The Failure of Darth Caedus: The Nero of Sith Lords

I think Jacen Solo's biggest tragedy though is the fact that that he honestly didn't have the belly for it in the end. Jacen Solo walked into the Dark Side of the Force with the belief that his good intentions and nobility would protect him. He believed that he would have to make sacrifices for the greater good and he'd be able to endure it for the peace of the cosmos.

Jacen's whole theme in Betrayal is he's got a martyr complex. He believes that the power of Flow Walking and his Foresight into the future means that he is Leto the Second. It's his place to guide humanity from the Darkness.

Deus Ex Machina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtq7L2zphPQ

Jacen Solo is motivated by this belief that he needs to protect the galaxy for Allana's sake in Dark Nest. It's weird but its clearly a breaking point for him. It's like the child suddenly changes EVERYTHING and that's something he believes in strongly. It's true enough in the world that some parents will do anything for their children.

Jacen certainly is the case, except of course he can't be Allana's father. Instead, she's an ideal to him like Tenel Ka.

The biggest thing is that I think Jacen walked into the position of becoming a Sith Lord with Lumiya but ironically, it was a failure on HER par that ultimately drove Jacen Solo to his insanity and personal destruction (in a metaphorical sense). I think we should blame Lumiya as the bad mentor for Jacen's ultimate failure as a Sith Lord.

I think its interesting to realize that it never seemed to occur to Lumiya that Jacen Solo had none of the qualities that would allow him to make an effective ruler. Troy Denning stated in an interview that Lumiya has forsaken revenge and is instead just interested in remaking the Empire

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/starwars/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345477521&view=qa

It's amazing really how Lumiya could have so utterly misjudged Jacen Solo on every concievable level. Jacen Solo lacks the qualities that made Darth Vader and Darth Sidious able to rule the galaxies. She's instead blinded by his Skywalker-genes and heritage that she fails to realize he's not Claudius or Augustus but Nero. A likeable young man with an obedient and pleasant demeanor whom will utterly go mad once in power. She believes because he's a powerful Jedi Knight, he'll make an effective ruler without realizing Jacen Solo has none of the training or natural leadership qualities that would have made Vader able to control the Empire post Palpatine's death.

1. Darth Sidious didn't conquer the galaxy through the use of the Force. It was almost an after-thought to the fact he was a brilliant politician. Really, Darth Sidious could have destroyed the Jedi Knights and ruled the galaxy without the Force as Mace Windu pretty much states by the end of the Clone Wars. "The only reason he's not a suspect is he rules the galaxy already."

2. Darth Vader is carefully mentored by

 

That was a very well thought out and written post! Cant say I find much wrong with your thinking, other than the fact that there were other (larger?) contributing factors involved in his fall, but heck, the same could be said for any turn to the dark side =)

 

Jacen's fall is beautifully deconstructed in the http://boards.theforce.net/literature/b10003/28404724/p1/?51

But for me, I think what's ironic is what a **** job the guy did in ruling the galaxy and being a Sith Lord.

 

Come on, give Jacen a break, he's a Sith Lord in nappies/diapers! He's been a Sith Lord for a few months...he should be being mentored by a true Sith Master like Plagueis or Sidious for the next 15 years before even thinking about ruling the galaxy. He has all the potential but lacks the training and guidance....maybe after all this he would still suck as a Sith Lord, but then again maybe he would be a pretty awesome Sith Lord... the lesson of Jacen's failure is that taking shortcuts to becoming a Sith are doomed to end in failure...

 

Totally not true.

Exar Kun and Ulic pulled it off just fine. So did Revan and Malak!

 

The whole reasoning provided about why Lumiya thought him so great a candidate is because Vergere was supposedly training him to be Sith from the start. That's 10 years of Sith prep work that Jacen's had leading up to Betrayal. There's a reason Lumiya didn't really teach him anything on-screen of Sith arts... she felt he had all he needed to know from Vergere. Unless she was lying about Vergere(still the worst retcon in history) right up until the bitter end. Not even hinting in her own thoughts that Vergere wasn't what she said she was.

