Darth Vader's Absence Weakened Palpatine, Reveals New Star Wars Lore

According to a new Star Wars book, Darth Vader's absence after the events of Return of the Jedi played a significant role in weakening Palpatine. The book, titled Star Wars: Master of Evil, reveals that the Rule of Two kept the Sith alive and hidden from the Jedi Order for centuries, but once that was fractured by Vader's rebellion against Palpatine, the Emperor was left as a shell of his former self.

Palpatine had transferred his consciousness to a new body after Vader tossed him into the chasm in the second Death Star. However, this new body failed to be a suitable replacement, and Palpatine spent the next three decades overseeing cloning experiments to try and create a better one. The book suggests that Vader's absence also negatively affected Palpatine, as he could no longer feed off his apprentice's power to increase his own.

This new piece of lore helps explain Palpatine's weakened state in The Rise of Skywalker, where he was forced to create Snoke as a proxy for the First Order. Ironically, Palpatine's attempts to clone a perfect body ended up being his downfall, as one of those clones went on to become Rey's father, and Palpatine initially intended to transfer his consciousness into his granddaughter's body. Ultimately, Rey was able to destroy her grandfather, and hopefully, he'll stay dead this time.