Star Wars Ramblings: Qui-gon

updated 3/31/16

From The Phantom Menace...
01:29:27,948 --> 01:29:32,249
Obi-wan: The boy will not pass the council's test, Master. He's too old.

01:29:32,353 --> 01:29:35,322
Qui-gon: Anakin will become a Jedi, I promise you.

01:29:35,423 --> 01:29:38,325
Obi-wan: Do not defy the council, Master, not again.

01:29:38,427 --> 01:29:41,157
Qui-gon: I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan.

01:29:43,065 --> 01:29:46,797
Obi-wan: If you would just follow the code, you would be on the council.

01:29:46,903 --> 01:29:50,031
Obi-wan: They will not go along with you this time.

01:29:50,140 --> 01:29:53,075
Qui-gon: You still have much to learn, my young apprentice.

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In this exchange between Qui-gon and Obi-wan, we learn that Qui-gon is often at odds with the Jedi Council. I build off this and the great schism in the Star Wars fan-base relating to midi-chlorians to explain that midi-chlorians are a controversial topic even among the Jedi. Extending this into the past, there was once a great schism within the Jedi Order relating to midi-chlorians. A jedi discovered and studied midi-chlorians and their relation to The Force. The Jedi Council of this ancient time, found this research to be dangerous and antithetical to their philosophy. They forbade further research on midi-chlorians. The jedi that were studying the MCs defied the wishes of the council, were caught, and exiled from the order. These jedi would late become the Sith - named after the extinct race of the jedi researcher that discovered the midi-chlorians.

This gives us one explanation as to why Obi-wan and Yoda never mention midi-chlorians to Luke. They don't deny its existence but it's not something most Jedi like to think about or discuss. It is still antithetical to their philosophy. This also allows us to view the events of prequel trilogy as a reflection of this history that I am proposing. Theme, variation, repeat.

Qui-gon's discovery and training of Anakin - Anakin's rise and fall as a Jedi - mirrors the ancient schism that occurred within the Jedi Order that gave rise to the Sith eons ago. The prequel trilogy isn't just about the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. It is also about the fall of the Jedi.

Qui-gon is dangerously close or within a murky line that divides Jedi and Sith. Luckily, he died and Obi-wan finished his training under the direct tutelage of Yoda - assuming Obi-wan wasn't lying in Episod IV when he told Luke that Yoda was his (Obi-wan's) master. This might have prevented Anakin's turn to the dark-side. Unfortunately, Palpatine had too much of Anakin's ear.

However, after formulating these ideas about Qui-gon, it makes the knowledge of 'force-ghosting' very suspect to me. Was Palpatine speaking to Qui-gon in visions pretending to be an entity of the light-side of the force? Was it Palpatine pretending to be Qui-gon that lead Yoda to the same knowledge or was Qui-gon unknowingly Palpatine's puppet in life and beyond? Remember that Qui-gon's master was Count Dooku - before he turned to the dark-side. It's logical to think that Dooku possessed some unconventional thoughts for a Jedi - which led to his seduction by the dark-side. Furthermore, it's logical to think that some of Dooku's unconventional thinking would have been imprinted on Qui-gon.

If Sith power is based on knowledge of midi-chlorians (living critters) then their power might be limited to the power of "the living force". In order for Plagueis/Palpatine to realize his dream of cheating death, he would need to tap into the "cosmic force" (see Note below). Perhaps this was a door that could only be unlocked by someone of the light-side so Plagueis/Palpatine tricked Qui-gon and Yoda into unlocking this door. Once unlocked, the door remains unlocked forever. The Sith might also have access to this power at this point. Being the Sith they would take the power a step further. Not being content with existing as ethereal beings that cannot physically interact with the world, they would study how to possess a living being as a force-ghost.

NOTE: the Clone Wars series' final episodes detail Yoda's "walk-about" to obtain force-ghosting knowledge. in this episode, "force-spirits" tell Yoda of a "living force" and a "cosmic force".