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Showing posts from July, 2020

Shatterpoints of the Sith: two Star Wars infinities

In the context of Star Wars , the term infinity is used to refer to a non-canonical tale. The most famous use of the term is in describing a 'might-have-been': a story about a parallel version of the Star Wars universe, where things somehow went differently. I have already written a bit about what I consider the Star Wars 'metaverse'. In this post, I will explore two  'might-have-beens' of the Star Wars universe , based on one simple question: "What if the line of the Banite Sith had been extinguished at some premature point?" ------------------------------------------------- The Galactic Republic isn't in good shape when we see it at the start of the prequels. On the contrary: things have gotten very bad indeed. There is some reason to believe that even if Palpatine were to die on the eve of being made Supreme Chancellor, the Republic would still collapse into civil war before too long. The rot is already too deep. At the very least,

The Jedi Order, attachments, and dogmatism

Much has been made of the Jedi doctrine forbidding attachment, as introduced in the prequel trilogy. Some believe it to be a sign that the Jedi Order was hopelessly dogmatic and already caught in a terminal decline before Palpatine was even born. Others contend that the doctrine's meaning is typically misunderstood, and that the critical representation of the prequel-era Jedi aspiring to be (let us say) "Vulcan-like" in their attitude doesn't correspond to the actual Jedi beliefs and aspirations. I would like to argue that both these views are correct. The Jedi doctrine regarding attachments isn't what some critics make it out to be... but the actual doctrine also isn't the sensible ideal that its defenders would like it to be. More importantly, and often overlooked: the doctrine that we see in the prequels is not the historical norm for what the Jedi believe. First of all, let's define the Order's actual doctrine during the prequel era. The Je

The Star Wars metaverse

Of late, I've seen multiple discussions about the notion of a 'multiverse' in Star Wars. This is no doubt sparked by the almost certainly spurious rumours regarding the supposed impending creation of one. I've written about that notion here , and I personally think you could do some fun things with it. But putting those rumours completely aside, let's talk about the notion of a multiverse in general. I know some people don't like the idea, and they may well have solid arguments to support that position. I'd like to argue, however, that Star Wars actually already is a multiverse. Or, to put it more accurately, I think it's a metaverse . After all, the term "multiverse" can be understood in two general ways, in fiction. In one meaning, you have points of divergence, resulting in different parallel universes where "things went otherwise". (In the context of Star Wars , a comic like Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope is an example