Dangerous Idealists
In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, there are three Jedi who are willing to sacrifice people, principles, or both if it would serve what they understand to be the greater good. The similarities and differences between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and the ex-Jedi Count Dooku show that sacrificing people or principles can put idealists on the path to the Dark Side if they aren’t careful.
Ki-Adi-Mundi says that Dooku could not want to assassinate anyone because he’s “a political idealist, not a murderer.” Windu adds that, because Dooku was a Jedi once, “It’s not in his character.” What they miss is that it’s precisely because Dooku is an idealist that he could condone murder, if he lacks character. When someone is strongly convinced of the righteousness and urgency of a cause, principles can become optional, and people can be reduced to pawns. Dooku became disillusioned with the Jedi and the Republic for compromising their ideals, so he became a Sith and joined the Separatists. Eventually, he abandons even his ideals and lives for his passions. In Revenge of the Sith, he tells Anakin to give into his anger as he has.
In Attack of the Clones, when Dooku tries to tempt Obi-Wan to the Dark Side with the same disillusionment he felt, he suggests Qui-Gon Jinn would have joined him. This ploy doesn’t work on Obi-Wan, because he loves his late master and shares his principles: “Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you.” What separates Obi-Wan from Dooku is that his idealism is tempered by his friendships and values. Dooku has no remorse about killing scores of former Jedi friends for the Separatist cause at the Battle of Geonosis, but in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan is reluctant to kill his friend Anakin Skywalker for the cause of democracy, even though Anakin also killed scores of Jedi. Obi-Wan could have killed Anakin for the sake of everyone and everything else he cares about, but maiming and leaving Anakin for dead instead shows the principle of compassion is still strong in him.
Obi-Wan’s lightsaber is blue and Dooku’s is red, so it’s appropriate that Mace Windu’s is purple. He is between the two, caught between the Light Side and the Dark without realizing it. Unusually aggressive for a Jedi, Windu is the first to confront Dooku on Geonosis, and scores of Jedi die for his reckless strategy. Then, in Revenge of the Sith, he tries to kill Palpatine instead of arresting him. Though Windu fights for the cause of democracy, he abandons the democratic principle of trial by jury. This is because, like Dooku and unlike Obi-Wan, he is driven by passion more than compassion. In Windu’s case, the passion is fear. He “sense[s] a plot to destroy the Jedi,” and justifies his aggression by saying Palpatine is “too dangerous to be left alive.” This is what cements Anakin’s disillusionment with the Jedi. Windu’s unprincipled idealism undoes Anakin’s own ideals and principles.
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Characters: Anakin Skywalker / Count Dooku / Ki-Adi-Mundi / Mace Windu / Obi-Wan Kenobi / Qui-Gon Jinn
Films: Episode II: Attack of the Clones / Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
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Concepts: aggression / anger / democracy / fear / idealism
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