Star Wars: The best quotes from the original trilogy

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“So be it…Jedi” -Emperor Palpatine

The Emperor is so well played by Ian McDiarmid throughout the saga, but in Return of the Jedi we get our best and longest look at who this epitome of evil is. The Emperor is a powerful master of the Dark Side. He clearly enjoys destroying his enemies and takes pleasure in their suffering. Not only does he like destroying those who would oppose him, but he also relishes toying and teasing them.

When he has Luke aboard the Second Death Star and shows him the trap the Rebel fleet is flying into, he mocks him in a fake sympathetic voice. He also tells Luke his faith in his friends is his weakness and tells him his father can never be turned from the Dark Side.

After resisting the urge to turn to the Dark Side, Luke informs the Emperor that he’s failed and that he will never turn to the darkness. He tells the Emperor that he’s a Jedi like his father before him. The Emperor takes offense to this but then responds with a challenge to Luke when he tells him “So be it…Jedi.”

This line is great for a couple of reasons. First of all, it shows the extreme confidence and arrogance the Emperor has in his powers. He is basically telling Luke to bring it on and believes 100% that Luke, even as a Jedi, has no shot to destroy him.

The other thing it shows is that the Emperor is acknowledging Luke as a Jedi, and sees him as such. This is the part of the saga where the Jedi truly return, and it is in Luke refusing to kill Darth Vader and standing up to the epitome of evil that is the Emperor.

What are some other great lines from the original trilogy?