 

I think the great irony is that Lumiya apparently had no idea what a real Sith was either. Vergere's own force beliefs lead her to try and kill Palpatine for his depravity and also flee to the Potentium worshipers because she didn't believe in the Dark Side. Lumiya clearly held to the belief that the Sith should bring order to the galaxy like Darth Krayt----a view the original Sith would mock because...

Peace is a Lie.

 

Cool first post and I guess I'd agree. I just think it's a shame that they have, indeed, appeared to make Jacen the "Nero of Sith Lords"... since there was nothing forcing them to do so.

They could have made him awesome, instead they've characterised him as "Anakin at the end of RotS... ALL THE TIME", even though such a mental state appears to have been temporary for Anakin. Indeed, I'd go as far to say that Anakin's "dark madness" is what Palpatine is referring to when he mentions that Anakin was "between worlds, and vulnerable" in DL:TRoDV

Inner peace.

I'm sure some Sith have interpreted that to mean "peace of all kinds", but the overwhelming majority take it as it appears it was intended. The Code of the Sith is a wholly personal, self-centred thing about freeing oneself. It doesn't deal with the "outside", just with the individual.

 

Nero? How about Prince Metternich of Austria. Once Napoleon was put on a leash, Metternich, basically, ruled all of Europe with an iron fist. He stamped out rights. He tortured any neysayers, and he dictated religion by restoring the Papal States. He was, even, putting together plans to divide the spoils of the ?New World.?

However, he didn?t account for the Revolution (in Europe). He ended up being a reactionary ruler who was forever putting out fires and never accomplishing anything (just like Caedus). His methods were brutal and any effort calling for the application of basic human rights were sadistically stamped out (just like Caedus)

Soon, the Revolution turned into a continent wide effort to establish Constitutional Govt. across the board (Corellia et. al). Metternich?s response was to stomp harder on those making the plea (just like Caedus)?until he alienated just about everyone and faded into obscurity and expiring at age 66 a hated man.

If you take the time to read Metternich's "Political Testament"...the similarity between his views and those presented in this Star Wars Series is eerie.

 

Succeeded in empowering a Sith to galactic rule who would reign unimpeded.

or

Succeeded in causing pain and chaos on a level perhaps equal to that she faced at the fall of the Empire?

I think she died seeing her revenge...and despite whatever lip service she may have given to "ascending" a great leader to Imperial-like power...her base goal was the END of the Skywalker blessed galaxy...it's governance, it's resurgent Jedi...by the most destructive means possible.

Yes, she may have died witnessing the rise of a singular power...but I don't think she envisioned for a second that he would live much longer then she.

Her victory was the end of the Skywalker-established galaxy.

 

Charles, I agree with the balk of what you said. Caedus reminded me of Nero too. Though, I feel Jacen has been falling since SBS, he never had the stomach for it.

But I'd add that, considering how insane he is, I honestly believe his captivity and brutal torture at the hands of the Vong and by Vergere had truly broken something in him, and when he fell completely, it was enough to drive him completely insane.

Great little essay on the Tragedy of Darth Caedus.

Trep, you are exactly right about this comparison... Metternich and Caedus definitely have some similarities... It would be nice to see how much the three authors pulled from our own history for this series. Both Nero and Metternich analogies can definitely be found in it. Of course, I myself had seen the Nazi Gestapo analogies with the idea of GAG.


FL

 

I think Caedus is more of a Caligula than a Nero.

 

Given the abbreviated rule...that makes sense.

But Caligula was also pretty absorbed with personal dalliance and over-indulgence.

I don't think Jacen ever came off as a amoral sex-fiend or glutton.

 

Fixed.

 

Jedimarine: Complete agreement about Lumiya. From Betrayal, I could tell that if this plan of hers ended with the Empire or Sith in control, well, that would be NICE...but her prime goal was to tear apart the Skywalker-Solo family, cause them untold pain, and she basically, well...

