The Greatest Weakness Of The Jedi
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"For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times... before the Empire."
- Obi-Wan Kenobi A New Hope
The above quote is how Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi describes the now disbanded Jedi Order to Luke Skywalker, and us, in the very first film of George Lucas's epic Star Wars saga. Having also learned his father was part of this sacred Order, coupled with the loss of his aunt and uncle, Luke agrees to accompany Obi-Wan and begin his own journey to becoming a Jedi. It's made very clear from the off, the Jedi are the good guys and the Empire the bad guys, so Luke naturally views it as such.
At the time of the original trilogy, the Jedi Order is all but extinct save for Obi-Wan and Master Yoda (and technically Leia). When the prequel trilogy came along in the late 1990's/early 2000's, we saw many Jedi who formed the Jedi Order and then had to witness their downfall. But just how did that come about? Many theories and discussions have taken place amongst fans, and even some of the creators themselves, as to what actually led to their demise, but it looks like the High Republic series is beginning to plant the seeds for their greatest weakness.
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The prequel trilogy shows us a very different side of the Jedi and puts a spotlight on their many flaws. The group who were once regarded as peacekeepers and trusted allies were now secluded to their temple on Coruscant and involving themselves in the politics of the galaxy. As there weren't many stories set before the events of the prequels, which are considered canon, many believed this was just always the way it was. However, it wasn't, and the High Republic is showing us this.
Set around 200 years before the film series, the Jedi Order are at the very height of their power. Palpatine is years away so their connection to the Force is unchallenged and the book series even shows Jedi pulling off immense feats of strength - the story starts with all Jedi combining their power to stop the destruction of an entire solar system, a feat hard to imagine happening in the prequel era even with the likes of Mace Windu and Yoda. However, the latest book in the series has begun to explain how they went from what they were, to what we saw in the prequels, and it involves their lack of involvement in the everyday life of the people living in the galaxy far, far away.
In Out of the Shadows, we see two characters discuss the Jedi and share their thoughts on the heroic group saying:
"People make up life, that's true. But the Force doesn't always take into account people. It's so much bigger than the small problems of settlers or senators. And sometimes if you are looking at the forest you miss what is happening in the trees."
This dialogue suggests, the people of the galaxy are beginning to realise, by serving the will of the Force only, the Jedi are becoming too far removed from everyday life, making it harder for them to relate to the people, also for the people to relate to them, and continue seeing them as the "good guys" they make themselves out to be.
During the High Republic era, the Jedi maintained many temples across many different planets, including some as far out as the Outer Rim, which meant many civilizations had Jedi presence on their homeworlds. Somewhere they could go for guidance and help, however by the time of the prequel era, they have pretty much secluded themselves to the one temple only leaving to carry out missions, making themselves very much out of sync with the very people they are sworn to protect. Add to this their increased involvement with the Senate, and you get a very different Order. By removing themselves from the world, they essentially allowed corruption, war and slavery to ravage countless planets and this played a key factor in their ultimate downfall.
We know Palpatine was able to manipulate events in order to achieve his goal in claiming power for himself, but the Jedi didn't exactly help themselves. They made it very easy for him to convince the Republic the Jedi were traitors. This vital flaw is highlighted quite often during the animated show The Clone Wars. As the war continued to bring peaceful planets into its web, the Jedi (now acting as Generals) saw fit to basically invade planets in order to protect them, even if they didn't want the Jedi's help. This only led to more and more citizen's view of them change from peaceful guardians to, in some cases, dictators. So when Palpatine eventually gave Order 66, it was much easier than he probably anticipated. With the Jedi now acting more like a secret cult, the citizens of the galaxy had no clue what the Jedi were actually all about anymore and so made it easier to believe they had betrayed the Republic. The new show, The Bad Batch, has even shown us citizens happily embracing the newly formed Empire, classing it as a step up from the Republic.
If the Jedi had simply remained present in the lives of the ordinary people, instead of trying to control everything and becoming increasing arrogant, perhaps things would have turned out very differently and Palpatine wouldn't have stood a chance.
What do you think about this view? Was this the greatest weakness of the Jedi? Be sure to let us know.
Until next time!
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Source(s): Screen Rant