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novelmonger · 2 years

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Thoughts on Jedi Apprentice 5: The Defenders of the Dead

Oh boy...this book. I remember, when I was a kid, I would often skip right over this book and the next. For reasons that will no doubt become apparent by the end of this one. Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot about either book except for the giant plot point holding them together. So I'm both eager and reluctant to read them now - I know it's going to be painful, but I'm also coming to them more fresh than the majority of this series. So let's not beat about the bush, and dive right in!

Jedi Apprentice #5: The Defenders of the Dead by Jude Watson

Chapter 1

For their next mission, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan arrive on the planet Melida/Daan, which is named such because a bloody civil war has raged for decades on the planet, and the two sides can't agree on a name. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan actually aren't there to bring the war to an end, but to rescue a Jedi Knight, Tahl, who was there for that purpose. Unfortunately, negotiations soured, and she was captured by the Melida. They don't know if she's even still alive, but they're there to get her to safety. Obi-Wan is flying their starfighter, and he's flying too fast for Qui-Gon's tastes. Obi-Wan stubbornly thinks about how he was the best pilot in the Temple, so he can totally handle it...only to end up scraping the ship against the side of a cliff wall. Hmm, does Obi-Wan remember he used to be like this when he complains about Anakin's flying years later? ;) "Another happy landing," indeed.

Chapter 2

"But throughout his training, he often found the Force elusive and unreliable. He was able to tap into it, but not every time he wanted to. When he did, he could not control it. With Qui-Gon, he had learned that it was not his job to control it, but to join it. Now he could rely on it to guide him, give him strength and vision. He was beginning to understand how deeply it pulsed, how steady a presence it was. As a Jedi, he had constant access to it. It was the greatest gift he could imagine being given." - Aaaaaack, it hurts! °(°ˊДˋ°) °

Chapter 4

While trying to get into the city, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fall through a hole into a mausoleum, where generations have fought back and forth for revenge, and ask their descendants to avenge them, in a never-ending spiral. When the Jedi emerge from the mausoleum, they find themselves under attack by snipers and have to figure out how to get out of this mess. After a short battle against the snipers, they discover to their surprise that one of them is their contact, the guy who was supposed to smuggle them into the city. They thought the Jedi were Daan soldiers at first, but thankfully they're able to clear up the misconception before anyone gets hurt.

"While he considered the odds, he thought about the way he and Obi-Wan had come to function together as a unit. Though at times their relations could be bumpy, under pressure their rhythm matched, their thoughts clicked. He admired his Padawan's ability to operate on all levels. Even under great pressure, Obi-Wan could strategize, calculate odds and opportunities, and make a joke." - I love these two so much.... ಥ﹏ಥ

Chapter 6

Their contact leads Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan into the city, to the base of operations where they will carry out their negotiations with the Melida leaders. But then--surprise surprise--the Jedi are betrayed! The Melida had no intention of handing over Tahl; instead, they were just trying to lure more Jedi in so they could have more valuable hostages. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan make an attempt to escape, but the building is heavily fortified, and it doesn't look good for them. But then suddenly, a grate into the sewers is pushed aside, and a stranger beckons them to follow. They have no choice but to trust this person.

"An ironic voice floated up from the grate. 'Go ahead, talkdroids. Have a debate. I'll wait. We have plenty of time.'" - The sarcasm is strong with this one XD

Chapter 7

Their savior turns out to be Cerasi, a girl around Obi-Wan's age. She leads them through the sewers to a secret underground base where a large group of children live. They talk with the Jedi about the dire situation on their planet, how all of the middle-aged people on the planet have been killed in the fighting. The elders on both sides insist on carrying on the war of vengeance, and they force children to work in the factories where they manufacture more weapons, and when they turn fourteen, they're forced to join the army. Meanwhile, the people are starving and the land is being destroyed. So all the kids who don't want any part in the Elders' fight have made their own faction, called the Young. The Young aren't divided along the same lines as the adults; all of them are fighting together to put a stop to the war once and for all. Now they're asking for the Jedi to help their cause.

One of the prominent members of the Young, a boy named Nield, is...troublesome. A boy makes a disparaging joke about the Melida, and this is how Nield responds: "Nield sprang forward like a shot from a blaster rifle. He wrapped two hands around the boy's neck and picked him up off the floor. The boy's feet flailed out as Nield squeezed his throat. The boy's eyes widened in a desperate plea. He let out an anguished croaking noise, trying to get air into his lungs. Nield squeezed harder." - O_O I don't know how old Nield is supposed to be, but the whole idea is that the Young are, well, young. Kids. Yikes. He drops the kid and there's no permanent harm done. But I think we might need to keep an eye on this one. His justification for doing that is upholding their strict rule about not talking that way. But still...yikes.

