Star Wars has revealed the greatest secret of the Sith, essence transfer - and in doing so, it has made Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side even more tragic. Jedi and Sith alike have long sought the secret of immortality. But, while Jedi can learn to become one with the Force and thus manifest as Force Ghosts, Sith struggle to survive after death.
But Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't exactly correct, as proven when Emperor Palpatine returned from the dead in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film itself never really explained how Palpatine was resurrected, but the novelization revealed he used the Sith power of essence transfer, which Palpatine learned from his master Darth Plagueis. "The falling, dying Emperor called on all the dark power of the Force to thrust his consciousness far, far away to a secret place he had been preparing. His body was dead, an empty vessel, long before it found the bottom of the shaft, and his mind jolted to new awareness in a new body - a painful one, a temporary one." The revelation makes sense, building upon dialogue from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, where Palpatine referred to Darth Plagueis while seducing Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. But it has the unexpected effect of making Anakin's fall to the dark side even more tragic.
Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side was based on an unhealthy attachment to his loved ones, most notably Padmé Amidala. Visions of Padmé's tragic death led Anakin to seek a way to conquer death, prompting Palpatine to tell him about Darth Plagueis in the first place. According to Palpatine, Plagueis was a legendary Sith Lord so powerful and so wise he discovered the way to keep his loved ones alive. "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural," he teased. Naturally, Anakin wanted to know more, but Palpatine insisted these secrets of the dark side could not be learned from a Jedi. His words encouraged Anakin to pursue the dark side rather than the light.
All the best lies contain a half-truth, and we now know Palpatine was not lying when he claimed Darth Plagueis possessed the power to conquer death. But a Sith Lord can only transfer their own essence through the use of the dark side, meaning essence transfer is useless when it comes to keeping anyone else alive. Padmé was always doomed, and the only hope Anakin clung to - the idea the dark side could save her - was nothing more than an elaborate hoax. It's hardly a surprise, fitting perfectly with Palpatine's character, but it's now officially confirmed.
Palpatine told another lie, too. He claimed no Jedi knew the secret of essence transfer, but tie-in comics have suggested he believed one Jedi did. The Jedi possessed the mask of the Sith Lord Darth Momin, a Sith Lord who had successfully transferred his spirit into his mask upon his death. Palpatine believed Jedi archivist Jocasta Nu had studied all the artifacts and Holocrons she looked after, and knew all the secrets of light and dark. But, of course, Anakin Skywalker was hardly a scholar, and it's doubtful he was friends with Jocasta Nu. Palpatine could be confident he would never think of heading to the Jedi archivist to learn secrets of the dark side - and thus there was no way Anakin would avoid his trap.
