Random Meta: The Lineage and the Dark
“It matters which side we choose. Even if there will never be more light than darkness. Even if there can be no more joy in the galaxy than there is pain. For every action we undertake, for every word we speak, for every life we touch—it matters. I don’t turn toward the light because it means someday I’ll ‘win’ some sort of cosmic game. I turn toward it because it is the light.” (Master and Apprentice)
I think a lot about Qui-gon’s quote from Master and Apprentice, as it’s preceded by Rael outlining his view of moral relativity as, in his view, the Light will never conquer the Dark because they will always exist in opposition.
This almost-nihilism reeks of Dooku, in my opinion, and made me contemplate the ways in which our Lineage did/would turn to the Dark Side and why. And thus begins a rather long-winded, meandering meta concerning the Lineage and the Dark.
“Because I still believed that I could accomplish some good as a Jedi. I thought I could bring about some positive changes, right certain wrongs, and do better than maintain the status quo. In short, I was an utter fool.“ (Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force)
“The Jedi Order’s problem is Yoda. No being can wield that kind of power for centuries without becoming complacent at best or corrupt at worst. He has no idea that it’s overtaken him; he no longer sees all the little cumulative evils that the Republic tolerates and fosters, from slavery to endless wars, and he never asks, ‘Why are we not acting to stop this?’ Live alongside corruption for too long, and you no longer notice the stench.” (The Clone Wars Novelization)
Over and over, Dooku states that the Jedi Order, that the Council, has become a shell of its former self, has succumbed to corruption, has lost its way, placing politics over ideals while clinging to the dusty remnants of the past. One can look at the Jedi’s actions on Galidraan, or their inactions pertaining to Serenno and see that the Light can do just as much damage as the Dark. And perhaps, to Dooku, the Dark can be used for a greater purpose, to improve, to help, to create change in the seemingly heavy, endless inertia of the Council and Order weighed down by centuries of history.
To Dooku, I imagine, it’s not that he lacks understanding of the necessity of picking one’s battles, to do the most good for the most amount of beings. He isn’t that naive, not by any means. But is the Council, is the Jedi really trying to do the most good or pick most politically expedient option? And would it not be better to work outside the system, adhering to one’s own moral compass than to stay in an organization, in an alignment that would not only ignore all its possible options, but actively cause harm while touting its moral superiority?
What is the definition of Light and Dark, and is it measured by one’s intentions or the consequences of those actions? Dooku, as we saw, fell for many reasons, but I truly believe that at the beginning, he saw the Light and Dark as having equal potential to do both good and harm. And who better to explore that crack, to use that knowledge - than himself?
"Let’s say I believe that some day there’s going to be perfect balance in the force, thanks to some kind of chosen one. Did you ever really think about what that would mean Qui-Gon? It would mean the darkness would be just as strong as the light. So it doesn’t matter what we do because in the end, hey, it’s a tie. It doesn’t matter which side we choose.” (Master and Apprentice)
If Dooku sees himself as an actor, as someone who can both ask and provide the answer through either side of the Force, Rael is the inverse, a man who - at his lowest moments - sees the the struggle between Light and Dark as meaningless, because there will always be a struggle for you cannot have Light without Dark. And instead of inserting himself into the equation, as Dooku might, Rael tends to throw up his hands at the whole situation attempt to reside outside the sparring ring between the two impulses, perhaps quaffing an ale while eyeing the more attractive specimens of beings in his midst. Rael takes Dooku’s nihilsm and turns it into a kind of depressed hedonism, living loudly as an outsider (as he did at the Temple, proclaiming his otherness by retaining his Ringo-Vindan accent and dressing like a street urchin). We don’t see much of Rael in canon (a void which I dearly hope is rectified at some juncture), but from what we are given, I feel Rael would not seek out the Dark but rather, slide into it, justifying his actions by telling himself (and others) that it “doesn’t matter,” that he’s operating outside the system, that one person’s decisions and actions will not ultimately tip the balance of power because the pendulum will always swing back the other way, eventually. And I do think Rael is motivated to, at the very least, be on the side of “good” if not within the strict definition of the Light, but like Dooku, his definitions of Light and Dark blur and apathy can just as easily turn into antipathy.
Whenever I think of Qui-gon Jinn, the aphorism “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” leaps over a 10-foot-high pole vault in my mind. Qui-gon believes deeply in the Light, as illustrated in the opening quote of this post, places his alignment to the Light above the Code, above the Order, and often, above his relationships. The issue with Qui-gon is not that he has Dooku or Rael’s moral relativity, but rather that he believes all his actions are in the service of the Light.
