Jedi

Darkness rises, and light to meet it….

For dozens of millenia (or, if you prefer, “a thousand generations”), the Jedi Knights served the galaxy as devotees of the light side of the Force. They stood for peace and justice, defending the oppressed and vulnerable. Their sense of service and their dedication to the light set them at odds with the Sith, an order descended from fallen and outcast Jedi devoted to power for its own sake and domination over the galaxy.

But the Jedi weren’t perfect.  They were normal, fallible sentients. Many fell to the temptations of the dark side, sometimes with disastrous and far-reaching consequences. The Legends timeline is peppered with such stories, from the original Jedi exiles that became the first Lords of the Sith to Exar Kun to Revan and Malak and, of course, Anakin Skywalker. 

The Order itself was subject to its own biases, and was at times profoundly complacent. “At the height of their power,” Luke Skywalker says, “they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire, and wipe them out. It was a Jedi Master who was responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader.”

Then again, as Luke’s last apprentice pointed out, it was “a Jedi who saved him.”

Star Wars is many things to many people. For some, it’s starships, blasters, alien planets, and droids. For others, Star Wars is scoundrels, smugglers, and bounty hunters.  But no matter what part of this rich tapestry is your favorite, it’s hard to dispute that one of the core elements of the franchise is this mystical order of guardian warriors. The fortunes of the galaxy and its inhabitants tended to parallel the triumphs and tragedies of the Jedi Order. Their victories and defeats are at the very heart of the mythos we all enjoy.