The Star Wars films lay it out plain and simple: the Jedi are the heroes and the Sith are villains. Throughout nine major installments and many spinoff series, we see the battle between the harbingers of justice and those who dabble in the Dark Side of The Force. The franchise has evoked joy, tears, laughter, outrage, and excitement from its fans, and the narrative continues to weave with upcoming series like Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.

There’s just one thing: the Jedi might not have been as heroic as we once thought. It’s an unpopular opinion, but the Jedi have plenty of flaws and make some pretty questionable decisions that don’t always benefit the galaxy. Grab your lightsaber and something over ice from the Mos Eisley Cantina, because it’s time to talk about why the Jedi were the real villains of Star Wars!

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4 The Contradictory Actions of the Jedi Council

mcdiarmid-christensen-star-wars-revenge-sith-2005-lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd.

Part of the Jedi Code strictly forbids Jedi from abusing The Force to satisfy curiosity or invade the privacy of others. To use The Force in this way runs the risk of making the Jedi seem untrustworthy, especially since the Jedi Order took a solemn vow to be a purely neutral party that serves and protects others. Unfortunately, the Jedi are willing to forgo this tenet in Revenge of the Sith, when they blatantly request that Anakin spy on Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin strongly opposes this plan, even citing that it's not the Jedi way (referring to the Code).

This isn't the first example of the Jedi contradicting themselves, either. Qui-Gon violated the same creed when he tried to invade Watto's mind with tricks in The Phantom Menace, and Obi-Wan Kenobi successfully used the same tactic against Stormtroopers in A New Hope. Even leaving Shmi Skywalker behind instead of vying for her freedom is a direct contradiction to the Jedi's philosophy of justice.

3 Hasty Self-Exile In Times of Turmoil

Luke Skywalker
Via: Lucasfilm Ltd.

The Jedi have faced untold hardship from the very beginning, and tragedies like the Great Jedi Purge have taken these Force-users to their very limits. More than once, we see Jedi go into a state of 'self-exile' during extreme turmoil — for example, following the Jedi Purge and his loss against Darth Sidious, Yoda flees and remains in hiding until Luke Skywalker seeks him out decades later, as outlined by Esquire. Similarly, Luke chose to self-exile after Kylo Ren rose to join the First Order, and he vehemently refuses to leave his home or join the Rebellion for most of The Last Jedi.

It's understandable for the Jedi to seek refuge in dire times, but to stay in exile for such a long time while the galaxy is abused by those in power goes against the Jedi way. The Jedi are supposed to fight for peace and justice, yet Luke and Yoda decide not to intervene until someone else convinces them to come out of hiding. In fact, another tenet of the Jedi Code is to put the needs of the community above one's own, and self-exile is not the way to do so.

2 Dubious Recruiting Practices

Anakin and the Younglings
Lucasfilm

The sad part about Anakin Skywalker's experience as a child is that it's not unique. For years, the Jedi recruitment process included seeking out Force-sensitive individuals, commonly young children (like Anakin). These kids may not have been physically torn from their homes, but they were still taken away from their families during a crucial development period to join the Jedi Order. Most of these children never saw their families again due to the Jedi creed against emotional attachments. This is likely traumatizing for the children and their loved ones, and breaking up families doesn't seem like a great way to campaign for peace and justice. Especially when the practice, as per Dork Side of the Force, eerily mirrors The First Order's Stormtrooper recruiment process.

Once they're part of the Jedi order, Padawans are consistently trained to only follow the Jedi way. The Jedi strictly outline what is right and wrong for these younglings, and they're not allowed to develop any sense of identity outside the Order. One could give the argument that these younglings are probably safer with the Jedi Order than anywhere else, but we can't discuss that without mentioning the horrors of Anakin brutally killing many of them right as Order 66 is being executed.

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1 The Jedi Order and Anakin Skywalker

The Jedi Council in The Phantom Menace
20th Century Fox

We first meet Anakin as a Force-sensitive child eager to go on new adventures with the Jedi. He's immediately heartbroken when he learns that his mother isn't coming with him and expresses fear that he'll never see her again. As a young man, Anakin experienced harrowing visions of his mother suffering and returned home to find her dying in a Tusken Raider camp. After a prolonged period of torture, she passed away in her son's arms.

The Jedi Order's first mistake was making no additional effort to liberate Shmi, as they were content to separate mother and child while leaving the former in a life of slavery. Qui-Gon tried to wager for her freedom, but no one ever rallied for her liberation or went back for her. Naturally, the Jedi Order wanted to sever Anakin's emotional connection with her as part of his training, and she served no additional purpose outside conveniently bearing a Force-sensitive child. However, their attempts to isolate Anakin from his only living family and force him to stomp out attachments exacerbated his intense need for emotional connection and love (which are essentially Sith ideals according to the Jedi). Witnessing her death cemented a permanent fear of loss that no amount of training could undo; that kind of experience calls for emotional support, possibly even therapy, and the Jedi Order would never enact either of those things.

His fear of loss was only amplified when he fell in love with his future wife, Padmé. When the couple was expecting children, Anakin began to experience traumatizing visions of Padmé dying in childbirth. These visions were eerily similar to those he had about Shmi before her death. As such, he began searching for the means to cheat death and keep Padmé alive, and he sought support and guidance in his endeavors. The Jedi preached their ever-present philosophy of not forming attachments and offered little comfort to an already emotionally scarred Anakin. That was their second mistake: by denying Anakin any kind of solace, they left him vulnerable to individuals who would prey on his fears — individuals like Chancellor Palpatine, who took advantage of him by enticing him with the potential life-saving powers of the Dark Side.

Had things gone differently somewhere along the line, the galaxy may never have seen the rise of Darth Vader in the first place. Of course, that's the give and take with an incredible story like Star Wars — the world isn't a pretty place, good people make poor decisions and bad things happen to everyone. For what it's worth, the narrative of The Force and those impacted by it is as beautiful as it is tragic.