This is the first time I have decided to take some of my ideas on the series to a blog so I wanted to make it as edgy as possible. There is no better way to do such a thing then to take the most iconic character in the series, Darth Vader, and make him the center of most of the discussion. Aside from being an amazing villain he is also a key character since he is the one that was chosen to bring balance to the Force. Of course we would find out with the additional details we learned in the prequels that this balance occurred after Vader killed Sith Lord Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI. However, if you look closely at this prophecy we can see that all it did was foretell an event that was to come and NOT the circumstances that led to the need for this event.
With that, I propose that it was in fact the arrogance of the Jedi order that led to their demise and not just the deceit of the Sith. This arrogance was in fact so deep that it required the intervention of the Force to the point where it had to will the conception of Anakin Skywalker in the womb of a woman that was unknown to a man, at least at that time. This miracle if you will was due to the fact that the Jedi Order was incapable of doing what they claim to do, which was to be the keepers of the peace.
Blinded by the Dark Side
The clues are everywhere. In Episode I the Jedi Council is aware of the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force, yet are stunned to even consider the idea that Jedi Master Qui Gonn Jinn was in fact attacked by a Sith Lord when he reports of his duel with Darth Maul on Tatooine. The reasoning was expressed by two members of the Council:
Ki Adi Mundi: Impossible! The Sith have been extinct for a millennium.
Mace Windu: I do not believe that the Sith could have returned without us knowing.
Right away this shows an arrogance on their part because it completely contradicts what we learn about the prophecy of the Chosen One in Episode III. While speaking with Yoda and Mace Windu (here, Windu has just stated that he doesn't trust Anakin), Obi Wan Kenobi defends his Padawan when he says, Is he not the Chosen One? Is he not to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force?
If this prophecy were indeed true and the Jedi were faithful to the will of the Force then they should have in fact anticipated the return of the Sith and not concern themselves with whether or not they would actually sense the Sith. Further, when Yoda stated during the exchange between Mundi and Windu that, Ah, hard to see the dark side is, they should have also recognized their own shortcomings and realized that the return of the Sith was not only inevitable but also something they would struggle to identify.
Of course the consequences of their assumption and their arrogance would be catastrophic.
At the beginning of Episode II we have huge galactic problem as there is now a separatist movement led by a wayward Jedi named Count Dooku whose goal is to challenge the authority of the Republic. As this occurs there is an assassination attempt on Senator Padme who had just arrived to a Senate hearing on Coruscant to cast her vote on the creation of a clone army that some want to use to combat the separatist movement. When Padme suspects that it was in fact Dooku who was behind the attempt on her life the response she received was:
Mundi: He's a political idealist, not a murderer
Windu: You know milady, Count Dooku was once a Jedi. He couldn't assassinate anyone. It's not in his character.
Are the Jedi that naive where they cannot see that first, a political idealist that openly opposes the Republic is in fact a danger to their way of life as well as those that they have sworn to protect? Remember, Padme arrived to Coruscant to vote on the creation of a clone army. Why would such a discussion even be necessary unless the separatist movement was already seen as an actual threat? Further, if someone turned away the Jedi Order how could you not be suspicious of them especially if they are now leading the movement that openly opposes the government that the Jedi Order has sworn to protect? Have they not even considered the possibility that Dooku was being tempted by the dark side of the Force? After all, how often does Yoda of all beings (I guess that would be the appropriate word since he is not human) preach against such things?
Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine is in fact Sith Lord that they are now looking for and he is right in front of them with none of them being able to sense his presence. Perhaps this is possible since Palpatine has in fact done whatever he needed to do with the assistance of the Force to be able to maneuver among the Jedi as they continue to look inward with the intention of perfecting themselves at the expense of the changing reality around them. The results are quite disturbing because first off, he was able to influence enough senators to vote him Chancellor of the Republic, gave him even more power. Second, this power would allow him to lead the call for the creation of a clone army that would eventually be called upon to help destroy the Jedi Order.
Eventually the Jedi Order becomes aware of the complicated events that would lead to creation of the clone army, which led Yoda to respond with the words: Blind are we! Right! Blinded by your own arrogance, which Yoda recognized earlier in the film when he stated arrogance was, A flaw more and more common among Jedi. Too sure of themselves they are. Event the older, more experienced ones.
