Why The Jedi Were So Wrong About The Dark Side

Despite always warning against it, the Jedi don’t understand how the Dark Side works, and one Star Wars character proves how wrong they are.

A major character’s story in the Star Wars saga demonstrates how the Jedi are frequently mistaken about the Dark Side. Young Jedi, everyday people, and Padawans are regularly cautioned by their Jedi Masters about the perils of the Dark Side. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Yoda is quoted as saying, “The road to the Dark Side is fear. Fear fuels rage, rage fuels hatred, and hatred fuels suffering.” He doesn’t want young Anakin to join a Jedi because he believes that because of his fear, he is more vulnerable to the Dark Side.

Yoda bemoans Anakin, but he and the other Jedi fail to spot the real Dark Side even when it is right in front of them. Darth Sidious, also known as Palpatine, stays unnoticed for a long time. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi discover that Palpatine was rapidly transforming Anakin into a Sith Lord, despite the fact that they don’t trust his power over him. The catastrophes that followed might have been avoided if the Jedi had stepped in early. Yoda’s views on the Dark Side appear to have been strengthened as a result of the Jedi genocide.

The Jedi Feared The Dark Side

In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda tells Luke Skywalker that decades had passed since the massacre “Once you start down the dark path, it will control your future for the rest of time. You’ll be consumed by it.” Anakin, however, later disproves this. Your fate is not dominated by the Dark Side. Why then were the Jedi so mistaken?

Ironically, the Dark Side is feared by the Jedi, who are also terrified of their own dread, as evidenced by Yoda’s comment in The Phantom Menace. The Jedi are advised to examine their own darkness, and they are then instructed that their darkness is undesirable. Anakin may be persuaded to join the Dark Side by the Jedi by leading him to believe he has a problem. Because he cannot process his early trauma or make friends in the Jedi Order, Anakin eventually believes that the Dark Side is his only choice.

Because of their apprehension of the Dark Side, the Jedi avoid learning more about it. Jedi Masters don’t spend the time learning about the Dark Side, thus they don’t spend the time teaching younglings anything about it either. Anakin is intrigued by Palpatine’s account about Sith Lord Darth Plagueis because he only has a limited understanding of the Dark Side and the notion that it is terrible. Due to the Jedi’s ignorance of the Dark Side’s covert tactics, individuals like Anakin are more vulnerable to its influence. The Jedi might have captured Darth Sidious sooner had they known more about their adversaries.

The Jedi Believed The Dark Side To Be Too Powerful

Luke queries Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back about whether the Dark Side is more powerful than the Light Side. Yoda responds with a resounding “no.” The Dark Side, he claims, is just “quicker, easier, and more enticing.” Even so, Yoda and the other Jedi still portray the Light Side as being more potent than the Dark Side. They believe that the Dark Side is all-consuming and that those who enter it cannot be saved. They believe that everyone who is on the Light Side can become Dark. They shouldn’t be so scared to inform young Jedi about the Dark Side if they know the Light is more potent.

Yoda, Mace Windu, and the majority of the Jedi Council are opposed to allowing Anakin to join the Jedi Order due to their irrational belief that the Dark Side is too powerful. However, after accepting Anakin into the Order, the Jedi appear fixated with Anakin’s place in the Sith and Jedi futures and the Chosen One prophecy. They incorrectly believe that the Chosen One will wipe out the Sith in accordance with the prophesy. Because they think the Dark Side has the power to topple the Light, they are anxious to think Anakin would act in this manner.

Ben Solo (a.k.a. Kylo Ren) is nearly killed by Luke Skywalker, who was not raised in the Jedi Order, since Skywalker can detect the Dark Side in his Padawan. Luke recognises his error and decides against the murder, but the fact that the concept even entered his head demonstrates how deeply ingrained the Jedi teachings on the Dark Side are (or are not). Luke developed a fear of his students turning based mainly on Yoda’s brief remarks about the Dark Side and his own research into the Jedi past.

Anakin Skywalker Proved The Light Is Greater Than The Darkness

Luke ought to be wiser after witnessing his father demonstrate that the Dark Side is not the end. Whether or not someone had the power to halt Anakin’s conversion to the Dark Side, he was always subject to change. In The Empire Strikes Back, when he gives his life to kill the Emperor and save Luke and the rest of the galaxy, he demonstrates this. The fact that Anakin/Darth Vader was able to overcome his dark side reveals that the Jedi were mistaken to be so scared of the Dark Side. Anakin’s destiny was not dominated by the Dark Side as Yoda had predicted. Since the Light Side prevailed, the Dark Side no longer has the upper hand.

Although the Dark Side is cunning and makes even Jedi doubt the might of the Light, the Light always triumphs in the end. Anakin serves as an example of this, but this is a lesson that permeates all of Star Wars, not simply Anakin’s tale. Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi demonstrates how difficult even the evil Count Dooku’s conversion to the Dark Side was. Like Anakin, Dooku was forced into becoming a Sith by Darth Sidious. It’s even feasible that Dooku might have rejoined the Light Side and turned against Darth Sidious if Anakin hadn’t killed him in Revenge of the Sith.

Ahsoka’s narrative is also continued in Tales of the Jedi. She is merely one Jedi who no longer belongs to the Jedi Order but still upholds the Light. Even though she no longer wants to be a Jedi, Ahsoka never falters in her commitment to becoming a force for good since she is aware that the Light Side is the correct side. Because even if the Dark Side may be “easier,” the Light Side is correct, the Jedi and their allies outnumber the Sith virtually always throughout the Star Wars saga. The Jedi should spend time learning about the Dark Side so they can better combat it, not dismissing any sinister impulses.