In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the brightest idea for Qui-Gon Jinn to take the young Anakin Skywalker under his wing, effectively leading to the creation of the Star Wars franchise’s most famous villain. Nonetheless, in a new Reddit post, the case is made that Liam Neeson’s character had the potential to nurture the young apprentice into a force for good, if only he’d lived through the events of The Phantom Menace.
In the recent Star Wars: Age of Republic – Qui-Gon Jinn comic, the title character journeys to a distant world teaming with both life and deadly “dark” growth. It’s here that he comes to understand the concept of finding balance in the Force “through a means beyond conflict.” And according to Reddit user GuhRilLiluh, this revelation puts Qui-Gon at odds with his peers on the Jedi Council.
As you may recall, Qui-Gon was under the impression that Anakin was the prophesized champion destined to bring balance to the Force. Given his previous epiphany, it’s therefore argued that the character was well aware of the darkness that lurked in Anakin, but believed that this more sinister side was necessary in fulfilling the prophecy.
If Qui-Gon had stuck around to train the young Jedi, he may have been able to steer Anakin in the right direction. However, since the master passed away, Anakin was left in the hands of the dogmatic Council, who wanted nothing more than to vanquish the darkness, leaving only the light – which is surely the exact opposite of bringing balance to the Force.
Overall, it’s a nice little piece of speculation that makes a convincing case for why Anakin turned out so differently from how Qui-Gon intended. But regardless of how and why the Skywalker Saga was first set in motion, we’ll find out how it all comes to a close when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.
