|
FWIW, the Rule of Two was retconned in the Rise of Skywalker novel:
----
The Rise of Skywalker novelization provides a solution to the conundrum, in the form of a passage Rey reads from an ancient Jedi text. "The Prime is One, but the Jedi are Many. The Sith were Many but often emerge Ruled by Two." This clarifies that while there can be multiple Sith at any time, they are ruled by the leading two. This scenario would fit the pattern that was set in the supplementary material of two Sith being in charge, and others acting in secret.
This explanation also works on a meta-level -- the reason that Sith lords crop up to violate the clean "Rule of Two" often arises from supplementary works. If everyone pretended that only the movies were in-canon, it wouldn't be a problem. However, Star Wars has a rich expanded universe, set in between the events of the movies. And those supplementary works need villains, which often end up being Sith, regardless of the "Rule of Two."
|