The Star Wars franchise continues to delve deeper into the relationship between Jedi Masters and their Padawans with new projects that flesh out this dynamic further. Anthology series like The Clone Wars and Tales of the Jedi offer new looks at this relationship, giving a new backstory to many of the franchise’s characters.
While most Jedi Masters see their apprentices through their training to become Jedi Knights, certain Padawans are, for one reason or another, compelled to betray their masters and leave the Order entirely, sometimes even turning to the Dark Side. Over the history of the franchise, some of these betrayals have proven especially notable.
Count Dooku Betrayed Yoda
Master Yoda is one of the most powerful Jedi to ever live, fighting alongside the other Jedi for hundreds of years and eventually coming to serve as a member of the High Council during the Order’s last days. As a teacher of the temple’s younglings, Yoda took on many pupils but also trained several Padawans over the centuries, including one named Dooku.
Dooku grew to be a powerful Jedi, became the master of Qui-Gon Jinn, and even served on the High Council himself for a period of time. However, sometime before the events of The Phantom Menace, Dooku left the Order, eventually coming under the tutelage of Darth Sidious and taking on the name Darth Tyranus. This history with Dooku is never mentioned in the films but weighs heavily on the shoulders of Master Yoda, who felt somewhat responsible for his apprentice’s fall.
Xanatos Betrayed Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn’s most famous Padawan is undoubtedly Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is in his training when the audience first meets the two Jedi in The Phantom Menace. However, Obi-Wan was not Qui-Gon’s first apprentice, though the Jedi Master’s history with training Padawans was not always successful.
Before Obi-Wan came to serve Qui-Gon, the wise Jedi Master had trained another Padawan named Xanatos. After reuniting with his family, Xanatos was corrupted, becoming a Dark Jedi and battling against his former master. It wasn’t until years later that he would finally be defeated with a joint-effort from Jinn and Kenobi.
Anakin Skywalker Betrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fan-favorite Jedi one of the most memeable characters in Star Wars. However, his history is anything but joyous. The Jedi Master’s legacy will forever be stained by the betrayal of his Padawan and friend, Anakin Skywalker.
Years after Anakin was made a Jedi Knight himself, he was corrupted by the Dark Side and the lies of Darth Sidious. Skywalker then led an attack on the Jedi Temple, killing hundreds of his former comrades-in-arms. He would duel his former master on numerous occasions in the years that followed, eventually killing him during the events of A New Hope.
Ahsoka Tano Betrayed Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One and one of the greatest Jedi to ever live. He took on an apprentice in the young Ahsoka Tano during the Clone Wars. The dynamic between these two characters carried much of The Clone Wars television series, but their partnership was not to last.
After being framed for bombing the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka left the Jedi Order, renouncing her connection to the organization after they failed to defend her. Though she, unlike many other fallen Padawans, did not embrace the Dark Side, Ahsoka nevertheless abandoned Anakin, causing an immense wound within her former master that would never be healed.
Ezra Bridger Betrayed Kanan Jarrus
Kanan Jarrus is one of the few Jedi Padawans to survive the events of Order 66, becoming a key member of the Rebel Alliance, as depicted in Star Wars: Rebels. Though hesitant to continue practicing the Jedi ways, he was eventually convinced to take on the young Ezra Bridger as his pupil.
Without having completed his Jedi training himself, Kanan did his best to train Ezra, but the boy did not always find his master’s teachings sufficient for his growing abilities. This led him to briefly follow the former Sith apprentice Darth Maul, slowly allowing himself to be corrupted by the Dark Side. Thankfully, Ezra managed to break free of Maul’s sway and return to his master before it was too late.
Quinlan Vos Betrayed Tholme
Jedi Master Tholme is a character about whom little is known. Having died before the events of The Phantom Menace, Tholme is never physically depicted in the Star Wars franchise. However, various books and other materials confirm that he was the master who trained Quinlan Vos, who makes various appearances throughout the franchise.
Vos struggled with many of the Jedi rules and guidelines, even taking lovers for himself over the years. There even proved a brief moment wherein Vos began a relationship with the Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress, though he would return to the Light Side just in time to survive Order 66. Though Tholme was deceased at the time of his former Padawan’s betrayal, his legacy was nevertheless tarnished by Vos’s brash actions.
Barriss Offee Betrayed Luminara Unduli
Luminara Unduli was a famous Jedi Master before her death during Order 66. As a member of the High Council, Unduli was paramount in the Jedi war effort during the Clone Wars, balancing various battles with training her Padawan learner, Barriss Offee.
During the events of The Clone Wars, Barriss Offee is revealed to be a traitor to the Order, bombing the Jedi Temple and framing her friend Ahsoka Tano for the act of terrorism. Offee is eventually apprehended and henceforth disappears from canon. Despite this major event, Star Wars fans never get to see Master Unduli’s reaction to her apprentice’s betrayal.
Darth Revan Betrayed Kreia
Jedi Master Kreia is a major character from the Knights of the Old Republic video games who plays an important role in the player’s ability to understand the Force powers available therein. During the course of the game, it is revealed that she was the master of the former Jedi now known as Darth Revan.
Much of Darth Revan’s backstory is a mystery, but the player quickly comes to understand how powerful he is as a Sith Lord. However, it is also eventually revealed that Kreia herself is a Sith, proving that the Padawan can have quite an effect on their master as well.
Maris Brood Betrayed Shaak Ti
Shaak Ti was a Jedi Master at the time of the Republic’s fall, who served as a member of the High Council until her death. Little is ever shown of Master Ti’s exploits during the Clone Wars, though the Force Unleashed video game, now a part of Legends, reveals that she and her apprentice, Maris Brood, survived the events of Order 66 and took refuge on Felucia.
After Master Ti’s death, Maris embraces the Dark Side, vowing revenge on Starkiller for the murder of her master. In so doing, Brood completely tarnishes her master’s legacy, wasting the second chance she was given at life. While this story is well-known to many Star Wars fans, the video game’s canonicity has come into question following its rebranding as a Legacy title.
Ben Solo Betrayed Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is the first of the new Jedi Order that arose during the Age of the New Republic. Beginning his own Jedi Temple in an effort to resurrect the forgotten ways of the Force, Luke took on many new apprentices, including his nephew, Ben Solo.
The Last Jedi reveals that Luke, in a moment of weakness, nearly killed his nephew after sensing the Dark Side working in him. This pushed Ben over the edge, causing him and several other pupils to destroy Luke’s temple and kill all those still loyal to him. Ben and his allies would become Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren respectively, wreaking havoc on the galaxy as enforcers for the dreaded First Order.
