Why do the Sith have apprentices in ‘Star Wars?’

You don’t need me to tell you that Star Wars is one of the most iconic sci-fi series of all time, and two of the most important character classes in the plot are the Jedi and the Sith. As early as the first movie in 1977, the differences between these two subgroups of Force users were clear, but they weren’t as simple as good and evil. Siths do very different things from the Jedi, especially when it comes to training new recruits.

The Jedi have established schools to train legions of Force users of their own in an attempt to help them defend the galaxy from the Sith threat, an act that is the complete opposite of how the Sith do everything. job. The Sith Lords tend to choose just one apprentice to join them in their sinister adventures, choosing a two-person friendship over the scores of villainous veterans.

Why do the Sith have apprentices while the Jedi train a bunch of young warriors holding blue and green lights?

It’s the Rule of Two, baby

The Sith took apprentices for the same reason the Jedi did: train them in the ways of the Force and ensure that the knowledge of the Siths did not fade away. The biggest difference between how the Jedi and Sith operate comes from that shady Rule Number Two.

Created by Darth Bane, the Rule of Two states that only two Sith Lords can exist at a time ⏤ “one to display power, the other to aspire to it.” Many times, the apprentice killed his previous employer (as one did), then took his place as an apprentice of his own. But not all Sith follow this rule. The first Sith to break it and train many apprentices was Darth Tyranus, aka Count Dooku.

The Rule of Two was necessary due to the power structure the Sith established to facilitate their existence. With so many Sith Lords out there, a civil war for power is likely to erupt, so limiting their numbers should reduce that potential conflict. Also, having fewer Siths makes it easier for them to hide from the Jedi, because Sith are such sneaky little creatures.

No wonder the Jedi always beat them in the end. But don’t tell them that.