Prepping frantically for Legends Con in Burbank this September- so obviously I had to draw my bby girl Aurra Sing. She's probably my no.1 expanded universe character. I would love to commit crimes with her.
What are your thoughts on the je'daii? Do they even work, like I find myself irritated by the concept because people often use them to validate/prove the notion that "balance = both sides of the Force"
If you stick to what George Lucas said, in Star Wars a person being "balanced" is someone who accepts their inner darkness and resists its pull nonetheless.
When fans mention the Je'daii, it's usually in the context of:
"The Jedi downgraded from the Je'daii, limited their studies of the Force, refusing to study the Dark Side was a mistake. It was an original sin that caused them to create an imbalance within them."
Which is weird, to me, because the whole point of the comic's narrative is that:
the Je’daii Order’s way was doomed to fail.
Introduced in the Legends comic series Dawn of the Jedi (2012), the Je'daii are the predecessors of the Jedi. They are an order of Force users who studied and practiced both the Light Side and the Dark Side in hopes of finding Balance.
The reasoning is simple: everyone has a bit of good and bad in them, you learn to master the good and the bad sides inside of you, indulging them equally. But while this method seems sound on paper… it didn't work.
Consider that they’re already dabbling with the Dark Side...
... but hey, at least they’re aware of its dangers, they’re trying to be responsible about it.
There's a support system where they all warn each other when they're about to cross a line. But even then, there's many who've fallen and been exiled to a moon, to be rehabilitated.
Suddenly, circumstances compel all of them to use the Forcesaber, a weapon that only activates when you draw on the Dark Side.
And that does something to them. Over the course of a year, they all become increasingly aggressive.
Soon, a faction breaks off because they no longer want to stop using the Forcesaber. They’re addicted to the Dark Side.
A war ensues, at the end of which the Jedi Order is born, a group of Force users who:
acknowledge and accept their inner darkness,
while also striving to overcome it rather than give it power.
So that’s the moral of the whole Je’daii story.
Their idea of "Balance by wielding both" was actually so fragile and difficult to maintain that all it took was a little push for them to become vulnerable to the Dark Side's temptation.
Hell, even after the Jedi Order was established, one of its founders, Master Rajivari - who in Dawn of the Jedi (2012) is framed as a wise ex-general who, albeit strict, spends his days meditating and philosophizing - he goes to the Dark Side too!
Because that's how the Dark Side works.
The Dark Side isn’t just "negative feelings" or a "bad guy superpower" that you can mix with a "good guy superpower" to unleash the ultimate 'Force blast'. This isn’t an anime.
The Dark Side is a drugs/smoking/drinking addiction.
It's selfish, temporary pleasure. The more you consume it...
... the more you get addicted...
... and the more it consumes you right back...
... until nothing remains.
Jon Ostrander, who wrote Dawn of the Jedi (2012), echoed this sentiment multiple times:
“As I see it, those working on the light side work with the Force, channeling it, open and sensitive to what it tells them. They serve it. Those on the dark side try to impose their will on the Force, to make it do their will, to make it serve them. The Je’daii believe in a balance between the light and the dark side and so attempt to use both. Problem is, a balance is hard to maintain and the dark side is so very seductive.”
- John Ostrander, LA Times, 2012
“The Je'daii aren't light side or dark side, although they know and are aware of both. Instead they seek a balance in the Force between light and dark. Balance, however, is a difficult thing to maintain and there is always the danger of falling wholly to the dark side — and some Je'daii have done so.”
- John Ostrander, Newsarama, 2012
And this is a recurring theme throughout all of Ostrander’s comics, by the way. Be it with the Je’daii, but also with Quinlan Vos or Cade Skywalker, the point remains the same:
"Yes, wielding the Dark Side gives you great power, and you get to show off some badass new tricks...
… but it ultimately destroys you and everyone around you."
Remember: if it weren’t for Cade or Quin’s loved ones, neither of them would have come back from the Dark Side. They aren't badasses because they can use Force Lightning, they're badasses because they found the strength to give that up.
So if you genuinely think the Jedi "downgraded" by refusing to give the Dark Side more power than it already has on them... you're missing the point.
“It’s not about ripping things out of the sky using the Force or Force Lightning. A lot of people, they think “oh look how powerful Vader is, look how powerful the Emperor is, I want to play be the bad guy because I get these powers”. It’s an empty feeling, at the end of the day, after the moment. [...] The Dark Side is a spiral downward that you’re trapped in.”
- Dave Filoni, “Force of Rebellion”, 2018
It was an upgrade.
Framing "balance" as "equal Dark and Light Side" is like consuming one (1) salad a day and one (1) whole bottle of vodka and calling that "balanced". No, buddy, that'll kill you. Because:
The vodka is better at being destructive than the salad is at making you healthy.
It's won't stay just one bottle per day. It'll eventually become two, three, etc.
Because as George Lucas stated time and again, resisting the Dark Side is a constant struggle.
So that's my two cents.
You've probably already heard about the recent announcement of a Dawn of the Jedi feature film, a biblical epic that will be directed by James Mangold.
And truth be told... it scares me SO much that we came THIS close to an Episode IX: Duel of the Fates that framed "balance" as - you guessed it - giving equal power to your light and darkness.
Like, how did this ⬆️ get as far as it did? Did nobody think to sit Colin Trevorrow down and explain to him that he fundamentally misunderstands how the Force works?
So all I can do is cross my fingers and hope James Mangold has a better grasp of - if not the lore (I wouldn't be surprised if the words "Je'daii" or "Tython" aren't uttered once in the film) - at least the message.