...won.

 

Really wonderful, thank you DR for that.

Jacen is hardly comparable to Nero, who reigned for 14 years.

 

Troy says otherwise.

 

I still don't know where Jacen got the logic chain that turning into a Sith and murdering a few people would bring peace to galaxy. Either I misjudged his character after traitor or this is lazy writing... He doesn't even seem to have real plan beside turning Tahiri to the dark side. What's annoying about Jacen is he wondered if Luymina was doing this for revenge, and he believes her when she tells him no. Let's just believe a person who is known for causing trouble... And we see how great the galaxy is now that Jacen's in control.

And who is Nero again? A Roman general?

 

Nero was a Roman emperor.

 

Thanks

 

To understand Jacen's line of thought, you need Jacen logic, which is very hard to follow for logical, rational, intelligent beings, but I think it goes something like this:

Jacen: "I am the greatest! Yes, I am. I just let Luke pretend he's the greatest, as I'm so great, everyone knows it, so nobody even needs to say it. But oh no, the galaxy is heading towards war again! How do I stop it? By becoming even greater than I already am! How do I do that? I need a power boost! Ooh, darkside Sith, but because I'm so great, I won't end like Palpatine! I'm not going anywhere near any rails! Oh, poor me, I shall have to sacrifice my ethics and kill so many people, poor me, but oh well, I must do it, for the sake of the galaxy, no one can stop me on my path to greatness! If I have to kill them, oh poor me, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice of killing them though I shall have to suffer, for the sake of the galaxy!"

Etc., etc., etc., throw in a few temper tantrums, that's mainly how Jacen's mind works. Its not exactly an intelligent, sane or mature process, but that's what the darkside does to most people, or its just easier to chalk it up to lazy writing.

I thought Nero was a Roman emperor who played his violin while Rome burned? Or made his horse a senator? Or maybe that was Caligula. No, wait, Caligula was a B5 character, though the Centauri Republic was probably partially based on the Roman Empire.

Anyway, Troy Denning's personal opinion is that Lumiya is out to rebuild an Empire, and Jacen was her best chance, and that she's willing to die, as long as Jacen is far enough along the path to finish the task. Then again, in that same interview, Traviss said the Solos were the worst parents ever and probably would've had their children taken by child services if Coruscant had any, so I take the interviews with a grain of salt. Though certain authors go to greater lengths to impose their version of reality on Star Wars than others.

It seems more like Lumiya is just causing chaos though, as she escalated the war several times when the war was close to either not starting, or coming to an early end. Maybe she did that to cause enough chaos so Jacen could take over the GA in a few months (whereas Palpatine spent years plotting), but considering how Jacen has already been blundering about without Lumiya's direct oversight, she mainly seems to be going for greater damage. Her death seems to be a very petty form of revenge against Luke, claiming to have killed his wife, and goading him into killing her, so that when he finds out the truth, he's even more emotionally crippled.

On the main topic, yeah, Caedus is a moron. I reminded of a line from the Death Star novel, of how there are usually two solutions to a construction problem- get a bigger hammer or pour more money in, or something like that. Caedus doesn't really think beyond those terms, he either tries to frighten people into following him, or he blasts too. Setting Kashyyyk ablaze seems like a tantrum, but it did end the Battle of Kuat quickly, but Jacen just threw the Fifth Fleet away. Part of it survived, but its obviously not in good shape. Leia practically tells Caedus there's a trap about to spring on him in Fury, and Caedus can't figure out anything else from there. Caedus isn't even rational enough to accept Fondor's surrender after he's definitively won, he just wants to kill people by that point. So yeah, Caedus obviously isn't smart enough to rule the galaxy. Then again, he does act as a perfect distraction while Krayt's Order gains power.

And while Vader wasn't exactly subtle, he was pretty involved in politics and such, though he probably didn't care much for that. I'm not sure how much politics Caeuds has had to deal with as he passed several laws giving himself absolute power. Though maybe his law droid would make a pretty good ruler of the galaxy, probably better than him. Then again, Ben would probably make a better ruler, so that's not really saying much.