More evidence of Obi-Wan's Gryffindor heart screaming what he instinctively sees as the right thing to do: "Obi-Wan had to stop himself from crying out, Of course we will help you! ... Never in any mission had he met a cause that seemed so just."

Chapter 8

Nield and Cerasi take the Jedi to see the Daan sector, which isn't substantially different from the Melida side. Qui-Gon agrees to work together with the Young to rescue Tahl, though he can't guarantee Jedi help for their cause. The Young are going to create a diversion, making both sides think they're under attack, and in the confusion, the Jedi will get Tahl out.

Chapter 9

As preparations for the upcoming fight are being made, cracks begin to show, a rift widening between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan is deeply affected by the Young's cause, and some of Cerasi's blunt words about Qui-Gon bossing him around hit harder than he wants to admit. And so, goaded by her teasing and inspired by her courage, he promises that he, at least, will help their cause.

"The cause of the Young spoke directly and urgently to his heart. As a Jedi, he didn't fight for his own family, his own world, or his own people. He fought for what Yoda and the Council--and Qui-Gon--decided he should fight for. Cerasi and Nield had defined their own struggle. Obi-Wan was struck with a pang of deep envy for them. He had spent so much time with those older than himself. He had listened so often to their wisdom. Now he felt welcomed back into something different. He could be a part of a community here--he hadn't realized how much he missed a community of boys and girls his own age." - This, I feel, is one of the failings of the Jedi system. It makes sense why they want to start them out so young, and how not having ties to any specific planet or people is beneficial when they're supposed to fight for the greater good. After all, you don't want Jedi prejudiced against other Jedi simply for being from a different planet or something. But because they become Padawans so early, they miss out on that community of peers that Obi-Wan is realizing he misses so much. That kind of community is so important for adolescents and teenagers, especially. I'm not saying Jedi should stop doing one-on-one apprenticeships, but...maybe they should have like...Jedi conventions or something XD A chance, maybe once a year or something, for Padawans to hang out together and commiserate over the not-so-ideal things in their lives. I dunno, just a thought ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Chapter 10

Obi-Wan sneaks out early in the morning with Nield and Cerasi to enact their plan to start the diversion. He should have asked for permission from Qui-Gon, but because he's afraid Qui-Gon will say no, he just goes anyway. The plan is successful, and both sides think they're under attack. The three kids share a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie, but...ugh, I can feel the rift between the two Jedi growing more and more with each chapter (⋟﹏⋞)

Chapter 11

Another typo where it says "Obi-Wan" when it should be "Qui-Gon"! At least, that's what I think's going on. The sentence doesn't make much sense otherwise.

"She looked over her shoulder at Obi-Wan and flashed him a grin. Obi-Wan's eyes shone back. Qui-Gon saw in the moment of their exchange that something had deepened between them. They were intimates now, communicating without words. The adventure they had shared that morning had united them." - You know...it never occurred to me when I read this as a kid, but...is Cerasi actually...a love interest for Obi-Wan? Because of all the rules about Jedi not having attachments and all that, I don't think it ever dawned on me. Now, since I'm saying that, I think it's obvious that nothing explicitly materializes between them, so it couldn't ever be anything beyond a crush...but still. Interesting. We'll see how things unfold.

Qui-Gon isn't super thrilled at Obi-Wan sneaking off without him, but he decides to confront him about it later, because they need to focus on the mission. (Aaaaaack, I feel like that's going to come back and bite them before too long....) So, as planned, Cerasi takes them through the sewers to the part of the base where they're holding Tahl. With Cerasi's help to create further diversions and make the guards think they're under attack by an actual army instead of three people, they manage to free Tahl and help her escape. Tahl is conscious and even able to snark back and forth a bit with Qui-Gon (who grew up with her in the Temple). Unfortunately, she's also malnourished and wounded, and it seems that she's been blinded. But now all they need to do to complete the mission is get her off-planet to somewhere she can get medical help.

Chapter 12

"Obi-Wan had asked permission to go above ground with Cerasi. Qui-Gon had granted it. He knew that when he told Obi-Wan that they must leave, his Padawan would not want to go. Yet Obi-Wan would obey him. It was his first duty as a Padawan, and Obi-Wan was a Jedi to the bone." - ;A; I'm feeling the same foreboding that Qui-Gon is right now....

The Young have succeeded in their mission. They raided the Daan storehouses of weapons, and the Melida destroyed their own storehouses to prevent the Daan from getting them. So now the bulk of weaponry on the planet is in the hands of the Young.