There's so many Star Wars books it can be hard to know where to start. Of course, you can just read everything if you want, but if you have limited time and can't decide between two similar titles here's my list of which ones are worthy of your time (and sometimes braincells). I make no distinction between Legends EU and New EU in this list because none of this stuff is one coherent continuity anyway (no matter what they tell you). Instead, I'm focusing on the characters and how good the stories are for that character. List is roughly in timeline order and divided by similar books about the same character.
Obi-Wan as a Padawan
Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray > Padawan by Kiersten White
Anakin and Obi-Wan
The Approaching Storm by Alan Dean Foster > Brotherhood by Mike Chen
Obi-Wan on Tatooine
Kenobi by John Jackson Miller > Obi-Wan: A Jedi's Purpose by Christopher Cantwell (comic)
Kanan Jarrus
A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller > Kanan Omnibus by Greg Weisman (comic)
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn > Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
Han Solo
Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn > Honor Among Thieves by James S. A. Corey
Boba Fett
Blood Ties, vol 1-2 by Tom Taylor (comic) > The Mandalorian Armor by K. W. Jeter
Princess Leia
Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning > Razor's Edge by Martha Wells
Luke Skywalker
Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne > Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster
I also wanted to explore the spiritual aspect of the Jedi as much as I could, so I asked for guidance in that area. George [Lucas] replied with the cryptic note, "Look to Buddha."
Sapphic Star Wars is hosting a ship tournament to highlight sapphic rarepairs, and we would like to hear from YOU! Let us know if there are any rarepairs we have missed that you would like to see included (current list under the cut)!
Our rarepair list was sourced from our ever growing collection of all sapphic sw ships found here, then narrowed down to everything that has between 1-50 fics on AO3 (by the wonderful @livelaughleia).
To add a ship, comment it on this post or send us an ask! This interest check will close in one week (December 20) and the tournament will begin in February! @swfandomevents
All characters are implied to be of age during their relationship. This list is meant to be comprehensive and not pass moral judgment.
Please join us in wishing a very happy birthday to legendary writer Timothy Zahn! Best known for bringing Mara Jade and Grand Admiral Thrawn into life as we know it today, he has become one of the franchise's most important creators.
George Lucas & Karen Traviss' visions of Star Wars are NOT the same...
So whenever I come across this image:
I keep in mind that it's from a book written by Karen Traviss, who is a brilliant author (I adored Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines and Sacrifice) but whose stance on Anakin, Yoda & the Jedi and Star Wars morality is this:
As opposed to George Lucas' stance on Anakin, Yoda & the Jedi and Star Wars' morality, which is this:
In a children's story about Light and Dark, good and evil, selflessness vs selfishness, George Lucas marks the Empire as absolutely evil and the Rebels as absolutely good, in the Original Trilogy.
In the Prequels, the situation is more complex (the Jedi are drafted into a war and forced to do things they know they shouldn't be doing, but have to for the greater good; the Sith bring about order to a corrupt government) but the morality stays the same... the selfish, greedy Sith are absolutely evil and the selfless, compassionate Jedi are absolutely good.
That's George's thesis.
And, as a character, Yoda's function is to deliver that thesis. It's no wonder why Lucas treats Yoda's words as absolutely correct:
Yoda is Lucas' mouthpiece in the Prequels, his self-insert.
George Lucas' narrative frames Yoda as objectively right.
So when Karen Traviss questions the Jedi, particularly Yoda's character and wisdom, she's disagreeing with George Lucas' thesis.
Which is fair. Traviss, is a different person than Lucas, she's an ex-journalist with a more "grey" view of the world and a different philosophy re: fiction aimed at children. "Death of the author" and all that. Again, fair enough.
And if you like Travis' interpretation and philosophy more than George's, if her read resonates with you more... also fair enough.
But the EU is not a reliable source on Lucas' vision.
I've talked about this in MUCH more detail here, but if you do care about George Lucas' vision, then maybe don't draw from the Expanded Universe, which includes content written by authors who expressly disagree with him, like Traviss.
Sounds logical, but for some reason people will read the above-posted Dooku quote and treat it as reflective of Lucas' vision, when it's not the case.
George Lucas' Dooku doesn't have an issue with Yoda or the Jedi (at least not openly, as Darth Tyranus, the Sith Lord he wants them all dead). Dooku's issue is with the Senate and the Republic.
George Lucas specifically added that most Jedi share Dooku's concerns. Before he's revealed to be a mass-murdering, Sith who enslaves neutral systems, the Jedi think he makes a good point and are even reluctant to consider him a murder suspect.
But let's not start saying that Lucas' Prequels are meant to be about "the Jedi's failure" and "Dooku being right that the Jedi are corrupt.
Because that's not the case.
If that's how you see them, great. It's certainly how Traviss saw them. To each their own, authorial intent be damned.
But it's not what they were about, to Lucas. Stating the contrary is... I dunno, lying? Rewriting history?
It's as if I got hired to write a Lord of the Rings prequel seen from Gandalf's POV. And y'know what, maybe I don't like Gandalf.
So I write him as a scheming asshole going “myahahahah, fuck hobbits! I’m gonna let them keep the One Ring so a bunch Nazgûl will swoop through the Shire and murder them!” and suddenly, everyone starts writing posts about the notion that “Growing up is realizing that Tolkien always intended for Gandalf to be the secret villain of LOTR!” as if that had always been the case and I didn't just reframe him that way retroactively.
Finally, I'd also encourage you to read @rendar-writes' well-made point here about the fact that, while claiming she "doesn't give the answers", Traviss nonetheless shows a clear anti-Jedi bias.