Star Wars lightsabers have gotten some major updates over the last few decades, particularly when it comes to colors and designs. Although in the original trilogy it seemed that only blue, green, and red lightsabers existed, with the latter being designated for Sith and the former being for the Jedi, lightsabers have become so much more versatile in Star Wars movies and TV shows. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace revealed the first double-bladed lightsaber, Maul’s, and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones introduced Mace Windu’s purple saber.
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Now, the franchise has depicted lightsaber rifles (Jocasta Nu’s), dual sabers (Ahsoka Tano’s), and myriad colors, from Rey Skywalker’s yellow lightsaber to a host of colors in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Among the newer additions has also been the double-bladed red lightsabers of the Imperial Inquisitors, and their design, like many lightsabers in Star Wars, has a specific purpose.
The Inquisitors Were Prepared To Fight Masters And Apprentices
The purpose of the Imperial Inquisitors was clear: Hunt down and destroy any Jedi survivors of Order 66 and any other Force-sensitive beings they encountered, from adults to children. Particularly in terms of Order 66 survivors, the Inquisitors needed to be prepared to fight a master and Padawan duo, as it was possible that masters and apprentices had survived together, perhaps even relying on one another to make it out of the massacre alive. Most of the survivors depicted on screen have actually been alone, but this nevertheless was a possibility they had to plan for.
It is for that reason that the Inquisitors’ lightsabers have this double-bladed design. Theoretically, this design would allow an Inquisitor to fight off two lightsabers at once, one from the master and one from the apprentice. This is presumably why Maul’s lightsaber was constructed that way in The Phantom Menace as well, as his own master, Palpatine/Darth Sidious, no doubt wanted him prepared to take on a master and apprentice duo (as he ultimately did).
The Inquisitors Were Never As Skilled As The Jedi (Or Sith)
Despite the intentional design of their lightsabers, the Imperial Inquisitors have repeatedly been shown to be nowhere near as powerful or as technically trained as the Jedi—or, in fact, as the Sith, either. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, for example, Inquisitor Reva Sevander struggles to hold her own in myriad fights, from her confrontation with Darth Vader (which makes sense, given that he’s one of Star Wars’ most powerful Sith) to even Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. Yet, Reva is not alone in that.
Marrok, who has now had another appearance in Star Wars, in Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, also went toe-to-toe with Ahsoka Tano in the Ahsoka show, at which point Ahsoka managed to kill Marrok. Even in Maul – Shadow Lord, though, Marrok falls short, going up against Darth Maul, who isn’t even a Sith anymore. Yes, he’s powerful, but Inquisitors were meant to be able to take on two Jedi at once. Clearly, that wasn’t exactly a commonality for the group.
Star Wars Has Confirmed That The Inquisitor Plan Was Largely A Failure
In addition to the fact that Inquisitors have frequently been shown not to come out on top in fights against myriad Force-sensitive characters, from those on the dark side to those on the light, Star Wars has increasingly proven that the Imperial Inquisitor plan largely was a failure. They no doubt did kill Force-sensitives and Jedi survivors throughout the Dark Times, but the intention was for the Inquisitors to wipe out the remaining survivors and Force-sensitives entirely, finishing what Order 66 started.
Clearly, they were not ultimately successful in that goal, not only because Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda were still very much alive in the original trilogy, but also because numerous other survivors and Force-sensitive characters have now been revealed, including Ahsoka, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Kelleran Beq, Grogu, and others. In that sense, the Inquisitor failure was the same failure of Order 66. While Palpatine was certainly successful in bringing down the Jedi Order and the Republic, he did not eradicate the Jedi as he’d hoped to.
There is actually a more powerful message to be found in these failures, though, which is at the very heart of Star Wars. Even if Palpatine and the Inquisitors had succeeded in killing off every last Jedi, new heroes—some with Force sensitivity and some without—would always rise up to fight back against the darkness. In this case, that did include Jedi, but the overall narrative serves as a reminder that there is always hope.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