“What use are ideals if we cannot fit them to the universe as we find it?” Qui-Gon had once asked him. “If our beliefs tell us one thing, and the needs of real people tell us another, can there be any question of which we should listen to?” This all sounded very lofty when Qui-Gon said it, but in actuality it meant things like, It’s okay to “borrow” a spaceship from criminals if you really need it, or If I can win this tribe’s independence in a game of chance, then it’s worth selling my Padawan’s best robe for chips to get into the game.” (Master and Apprentice)
Much like Dooku, Qui-gon sees himself as a singular Force for good, as someone who can see beyond the strict scriptures of the Code and the Council and the Order. But unlike Dooku, who is willing to dive in the the Dark in order to save the Light (or so he tells himself), and unlike Rael, who tries to slip away from the dichotomy of Light and Dark, Qui-gon sees his actions in service to the Light, bending towards it just as the sun-hungry vegetation he has such an affinity for.
But one may feed plants with sun and soil and nutrients and have then grin at the sky, but one may also feed those plants with chemicals and plastics and things unnatural and yet still they will turn with that same grin, perhaps sharpened, towards a reddened atmosphere. Qui-gon would fall and deny to the very end he was falling, that his actions were anything less than in service to the Light and what a terrible self-deception that would be.
“But she’s right about one thing. I could end this here and now. I could kill her where she stands. Without laying a finger on her I could crush her throat or her skull or burst her heart in her chest. I could kill her ten times over without breaking a sweat. And then I could kill Durd. And if I do that, I bring Dooku to his knees.” (Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth)
While all Jedi are aware and taught they have the capacity for darkness within them, Obi-wan’s reputation as a “perfect Jedi” and his seemingly strict adherence to the Code (in sharp contrast to Qui-gon) is a fascinating cover for Obi-wan’s rather strong dark impulses. We see it on Naboo after Qui-gon is killed, on Coruscant and Mandalore when Satine is threatened, on Raydonia, in this excerpt above, and certainly during the Rako Hardeen arc. (And this is only a few examples of many more I could point out.) Obi-wan doesn’t walk the line between Light and Dark nor does he presume his actions and motivations all stem from the Light. This is a man who knows he has a darkness inside him, acknowledges it, and then promptly quashes it, stuffing all that bloody impulse beneath layers and layers of sarcasm, occasional righteousness, and a tendency to get involved with the criminal underworld (who probably smell this predilection on him).
Much like Mace Windu, Obi-wan has a strong lilt to the the dark, but unlike Mace, who admits this so-called weakness and turns it around to use as a strength in Vapaad, Obi-wan’s relationship to the Dark is tinged much more with an element of shame, I feel (why else hide it so? And yes, Obi-wan would be the first to counsel someone else that darkness resides in all of us and should be brought to the surface, inspected and cleansed by exposure, but Obi-wan is also someone who is very good at giving advice and very bad a following his own words at times.)
Obi-wan bends towards the Light as he wants it to win within himself (and ultimately, he probably comes the closest to achieving this in his exile on Tatooine). But if Obi-wan fell, he would walk (perhaps one step at a time, but still move forward) into the shadows, eyes wide open. And while pursuing the Dark is always a matter of choice in the end, I feel out of anyone in the Lineage (excepting Yoda, perhaps, who might make a similar type of choice), Obi-wan would make a conscious decision to embrace the Dark, whether it be to give in to his impulses or martyr himself to somehow preserve the Light, knowing he himself would need to be destroyed (just as he destroys his own desires) for the Light to remain victorious.
Anakin’s situation is complicated by his childhood as a slave, the way he was taken away from his mother, the burden of prophecy, and Obi-wan’s obligation to take in Anakin after Qui-gon’s death. Not to mention Palpatine’s machinations. Somewhat like Rael, Anakin seems to want to exist outside the Light/Dark struggle. While Rael convinces himself that no side will ultimately win and therefore, it really doesn’t matter, Anakin is driven by his attachments to people.
