HOW I WATCH STAR WARS: Episode II - How Darth Sidious Survived the Destruction of the Second Death Star

By Lannie Brockstein.

October 6th, 2019.

First Printing: The Steem Blockchain.

SPOILER ALERT: This article features my philosophizing on how the evil Sith lord Darth Sidious is probably alive in Star Wars: Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker.

EVER SINCE THE FIRST TEASER TRAILER FOR STAR WARS: EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER WAS RELEASED ON APRIL 12TH, 2019, along with its featuring the well-known evil cackle of Darth Sidious, Star Wars fans have been looking under every Ewok and mulling over every Jedi text to know how it is possible for Darth Sidious to be a living character in “The Rise of Skywalker”, when it had strongly seemed to them that he was killed by Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

But before I put forth my philosophy on how that might be, I would like to point out the fact it was not Darth Vader who seemingly smote Darth Sidious in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Nay, it was by Anakin Skywalker's hand that the unrelenting Darth Sidious was apparently killed.

The title “Return of the Jedi” does not refer to Luke, as most Star Wars’ fans have mistakenly assumed, for Luke Skywalker was never a Jedi who left the Jedi Order, so that is why he could not return to being a Jedi. But Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi, and he returned to being a Jedi after Luke Skywalker had healed him from his madness.

Thus it happened that Luke Skywalker became a Jedi after he confronted and then defeated Darth Vader aboard the second Death Star, and he became the last Jedi after Anakin Skywalker died.

Yes, the title of Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi actually refers to the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, whom in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith became the Sith lord Darth Vader, and who did once again return to being the Jedi Anakin Skywalker—the Chosen One of Jedi lore. Thus, the movie title “Return of the Jedi” can be accurately translated into the French language as “Le retour d'Anakin Skywalker”.

From the time when Anakin Skywalker returned to the time that he died, there were two Jedi Knights in existence: him and Luke Skywalker, with Luke having become a Jedi only when Anakin Skywalker returned and thus when Darth Vader was defeated.

But as for the return of Darth Sidious, it was after having watched a few videos about the news that George Lucas’ vision for the Star Wars sequel trilogy was not fully used by Disney in Episode VII and Episode VIII, when I began to use The Force to learn how Darth Sidious might have survived the destruction of the second Death Star in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

I wonder if the same way in which Luke Skywalker during Episode VIII: The Last Jedi used a Force ghost projection of himself to fool Kylo Ren when it seemed that the two of them were dueling on the planet Crait, Darth Sidious did himself use a Force ghost projection of himself in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were aboard the Death Star that was orbiting a moon of Endor. That might be how Sidious “survived” the destruction of the Death Star, if he was not aboard the Death Star in the first place! But if so, then perhaps he did die afterwards, the same way that Luke Skywalker died in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

After Luke Skywalker used a Force ghost projection of himself in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, he disappeared unharmed into The Force. Did Darth Sidious also disappear unharmed into The Force after his allegedly having used a Force ghost projection of himself aboard the second Death Star in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi?

When a powerful Force user has died, that means they have returned to The Force. So, when Luke died, he returned to The Force, and if Darth Sidious died from his having used a Force ghost projection of himself, he too returned to The Force. Luke went to Force-Heaven, whereas Sidious went to Force-Hell. We know that in the Star Wars universe the idea of Hell does exist, as it was in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo was told by a fellow rebel soldier that "His tauntaun would freeze before he reached the first market" to which Han replied, "Then I'll see you in Hell!"—that foreshadowed his being frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader on Bespin.

Thus I surmise that it was before the battle of Endor when Darth Sidious did foresee the destruction of the second Death Star by the Rebel Alliance.

During Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back when Darth Sidious as a hologram spoke to Darth Vader, it seems to me that he was already fully aware that Darth Vader would return to the Light Side of the Force and once again become the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. I surmise that Darth Sidious did foresee that would happen even before Anakin Skywalker had become Darth Vader in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, because his first order was to have established...The First Order.

In having also foreseen before the time of Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back that the Rebel Alliance would destroy the second Death Star, I surmise that Darth Sidious transferred command to part of The Empire to Darth Snoke, which Darth Sidious called The First Order, because that was Order 1.

There were at least 66 orders of Darth Sidious, with Order 66 being the order that commanded the Stormtroopers to have murdered almost every Jedi in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Thus, I surmise that Darth Sidious’ Order 1 was the formation of The First Order, which was probably carried out during the time of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith before Order 66 was implemented, and after Anakin Skywalker did kill Darth Tyranus and in having done so, did demonstrate to Darth Sidious that he was indeed giving into The Dark Side of the Force.

I surmise that after Darth Sidious did foresee that Darth Vader would return to being the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, he began to secretly train a new Sith apprentice, which was Darth Snoke. Thus, during the entire time when his Force ghost projection was aboard the second Death Star in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Darth Sidious did already know that Darth Vader would return to being the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and that the second Death Star would be destroyed, for he had foreseen it.

When Darth Sidious’s Force ghost projection of himself was on the Death Star in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, it used Force lightning against Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the same way that in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Yoda’s Force ghost on Ahch-To used Force lightning to destroy the first Jedi temple. In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, he swiveled his chair in the command room of the second Death Star by means of his using The Force to do so.

In his having also foreseen that using a Force ghost projection of himself would temporarily disappear him unharmed into The Force until the time of Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker when the midichlorians of his body had repopulated, and thus when his ability to use The Force had returned to normal, Darth Snoke did command The Empire as The First Order.

If Darth Sidious used a Force ghost projection of himself aboard the Death Star, then that would explain why he did not fear Luke Skywalker or Anakin Skywalker using Luke's green lightsaber against him the same way that Ben Solo used their blue lightsaber against Darth Snoke, after he had placed it beside him on the armrest of his chair.

Though it seemed that Darth Sidious was holding Luke's lightsaber, I surmise that he was actually levitating it by means of his using The Force, because in being a Force ghost projection of himself he did not physically exist on the second Death Star, anymore than Luke Skywalker did physically exist on Crait in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

Furthermore, it was before the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi when Darth Sidious did foresee that years later, Darth Snoke would be killed by Ben Solo, and that is why Darth Sidious knew that he had to use a Force ghost projection of himself aboard the second Death Star, or else he would suffer the same fate that Darth Snoke later did.

Thus, Darth Sidious, in having kept that information from Darth Snoke, did have a hand in the death of Darth Snoke. Because Darth Snoke was a powerful Force user, when he died, there did occur a lack of balance in the Force, as his counterpart the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker still alive. Thus I surmise that lack of balance in the Force somehow made it possible for Darth Sidious to return to the land of the living by the time of Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker, from what was his afterlife in Force-Hell.

If you enjoyed reading this second episode of my "How I Watch Star Wars" series and would like to read its first episode that I posted on the Steem blockchain on June 8th, 2018, and which is titled "Droids are Cyborgs", please click here.