Star Wars author Charles Soule has just explained why Jedi can love, but attachment is wrong. When George Lucas introduced viewers to the Jedi Order of the prequel trilogy, he revealed a Jedi Order which was very different from anything viewers expected. Austere and reflective, the Jedi were particularly notable for their teaching on attachment. They believed attachment is of the dark side and, as a result, Anakin Skywalker was forced to keep his relationship with Padmé a secret – one Obi-Wan quietly kept to himself. This ultimately proved to be his downfall, with Palpatine using Anakin’s secret love as a tool to manipulate him and seduce him to the dark side.
Lucasfilm has recently launched Star Wars: The High Republic, a transmedia initiative that stars the Jedi Order 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The Jedi Order of the High Republic Era was very different from those of the prequels, and that is particularly notable in their view of love and attachment. One key scene in Charles Soule’s novel Light of the Jedi features two prominent Jedi in the Order remembering “shared moments as Padawans, tolerated and understood and even common – but things to be left behind once one ascended to become an adult in the Order.“
In an interview with Polygon, author Charles Soule – very much the mastermind behind the whole High Republic initiative – reflects upon the Jedi attitude towards love, and why this is good but attachment is of the dark side.
“The rules that exist in the prequel trilogy still exists. They still take the same vows, they still have the same feelings about it, but their understanding of the strength of the Order and flexibility within the Order and the interpretation of those rules … they’re more diffuse, I would say…. The Jedi understand [the importance of connection] and understand how it matters to the universe, and matters to the relationships of the vast majority of people. This is going to a place I did not expect this interview to go, but like love, in some ways, it’s also about letting go. It’s about letting people be who they are and supporting them through that journey, which is the opposite of attachment. And so I think it’s very easy for a Jedi to love, it’s just you have to love without being controlling and love without being afraid of losing somebody, which is something Jedi are good at, and Sith are bad at.”
It’s a fascinating approach, and a smart way of resolving one of the strangest tensions of the Skywalker saga; that Anakin Skywalker is doomed to the dark side because of his passion for Padmé, and yet he is redeemed by his love of his son Luke. Soule’s interpretation suggests Anakin’s love for Padmé was tainted by the selfishness of attachment, because he could not envision losing her, and was willing to sacrifice anything in order to avoid that happening. Likewise, Luke was demonstrating a sense of attachment in The Empire Strikes Back when he disregarded the wisdom of Yoda and Obi-Wan in order to confront Darth Vader and save his friends; history was repeating itself.
But the Jedi of the prequel era had oversimplified matters. That had not just cut attachment out of their lives, but for fear of attachment they had also lost connection. This affected every aspect of the Order, with the Jedi no longer running outposts on worlds scattered across the galaxy, but instead separating themselves from the cosmos and basing themselves solely on Coruscant. It also meant Yoda and Obi-Wan could not envision a scenario where Darth Vader was redeemed, because they did not understand love – true, selfless love – could triumph over the darkness. This fascinating comment from Star Wars author Charles Soule shows just how badly the Jedi had lost their way.
