Ever wondered why Siths can get chopped in half, set on fire, and thrown into chasms, yet they always find a way to come back from the dead? Yet Jedis get one little stab and they peace out for eternity?
As it turns out, there’s actually a canon reason for that in the world of Star Wars. Who knew? Well, all the dorks who read the books, I guess.
Over on the r/StarWars subreddit, one user had a pretty simple and understandable question: “How does Darth Maul survive being cut in half, but Qui-Gon dies from just being stabbed?”
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A pretty fair question, I think. Darth Maul got everything from his hips to his manhood dissected from his body, but he’s right back on the grind straight after. Qui-Gon gets one little stab in his stomach and suddenly he’s hitting the Spongebob “ight Imma head out” pose?
Well, the folks in comments know exactly how the likes of Darth Maul, Vader and Palpatine keep coming back; they’re angry little boys.
“Qui-Gon wasn’t fueled and held together by hate and rage,” commented user JerkwaterKlaatu.
“This is the Canon answer. Similar to Vader being mostly machine but still alive,” replied user mtkamer.
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“At the end of rotj you could be forgiven for thinking it was palpatines lightning that killed Vader, and sure it did some damage, but I like to think it was Anakin finally letting go of his hate and anger that allowed him become one with the force. Perhaps in the end, he even learned to stop hating sand.”
Turns out they’re not kidding about it being the “canon answer” to the question either.
As another user reveals, an excerpt from the in-universe book Skywalker: A Family at War states that this is exactly the reason why Sith hold on, but Jedi let go.
“The greedy Sith preserved their physical manifestations at all costs, never able to let go of corporeal forms and move beyond to the next plane of existence,” it states.
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“Through Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan had learned how to let go of life itself—the ultimate attachment. By contrast, Vader continued to be weighed down by the machinery that kept him suspended in the agony of his darkest hour.”
Damn. Every now and again… reading stuff like that makes me realise why Star Wars fans love this franchise so much.
Anyway, I’m off to go and rewatch The Mandalorian season 3 to deprogram myself.
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film