BmB said:

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:
and the emperor's plan to turn Luke makes little sense (particularly since he is telling Luke his plan).

I think it makes sense. The point isn't to make Luke join him willingly, the point is to make him really angry and desperate so that he will kill Vader. And then he will be on the dark side whether he wants to or not.

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Luke-VS-the-Emperor-What-if-Vader-hadnt-been-there/post/401848/#TopicPost401848

I still think what I thought back then.

Basically, what is the Emperor's exit strategy from this fight? On the surface, it seems to be very broken. As some have said, the Emperor seems to be talking Luke out of joining the Dark Side by pushing so hard for him to join the Dark Side. And all of this talk about how he will be his apprentice in, oh... 10 minutes seems to be very odd.

Maybe I'm trying to make a silk purse here, but if you look at it as a certain kind of reverse-reverse-psychology, it seems to work.

If everyone told you that cigarettes were VERY ADDICTING and to never even try them, and then a cigarette salesman (I promise I'm going somewhere) told you they were VERY VERY ADDICTING and that you'd be a total addict 5 minutes after your first puff... and then he tricked you into trying one... and you realized you weren't a total addict at that point in time... wouldn't it dull your fear of becoming an adict and, perhaps, increase the likelihood that you would actually smoke cigaretters kind of casually until... YOU ARE ADDICTED.

It kind of works, right?

Perhaps it's as bad as prequel apologistisms, but it makes sense to me.