How Yoda’s Speech Patterns Once Saved A Planet (& The Entire Jedi Council)

Star Wars has revealed one staggering occasion when Yoda’s unusual speech patterns saved an entire planet – and the Jedi Council to boot. Since Yoda made his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, viewers have been delighted at his strange speech patterns. According to Star Wars canon, there’s a reason Yoda speaks in this strange way; it’s because of his immense age. He actually speaks a common form of Galactic Basic from his childhood, but language has changed over the centuries, and he’s been unable to move with the times.

To be fair, Yoda probably had good reasons for refusing to adapt. He quite liked portraying himself as an eccentric figure, because it would lead people to underestimate him; he famously played this trick on Luke Skywalker himself in The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda also loved training younglings, and they would surely be charmed and entertained at the way he spoke. But, hilariously, John Jackson Miller’s The Living Force has just revealed Yoda’s speech patterns once saved the day.

How Yoda Defeated One Enemy Of The Jedi… With Six Words

In The Living Force, the Jedi Council depart on a mission to Kwenn – one that places both themselves, and the entire planet, in the crosshair of a group of pirates. The Jedi plan to stage a formal ceremony, promising to tell the people of Kwenn that the Jedi stand with them, and the pirates smartly plant explosives around the site of the ceremony. As soon as someone utters those promised words, the bombs will go off, killing everybody there – and leaving the Jedi Council itself vulnerable to attack.

Learning of the plan, the Jedi Council come up with the smartest possible way to sow discord in their enemies’ ranks: they invite Yoda on to the stage. “Stand with you, the Jedi will,” Yoda declares to the crowd – and, because the exact phrase hasn’t been uttered, the bombs don’t go off. Some of the pirates attack, others don’t; the chaos is exquisite, and it’s all just as the Jedi Council planned.

The Living Force Is Absolutely Packed With Rich Humor

This is only one example of the rich humor in The Living Force, one of the most enjoyable Star Wars books in years. Miller is a skilled author – well-known for previous contributions to Star Wars – and he knows just how to balance light and dark. Somehow he manages to find time for every single character in the Jedi Council, giving each one a distinctive voice and an opportunity to shine. Still, Yoda’s contribution alone makes this an unforgettable Star Wars novel.

Buy Star Wars: The Living Force from Amazon