Before establishing the first Galactic Empire in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine went through apprentices in basically every installment, seeing them merely as a tool to help him accomplish his goals, but Darth Vader proved to be an exception to this rule.
We know that Anakin was integral to Darth Sidious’ plan to seize control of the galaxy and destroy the Jedi Order. While both Darth Maul and Darth Tyrannus (Count Dooku) were powerful dark-side practitioners in the world of Star Wars, they couldn’t even hope to match the Chosen One’s strength, both as a lightsaber duelist and a Force user. Learning the secret to master death and extract the essence of the living Force, Palpatine was planning to transfer his consciousness to Anakin’s body, who possessed an unusual amount of Midi-chlorians, even higher than that of Grand Master Yoda’s. And while Obi-Wan essentially paralyzed his former padawan and left him to burn on the slopes of Mustafar, Palpatine could still use Anakin as a prodigy of the Force. But is that what motivated Sidious to rush to his new apprentice’s rescue?
Well, it appears that Darth Maul also had a role to play in this matter. As his voice actor Sam Witwer explained some years ago:
“What’s really fun to note is that Darth Maul, having survived his grievous injuries, plants the seed in Palpatine’s head that maybe you don’t give up on these guys so quickly. If they’re dead, or you think they’ve been killed, maybe they’re not. Maybe they can survive, maybe they can amount to something. That’s something we get to see coming up, Sidious realizing that. That ultimately leads to Darth Vader.”
Apparently, at some point in his endeavors, Sidious realized that his apprentices could continue to serve his cause. This is probably why he decided to keep Darth Vader around. In fact, if you think about it, the Emperor had many assets, including the likes of Tarkin and Admiral Thrawn, who kept the order in the galaxy. So, keeping Vader around merely served as a contingency.
Tell us, though, what do you think about this Star Wars theory? And if not for this, why do you think Palpatine decided to save Vader?
