The Way Palpatine Cut The Jedi Off From The Force Is Finally Revealed
One of the major factors in the Star Wars prequels that allowed Sheev Palpatine (AKA Darth Sidious) to completely fool the Jedi to the point where he managed to kill almost all of them and take over the galaxy was that the Jedi's ability to use the Force was diminished, as Mace Windu repeatedly says. It seems unclear exactly what this means and how much it would have helped the Jedi anyway. The impression that many people got from the movies is that Palpatine was using the dark side of the Force to suppress the powers of the Jedi, thereby making them unable to sense his ill intentions. Given the roster of powerful Jedi that included Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, and, of course, Yoda, this would potentially make him the most powerful person in the galaxy.
However, recent developments have shown otherwise. In the Star Wars: The High Republic novel, Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, a much more interesting explanation is put forth. A Jedi Master is taken prisoner by an enemy of the Jedi, Marchion Ro, who manages to diminish the Force abilities of the Jedi Master without the use of the Force. According to him:
"'My family knew all about people like you. They told me what you could do, and how to resist it. They're not getting out either. If they die, I'll just bring in more. Their job is to fill this deck with pain and anger and fear. Makes it hard for you to think, doesn't it? Hard for you to call on the Force... You don't imprison Jedi behind bars. You do it with pain.'"
This idea makes far more sense than the simple explanation of "Palpatine is super, super strong." It shows that when the Force is out of balance, usually with great pain and suffering, it weakens the Jedi, thereby making them less able to use their Force powers. This is a perfect explanation for the phenomenon in the prequel films. Windu laments that the Jedi are losing their connection to the Force right as the galaxy is going through an increasingly brutal war between the Republic and Separatist forces. With the possible exception of Yoda, none of the Jedi have ever lived through such horrific times.
Of course, that does bring up the question of Yoda. Given that he's almost nine hundred years old when the prequel films are set, you'd wonder if this is a phenomenon that he's seen before at least on a small scale. The Jedi Master in the above quote is out of tune with the Force, and he's just being held captive in a torture dungeon. There's no way that Yoda wouldn't have run into this before, so when Windu says that they should tell the Senate that their ability to use the Force has been diminished, it would make sense for Yoda to give that explanation. It wouldn't at all take away from the genius of Palpatine's plan. If anything, it would make it even better. Instead of the implication that he's so powerful that he can weaken Yoda's connection to the force, he uses manipulation to create a scenario that does it for him.
As Star Wars media continues to come out, it starts to fill in the holes that the prequel films have created. It's not constrained by the movie schedule, so it can explore different ideas in more depth. The idea that the mere chaos of the Clone Wars rather than simply Sidious' power is what's hurting the Jedi is really neat. Hopefully, as we get more books, TV shows, and, indeed, more movies, we can start to expand the rich lore of the universe.
Source(s): Screen Rant