Obi-wan had his number when he commented Anakin “…is loyal to people, not principles.” (Revenge of the Sith Novelization) He is loyal to the Republic, is loyal to Obi-wan (up to a point), to Ahsoka, to Palpatine, to Padmé, to Rex, to Shmi - those he categorizes as “good.” Good does not equal light and loyalty to people, as we saw, does not mean one will turn towards the Light. The irony in it all is that Anakin was supposedly the child of prophecy, the one who would bring balance to the Force (and I have lot to say about said prophecy, Jinn) but Anakin himself, while learning the Code and toeing the line in terms of his behavior - Anakin the person and Jedi really didn’t seem to care all that much for the battle between Darkness and Light. Even at the very end, it wasn’t his hatred of the Empire that ended the war, it was his attachment to Luke, his personal loyalty - apart from the Light or the Dark side - that truly won the day.
“I understand that, as usual, you’re playing politics. This is why the people have lost faith in the Jedi. I had too, until I was reminded of what the Order means to people who truly need us.“ (TCW Episode 7.09 “Old Friends, Not Forgotten”)
Ahsoka is an interesting case study as her relationship with the Dark is somewhat dependent on whether we are speaking of pre- or post-the events of ”The Wrong Jedi.”
And it’s interesting, because the above quote is such a fascinating mix of Dooku’s cynicism regarding the Order and Qui-gon’s individualistic assertion in the primacy of the Light and the importance of the ideals of the Jedi. Ahsoka feels (rightfully) betrayed by the Jedi Council, by the Republic and yet - at least at this particular point in the Siege of Mandalore timeline - she’s willing to keep on the side of the Light for the greater good.
This all changes when she confronts Maul on Mandalore, however. In the moment before Maul admits to his true designs regarding Anakin, she’s willing to align with the Dark, knowing she is not going be pulling Maul back to the Light Side at all. In some ways, it’s a very Obi-wan act, sending herself in to the shadows for a greater good.
And then in one sentence, Ahsoka goes from being being a product of Obi-wan’s tutelage to being a product of Anakin’s.
“I was so certain of his fate that I orchestrated this war to lure him here with Kenobi to kill him. Thus, depriving Sidious of his prized pupil.“ (TCW Episode 7.10 “The Phantom Apprentice”)
Loyalty to people, not principles. Except in a bizarre inverse of Anakin’s fall, Ahsoka’s (misplaced) loyalty to Anakin may have saved her from her own dark descent.
Ahsoka is a fascinating combination of the various Jedi before her - she has Dooku’s disregard for the Order’s politics, Rael’s tendency to operated outside the battle of Light and Dark, Qui-gon’s self-righteousness, Obi-wan’s sacrificial tendencies, and Anakin’s misplaced loyalty. Maul was definitely pressing the right buttons, using her history, her contempt of the Order to push her over the edge, and if he had shut his mouth a minute earlier, he would have succeeded. In the end, like Dooku, it’s Ahsoka’s disillusionment with the Jedi that almost pushes her over the edge and it’s her loyalty to people (like Anakin, and - interestingly enough - a bit like Dooku) that brings her back.
“At this moment Yoda turned, and Dooku gasped. Whether it was the play of the holomonitors, beaming their views of bleak space and distant battles, or some other trick of the light, Yoda’s face was deeply hidden in the shadows, mottled black and blue, so that for one terrible instant he looked exactly like Darth Sidious. Or rather, it was Yoda as he might have been, or could yet become: a Yoda gone rotten, a Yoda whose awesome powers had been utterly unleashed by his connection to the dark side.” (Dark Rendezvous)
I want to touch on Yoda for a moment. For 800 years, he has watched planets rise and fall, friends die before and after their time. He knows loss, he knows the inevitable darkness (not Darkness) that will claim him and all life at some point in the future. He is fully aware of his own dark potential but has adhered so long to the Code - has practiced and meditated and become so one with the Force - that he might even believe himself beyond temptation (if the storyline with the Force Priestesses in TCW Season 6 is to be believed).
This is to say, the Dark resides within Yoda, but it is under his control, only to unleashed at a time of his own choosing (never) towards a being of his own choosing (no one). I can’t imagine the situation which would cause Yoda to flip that switch, to truly embrace what Dooku only caught a glimpse of in Dark Rendezvous, but I imagine it would be the Force-equivalent of rage-quitting a board game and flipping the table on the way out. Like Obi-wan, Yoda knows his own weaknesses. Unlike Obi-wan, he is neither ashamed nor does he use it to empower himself (like Mace). The Dark is a thing to be observed from a distance, kept tucked carefully away under glass, as if in a museum. A warning to one’s self, a memento mori almost, to never be so certain you are immune, A museum I feel Yoda may have stopped visiting as often as he should have during the Clone Wars.
