Was Qui-Gon made too weak?

Despite having a hulking frame, and imposing presence, Kenobi's master is nothing more than an overgrown youngling. Face it, on Tatooine he faces Maul, a lesser sith, for fifteen seconds and is ready to collapse from exhaustion. Then even paired with a very capable jedi, the said Obi-Wan, he still manages to meet his demise against the horned apprentice. I realize the saga plotline needs Jinn to die, but so easily? I would have preferred some sustained display of power from Menace's most impressive character. At least, he had the perfect look of the jedi........ the look described by Alec almost thirty years ago. Made the nostalgia teaser very effective.

 

Well, as it turns out, brains are greater than might.

Qui-Gon is the real master after RotS.

 

Well the Pocket says, that dueling between Jedi was not Qui Gon's forte, meditating on the living force was. He held his own decently against Maul, Maul beat disarmed Obi-wan and was taunting him, Obi-Wan used a parlor trick to beat him. So one must realize that Maul was a well-trained and skilled opponent.

 

Its not all about who is the best fighter.
In the end Qui-Gon was the most powerful force user of all the jedis. He is the one who learned how to become immortal, and taught Yoda this. Being able to to do that is a far greater power than twirling a saber, Maul.

 

Also Qui-Gon had been traveling a long distance from Mos Eisely to return to the ship, so he could have already been fatigued.

 

No, Qui-gon was not made to be weak. He lost to Maul because he was tired!

 

Yeah, I didn't think Qui-Gon was weak in the least. Neeson project such a aura of strength and wisdom that his defeats with Darth Maul seemed rather miniscule compared to the power of his mind; and true being.

Basically, I've always chalked his poor lightsaber skills up to two things...

Firstly, when Maul appeared the Jedi weren't at all used to battling lightsaber-to-lightsaber, which put him at a disadvantage.

And secondly, he was a man in his 50s; the body begins to break down after a while no matter who you are, and he...got tired. People in their 50s get tired, that's what happens. And it's perfectly consistant with, lets say, the slow pace of ANH's Obi-Wan/Vader duel.

 

its not about who won the lightsaber fight, anyway Dooku was like 100 and he had no problem fighting Kenobi,Anakin, and Yoda. In the end Qui-Gon was more in touch with the force than any jedi.

 

No Qui-Gon was not made too weak!

 

I base my posts on the fact that Star Wars '77 is the integral Episode of the saga. Some feel it's AOTC. ........Maybe, in reality it's Sith. We learn how Alec disappears in Hope from Episode III. True, Qui-Gon is an important character. I love him. He was sorely missed in Clones and ROTS. There truly was so much to like in TPM. Sad we all focus on Jar Jar. Every Star Wars episode, despite being flawed, offers so much.

 

Success begins with a fellow's will; it's all in the state of mind

 

Qui-Gon turns out to be the greatest of all Jedi Masters, even greater than Yoda. So, what he lacks in power and youth he makes up for it and then some with knowledge and wisdom.

 

i agree, in the end he was the most powerful jedi of all.

 

I think it's less about Qui-Gon being weak than it is about Darth Maul being an absolute madman with a lightsabre. Qui-Gon was very wise and he was certainly more than sufficient at fighting battle droids and the usual riff raff he faught on his missions. I think his encounter with Watto showed that Qui-Gon was used to having it a little "easy". He walked into Watto's store, was very non-chalant in his mind trick and got denied. He seemed frustrated and unsure what to d o when faced with someone with a strong enough mind to resist his mind trick. Luckily the force happened to come through for him at that time (Anakin, Pod Race). He believed in Anakin, but he had to be sweating the pod race just a bit. Ship is repaired, he has a boy to present to the council, and things seem to be going well. Suddenly some ferocious Sith Assassin comes out of nowhere and leaps off a speeder bike and agressively attacks him. He wasn't expecting a lightsabre battle on his way back to the ship, probably isn't familiar with his fighting style, and has to fight very hard to ward him off. Maul held a HUGE advantage in that he was amushing Qui-Gon in the fight and probably was three swings into the battle before Qui-Gon even knew he was in one. Starting out disadvantaged like that probably makes you have to work twice as hard.

Later, When he fights againt Maul with Obi-Wan, it isn't like he gets punked A la Fisto, Tiin, and the other Posse member. He battles Maul for a long time, getting a punch in here and there. Maul held is own very well against TWO Jedi, was much younger, and as stated before, was a monster in lightsabre combat. Obi-Wan got knocked out of the battle and Qui-Gon held his own for some time. Maul used a clever tactic to daze Qui-Gon and deal the final blow. Obi-Wan held his own for a much smaller period of time one on one with Maul before he found himself without a weapon and hanging on for dear life. Luckily for Obi-Wan, Maul did something stupid or there would be one more dead Jedi.

