Summary
- Yoda’s decision to hide out on Dagobah is completely unforgivable, with the reveal of a new missed opportunity in fighting the Empire.
- Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s self-imposed exile preserved their lives, but also allowed Palpatine to rise without any resistance.
- Now, the new Jedi survivor Tensu Run apparently led a successful resistance, showing the Jedi had a chance to defeat them after Order 66.
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Inquisitors #2 After the Jedi were defeated by Emperor Palpatine’s execution of Order 66, Yoda managed to survive. But having failed to prevent Palpatine’s true motives, defeat him in battle, or otherwise prevent the rise of the Empire, exile was the only answer for this disgraced Jedi Grand Master. However, new additions to Star Wars canon actually makes Yoda hiding out on Dagobah utterly unforgivable.
In Star Wars: Inquisitors #2 by Rodney Barnes and Ramon Rosanas, the Inquisitors are given a direct order from Darth Vader himself, and their top priority until it is completed: find and kill a Jedi survivor named Tensu Run. Tensu Run not only survived the Jedi Purge with his master and a handful of other Jedi, but he wasted no time in forming a Jedi resistance against the Empire. Run was freeing prisoners, toppling outposts, and bringing hope to the hopeless across the galaxy – and the Empire was far too young to withstand that kind of resistance.
At this point in the timeline, the Empire had just been established, and it needed to keep up the facade of the false narrative spun by Palpatine that the Jedi were the greatest threat plaguing the galaxy. Tensu Run knew this, which is why he gathered every Jedi he could to stand with him for one final fight against the Empire when it was at its most vulnerable – and Yoda should have been a part of that fight.
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The Jedi Had a Fighting Chance, If Yoda Had Helped After Order 66
Yoda’s sense of defeat may have been what truly ended the Jedi’s chances
With Yoda and Obi-Wan by his side, Tensu Run could have rallied the remaining Jedi to launch a full-scale assault against the Empire.
Before this series, it was believed that the Jedi were effectively defeated by Emperor Palpatine’s masterfully planned Order 66. Those who weren’t killed outright went into hiding for the rest of their days, or they were later hunted down and killed by Darth Vader and his Inquisitors. However, Star Wars: Inquisitors confirms that there was an early resistance of Jedi led by Tensu Run that was successfully fighting back against the Empire.
Run himself even outmaneuvered the Grand Inquisitor before defeating the Fifth Brother in battle, proving that, with enough reinforcements, the Jedi could have taken down the Empire before it had the chance to truly take hold. However, for that to have happened, every available Jedi needed to have stepped up. And Star Wars fans already know that they didn’t: Yoda, one of the strongest Jedi in history, could have assisted in this early revolution, and his presence alone could have led the Jedi to victory. Which makes the fact that he stayed in hiding utterly unforgivable.
Yoda Isn’t the Only Jedi Whose Self-Imposed Exile is Now Unforgivable
The new canon says a Jedi resistance formed, and two major Knights didn’t help
Yoda’s presence on the battlefield side-by-side with Tensu Run and the other Jedi survivors could have meant the Empire’s defeat, but he isn’t the only Jedi at fault. Obi-Wan Kenobi, another Jedi Master, was also in self-imposed exile at the time. And while he was watching over Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan already proved in his live-action series that he was willing to leave his post for the right cause, and this certainly would have fallen under that category. With Yoda and Obi-Wan by his side, Tensu Run could have rallied the remaining Jedi to launch a full-scale assault against the Empire.
This would have led to another Jedi vs Sith war, with Palpatine, Vader and the Inquisitors battling Yoda, Obi-Wan, Tensu Run and the other Jedi in a final battle for the galaxy. And based on what Tensu Run has been able to accomplish alone, it’s very possible the Jedi would have won. But, the Jedi Masters remained in hiding, allowing the Empire to rule when it could have been destroyed upon its creation, making Yoda’s Star Wars exile on Dagobah unforgivable.
Star Wars: Inquisitors #2 by Marvel Comics is available August 7, 2024.
Yoda
The aged Jedi Master had trained Jedi for 800 years by the time he met Luke Skywalker on the planet Dagobah. One of the most famed and revered Jedi, Yoda served as Grand Master of the Jedi Order for centuries; he was powerful enough to duel Darth Sidious himself, although he was defeated. Yoda exiled himself to Dagobah, where he learned how to become a Force Ghost and offered guidance to Luke Skywalker.