 

I think that attempting to make Lumiya "wins" pretty much undervalues a fairly consistent story that's at least travelling through the Troy Denning books. That story is fundamentally that Jacen Solo is a man that believes that by sacrificing his morality and barriers to doing horrible things, he can actually become a great leader for the galaxy.

The whole thing, however, is a letter that this results in nothing more than Jacen Solo losing sight of everything that made him a great Jedi in the first place and makes him a horrible leader rather than a great one.

In the case of Lumiya, I love the fact that she utterly fails on every concievable level to achieve her goal because she's fundamentally unable to judge the character of her apprentice. It's a nice contrast to evil masterminds like Palpatine. I believe Lumiya when she says she's 60 years old and really doesn't care about the fact that she's been in a steel cybernetic body all this time.

I also think it undervalues her as a solider for the Empire that she was just some random chaos causer.

Instead, I love that she depended on the Krayt Sith to educate Jacen Solo in the ways of the Force but they dismissed him as a pretender and Alema threw away the Holocron that would have...

1. Told them where Jacen was so they could visit him and educate him.
2. Given him advice on how to properly run the galaxy.

 

What? That was NOT A HOLOCRON! That was a mockup the One Sith used to track Alema to Lumiya's asteroid so they could try to get their hands on the power of that asteroid, but instead blew it up when they saw the Solos were already there. Alema was just too stupid to realize it wasn't a Holocron and just ignored it. The exact quote was:

I'm more curious about Ship's battle meditation-like abilities, with how it was able to influence an entire fleet into making a stupid mistake, leaving enough of a gap for what was left of the Fifth Fleet to escape.

On the one hand, if Lumiya's attempt was to start a new Empire led by Jacen, then she looks even more foolish, but she's already just caused everyone a lot of pain and misery, and even when Jacen goes down (no idea how that'll play out, as I'm avoiding Invincible spoilers), that won't erase his crimes, or bring Mara back.

LotF has been a pretty depressing story overall, and either way, Lumiya's already won on some fronts, in terms of having her revenge. But at least its nice to think that her dreams of empire will never happen, due to her placing her hopes on such a moron.

And weren't Krayt's order and Lumiya at odds anyway? They made an offer, but Lumiya never followed up on it, even after the Vong War was over, and in Legacy, according to Krayt, we know that Krayt and Vergere didn't agree on their methods. Krayt wanted to build his army quietly, Vergere was searching for a student to bring down the Jedi now. Anyway, with how Lumiya was pushing Jacen's ego to even greater heights, Jacen doesn't really seem like he would ever subordinate himself to the One Sith, not after reaching Sith Lord, unless Lumiya was really that bad a judge of character, and the One Sith don't want him anyway, as he would attract attention. Anyway, the One Sith want to rule the galaxy, and don't care about Jacen too much. Alema's just so crazy that she doesn't even really care about exposing the One Sith, unless it relates her revenge on Luke and Leia.

 

Vergere was looking for an heir to her teachings.

Only Lumiya wanted to rule the galaxy openly.

 

Lumiya was not a random chaos causer...it was not her intention to leave the galaxy in endless anarchy.

Her mission was to END the Skywalker predominance in the Post Imperial Era.

She took a Skywalker (well, skywalker blood)...and perhaps the greatest hero of the Vong war and turned him into a tyranical warlord, capable of atrocities on a galactic scale.

She brought low the "refined" galactic governance to which the Skywalker legacy had given it's support.

She managed to drive a rift between the Jedi and that governance.

she helped bring about the death of Luke's wife...attempted to get Jacen to corrupt his son...

This isn't chaos...it's an all sides assault on the universe as it revolves around Luke Skywalker.

And in the midst of the post series healing...I'll be very curious to see just how much of these pieces will be instantly put back, and what will be beyond repair.