My point is, I never thought Qui-Gon seemed weak. Maul was just a formidable opponant.


Carnage

 

Also from another standpoint to some people may take Qui-Gon's kindness for a weakness when it was his strength. If you look at it, if it were not for Qui-Gon's compassion for Skywalker and his mother in the first place, The Force would've never been balanced.

 

Qui-gon's in his fifties and not quite at his peak, according to his backstory. Maul's speed and skill were very superior to his. In all the opponets he faced in sparing sessions and his four fights with his former Padawan Xanatos, he had never fought anyone so aggressive as Maul. Simply put, between the surprise nature of the attack and Maul's style of combat, Qui-gon was exhausted as soon as the fight ended. When he and Obi-wan fought him on Naboo, they set themselves up in the familiar rhythm they've used countless times. Each taking their turn at Maul or double teaming him at the same time. Depending on the situation. But once he was separated from Obi-wan, Qui-gon knew that he couldn't last forever. Obi-wan knew it, too. Which is why he becomes afraid while standing by helplessly. After Qui-gon meditated and drew the Force upon himself, he launched himself at Maul. It was going good, but he began to tire out. Maul sensed it and capitalized it, by going all out. Then Maul landed a precise blow, which allowed him the opening to run Qui-gon through.

Qui-gon wasn't weak. But partially because of his age and because he was facing a fighter different from what he was used to, he was defeated. As Qui-gon noted during their fight, Maul was very much a student of the Living Force. Focused in the here and now. This allowed Maul to battle two Jedi for as long as he had, as well as kill multiple opponets and at least three to four other Jedi before them.

 

Qui-Gon wasn't too weak. He was quite old, but still good Jedi. Darth Maul was young.

 

You can normally ascribe both literal and symbolic explanations/meanings to most things in the Star Wars saga. I don't see why Qui Gon should be any different.

Literally: Qui Gon was an older man with less energy to spare than his apprentice. He was also out-of-touch with fighting, and this, combined with his older physical self, cost him dearly.

Symbolically: Qui Gon's "jinn" was literally the Force. He was a jinni of and for the Force. When push comes to shove, the Force is going to appear to resist the malevolent actions of others and "put up a fight", but in reality, it's ultimately concerned with balance and will freely concede a part of itself to let the darkness seep in (with a view to a longer term equilibrium).*

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*On that second point there: Some people have said that "the will of the Force" led Qui Gon to being slayed by Maul. But my reasoning goes slightly beyond that. Qui Gon literally is the Force (in a manner of speaking). He's not just a pawn in the cosmic game of chess; he's a living, breathing conduit; simultaneously a chess piece and the board itself. When Qui Gon dies, it's the Force itself expelling/re-shaping a part of itself, temporarily to the detriment of itself and the galaxy, but ultimately for the betterment of everyone and everything.

 

Qui Gon is the greatest force user. Not the best fighter.
Mace is the greatest fighter. Not the best force user.
Yoda is the balance.

Simple?

 

>>>>I would have preferred some sustained display of power from Menace's most impressive character.

I think you may be misinterpretting the meaning of 'power'.

Qui-Gon gives us a display of power, the like of which, we do not see again until Kenobi in ANH.

And it has nothing whatsoever to do with waving a Lightsaber around.


Compassion is the true power of the Jedi.


-JR

 

Qui-Gon weak?

He became more powerful than his peers could possibly imagine....

 

No Qui-Gon wasn't made to weak. His appearance was to brief.

 

Good post. Maul is sometimes under rated. Qui Gon was a great jedi, unfortunately im not convinced this transpired on screen.

 

Qui-Gon may have figured out how to become "immortal" but Obi-Wan and Yoda were able to do that AND keep their bodily forms. They took it a step further.

And since when is using the Force to call a lightsaber to him and doing an incredible flip over Maul a "parlor trick"? No need to cheapen Obi-Wan's win over Maul to justify Qui-Gon's loss.

 

He was not too weak. Think of how he died. He got beat in the face with the handle of a lightsaber. For someone as quick and coordinated as Maul, that is a cheap blow. He didnt lose by getting neatly stabbed through the heart (until after he got beat in the face). He had to rely on street brawler moves to take him down.