What do you do if you're a Jedi who's stuck in the middle between dark and light? Well, you could go Gray. It's not part of the official continuity, but it's one of the most fascinating fan theories around.
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00:00 What do you do if you're a Jedi who's stuck in the middle between dark and light?
00:05 Well, you could go grey.
00:07 It's not part of the official continuity, but it's one of the most fascinating fan theories
00:11 around.
00:12 There's nothing in today's canon to support an offshoot of the Jedi Order, officially
00:16 sanctioned by the Council or otherwise.
00:19 There are certainly Jedi struggling with their morals and ethics on their way to a destined
00:22 conclusion, but for real shades of grey, fans cling to classic legend stories that keep
00:27 the question alive.
00:29 Knights of the Old Republic introduced a character named Jolie Bindo, who openly described himself
00:34 as grey.
00:35 It's a concept that turns up a lot in the new Jedi Order novels.
00:38 Digging around for information on the Grey Jedi can easily leave a casual fan incredibly
00:43 confused.
00:44 But if you venture away from the likes of fan theories and tabletop game campaigns,
00:48 the Lucasfilm Story Group is consistently clear that Grey Jedi aren't canon.
00:52 "Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
00:58 The general idea of Grey Jedi is that they're a nuanced take on the light side.
01:02 Since enterprising fans aren't bound by the strictures of canon, they've created an entire
01:07 alternate universe that's a treat to explore.
01:10 One of the most notable fanon tidbits is a Grey Jedi Code, which was created by a user
01:14 on the Star Wars Fanon Wiki well over a decade ago.
01:18 The Grey Jedi Code asks its adherents to set aside light and dark, and focus on balance
01:23 itself.
01:24 There is no peace without passion.
01:26 Warriors need strength to act.
01:28 Power must seek serenity.
01:30 The Force is all things, and all things are one in the Force.
01:34 It's a simple and reasonable code, and that makes it durable.
01:38 It's attributed to a Grey Jedi called Lior D'Anal, a fan-created character hailing from
01:43 the same homeworld as Yoda.
01:45 He improbably uses the Japanese word "kage," meaning "shadow," to signify his leadership
01:50 over the founding of the Grey Order.
01:53 Traditional Star Wars media doesn't always help keep the light versus dark distinction
01:56 clear either.
01:58 Works by authors Michael Stackpole and Kevin J. Anderson were staples of what's now called
02:02 the Legends continuity.
02:04 Beginning in 1994, Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy brought to life the struggle against
02:09 Legends villain Exar Kun, as well as a reborn Order struggling in a post-Thrawn world.
02:15 In 1998, Stackpole revised this trilogy's events through a character he'd created for
02:19 the X-Wing series, called Korin Horn.
02:22 Horn and Luke Skywalker encounter the Genesari, a splinter sect created when their founder
02:27 dug up some Sith propaganda that claimed that the Jedi ripped off their teachings and exiled
02:32 the Sith so that the treachery would never be uncovered.
02:35 While the Genesari believed themselves to be true Grey Jedi, their founder was accidentally
02:40 pulling them to the dark side as well.
02:42 In their last Legends appearances, the Genesari claim to have mastered balance.
02:48 There's one more big name in the world of Grey Jedi, and that's Jolie Bindo.
02:53 He's one of Revan's potential companions in the beloved 2003 Knights of the Old Republic
02:57 video game.
02:58 Bindo is content to be a hermit when the player finds him.
03:01 He's an old Padawan who never received the rank of Master, and is no longer affiliated
03:06 with the Order.
03:07 He insists on the wisdom of keeping a balance with the Force, and it's implied that he has
03:11 a few dark side tricks up his sleeve.
03:13 "There I go waxing philosophical again."
03:17 There's one more interesting quirk in Legends lore.
03:20 Star Wars Legacy is a comic book series that follows Luke's descendant, Cade Skywalker.
03:25 A secret galactic empire has risen in the decades after the Rebellion.
03:29 Rather than seeking Sith guidance, a neutral faction of Imperial Knights protects its emperor.
03:34 Alas, none of these details has an impact on today's official canon, but they still
03:38 created a complicated idea of Jedi who were still light but also liked to argue about
03:43 morality.
03:44 In the first Star Wars prequel film, 1999's The Phantom Menace, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn
03:50 has a pragmatic take on his relationship with the Force.
03:53 It's also made clear that he's on iffy terms with the Jedi Council.
03:57 This leads to some fuzzy, gray-like descriptions in the comic book storyline The Stark Hyperspace
04:01 War and The Jedi Path, a gimmicky reference book about the Jedi Order.
04:06 But besides the prequel movies, these are all materials that have been left behind by
04:10 official continuity in the Disney era.
04:13 In canon, the only evidence that actually suggests that Qui-Gon is a gray Jedi is his
04:17 independence from the Council, which directly leads to bringing balance to the Force through
04:21 tragic ends.
04:23 While the Jedi remain firmly light, their elitism blinds them to the coming dark.
04:28 More importantly, perhaps, it's Qui-Gon who seeks out the steps needed to break through
04:32 death to become a Force ghost, which is a power solely granted to servants of the light.
04:36 "I was always here, Obi-Wan."
04:40 The Imperial era brought one more fascinating aspect of the Force into play.
04:44 Star Wars Rebels spent time exploring what it means to be a Jedi in a bloody, angry universe,
04:50 with both Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger struggling with their connection to the light.
