What is the Emperor's logic when taunting Luke Skywalker?

Question

EMPEROR: Good. I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete.

If the Emperor just wants to ensure a fight between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader by telling Luke to "strike me down," (he knows that Vader will block Luke's swing) then why does he say the phrase in bold? You'd think that that would actually make Luke LESS likely to swing at him, which would mean there would be no fight between Luke and Vader.

Turning to the Dark Side should have nothing to do with the Emperor simply wanting Luke to swing at him and Vader to block it, thus starting fight. Right?

Answer 1

If the Emperor can get Luke to take a swing at him, even while telling him how evil such a thing would be, I would say that it would be proof enough to the Emperor that Luke is at least willing and able to accept the Dark Side to get things done.

The idea is that the Emperor doesn't want Luke to just be mad, he wants Luke to understand the consequences and to decide to use the Dark Side. As DavidS put it, "He's not trying to trick Luke into swinging at him, he's trying to make Luke CHOOSE to kill him, with full knowledge of the consequences."

Answer 2

The Emperor is trying to turn Luke to the Dark Side. By explicitly telling Luke this while simultaneously playing on his emotions to get him to react in anger, he's setting up a long-con. In short, his goal is to have Luke get mad, kill Vader in a rage (using the Dark Side in the process), and then feel remorse and guilt.

Keep in mind that Luke has been constantly told that there is no going back once you start down the path of the Dark Side. Ben & Yoda have both told him, in no uncertain terms, that Vader can't be saved. They've both told him that if he falters, even for a moment, he will be lost to the Dark Side for all time.

Sideous knows this is a common teaching for the Jedi, and would expect Kenobi and Yoda to teach this to their newest student.

By working Luke up with anger, and leading him into guilt and remorse, Palpatine seeks to foster negative, Dark Side emotions within Luke. It would make it much easier, in the long run, for Palpatine to mold him into a proper Sith.

Answer 3

This is probably a blunt answer, but it could be stated for the sake of the audience. As you somewhat said yourself, telling Luke that he's going to the dark side if he tries to strike him down doesn't help the Emperor's cause to sway Luke. It could just be undertones to help the viewers understand how critical this decision would be for Luke.

Answer 4

By saying "strike me down with all your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete" he is providing Luke with a choice. He doesn't want Luke to simply use the Dark Side. This would allow Luke the chance to rationalize his use of anger and possibly overcome it. He did so on Dagobah as well.

What the Emperor is doing here is giving Luke clear directions, ORDERS. Luke has the choice to follow them or not. The anger he feels knowing those explosions are rebels dying and that Han and Leia may be in trouble swells within him. What better way to cement Luke's fall to the dark side than to clearly tell him that the actions he would love to do would take him down the path to the dark side....and he still do them. In the EU, Jedi rarely fall to the Dark Side through accident. It is a known and acknowledged choice to succumb to emotion. Palpatine adds intensity to it by taking the choice Luke knows he must make and delivering it as an order.

Answer 5

That question is fully answered by a retcon I really quite liked in The Rise of Skywalker.

The resurrected Palpatine goads Rey to do exactly the same but explains why (possibly trusting her more than he should because she is a blood relative).

When a Sith slays their master they become possessed by the spirit of their master, plus all the previous Sith in the chain, including all their previous experience, memories and knowledge. This explains how he was able to resurrect himself:

his master, Darth Plagueis, discovered the power of bodily resurrection, so Palpatine gained that knowledge upon murdering him. Probably part of Plagueis' plan all along.

That's why he wanted Luke to strike him down with all his hatred - so that he could inhabit Luke's body and take control of his powerful Jedi abilities - as he had wanted to with Vader, but had lost trust in his apprentice's ability to do what was needed. Ironic then that after turning good it was Vader who killed him.

But, Palpatine was not murdered as he hoped - it was the fall that killed him, and also Vader throwing him over the edge was not an act of hatred - it was self-defence/love for his son, so Palpatine's spirit had nowhere to go apart from to return into his broken corpse waiting for the next powerful Jedi to come along...

Answer 6

Let's look at a specific part of the statement: "...and your journey towards the dark side will be complete." He is playing the mind-game, insinuating that Luke already started down that path. Vader - who turned out to be Luke's daddy - is right there; Anakin Skywalker, turned to the dark side. The Emperor didn't just keep Vader hanging around there for no reason; it adds strength to his insinuation... "Look at your dad, he went all-in on the dark side. Even got himself a dark emo outfit and all. And now, you're here with him... you're angry... and your weak-assed mentors - acting like they were your betters - even told you that you'd risk slipping into the dark side if you got this far. They even tried to hide the truth about your daddy being all dark because they were desperate in their fear (and fear is another step that "leads to the dark side") for having you get all curious about him and learning that you're actually destined to go dark. So, come on, let's take that last step of this dark journey into darkness, give in to your emo-side and come at me, brah, and complete that which you were destined to do..."

Answer 7

I think it's safe to say that Luke was indeed angry at that point and his overly aggressive attack on Vader later in the scene proves it. He just learned that the Emperor knew the whole plan to bring down the Death Star's shields before it ever got started. So, the better part of the rebel fleet is in danger of being wiped out and, more personally, his friends (and the only family he has left anywhere) are most likely going to be killed on Endor. (He had no way of knowing about the Ewok attack allowing the Rebels a chance of success). So, he's in an incredibly stressful, dangerous situation and is worried for his friends, family and the Rebel Alliance as a whole. Add to that that Luke has to be worried that he'll make the same mistakes his father did. I don't think you can avoid that fear with a family legacy like his.

So Luke is angry, and he's probably worried about how angry he is knowing what that can lead to. Then you have the Emperor who is just over there rubbing salt in the wound. "Oh...look at how mad you are. You'd better be careful...that can lead to the dark side. Did I mention your friends are going to die and your entire cause is lost. Doesn't that make you mad?"

The Emperor is basically just trolling Luke at this point and just taunting Luke with the very things he's already angry about/scared of.

Answer 8

Isn't that all the more reason for Luke to NOT swing at him?

Logically yes. But the Emperor doesn't want Luke to think logically. The Emperor wants Luke to be ruled by his emotions. And almost as importantly, the Emperor wants Luke to choose his emotions over his intellect. If Luke merely struck at the Emperor, Luke could rationalize his attack with a logical reason. To complete his transformation, he must submit willingly. He must attack against logic.

Another issue here is that being denied emotional release by logic is itself maddening. It just makes him more angry. If Luke were to stop and think things through logically, he would see the same thing you do. He should purge himself of dark emotions before attacking. The Jedi have historically done that by denying themselves any emotions. But the Emperor knows that if he breaks that logical control, it will be easier the next time. He doesn't want to beat Luke. The Emperor wants to convert Luke to the dark side and the Sith.

It's also worth noting that Darth Vader does not break free logically, as a Jedi would. Vader embraces his love for his children. That's still an emotion, albeit not one typically associated with the dark side.