Rule of Two question....

I hope I'm posting this in the right place....

In the Rule of Two, does the apprentice have to kill their master themselves in order to ascend? or does it matter as long as the apprentice had a hand in it?

For example, what if the Master died in an accident, yet the apprentice had nothing to do with it.
Does he/she/it still become the Sithlord?

 

Yes.

 

This is true.

 

It's the final rite of passage to become the Sith Master, for the apprentice to kill his master.

 

But what happens if the Sith Master croaks before the Apprentice can kill him/her?

 

So, the masters know that its just a matter of time before they are killed off? Thats got to be a tough thing to live with, especially as you get older and know its coming soon! Damn!

 

But in the scheme of things, I can imagine that there is no greater honor for a Sith Master than knowing that his death is furthering the Sith lineage and assuring the eventual destruction of the Jedi Order. Considering they have the true goals of Darth Bane and the Rule of Two in mind...
And if the Sith Master dies before the Apprentice can do the job himself, he is, by default, the new Sith Master and Lord of the Sith.

 

I think the exchange between Bane & Zannah at the end of RoT best summs this up. She says outright that she saves him only to learn mor & when she surpasses him she will Kill him. Bane is very proud to hear this.

I think bane's idea is that there will be no weak Dark Lords: they will always be replaced by someone stronger.