Funerals for Enemies
Both The Clone Wars and the original trilogy end with unconventional Jedi refusing to use lethal force against their enemies and ultimately honoring them with a funeral.
In the final episode of The Clone Wars, "Victory and Death" (7.12), the 501st Legion of Clone Troopers tries to kill Ahsoka Tano aboard a Republic Venator. Ahsoka knows that the Clone Troopers are not acting in accordance with their true natures: they are under the sway of Emperor Palpatine, who has commanded them to kill her. "They just suddenly weren't themselves," she tells Maul. Because of her love for the Clones' true selves, Ahsoka refuses to use lethal force against them. Even though Captain Rex insists that it is a life-or-death struggle, Ahsoka holds firmly to her position: "They may be willing to die, but I am not the one who is going to kill them." The confrontation still ends with the deaths of the Clone Troopers, but on the planet below, Ahsoka honors them with a funeral, burying them and marking their graves with their helmets as a memorial.
In the final episode of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader tries to kill Luke Skywalker aboard the second Death Star. Luke believes that Vader is not acting in accordance with his true nature: he is under the sway of Emperor Palpatine, who has commanded him to kill his son. "[Anakin Skywalker] is the name of your true self," he tells Vader. Because of his love for Vader's true self, Luke refuses to use lethal force against him. Even though Vader and the Emperor insist it is a life-or-death struggle, Luke holds firmly to his position: "I will not fight you, father." The confrontation still ends with the death of Darth Vader, but on the planet below, Luke honors him with a funeral, placing him on a pyre and setting fire to him as a memorial.
Although everyone counsels them to do otherwise, Ahsoka and Luke take the Jedi virtues of compassion and nonviolence further than an ordinary Jedi, refusing to kill those who would try to kill them even at great risk to their own lives. While they cannot ultimately keep their enemies from dying, Ahsoka and Luke hold funerals to honor the memory of their "true selves" after their deaths.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Ahsoka Tano / Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker
Shows: The Clone Wars
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: burial / compassion / death / war and peace
READ MORE ABOUT…
Follow The Jedi Archives on…