8. The Power of the Sith
In Revenge of the Sith, we really do get to see Sith throwing out the entire range of their powers. Of course, we get to see Sith lightning, lightsaber twirling and the force being used a whole lot, but theres a whole lot more going on in here that may or may not be what we expected to see. Lets start with the Sith eye changes. Anakin goes all the way bad on Mustafar. Hes come from killing a load of Jedi kids and gets straight into killing whats left of the Separatist leaders. His rage is fueling him and the dark side has fully corrupted him. His hatred is literally flowing through him and this, I feel, is depicted in the eyes, mainly because Anakins eyes are normal all the way through the Obi-Wan duel, but the bitterness in the I hate you line to Obi-Wan while he lies crippled on the lava bank has his eyes go full-on Sith. Jump back a couple of episodes and Maul had the Sith angry eyes all of the time (mainly because hes pure Sith awesome) and so, too, does Darth Sidious when he fully reveals himself as a Sith lord. But what of Count Dooku? He never had the Sith eyes thing going on? Had he not fully given himself to the Sith? Was he not fuelled by hatred or anger but something else? Where his intentions to make the galaxy a better place sincere and he was only using the powers that the dark side offered up as a means to an end? Jump forward to the end of Return of the Jedi and beneath the Vader mask, Anakins eyes are normal once again. I feel that Sith eyes are telling us just how far a Sith has gone. Palpatine is the exception to the rule but then again hes very much in disguise outside of his Sidious robes and when hes not got anything to hide, he shows his Sith eyes with pride. Anyway, bigger than the eyes thing, the Sith, or indeed at least one Sith, is revealed to have the ability to create life. Darth Plagueis, Sidiouss Sith master, apparently learned to manipulate the force to create life. Its never explicitly laid out in the films, but its heavily implied that that creation of life resulted in Anakins immaculate birth. Now, whether Plagueis knew exactly where this life was birthed and hid the facts from Sidious before his apprentice murdered him (there can only ever be two remember) or if this creation of life occurred but it had to be found within the big old galaxy is up for debate, but Sidious seems pretty sure the Chosen One is his masters creation. Theres also a lot of talk about Plagueis being able to stop people from dying (more on that later) Also up for argument is the nature of what fuels a Siths power. With a Jedi, commitment and concentration and becoming one with the force around us takes time. Yoda has been going at it for 900 years and is yet to master it fully. The Sith always take the easier route and for me the scene with Mace Windu taking down Palpatine raises a question or two. Is Palpatine faking his defeat and weakness? The bigger question is, when Anakins desperation to save Padme leads him to strike down Mace, is Palpatine actually fuelled by the turmoil? It is this exact point where Anakin goes too far and gives himself over to the Sith. Is Palpatines unlimited power a result of that? Is there something more to the Sith master and apprentice combination or is this simply Palpatine bragging that hes turned Jedi against Jedi? I think this one warrants a discussion, so feel free to post your thoughts below. Lastly, theres an argument that Palpatine is the one giving Anakin nightmares about Padme. I dont think its the case because it takes away from Anakins personal demons about losing his loved ones but Palpatine certainly knows Anakins fears about his wife before Anakin raises the topic. I always put this down to Palpatine reading Anakins raw emotions, much like Vader does in Return of the Jedi when he discovers Luke has a sister. Whatever is really going on with all these points, they all add a bit of background to the largely unseen relationship between Vader and Palpatine in the original trilogy and really make the Sith (remember this term wasnt even dropped in the original trilogy) a more interesting element in episodes IV-VI.