I don’t mind it being there, don’t get me wrong. I like the idea that in his spare time in the Empire Palpatine went around collecting Sith spirits from their tombs and merged them with his own for more power.

But as for that being the sole reason he is able to cheat death? Nah. It’s gotta be something he learned from Plagueis (since we know he was the only Sith able to cheat death), and since we already have the essence transfer concept in the film, why not mix that with clones. So he hops from clone to clone, draining the life out of them to survive.

But that’s just my opinion.