Was Qui-Gon Jinn A Grey Jedi?
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The story of Star Wars is a simple one of the good old forces of evil against the few but convincing nice guys. Even morally ambiguous characters are not that ambiguous. Let’s take Han Solo for instance. In the original film, part of his character arc was that the Rebellion showed him to fight for what is right—helping Luke and the others to destroy the Death Star. The Mandalorian is another “kind of” morally ambiguous character who wanted to remain outside any galactic conflict but ended up taking care of an old Force-sensitive creature against the remaining forces of the Empire. Boba Fett, a villain in the original films, was now a “benevolent crime lord” on Tatooine akin to Don Corleon in The Godfather.
So when talking about the mighty, legendary, powerful, inherently good Jedi, they must be nothing but good thoughts and deeds. They were the physical embodiment of good. The galaxy will always await a Jedi knight, the peacekeeper. The return of the Sith would teach us that the Jedi were not always right. They had flaws and made mistakes. They were selfish, and they were finally defeated because of their pride. In their mistakes, they handed the Chosen One directly to the hands of those who would cause the most damage.
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In the Jedi Order, there existed only a few Force users who did not line up with the traditional Jedi belief system. They were called “Grey Jedi,” a Jedi who would use the dark side at will, but did not fall to its call. In a way, they were the critics of the ways of the Jedi. They approached the Force like the Sith, with pure feeling and without the restrictive gripping hand that kept you in the dark. They possessed a better understanding of the ways of the Force. The Jedi usually gave a few thoughts to act according to the will of the Force. They even had a council to discuss how they shall proceed. This naturally put the “Grey Jedi” frequently against the council. In the old days of the Republic, being in constant disagreement with the council was not that bad of a choice. The Jedi were losing sight of the path, and the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, in just one move.
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The Chosen One was discovered in the sands of Tatooine by none other than the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn. He was a highly respected Jedi among his peers who considered him to be one of the wisest and most powerful Jedi of their time. While growing up under Dooku’s wing, Qui-Gon learned how to feel the Force through the study of prophecies. It was pure knowledge and feeling that fed the curiosity behind how the old words foretell what will come. In those years, Qui-Gon underestimated the role he will take in a few of those prophecies. However, the Jedi Council did not think highly of the prophecies, ignoring them as they could be misinterpreted easily causing, anger, pain, and suffering if you decide to follow that path. Again, they were not listening to the Force. Qui-Gon would be at odds with the Jedi Council many times as the council tried to please the Republic. Qui-Gon insisted the Force is apolitical, and so should the Jedi. After all, the Jedi exist to understand, feel, and teach how to feel the Force. Qui-Gon would pass this on to the next generation of Jedi through his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Their initial years were rocky. Obi-Wan was methodical, by the book, and followed the rules set by the Jedi Council. He was the perfect Jedi of the time, although a bit rebellious in a way, but less so than Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan never understood why his master was constantly antagonizing the council. Despite their differences, Qui-Gon taught Obi-Wan to feel the Force, letting it guide his body and mind. Qui-Gon still guided him as he trained the Chosen One, a being made of pure Force, feeling, and potential to do good, or evil.
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Qui-Gon continued to seek knowledge of the Force. He was the first Force user in a long time to discover the means to live beyond death. It was a goal that the Sith always pursue, but the Jedi never considered it. Qui-Gon’s ambition was always led by curiosity. Any Jedi with a bit of ambition could fall to the dark side. However, Qui-Gon continued the Jedi path, the pure path of knowledge. He knew that he will continue to learn of the Force, but it will be while he was walking in the Jedi way. He could have left the order as Dooku did, but in some ways, the Force never gave him any reason to follow that path. Maybe the path he was walking was not that corrupted by the Jedi standards. This path gave him the tools to better understand the Force and pass on what he had learned. He knew how easily anyone could fall to the dark side. He was familiar with the call. On the other hand, the Jedi Order did not know how to deal with those feelings, and many would fall when they were overcome with their emotions. The Force needed someone like Qui-Gon who truly felt the ways of the Force, someone who saw the corrupted ways of the Jedi.
In Attack of the Clones, Dooku admitted that he thought Qui-Gon would follow him in his dark endeavors. From the Jedi Council’s point of view, Qui-Gon’s commitment to the Force was dark and sinister, and thus they saw him as a Grey Jedi. However, this was a result of their lack of understanding of the Force. Qui-Gon’s curiosity gave him new perspectives and feelings to approach the ways of the Force. To him, the dark side merely helped him gain better sight of the signs and the feelings. His teachings were always full of love and pure knowledge. He was the follower of the will of the Force until his last days. Qui-Gon was the true Jedi that the Jedi Order and Republic did not know they needed.
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