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I am very confused because in the Star Wars movie where Luke goes go up against Darth Sidious:

Darth Vader was killed by Darth Sidious's electricity power than the dark side has to offer him after Darth Vader saved his son, resulting from his son's pleas for his father to help him from being electrocuted.

Why didn't Darth Vader simply use the force to throw and choke Darth Sidious into the core thus to kill him, and so that Vader could have lived?

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    Because a beaten and dying Anakin rising up to overthrow his master as his last redeeming act makes way better cinema. Sure seeing two Sith battle it out would have been cool, but there's no guarantee Vader would have won.
    – Tim
    Oct 20, 2017 at 2:49
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    Presumably Darth Sidious was stronger and better at the force. Grabbing and throwing him was both impulsive (good impulsive not bad impulsive) and had the element of surprise and speed. It may have been the only approach that would have worked.
    – userLTK
    Oct 20, 2017 at 3:17
  • I agree with the other comments here. Darth Sidious is pretty powerful,--he killed Mace Windu! Vader himself is also torn about his allegiance, but also having him pick Sidious up and throwing him down the shaft is more interesting--more intimate--more personally taking control, and makes good cinematography and good story telling. Oct 20, 2017 at 13:34
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    In SW universe, a standard force choke is fairly easy to deflect, especially if the [force user] is prepared/on alert, and most especially if they're as powerful with the force as Darth Sidious was. The attempted force choke would only last for a split second, probably something equal to a cough.
    – Charles
    Dec 4, 2017 at 15:53
  • @Tim Exactly, also, if force of skywalkers cancels force of sidious, then only physical strength matters.
    – ashveli
    Oct 22, 2019 at 4:58

1 Answer 1

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After Vader's battle with Luke, he was in a very bad way. One hand was gone, he was tired, and he had suffered under Luke's onslaught.

Darth Sidious, on the other hand, was at his full strength. He was in full control of the Dark Side, had no injuries, and could unleash everything at Luke.

If Vader had tried to attack using the Force, Sidious would have responded, and they would have at least been equal in strength. A Force-choke takes time - more than enough time for Sidious to easily break Vader's grip. Given Vader's condition, Palpatine would have won a Force battle.

Despite Palpatine's powers of the Dark Side, he was still a physically old man; approximately in his late eighties.

Vader knew that his only chance was a physical attack. In terms of physical strength, he was the superior. So his lifting Palpatine above his head was swift, and took the Emperor by surprise, giving Vader enough time to throw his former master down the shaft, even though it cost him his life. In that moment, it was the only way he could see to save his son.

From the official novelization:

At that instant, Vader sprang up and grabbed the Emperor from behind, pinning Palpatine's upper arms to his torso. Weaker than he'd ever been, Vader had lain these last few minutes, focusing his every fiber of being on this one, concentrated act - the only action possible; his last, if he failed. Ignoring pain, ignoring his shame and his weaknesses, ignoring the bone-crushing noise in his head, he focused solely and sightlessly on his will - his will to defeat the evil embodied in the Emperor.

from Star Wars : Return of the Jedi by James Kahn

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