Why Was Qui-Gon Jinn The First Jedi To Return As A Force Ghost?
In Jedi tradition, death was seen as a part of life and would come to all. In death, the being would become one with the Force, while beings would lose their ability to communicate with the living upon death. There were, however, certain rare paths that allowed a being to avert death. These entities became known as Force Ghosts and also as Force Spirits.
The origins and history of this knowledge are secrets only learned when absolutely necessary. Ancient Jedi of the Galactic Republic, along with some Sith Lords, knew a secret way in which they could preserve their essence to survive death, but this knowledge was all but lost over the millennia. The earliest on-screen reference we have to someone carrying on after death in the form of immortality is through Qui-Gon Jinn, but how did he manage this?
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Let’s start with a quick history lesson. George Lucas had initially wanted to have his Star Wars stories told as if from the Journal Of The Whills, a record of galactic history. The Whills were a community of beings who wrote the aforementioned Journal Of The Whills. There is not much said about them in Star Wars movies, but we do get a brief insight in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where Jedha hosted not only The Temple Of The Khyber, also known as The Temple Of The Whills, but it was also the home of the Force worshipping order knows as the Guardians Of The Whills with both Baze Malbus and Chirrut Imwe being former members.
It is believed that integrated among the Whills, some were dedicated to the role of shaman. Although not directly referenced in the released movies, there was a deleted scene in Revenge Of The Sith where Qui-Gon Jinn shares with Yoda that eternal consciousness has been achieved by a Shaman Of The Whills. Qui-Gon Jinn’s interest and study in this infinite consciousness were touched upon in The Clone Wars animated series. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon Jinn was unable to complete his training before his eventual death at the hands of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, which is why he could only make his presence known in audible rather than visual form.
At the end of Season 6 of The Clone Wars, three episodes expanded Qui-Gon Jinn’s work in this area, namely Voices, Destiny, and Sacrifice. Qui-Gon Jinn passed on his knowledge to Yoda, guiding him to the planet Dagobah. As part of his spiritual journal, Yoda discovers the origin of life in the galaxy and meets the five Force Priestesses training Qui-Gon Jinn. The Force Priestesses appear to be manifestations of the Force itself and present a number of trials that need to be completed before Yoda could master the skill and become a Force Ghost. Although it was not mentioned, it is safe to assume that these Force Priestesses were actually Shaman Of The Whills.
With Qui-Gon Jinn only partially completing his training, he could not physically manifest himself, but he was the first in a long time to achieve this once he had discovered the path to the training. Yoda also managed to fully complete his training following guidance from Qui-Gon Jinn and so was able to appear as a Force Ghost. At the end of Revenge Of The Sith, Yoda tells Obi-Wan Kenobi that he had training for him to complete. Obi-Wan Kenobi would then spend part of his exile completing these studies that would ultimately allow him to manifest as a Force Ghost. Decades later, in The Rise of Skywalker, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker would also reappear as a Force Ghost, but how Luke learned this skill is a tale not yet told.
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Source(s): CBR