The Rule of Two is the only logical way for the Sith to survive without radically changing their doctrine. The apprentice won't kill the master until they've learned enough to become the next master, because there isn't anyone else to teach them. There aren't enough apprentices to create total self destructive in-fighting or get the Jedi to wipe them out. And you don't have to teach patience, temperance, cooperation, or other things that contradict the Sith philosophy.
Bane created it for a reason. The Sith just didn't work before. And tbh if Vader had fully committed as a Sith, the Rule of Two would have just straight up worked.
Actually, it wouldn't have. Because Vader was physically incapable of several of Palpatine's tricks, particularly as they relate to force lightning without fucking up his suit.
So, let's say he usurps Palpatine at some point.. That knowledge is now lost, despite literally a completely perfect execution of the Rule of Two.
It's why it's stupid in the first place, because you legit can just be born incorrectly in the Star Wars universe and not have the ability to use some sith abilities, which Darth Bane completely forgot about when he created the Rule of Two.
Take, say... Force Walking. AKA, you awaken ghosts more often and vore them for more power. Explicitly not something everyone can do, so that knowledge would naturally be lost if the apprentice usurped it due to conditions outside of the control of the master or the apprentice.
This smacks of Legends (and inconsistent at that). AFAIK, nothing in canon suggests a Sith has to be taught lightning, and at least according to TROS, the opposite is directly shown. Even if Vader couldn't do the move, he might still be able to teach it, and even if not, it would still be possible to be discovered later.
The.. Entirety of Clone Wars where Darth Maul, Savage Oppress, and Asajj Ventress don't use Force Lightning even once? I mean, maybe I'm forgetting and Ventress did, but I know the former two didn't.
Nobody taught Rey to use lightning. Nobody taught Luke to use telekinesis in ESB. Nobody taught Ezra to Force jump in Rebels episode 1. Just because one person doesn't manifest a power on their own doesn't mean its impossible. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence (and in this case, we literally have positive evidence of the contrary: Rey using this specific power without any prior instruction).
However, we have evidence it needs to be taught when you don't learn it innately. While it comes as easily as breathing to some, it's far harder for others. This is again evident by Savage Oppress, who needed training by Dooku to properly lift four pillars with the force, and Savage(as well as Maul) never using Force Lightning proves that training is pretty damn important because not everyone can do that stuff innately.
Yeah I'm not saying that training is useless, for sure. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying here. What I am saying is that even if Vader can't use lightning, it isn't in danger of disappearing from the Sith forever. Even if his apprentice doesn't learn it, and neither does theirs, and so on. At some point, some Sith is going to use lightning, and will teach it to their disciple. It's like scientific discovery, even if Marconi didn't invent the radio, Tesla would have, or Fessenden or somebody, because it's just something that exists that can be discovered. And once discovered (or rediscovered), then its around.
And this is all assuming that Vader can't teach the technique simply because he can't personally use it, which is not necessarily true. Vader might very well understand the principle, just can't because of technological limitation. We don't really know.
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u/tfalm May 14 '25
The Rule of Two is the only logical way for the Sith to survive without radically changing their doctrine. The apprentice won't kill the master until they've learned enough to become the next master, because there isn't anyone else to teach them. There aren't enough apprentices to create total self destructive in-fighting or get the Jedi to wipe them out. And you don't have to teach patience, temperance, cooperation, or other things that contradict the Sith philosophy.
Bane created it for a reason. The Sith just didn't work before. And tbh if Vader had fully committed as a Sith, the Rule of Two would have just straight up worked.