"[Obi-Wan] linked arms with Cerasi and Nield. Never once did he glance at Qui-Gon. It was as though the Jedi Knight wasn't in the room. It was as though Obi-Wan was not a Jedi. It was as though he was part of them. As though he had become a part of the Young." - T⌓T It huuuuuuurts....

Chapter 13

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have a sharp disagreement about whether they should stay to make sure there's a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Qui-Gon thinks they should follow the rules, place the situation before the Jedi Council, and let them decide what must be done. But Obi-Wan is convinced that the Young are in the right, and it would be a greater injustice to leave without helping them.

Chapter 14

"Something was happening to him that he didn't understand. He felt as though there were two parts of him: a Jedi, and a person called Obi-Wan. Always before, he could not separate being a Jedi from being himself." - I can't help but find some parallels to Obi-Wan in the miniseries. The truth is, Obi-Wan is a Jedi through and through, and was always meant to be one. In the times when he begins to lose faith in whether he should be a Jedi, that's when things start to fall apart.

Nield and Cerasi are frustrated at the Elders seemingly ignoring the Young's demands for peaceful negotiations, so they want to destroy the shields around the city and let the Young from outside the city march in. The idea is that the Young outnumber the Elders, and now they have all the weapons too. They'll force the older generation to engage in negotiations for peace. There's just one snag: They don't have a ship fast enough to get the job done. The only ship like that they might have access to is the one Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan came to Melida/Daan on. They're asking Obi-Wan to steal the ship and fly it for them.

"He couldn't go to Qui-Gon for counsel. He didn't believe in his Master's counsel any longer. Yet neither could he oppose it. ... He owed his Master so much. Qui-Gon had fought alongside him, even saved his life. They had a bond. Yet he had a bond with Nield and Cerasi, too. ... Was it right to obey when his heart told him it was wrong? ... He would have to betray Qui-Gon, betray his life as a Jedi. For them. For their cause. They could ask this because they knew they were right. Obi-Wan knew they were right, too. And he couldn't let them down. He could not make this decision as a Jedi. He would make it as a friend. He took a deep breath. 'I'll do it.'" - This is it. This is the moment when Obi-Wan truly walks away from his teachings. And why does he do it? Because he feels it's right in his gut, like any true Gryffindor. And because he's attracted to the Young's complete certainty that they're right, in this moment when Obi-Wan himself is full of doubt. That's how you get a Gryffindor to walk away from the Jedi.

Chapter 15

"Obi-Wan turned and met their eyes. He felt a shock, as though he were looking at himself. In the steady gazes of his friends he saw what was held in his own heart--the same dedication, the same fierceness, the same daring. He felt his confidence surge. He was doing the right thing. Maybe Qui-Gon would come to understand that." - Ugh. Oof. Ouch.

"Exhilaration raced through him. For the first time in his life, he had no one to answer to. There were no Jedi rules or superior wisdom in this ship." - Someone who is normally law-abiding and rule-following who does something forbidden for the first time...that's heady stuff. Addictive, even. When first looking at Obi-Wan in the movies, maybe you wouldn't think he'd ever be in this sort of position, but especially when you consider his age, this make a whole lot of sense.

The attack on the city's shields is a success. Obi-Wan leads Cerasi and Nield to the ship, they outmaneuver any pursuers with Obi-Wan's exceptional flying skills, and Cerasi and Nield put their own skills to work firing on the shield generators. As they go to put the ship back in its place, they see hundreds of youth marching into the city to take control. Victory...but at what cost???

Chapter 16

"Using the Force, [Qui-Gon] tried to establish a connection with Obi-Wan. But he could feel nothing. No distress, no confusion, no assurance. Only...a void." - ;A;

Okay, this chapter surprised me, because I didn't remember it at all. Qui-Gon secretly arranges a meeting between the leaders of the Melida and the Daan, and warns them that unless they join together and form a coalition government to put an end to the war once and for all, the Young will defeat them. They have all the weapons, they've taken down the city's shields, and they have more strength and stamina than the Elders, many of whom are wounded or permanently maimed with missing limbs or breath masks. And, despite much protest and arguing back and forth...the leaders agree! They will set aside their hatred of each other and end the war, because now they realize they will be fighting their children and grandchildren.

Chapter 17

The heartbreaking tension just keeps getting worse and worse >_< Qui-Gon may have gotten the Elders to agree to negotiations, but the Young refuse to negotiate now! They don't trust the Elders. And Qui-Gon finds out that Obi-Wan stole the ship that was their only way to get Tahl to safety, and used to to help the Young destroy the shields. To say that he's upset about this would be an understatement....

