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The case system in English has almost died out, and only a few fossils of nominative case pronouns still remain.  English's case system is so weak that most people have reduced the rule to "''I'' goes before a verb, ''me'' comes after a verb or preposition". This gives the correct result in sentences like "It saw me". By extension, speakers therefore often say "It was me" ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgxyL5zEAk here's a famous example from Vince McMahon]) even though this is not true to the traditional rules.  Luke thinks that there's nothing wrong with this modern sense.  It's possible the intent was to portray a {{w|linguistic descriptivism|descriptivist}} approach to grammar.  His words could also be said to be prescriptivist in a different way, as he is objecting to Palpatine's grammar for not being modern enough.
 
The case system in English has almost died out, and only a few fossils of nominative case pronouns still remain.  English's case system is so weak that most people have reduced the rule to "''I'' goes before a verb, ''me'' comes after a verb or preposition". This gives the correct result in sentences like "It saw me". By extension, speakers therefore often say "It was me" ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgxyL5zEAk here's a famous example from Vince McMahon]) even though this is not true to the traditional rules.  Luke thinks that there's nothing wrong with this modern sense.  It's possible the intent was to portray a {{w|linguistic descriptivism|descriptivist}} approach to grammar.  His words could also be said to be prescriptivist in a different way, as he is objecting to Palpatine's grammar for not being modern enough.
  
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Darth Vader counters by pointing out that regardless of the grammatical correctness of "It was I", it is a {{w|set phrase}} with a good archaic ring to it suitable for a dramatic revelation from an Emperor. Vader and the Emperor using English archaisms has canon basis in ''Star Wars'', with Vader asking "What is thy bidding, my master?" in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Historically, "thee", "thou", and "thy" were actually ''informal'' pronouns, but because they are not used in modern English, except in reciting historical works like some editions of the Bible, they are thought of as ceremonial and formal today.  Using the archaic form would be more consistent with the Emperor's speech pattern.
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Darth Vader counters by pointing out that regardless of the grammatical correctness of "It was I", it is a {{w|set phrase}} with a good archaic ring to it suitable for a dramatic revelation from an Emperor. Vader and the Emperor using English archaisms has canon basis in ''Star Wars'', with Vader asking "What is thy bidding, my master?" in ''The Empire Strikes Back''.  Using the archaic form would be more consistent with the Emperor's speech pattern.
  
 
Palpatine finally decides to take a third option, and uses "[https://web.archive.org/web/20180222034934/https://www.papermag.com/it-me-you-and-everyone-we-know-a-look-at-the-webs-most-ambiguous-meme-1427655235.html it me]" , a popular meme on Twitter in 2016. Darth Vader, out of embarrassment, begs him not to talk like that again.
 
Palpatine finally decides to take a third option, and uses "[https://web.archive.org/web/20180222034934/https://www.papermag.com/it-me-you-and-everyone-we-know-a-look-at-the-webs-most-ambiguous-meme-1427655235.html it me]" , a popular meme on Twitter in 2016. Darth Vader, out of embarrassment, begs him not to talk like that again.

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