Hey everybody and welcome to Leia’s Lair.
In today’s video we will be going over how the Jedi could have prevented Anakin’s betrayal
and fall to the darkside.
Star Wars: The High Republic reveals just how the Jedi could have prevented Anakin Skywalker's
fall to the dark side.
Viewers were introduced to the Jedi as the greatest heroes of the Star Wars saga - but
when George Lucas revealed the Jedi Order in the prequel trilogy, it was immediately
clear they were flawed.
While it is true Anakin Skywalker ultimately chose the dark side himself, he did so in
large part because the Jedi philosophy did not match with the reality of his heart.
The Jedi stressed the importance of living life without attachments, but the Chosen One's
life was nothing but attachments.
The stories published in Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The High Republic transmedia initiative
are all set roughly 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
The Jedi of this time were bolder and more confident than those of the prequel era, less
fearful of the dark side, less constrained by its shadow.
They had a broader understanding of the Force, with each Jedi encouraged to pursue their
own unique relationship with it.
It's long seemed likely Anakin wouldn't have fallen to the dark side in the High Republic
Era - and that's been confirmed in Daniel José Older's novel Race to Crashpoint Tower,
which features a fascinating conversation between Jedi Knight Vernestra "Vern" Rwoh
and Padawan Lula Talisola.
In it, Lula raises her concern that wherever she goes, she can't help building fresh attachments
- people she is afraid of losing.
It's the kind of conversation Obi-Wan Kenobi never had with Anakin Skywalker.
Vern doesn't deny the power of emotions, nor does she try to dismiss them with some sort
of trite saying.
"If Jedi weren't supposed to feel anything, we might as well be droids," she points out.
"And even they feel things, if you think about it.
The fact that we feel, that we care, is what makes Jedi great."
She points out that Lula's care for others would inevitably motivate her to try to save
them if they were in danger - but then she challenges the Padawan with another question.
If saving her friends meant they would be safe but she would never be able to see them
again, would she do so?
After a moment's reflection, Lula decides she would.
"Then you are saving them for them, Padawan," Vern concludes.
"It is not attachment."
It's a fascinating lesson, perfectly displaying the difference between love and attachment.
The Jedi of the High Republic understood it is impossible for a Jedi to be emotionless;
indeed, Charles Soule's Light of the Jedi revealed at that time Padawans often shared
relationships, and even Jedi Masters still cared deeply for one another years later.
But the kind of love the Jedi seek is selfless, desiring the best for others, whereas attachment
is driven by self-interest and self-absorption.
Anakin Skywalker didn't fear Padmé's death, but rather he feared losing her.
It was attachment, not love.
This kind of conversation could have saved Anakin Skywalker from the dark side.
But the Jedi of the prequel trilogy were flawed, too bound by tradition, too inhuman and inflexible.
Vern's teaching would have cut to the core of Anakin's problem with attachment, forcing
the Jedi to confront the turmoil within his heart.
But the Jedi of Anakin's generation were unable to offer that kind of guidance, and as a result
the greatest tragedy in the Star Wars saga could not be prevented.
And there you have it!
Thanks for watching everyone.
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