"Qui-Gon paused. He gathered himself to deliver the Jedi wisdom of the Master and Padawan relationship. How the rules had evolved over thousands of years. How the Padawan's pledge of obedience had nothing to do with power, but everything to do with the gaining of wisdom and the humility of service. How he was not here to punish Obi-Wan, or even to teach him, but to aid Obi-Wan's own journey and enlightenment until the day he grew to become a Jedi Knight. 'I don't care,' Obi-Wan said, breaking into his own thoughts." - Ow. Ow ow ow ow owwwww.... That one sentence is like a slap in the face ;A;

"'I don't care that I broke the rules,' Obi-Wan said. 'It was right to break them.' Qui-Gon took a breath. 'And was it right to break my trust?' Obi-Wan nodded. 'I'm sorry I had to. But yes.' Qui-Gon felt Obi-Wan's words enter him like a blade. He saw in a flash that since he had taken Obi-Wan as his apprentice, he had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for the betrayal. The strike. He had hardened his heart, preparing himself for it. And yet he was not prepared at all." - Ohhh, Qui-Gon.... Yes, you became a Petrified Slytherin to protect your heart after Xanatos, but didn't you realize that you un-Petrified yourself for Obi-Wan? But just because the wound scarred over doesn't mean it can't be opened again. I'm so sorry you've had to experience this twice.... ToT

"'Qui-Gon, you must understand,' Obi-Wan said quietly. 'I've found something here. All my life, I have been told what is right, what is best. The path has been pointed out to me. That was a great gift, and I'm grateful for all I've learned. But here on this world all those abstractions I've learned suddenly fit into something concrete. Something I can see. Something real.' Obi-Wan gestured back toward the headquarters of the Young. 'These people feel like my people. This cause feels like my cause. It calls to me like nothing I've ever felt before.'" - Notice how many times he uses the word "feel." And how being given a system of belief and philosophy of life isn't enough when it contradicts what he feels in his gut. What he feels about what's just and right responds to what the Young feel is just and right, and he doesn't yet have the experience to know when he'll end up regretting just going with his gut. It's an unfortunate downside, if you want to see it that way, of being a Gryffindor Primary: Once you see that something is wrong, you can't just not do anything about it. I feel like this whole thing wouldn't have spiraled out of control to quite this extent if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had been there to bring about peace in the first place. But because they're only tasked with rescuing Tahl, Obi-Wan's desire to see justice clashes with his role as a Jedi, and so he comes to this point where he has to choose between them.

Chapter 18

The Elders go back on their word. Flying in starfighters from another city, they attack the Young, many of whom are completely defenseless in parks and streets in the city. Children are dying. And even though Qui-Gon and Tahl set out for their ship, Obi-Wan knows that the only hope the Young have is for him to steal the ship again.

"He had been torn in two. Everything he'd known, everything he'd thought was important had been shattered. His Jedi training lay in pieces at his feet. It meant nothing compared to what was going on around him now. ... Obi-Wan realized he had already chosen. He couldn't turn his back on this suffering. He couldn't turn his back on his friends. Even if it cost him everything. He would give that, and more." - ༼☯﹏☯༽ It really is an impossible situation to drop a thirteen-year-old into. Can't say I blame him for wanting to help people who clearly need it - though stealing and going behind Qui-Gon's back is definitely not right. The ends don't justify the means, Obi-Wan!

Chapter 19

"The Force swirled around him, but it was a disturbed Force, neither dark nor light. He tried to tap into it and could not. It was like trying to squeeze a handful of fine sand as it streamed out through the cracks in his fingers." - This echoes Obi-Wan at the beginning of the miniseries scarily well.

Qui-Gon and Tahl reach the ship first, just as Obi-Wan gets there. He asks, in one last-ditch effort, to use the ship in the upcoming battle, but of course Qui-Gon refuses. They need to get Tahl back to the Temple. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon draw their lightsabers, facing off, ready to fight (つ﹏⊂)

"Obi-Wan met Qui-Gon's gaze and saw the same anguish he felt. He felt something within him crack, and his resolve slowly drained away. He could not do this." - (ಥ﹏ಥ)

"Obi-Wan grasped the rock of his conviction and felt his confusion drop away. Here on Melida/Daan he had met a reality that was stronger than anything he'd known. 'I have found something here more important than the Jedi code,' Obi-Wan said slowly. 'Something not only worth fighting for, but worth dying for.' Obi-Wan handed his lightsaber to Qui-Gon. 'You may go, Qui-Gon Jinn. But I will stay.'" - And so the deed is done. It's over. Obi-Wan Kenobi is no longer a Jedi.

#star wars #jedi apprentice #obi-wan #obi-wan kenobi #qui-gon #qui-gon jinn #book thoughts #this book is DEVASTATING #come cry with me

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