Now which experienced Jedi was he referring to? Was it Windu who insisted that Dooku could in no way assassinate anyone because he was once a Jedi? Could it be Kenobi who would demonstrate arrogance on many occasions throughout the series? Or, was Yoda's comment a confession of what he discovered in some sort of self-reflection about himself? After all, prior to to his duel with Emperor Palpatine in Episode III he himself demonstrated some arrogance before the Sith Lord laid him out with a Force lightning attack before stating the words that are a part of the title this blog, Your arrogance blinds you Master Yoda. It is also rather strange that Yoda would address the Emperor with such an arrogant tone after Order 66 had already wiped out most of the Jedi Order. If anything, he should have been more focused than ever as he had to know that the survival of what was left of the Jedi Order hinged on what would occur between him and Palpatine at that particular moment.
False Righteousness
One of the main expectations of a Jedi was to avoid attachments. Obviously one can see the benefit of a Jedi not focusing on material things as it left them open to the will of the Force without distraction. But how does that pertain to their loved ones? The best example of this was in how they dealt with Anakin and his mother.
In Episode II Padme questions Anakin on whether a Jedi is allowed to love and the context of her question seems to refer to romantic love, which the Jedi forbid. However, as we will see the Jedi order seems to take such an idea to a reality beyond reason.
When Anakin is first brought to the Jedi Council by Master Qui Gonn Jinn they claim that this nine year old boy is too old to begin his training. This means (and we also know this from Jinn's conversation with Anakin's mother) that the Jedi take Force sensitive children at an even earlier age from their families for a life of absolute service to the Force. Therefore, the Jedi Order believe that it is their right to choose both the career path and personal state of life for those that they train before they are mature enough to decide for themselves. Perhaps they believe in the one size fits all approach, which means that they failed to see that one could go through a specific type of circumstance that could challenge this way of life.
A Jedi has a deep spiritual side so when Anakin has dreams that his mother is in danger it means something to him. Yet, his own Master Kenobi just blows this off when he tells him that, dreams pass in time, even after seeing how much these dreams trouble Anakin. It is certainly noble for the Jedi to serve everyone in the galaxy and not just those who are close to them. However, when did it become the will of the Force to ignore the needs of a Jedi's family member simply because there is a personal connection for a specific Jedi? Is this really selflessness or a selfish desire to concentrate on the development of oneself to the point where one needs to remove all emotion from their being? Perhaps the Jedi see the temptation one could face to over extend oneself for the sake of a family member. If that's the case then send another Jedi to do what should be done but don't ignore the needs of that person simply because they are a family member of a Jedi.
Anakin's dreams continue to the point where he knows that he must find his mother in order to help her. It is a tricky situation because he was given the order to protect Senator Padme but we can assume based on his conversation with Kenobi early in the film that these dreams had been going on for some time. That and the fact that he had obviously spoken to Kenobi about this before. Is Anakin to believe that his dreams don't matter, especially when we see throughout the saga that many of the visions and dreams that Jedi have are in fact the things that lead their actions? It seems like a bit of a double standard.
When Anakin finally decided to go and look for his mother it was a devastating experience. He does in fact find her and she is badly injured. She then offers her love to him one last time before dying in his arms. First off, this confirms that he was right in knowing that she was in danger. Second, he had to feel betrayed by the Jedi Order because the idea of him saving her didn't even cross their minds. After all, what was he supposed to do with all of these dreams? Was he to disregard them and do whatever he could to forget his own mother in order to perfect himself in the practice of not having any attachments? Then again, what do we expect from the Jedi Order as they are the ones who just take other people's children from them simply because they see that they are strong in the Force. Meanwhile, these same Jedi do whatever they can to serve what they know is a corrupt government while disregarding the well being of those who are truly vulnerable. Is that truly a group of selfless warriors or a group of fools whose oath to the Republic has in fact forced them to attach themselves to the powerful and corrupt? Seems like a trap that their supposed righteousness got them into.
Again, it exposes Jedi hypocrisy and this is something practiced even by rogue Jedis like Qui Gonn Jinn who was known to go against the wishes of the Jedi Council. Keep in mind that he is the same Master who told Kenobi that the Jedi could not get involved with the negotiations between Padme and Gungan leader Rugor Nass while she was trying to create an alliance with the Gungans in order to fight the Trade Federation after they invaded their home planet in Episode I. Meanwhile, he didn't hesitate to influence the movement of the chance cube in order to give himself the advantage while gambling with Watto in order to free Anakin from slavery. It's always interesting to see when and where the Jedi will involved themselves with the freedom of people's behavior and actions.
Opportunists
The original trilogy is the best place to expose what Chancellor Palpatine was trying to convey to Anakin in Episode III when they spoke at the opera theater. This is where he attempted to show Anakin that the Jedi were not much different than the Sith. In some way he almost seems to suggest that the only difference between the two is that the Sith are more open about how they use the Force along with what they seek to accomplish. There is no greater example of Jedi hypocrisy then in the way the remnants of the Jedi Order dealt with Anakin's son Luke Skywalker.
