Talking about the Ups and Downs of Prequel jedi

Okay lets face it,

Its been made easy to hate the Prequel Jedi. Not because they are a bad bunch of people but because they're flaws are so obvious to outsiders yet they are supposed to be perfect.

I don't think they can be individually blamed though and that's a point in their favor. Everyone responsible for the fall of the Jedi Order from as close to perfection as can be is dead after all and everyone else is just coasting tradition.

This thread is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of INDIVIDUAL Jedi Knights, Masters, and padawans of the Old Republic and whether or not they were worthy of your respect

What irritated you about some or made you glad to have read about them.

Basically whether they fit your image of a Jedi Knight or not

 

I think Qui-gon Jin deserves respect for sure. He saw Anakin as the chosen one when it seemed as if no one else did, reckless as he was Qui-gon Jin obiiously had a deeper connection with the living force than any other Jedi. His concentration of focusing on the moment played an important role in getting them off Tatooine in Episode I. While Jedi like Yoda are always meditating on the future trying to find out what the coming darkness is going to do, Qui-Gon focused on the present and sought a solution at the moment which in the end was good for the future.

Note: Qui-gon jin was as Arrogant as any other Jedi but I beleive his veiw of the force was closer to home than any other. Notice how Yoda's veiws of the force seem to have changed in between the Prequels and the OT. In the PT he is always meditating trying to peek through the dark Side and see the coming events. while in the ESB he scolds luke for always looking to the future and never concentrating on where he was, what he was doing. Kinda sounds like he learned a lesson from QuiGon maybe?

Well, the again I could just be splitting hairs.
Blithe,

 

I agree, Qui Gon is the most "Jedi-ish" Jedi in the PT. He is everything I think a Jedi should be, a roving hippie riding around on the space winds, mumbling about the Force in connection to one's daily life, ect ect. He had a deeper connection to the living Force. I also think this about Obi-Wan. He is desperatly trying to be like Qui-Gon, and doing pretty well. To bad his padawan is a little hellraiser.

About prequel Jedi, its all a Greek tradgedy. The Jedi are prideful, and are punished for their hubris. They snatch babies, they look down upon "mundanes" ("Why do I get the feeling we've picked up another pathetic life form?"). They are the servants of good, but they have some problems.

 

...and despite all that, I still think the Prequel Jedi are way more interesting and more "Jedi-like" than the post-RotJ Jedi. Funny how that works.

 

I agree with Syntax on this issue. Their realistic flaws make the PT Jedi interesting.

 

At the risk of taking up all the good ones before we reach the more obscure like Master Tholme, the Dark Woman, and Kit...

Obi Wan Kenobi

The strange old hermit out beyond the Dune Sea is of course the central Prequel Jedi out there. He is also one that we get to follow from childhood to death.

Obi Wan is inarguably the most complex of the Prequel Jedi and certainly possessed after Anakin of the most profound flaws yet deepest good.

I've known people like Obi Wan; anal retentive, cynical, yet deeply law abiding people who can suceed remarkably well at their jobs but have trouble connecting with those closest to them.

Obi Wan might have been a great master for Anakin Skywalker under different circumstances than his master's death I think. Obi Wan is as displayed by jumping out windows, joining Civil Wars when 14, and going on missions on a hunch...

A very reckless person who loves adventure. He possesses his apprentices (and masters) same disregard for the rules as well (note both of them use the Force for trivial pursuits) but its Qui Gon's spectre mixed with Yodas gaze that puts Obi Wan over his head.

He's ashamed of his own actions and feelings and his idea of a perfect Jedi is shaped not by his Master (whose dead) or Yoda (whom Obi Wan can't live up to). Obi Wan talks one thing and does another...

No wonder Anakin's confused.

Still Obi Wan loves Anakin I think even if he tried too hard to be a master and father instead of brother and friend (exp: Obi Wan and Anison with Obi Wan following Anakin to the trash pit showing in my mind their relationship at its warmest)

Its ironically though Anakin who pushes Obi Wan away though. Where Obi Wan tries to hard to be the perfect master, unfortunately Anakin comes to expect it from Obi Wan

And thus the tragedy begins

 

Mace Windu, I feel, is the most tragic and torn of the "regular" Jedi. Although powerful and wise, he is sucked into Palpatine's game just like everyone else. He is always fighting for the right cause, with wisdom, conviction and strength. But he is also blinded by the "good" inside everyone. For example, he refuses to accept the idea that Dooku may be behind the assassination atempt, because that goes against everything he believes in. He breaks the Jedi rules as well, forming a profound emotional attachment to Depa, which puts him through tremendous heartache. Throw in his "prophecy" about Anakin being the galaxy's shatterpoint, and I think you have the both the wisest, and blindest Jedi out there. It's sad. I hope he dies well.

 

I hope he dies well.

No need to worry their.

I actually think the prequel Jedi are more interesting than the post-ROTJ in general because of their deeper flaws. There are exceptions of course (ie Anakin Solo).

 

I'm not sure the Prequel Jedi have deeper flaws than the New Jedi Order or whether they actually are just Deeper in general.

Point of order Wurth Skidder, Ganner, Daelscor, and others all died for what amounts to hubris or did some amazingly questionable things. The Dark side is pretty rampant in the NJO too.

One thing I've got to concede to the Prequel Jedi though is that they know they are loyal to the Republic, its ideals, and servants of the galaxy/peace as a whole.

They don't debate the cause of good, they just do it. They are also humble in many places even if they arrogant in others, dignified, and I also admire their deep spirituality which seems absent from the Jedi of the NJO

I can honestly say the OJO feel like priests while the NJO feel like warriors which I don't like

"Wars do not make one great"

One example I'd like to address is Kidi-Adi Mundi

Kidi-Adi Mundi is in my mind the idea of what a Jedi should be like. His opening introduction to us isn't one where he's fighting with a lightsaber but where he's BLASTING technology and development's potential to devastate his region.

I don't agree with his views but darnit if I respect the fact the man is willing to stand up with his voice regarding the matter.

Also Kidi gives lie to the issue of attachment amongst Jedi. He's apart from his family somewhat, seperate by Jedi stoicism that says his duties will often take him far away and that they are not Jedi nor feel the Force

Yet he is ever kind to them and their needs and the feelings are still there, they are just controlled...sometimes too strongly but still running deeply

We never saw Obi Wan's love for Luke expressed but his closing speach that Luke was the son he never had was more sincere than any I've ever seen in Star Wars literature before or since