The Voice of Qui-Gon Jinn
I joined Eric Geller and Spencer Brinkerhoff for this week’s episode of the ForceCast’s Clone Wars Roundtable. We discussed “Voices,” the second episode of the four-part Yoda arc in The Clone Wars sixth season.
Like the Mortis trilogy in Season Three, the Yoda arc contains great insight into George Lucas’ fundamental ideas about the Force. In “Voices,” we see some of the ways that the Jedi Order of the Prequel Trilogy had lost touch with the true nature of the Force, and had become so entrenched in its own rules and restrictions that its leaders were disconnected from the goals the Jedi really ought to have been pursuing. One theme of the Prequel films is that Qui-Gon Jinn was right all along, that the maverick dismissed by the Council as a troublemaker actually had keener perspective on the Force than Council did, and again in the Yoda arc The Clone Wars delivers more meaning to that message. I also enjoyed our conversation about what it means to speak of the “will of the Force” – especially as it relates to the great fan-favorite Jedi Master.
After our discussion in this episode, I keep thinking that there’s a great mirror novel to Darth Plagueis embedded in Qui-Gon’s untold story. While Plagueis and Sidious sought to seize control of the Force and master the midichlorians to do their bidding, Qui-Gon follows the opposite path by surrendering himself with complete selflessness to the Force – and achieves Plagueis’ goal of immortality. When did he first meet the Force Priestesses? How did he react upon learning he had been chosen (a loaded word in the Prequel era, to be sure) to receive their special training for how to maintain his consciousness in the Force after death? When he knelt in patient solemnity behind the energy barrier in the Theed Palace while Maul paced on the other side, was he already expecting his imminent death and following those teaching to prepare himself for the transition into the Force? Qui-Gon’s story could do for the Jedi what Plagueis’ did for the Sith – and we already know who turned out the victor.
As timing would have it, Anderson Cooper’s interview with Liam Neeson on 60 Minutes replayed this weekend. The charm, humility, and incredible personality shine through in this interview. While the Taken franchise has sealed his reputation as an action star, he proved his chops in The Phantom Menace. It’s definitely worth the watch.
Tricia Barr’s novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library’s successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena’s Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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Darth Plagueis style Qui Gon Jinn novel? Yes please! The current modus seems to be original trilogy focused, but we can hope for such a book at some point.