When Luke finally meets with an older Kenobi he doesn't invite Luke to join him on his mission to Alderaan, he more or less insists that he come with him. Of course Luke has a lot of his father in him and did seek to be a part of the Rebel Alliance but this was also the same time when Kenobi lied to his face when he chose not to tell him that Darth Vader, the most hated villain in the galaxy, was in fact his father. His reasoning in Episode VI when he is confronted about this lie by Luke was that life was all about having a certain point of view. Nonsense! One doesn't get to choose how to see if someone is in fact their biological father because either they are or they are not. Also, even though events can be interpreted Kenobi more or less suggested that Anakin committed suicide by the claim that he was betrayed and murdered by Darth Vader, which is not exactly the same thing as turning to the dark side. After all, these are not two separate people so it was obvious that Kenobi was really trying to deceive Luke, not share his point of view. Does Jedi righteousness also include honesty or is Kenobi going to use the same excuse for such deceit that he used when he asked Anakin to spy on the Chancellor in Episode III, we are at war!
Yoda was also part of this charade. Keep in mind that when Luke asked him on his final trip to Dagobah if Darth Vader was in fact his father Yoda tried to avoid the question since he needed rest. It wasn't until Luke insisted that his Master answer the question that Yoda told him the truth. His reasoning for not telling him sooner was that he didn't think Luke was ready for the burden. Again, nonsense! What was their plan, to hide the truth from Luke his whole life or tell him after he killed his father? How would that affect Luke's psyche as well as how he would see the Jedi Order after having such a thing happen to him? Further, would Yoda and Kenobi, who were both fully committed to the Jedi Order, be able to do what they asked of Luke?
This was in fact more careless than the way they handled Anakin while he was having dreams about his mother. Anakin had to live with the fact that following Jedi orders prevented him from arriving in time in order to save his mother's life. And now they wanted this man's son, who Yoda described in Episode V with the words: much anger in him, like his father, to kill his Sith enemy without telling him who this enemy really was. Is this another lesson on avoiding attachments? Did they not see that this was something that could set him off..like his father. Imagine what could have happened if the Sith were destroyed by a Jedi who then went into a fit of rage and fell to the dark side of the Force? Mind you, this process would have also eliminated the one who was supposed to bring balance to the Force so who would be left to save the galaxy from another potential disciple of the dark side?
Of course the other geeks out there will point to the fact that Vader did in fact turn on the Emperor because his heart was moved by the suffering his son endured from the Emperor's Force lightning attack. In doing so he killed the Sith Lord, brought balance to the Force and returned to the good side before dying. Yes, all of this was true but none of it was through the actions of those who claim to be the true servants of the Force.
This was not the Jedi plan! The Jedi plan was for Luke to face Vader again in order to kill him. Nothing was said about him facing or destroying the Emperor. They wanted Luke to kill the one who would bring balance to the Force because he had turned to the dark side. What if that would have happened and now there was only Luke, a Jedi knight left to face both the Emperor? Unless Luke would have agreed to join dark side the Emperor certainly would have killed him right then and there, and easily since Vader would not be there to save his son. Meanwhile, again, the one who was destined to bring balance to the Force would no longer be.
What were the Jedi thinking? Was it their job to rewrite prophecy and if so what does that say about their faith in Force? Further, the Jedi always preach patience. This seemed more reactionary and careless since they risked both Luke's well being as well as what could have happened if the prophecy had not been fulfilled. At this rate it seems like the Sith were more trustworthy because what you saw with them was what you got, including deceit because after all, you would expect a Sith to stab you in the back but a Jedi?
As we await the release of Episode VIII we are intrigued by the title, The Last Jedi as well as the comment that Luke makes during the trailer: the Jedi must end. So many wonder what this means. I am intrigued by the fact that Luke went looking for the first Jedi temple. Perhaps he sees not only how far they have come but also how much they have strayed from the right path. If that's the case, maybe he sees the need to begin a new order of Force users. Of course many think that Luke has found a way to tap into both the light and dark sides so he meant that the Jedi as we know it had to end. It's hard to say but I wonder what came to his mind as he had to stop and reflect on how the Jedi handled him when it came to fulfilling their will. I can't imagine that it is not something that would not be upsetting to Luke.
Okay...that was fun. Truth be known I am a big fan of many of the Jedi characters along with Lord Vader. This is just a glimpse of a typical conversation I have with my skeptical friends who also love to stir the pot. All comments and criticisms are welcome for those who want to continue the conversation.
Carlos Arthur Solorzano
@csolorzano10