04:54 And while Darth Maul returned to weigh the scales in favor of Ezra's rightful but dangerous
04:59 anger, there was another being who had lessons to offer.
05:02 Bendu affiliated himself with the center of the Force, choosing neither light nor dark.
05:07 A non-interventionist by choice, Bendu's place in the gray would be quickly challenged by
05:12 Kanan.
05:13 Bendu is no Jedi, and his presence still doesn't justify the role of gray Jedi.
05:18 He's functionally an incarnation of the whims of nature and, by extension, the Force.
05:23 This is true even when he finds that he can't remain out of the conflict as much as he'd
05:27 prefer.
05:28 When Thrawn attacks Atollon, Bendu summons storms into the skirmish.
05:31 While Bendu doesn't leave the fleeing Rebels unscathed, it's the Imperials and Thrawn himself
05:36 that Bendu really leaves shaken.
05:39 The show may be called Ahsoka, but a big part of the series is the search for Ezra Bridger.
05:45 He's a fledgling Jedi who's already been tempted by the dark side and went missing in the company
05:49 of Grand Admiral Thrawn years ago.
05:52 Ahsoka Tano is already another popular figure for fans of gray Jedi.
05:56 Although her journey consistently shows her coming back to the light, there's little doubt
06:00 that we're going to see the same questions renewed as this lost Jedi comes home.
06:05 Ahsoka walked away from the Jedi in frustration, but she never lost her focus on doing what
06:09 was right.
06:10 If anything, she's the first post-Fall Jedi to embody the light-side ideals that a Jedi
06:14 was always meant to hold.
06:17 As for Ezra, it remains to be seen where his journey through the Force has taken him.
06:21 "I know what we have to do now."
06:24 Cal Kestis is another survivor of Order 66, and he went through quite a ride in the video
06:28 game Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order.
06:31 He did what he could to protect the future of Force-sensitive younglings, and he even
06:35 came face-to-face with Darth Vader.
06:38 2023's Star Wars Jedi Survivor rejoins Cal after some bitter years in the trenches, as
06:43 he joins forces with the ultimate figure of chaotic and morally gray rebellion, Saw Gerrera.
06:49 That's not exactly the best sign for Cal's journey of personal ethics.
06:53 Then there's Merrin, possibly the last Witch of Dathomir alive, who is here to teach us
06:57 that darkness isn't always a gateway to the Sith.
07:00 But these witches aren't Jedi, they're just different.
07:03 So when a rageful Cal touches the dark side to overcome his biggest trials, that's not
07:07 him going gray.
07:09 Instead, he's dangling dangerously close to corruption.
07:12 As the credits roll, it seems clear that Cal's third outing is going to see him either embrace
07:16 the light or fall into tragedy.
07:19 And it's clear that the gray isn't the safe, nuanced moral choice that fans want it to
07:23 be.
07:25 Here's a question that Star Wars fans rarely ask themselves, probably because the answers
07:29 would blow up the very idea of Gray Jedi.
07:32 Why focus on Jedi, when there are villains on the dark side who have questioned themselves?
07:37 Asajj Ventress is one character who hews closely to the idea of a Gray Jedi.
07:42 The 2015 novel Dark Disciple by Christy Golden shows how her love for Quinlan Vos brings
07:47 her back into the light in her last moments, her body welcomed home by her ghostly night
07:52 sisters.
07:53 Vos, meanwhile, is nearly corrupted to the dark side by his order to assassinate Dooku,
07:57 a job he's relieved of before it destroys him.
08:00 Speaking of Dooku, Tales of the Jedi features a young Dooku grappling with the Jedi's failures
08:05 to look out for common folk.
08:07 His mission to Dagenais to help its senator illustrates how this longtime politician neglected
08:12 his near-starving world, all while thriving under the half-closed eye of the Jedi.
08:16 A later episode that puts Dooku in conflict with Yaddle shows the result of all this anger.
08:22 In the end, even Dooku can't hold onto the gray, as his fall to the dark side is complete
08:27 as Yaddle dies.
08:30 Nothing will stop fans from embracing the idea of Gray Jedi.
08:34 And that's perfectly fine.
08:35 But George Lucas and Dave Filoni have made their stance clear.
08:39 Gray Jedi are not canon, and they won't ever be.
08:42 For Lucas, Star Wars is a morality play about good versus evil above all else.
08:47 Even the more morally complicated Andor is a story about the goodness in our hearts and
08:51 a light that emerges in the hour of need.
08:54 If we need to hear these facts in their most exuberant form, we can turn to Freddie Prinze
08:57 Jr., who has voiced Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus on multiple series.
09:02 In a 2019 appearance on Jeff Dye's Friendship Podcast, Prinze made it clear that Star Wars
09:07 was always Lucas' gift to kids.
09:10 And Dave Filoni also taught Prinze that the morality is simple.
09:13 The Force brings balance, and the light will win.
09:17 Prinze also slayed the idea of the Gray Jedi as a canonical concept by quoting Qui-Gon
09:21 Jinn's words in the Master and Apprentice novel.
09:24 "I turn towards the light because it's there.
09:27 There's no gray!"
09:28 - Dave Filoni
09:29 "I turn towards the light because it's there.
09:30 There's no gray!"
09:31 - Dave Filoni
09:32 "I turn towards the light because it's there.