to get Luke to kill him, as well. Luke, like Rey, was unbelievably strong with the Force. He would have been a perfect vessel for Palpatine, ensuring his future as an all-powerful Sith Lord.

It wasn’t about Vader at all; in fact, Palpatine probably thought Vader would stand by and watch, but he miscalculated Luke’s connection to his father. If, however, Luke had been unable to resist Palpatine’s taunts, Palpatine would have won in two ways. He would have succeeded in decimating the Jedi’s future once more, and he would have had a new, powerful body to inhabit.

Though it took roughly 40 years, this explanation makes sense. Palpatine was a strategist; would he really have risked his death at Luke’s hands if he didn’t have a reason for doing so? The purpose of the Sith is to find the key to immortality; Essence Transfer presents a cursed form of it. Of course, Palpatine would have considered it during Return of the Jedi.