There will be spoilers for the third episode of “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” so beware.
The road to hell is often paved with the best intentions. This theme is repeatedly seen in “Star Wars,” notably through Anakin Skywalker’s slow descent into darkness. Under the manipulative influence of Darth Sidious, Anakin succumbed to his worst impulses for what he thought were the best reasons.
The Decay of Jedi Integrity
However, before blaming the Sith entirely for Anakin’s downfall and the collapse of the Jedi, it’s essential to recognize the decay within the Jedi Order itself. This decay disturbed others like Count Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn. Starting from “The Phantom Menace“, the Jedi are seen mired in bureaucracy—a point not lost on Palpatine himself.
This bureaucratic mire worsens during wartime. While Mace Windu claims a true Jedi doesn’t assassinate, he eventually orders Dooku’s assassination and attempts to kill Chancellor Palpatine himself. Such contradictions contributed significantly to Jedi fallibilities.
Acknowledging Failure
No one captures this hypocritical decay better than Luke Skywalker in “The Last Jedi“: Now that they’re extinct, the Jedi are romanticized, deified. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, the legacy of the Jedi is failure. Hypocrisy, hubris… At the height of their powers, they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire, and wipe them out.
Setting up Palpatine’s Triumph
The latest live-action series, The Acolyte, delves deep into themes of decaying integrity among Jedi. One standout moment involves Master Torbin apologizing to Mae: I’ve been waiting for you Mae
. This moment echoes forward into Anakin’s storyline in the prequels—bit by bit compromises leading towards rapid decay during Palpatine’s rise.
Both Torbin’s story arc and his demise under manipulation by an assassin reflect how underlying rot prepared fertile ground for characters like Palpatine.
Lethal Lessons from Unfortunate Mistakes
Knowing that within 100 years from now, there would be no more functioning Jedi Order adds a dose of melancholia to “The Acolyte.” It underscores just how deeply entrenched mistakes institutionalized over decades reached a peak during events seen across trilogies. What lessons can new generations draw from this? Perhaps it’s Rey’s task now—in her upcoming film—to rebuild an order unburdened by these historical errors.
This realization leaves us with anticipation about continuing plot lines involving surviving characters (like Kelnacca and Sol), shaping consequences across future episodes within The Acolyte.
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