The following contains significant spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi Parts I and II, streaming now on Disney+.
On the day that the Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine crowned himself as the first Emperor of a Galactic Empire, Senator Amidala while seated in the Grand Convocation Chamber opined, “So this is how liberty dies. To thunderous applause.” Palpatine had orchestrated the perfect internal coup and created a massive wellspring of emotional support, predicated on his lies about a Jedi assassination attempt. After successfully leading the Republic to the disarmament of the Separatist faction and the end of a three-year galactic war, Palpatine had become a harbinger of peace.
Over the years he had methodically and quietly fomented disillusionment with the Jedi so that when he began his Purge, it would be welcomed at best or tolerated at worst. It was a calculation that paid off, making the surviving Jedi of Order 66 fugitives overnight. With nowhere in the galaxy safe, they would become easy targets for Vader and his Inquisitors. The galactic citizenry had been told that the Jedi were evil power mongers and for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t hard to believe, which is why the Grand Inquisitor’s public reflections on the Jedi were so remarkable.
In “Part I” of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Grand Inquisitor sought a potential Jedi in a saloon on Tattooine. Based on rumors that had spread to corners of the galaxy where he had his ear, he tracked those whispers back to a random establishment on a Hutt-controlled world in the Outer Rim. While attempting to intimidate the proprietor, he spent some time sharing his philosophy on how to hunt Jedi. Essentially his theory is that given enough time, a Jedi will behave as they have been trained to behave, using their singular abilities to help those in need. All one must do is wait for rumors of someone somewhere doing something extraordinary for all the right reasons, and you will have found a Jedi.
He backs up this claim by demonstrating that he has indeed found a Jedi using nothing but a network of eyes and ears while employing restraint. This is somewhat surprising considering that the Empire has cultivated a specific message about the Jedi for years as a danger and a threat. There were many predisposed to believe this, but the effort was so orchestrated that it is remarkable to see the Grand Inquisitor deviate from the party line. Perhaps it is because Tattooine is situated so far beyond the Galactic core that there is safety in speaking the truth out loud. Perhaps he found the truth to be a better tool of intimidation than other means of persuasion. Either way, it proved both effective and damning.
In describing to the people of Tattooine how he found the Jedi, he is also admitting that the Empire has been lying about them for years. He could have supplied any false set of reasons as to how he tracked the rogue Force-sensitive, one that fell in step with existing propaganda. By speaking the truth, that the Jedi will help you if you need it, he risks adding to the ranks of an embryonic Rebellion lying on the horizon.
Anti-Jedi sentiment had a long history within certain cultural traditions of the galaxy which meant that Palpatine had something to build upon during his campaign. It wasn’t until the Great Hyperspace Disaster, 200 years before the beginning of the Clone Wars, that many of those ancient perceptions began to fade. The events of the Great Disaster summoned the combined efforts of the Republic and the Jedi Order to design and implement a massive rescue operation that extended throughout the galaxy, but in particular, helped assuage devastation to the Outer Rim. The response was largely successful and ingratiated the Jedi to beings that had previously been indifferent or hostile.
In the years preceding the Clone Wars much of that goodwill had been spent. Many worlds held strong views against Jedi dogma and selection processes. Force-sensitive children were often identified in infancy and offered a place among the Jedi, but in combination with their strict guidelines concerning personal attachment, this essentially amounted to permanent emancipation of a child from their family. In the event of any reacquaintance in the future, the adult that returned was often perceived as a cold imitation of the child that had been taken away. The nature of the Jedi to compartmentalize their emotions so that they are only influenced by the will of the Force came across to many who were less familiar with their teachings as elitist and aloof.
During the Clone Wars, many overt factors continued to poison the populace against the Jedi. One of them ironically was Count Dooku, a former Jedi whose criticisms were highly credible due to his time in the Order. As the de facto leader of the Separatist systems, his renunciation of the Order was a damning indictment of how they had fallen from grace for roughly half of the populated galaxy. The transition from peacekeepers to generals was also fraught, both external and internal to the Order. Much of the galactic citizenry thought the Jedi were being hypocritical, espousing monastic contemplations on peace in one breath and leading disposable clone soldiers into battle with their next.
This criticism was not reserved for the uninitiated. Within the Jedi ranks, there were many dissenting voices as to how the Order participated in the conflict. Palpatine worked behind the scenes to bind the Galactic army and Jedi leadership inextricably so that he could have direct oversight regarding their missions but also assist in crafting the narrative he sought to discredit the Jedi long term. He would invoke their name subtly during speeches, referencing them during times of outrage in a pretense of defense when in actuality he connected them to calamitous events so that people would inherently think of one when they thought of the other. Going forward, as the last of the Jedi continue to dwindle, it will be interesting to see if the Empire’s lies about them will fade as well.
To see the Empire tell on itself, Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes every Wednesday.
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