Summary
The Jedi Order was doomed to collapse long before it actually did, butStar Warsforeshadowed its demise over 200 years beforeStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Phase III ofthe High Republichas begun to lay down the seeds of the Jedi Order’s destruction all the way back in 228 BBY (before the Battle of Yavin). That part oftheStar Warstimelinewas long before the Jedi Order fell, and even before the Jedi knew the Sith were still active, but that didn’t mean they faced no threats during the era.
One of the Jedi’s greatest foes was aband of marauders known as the Nihil. They earned the title of the Order’s biggest threat, in part, due totheir Stormwall superweapon, which was capable of sealing off a massive portion of the Outer Rim and preventing hyperspace travel to the area. The Nihil effectively ruled the region within the Stormwall, known as the Occlusion Zone, with an iron fist. That in itself was a massive threat to the Jedi, but the foreshadowing of the Order’s destruction came not from the Stormwall itself, but from the solution to defeating it.
Star Wars' High Republic Explained & Release Guide (Books, Comics & Show)
The Star Wars franchise is expanding into the High Republic Era - and here’s everything you need to know about the books, comics, and shows.
Xylan Graff’s Stormwall Analogy Is So Very True
In an excerpt from Tessa Gratton’s “Star Wars: The High Republic: Temptation of the Force,” a scientist known as Xylan Graff explained how to neutralize the Stormwall by using an eerily familiar analogy about the Jedi Order.
“Because it’smine,” he pouted. But then he shook his head. “And I did assist in an attempt to do so once — but there were fail-safes in place. Anyway, destroying the station wouldn’t be good enough. The effectiveness of the wall is what needs to be destroyed, not simply its power source. Kill a grand master and the Jedi Order still works. Blow up the Lightning Crash and the wall would only be down temporarily while Ro returned control to its original location on theGazeand found a new power source. Yes, it would be a blow to the Nihil, and of coursenowdestroying it is part of the plan. But in the long run what we need to do is render the wall irrelevant. Which is why I have come to you now with information on how to do just that.”
Graff’s analogy almost exactly matches what eventually took down the Jedi Order. He correctly pointed out that killing a single Jedi would simply not be enough to destroy the Order, the entire organization would have to fall. He surely didn’t mean to predict the future, but the accuracy of Graff’s analogy makes him seem prescient.
Order 66 Was Only The Beginning Of The Sith’s Revenge
Emperor Palpatine would eventually execute the plan Graff broadly outlined, and he would do so with excruciating thoroughness. Like Graff noted,purging the Jedi with Order 66was a start, but it would never be enough to destroy the Jedi on its own. TheJedi who survived Order 66would have been able to return and begin rebuilding the heavily damaged institution.Order 66 put the Jedi down, but what Palpatine needed to ensure the Jedi would never be a threat to him again was a way to keep them down.
By the time his plan to destroy the Jedi was fully realized, Palpatine had literally obliterated even the idea of the Jedi, so much so that many people thought the Order was nothing but a myth.
The Galactic Empire became Palpatine’s way of making the Jedi irrelevant, and his way of making good on Graff’s analogy.Without the Republic’s support, any Jedi who tried to reestablish the Order would have had to do so without any support or resources, and they would have been constantly hunted by the Empire’s forces while doing it. Then, by way of the Empire’s propaganda campaign, Palpatine took away the Jedi’s support. He branded them as traitors to democracy, painted them as treasonous assassins, and pitted the vast majority of the galaxy against them. Rebuilding the Order was impossible as long as the Empire existed.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
The senator for Naboo, Palpatine rose to power and influence during the dying days of the Republic. In reality, his public persona was just a mask; he was really Darth Sidious, greatest of the Sith Lords, and he used his political skills and Machiavellian cunning to bring down both the Republic and the Jedi. Palpatine ruled his Galactic Empire for decades, until he was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. Even this wasn’t enough to stop the Emperor, however, as he was resurrected by his followers - only to be defeated once again.
Graff’s analogy inTemptation of the Forcelikely didn’t inspire Palpatine, but it very accurately predicted his plan. By the time his plan to destroy the Jedi was fully realized, Palpatine had literally obliterated even the idea of the Jedi, so much so that many people thought the Order was nothing but a myth. Just like Graff pointed out, Palpatine annihilated the Jedi and made them irrelevant in every conceivable way. It’s a tremendous bit of foreshadowing, and it highlights that while the High Republic is quite far removed from the Skywalker saga, nothing inStar Warsis ever truly disconnected.
Buy Tessa Gratton’s “Star Wars: The High Republic: Temptation of the Force” on Amazon.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
