The Rise of Skywalker: 5 questions on Emperor Palpatine having a family
3. Was Palpatine’s son Force-sensitive?
We know that Sheev Palpatine was a powerful Force-user, and that his granddaughter Rey was as well. Her power is directly attributed to her familial relationship to Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. So the question must be asked: was Palpatine’s son strong in the Force as well?
The genetics of Force sensitivity are not unpacked for us in the Star Wars universe, so we don’t know precisely how that particular skill is passed along. Force-sensitive children were born to non-Force users (I am resisting the urge to call them “Muggles”). Are the children of Force users always Force-sensitive?
If the answer is yes, then the Jedi policy of no attachments makes a little less sense. The offspring of two Jedi would seem to be a sustainable and effective way to replenish the ranks of the Jedi. Additionally if clones of a Force-user were Force-sensitive, or able to pass on the Force strength of their original host to offspring, the galaxy would have left a consistent stream of Jedi by the wayside.
The randomness of passing on genetic traits in general would seem to suggest it’s not a guarantee, except that every child of a Force user we see has that ability. In Return of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi explains to Luke that he and his sister were separated at birth because the Emperor knew they would be threats due to their father being Darth Vader. That suggests Kenobi, Yoda and the Emperor all expected strong Force sensitivity from the children of a Force user.
The reason this is important is that a Force-sensitive son would beg a number of questions. Why was Palpatine Jr. not raised a Sith? If he was a good person, did he seek to become a Jedi? How did a Force user who grew up the son of the Emperor not stop a single man from capturing and killing both he and his wife?
Perhaps midi-chlorians are recessive, like red hair. Luke and Leia were strong in the Force because their grandparent was “the Force” itself? Kylo Ren seems to draw a specific familiarity in the Force between himself and his grandfather. However it lays out, this is an important question for the galaxy.