Revenge of the Sith Tore Down a Major Jedi Figure to Make Anakin Skywalker Look Better

The Star Wars prequel trilogy has its fair share of issues. It focuses far too much on trade routes and Senate floor debates, with George Lucas choosing to highlight the political mistakes that led to the rise of the Empire. Another major prequel problem revolves around Anakin Skywalker, who shows up in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as a young boy living on Tatooine. Qui-Gon Jinn takes an interest in Anakin because he believes he’s strong with the Force and could be the long-sought-after Chosen One. Shmi Skywalker agrees to let her son travel to Coruscant to begin his training, a decision that has major ramifications.

Of course, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith concludes with Anakin falling to the dark side and embracing his new role as Darth Sidious’ apprentice. However, a common complaint about the third prequel movie is that it packs in too much, making Anakin’s choice in Palpatine’s office feel rushed. Well, that’s not even the half of it because Revenge of the Sith does an important Jedi dirty to prop up Anakin.

The Jedi Temple Is Full of Powerful Jedi in Revenge of the Sith

Despite Palpatine doing everything but waving a red lightsaber in his face, it takes Anakin a while to realize that his mentor is a Sith Lord. The news shocks the young Jedi to his core, and since he still wants to prove himself to the Jedi Council, he immediately tells Mace Windu everything. Mace doesn’t think that Anakin will be helpful on the mission to arrest the chancellor, though, so he leaves him behind at the Jedi Temple, which proves to be the wrong move. Anakin disobeys orders and heads to Palpatine’s office, where he finds Mace standing over the Sith. Not wanting to lose the only hope he has of saving his wife, Anakin betrays the Jedi and accepts Sidious as his new master.

Palpatine’s first order of business after getting Anakin on his side is to wipe out the Jedi by executing Order 66. Clones all over the galaxy turn on their generals, while Anakin leads the 501st into the Jedi Temple. Of course, the Order’s headquarters isn’t at full strength because the conflict against the Separatists demands that the Jedi fight battles all across the galaxy. There are still some heavy hitters around, though, including Shaak Ti and Jocasta Nu. However, one Jedi Temple casualty is far worse than the others because it makes a highly skilled fighter out to be no more powerful than a youngling.

Read Next

5 Years Ago, Star Wars Delivered the Best Lightsaber Fight in Franchise History

Cin Drallig Taught Young Jedi Everything That They Knew

Like all organizations, the Jedi Order has experts who pass on everything that they know. Cin Drallig has the honor of serving as the Battlemaster at the Jedi Temple, teaching younglings how to use their lightsabers. His notable students include Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as Anakin Skywalker, who confronts him in Revenge of the Sith. In addition to his role as Battlemaster, Drallig also serves as the Jedi Temple’s Chief of Security, which puts him in a tough spot when a clone battalion starts marching toward his home. Fortunately, he has two Padawans with him, Whie Malreaux and Bene, who engage the newly dubbed Darth Vader in combat. The battle isn’t shown in real time in Revenge of the Sith, but Obi-Wan and Yoda witness it when viewing the records on Coruscant.

Anakin quickly gets the edge on one Jedi, choking them when Drallig comes in to defend his ally. However, rather than showing why he’s regarded as one of the best duelists in the Order, Drallig does little more than toss a few weak blows in Anakin’s direction before calling it a day. The battle is so lopsided that a fan posted it on Reddit, leading to a serious discussion about Drallig’s plan. There’s no doubt that Anakin has the edge, as he has the full power of the dark side and incredible lightsaber skills in his corner, but it doesn’t need to go down like that. Drallig could have put up a bit of a fight since he was one of Anakin’s first teachers.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is streaming on Disney+.

Were you surprised by how easily Anakin Skywalker fought his way through the Jedi Temple? Do you think Cin Drallig should have fought harder? Let us know in the comments below!