Summary
TheStar Warsuniverse is one filled with strife and war, which in turn means that it is filled with suffering for many of the beloved and much-maligned characters that inhabit the galaxy far, far away. Whether or not the characters are among those in power or resisting the current regime, the volume of conflict leads to many painful lives and experiences.
TheStar Warsfilms have been dominated by the idea thatEmperor Palpatine is the greatest mind in the galaxy, and most other characters must simply rail against his reign of terror over and over. So it’s not surprising to see many well-known characters, especially those who fought against him, appearing on the list of most tragic ones in theStar Warsfranchise.
8The Rogue One Crew
Lived In Oppression, Died For A Hope
It’s hard to pick just one from this ragtag crew that is drawn together, as all of them meet a tragic end on Scarif. Whether audiences think of Cassian Andor and his years of fighting for the Rebellion, Jyn Erso dying to help stop what her father created, or Chirrut Imwe and his belief in the force, there is tragedy at every turn in this story of how much the Rebellion had to sacrifice. One by one, these members are killed in the battle of Scariff, united in their goal to steal the Death Star plans and bring an end to the Galactic Empire’s tyranny.
The crew of the Rogue One,from Imperial defectors to sarcastic droids, came together as a group of strangers, united by the simple idea of hope. The idea that the Empire could still be stopped from achieving ultimate power was so enticing and such an important dream that even isolationists like Jyn were prepared to give their lives, living under oppression and dying with only a spark of hope that it could be ended.
7Shmi Skywalker
A Slave Who Was Tortured To Death By Tusken Raiders
There are a lot of tragedies that have occurred to the various members of the Skywalker family. But the oldest member was one who had no great glories in life. Shmi was left behind, still a slave, when her son and only family were taken to become a Jedi, and he didn’t return to see her until it was too late.
Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer, eventually won Shmi from her former owner, and she married him, but it isn’t known whether she loved him. After a few years together, she is kidnapped by Tusken Raiders and tortured, leaving her on the brink of death. She died from her wounds, but not before her kidnapping became the catalyst for her son’s first step towards joining the dark side.
6The Clone Army
Bred For War & Not Freedom
The Clone Warsanimated series led to some tragic moments, but the whole is much more than the sum of the parts.The clone army of the Republic was created for war, and none of them were ever given a choice in life. Though most of them accepted their lot readily, there were a few who attempted to rebel against their programming, and they were outlawed as deserters.
Multitudes of clones died in the fighting, just as innocent children did later when they were captured by the Empire or the First Order and turned into stormtroopers. The clones were essentially treated by the Jedi and the Senate similarly to how the Trade Federation treated droids, a heartbreaking and tragic fate for all of them.
5Qui-Gon Jin
The Father Anakin Needed
Qui-Gon had great tragedy in his death to Darth Maul, falling to the Sith Apprentice as a seasoned Jedi, and not being there to train Anakin Skywalker himself. This might have made a big difference in the events that occurred following his demise, but even more of a difference was that the Jedi felt obliged, especially Obi-Wan, to take Anakin on anyway.
Qui-Gon swore that Anakin needed to be trained as a Jedi, and while it was a brave notion, it was a huge mistake that led to the fall of the Jedi Order and the rise of Darth Vader. Qui-Gon’s tragedy was in leaving things worse than he found them, despite his good intentions.
4Owen & Beru Lars
Moisture Farmers, Killed Needlessly
Luke’s aunt and uncle were killed on Tatooine by stormtroopers because they were suspected of harboring the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. As seen in theObi-Wan Kenobiminiseries on Disney Plus, the two lived under constant fear for nearly twenty years of Luke being discovered. They were always ready tofight and die against the Empireto protect a child that wasn’t even theirs, but the Empire never came for him.
Instead, a random droid they bought earned them a death sentence. The one thing that was so unpredictable and unlikely led to their deaths, and Luke in his rage joined the Rebellion and the Jedi, something they’d never wanted for him. This was a real shame and showed that Obi-Wan was never really interested in protecting them, just Luke.
3Obi-Wan Kenobi
Plagued By Loss & PTSD
Few characters suffered more individual losses throughout their lives in theStar Warsfranchise than Obi-Wan Kenobi. From his younger years, watching his master Qui-Gon die before his eyes, to the many losses on Geonosis and throughout the Clone Wars, it remains a true wonder that Kenobi never fell to the dark side, andstayed as wise a wordsmith as he was. What made Obi-Wan one of the best Jedi, is that despite the great loss he suffered throughout his life, he never fell to the Dark Side.
Even after all the loss he’d suffered, Obi-Wan refused to believe that Anakin was fully lost to Darth Vader, and was unable to kill his former apprentice on multiple occasions despite besting him. He then waited twenty years, watching Luke Skywalker, mostly alone with his own demons and memories of pain, just to introduce Luke briefly to the force before dying himself at the hands of Vader.
2Padme Amidala
Died From A Broken Heart
Padme, though not a Jedi or Sith, went through a great number of important roles in her life. Starting as queen of Naboo, she moved on to become a Senator in the Republic Senate. There, she was always an advocate for peace and was a leader to others, and it was also while she was therethat she fell in love with Anakin Skywalker.
This was her downfall, and Padme had to watch in horror as everything she’d ever worked for, peace and democracy, were completely dismantled before her eyes, at the same time as she saw the man about to become the father of her children become a child murderer, leading to her dying of a broken heart in childbirth, having seen her life destroyed in her final moments.
1Anakin Skywalker
Plagued By The Dark Side Since Birth
Themost well-knownStar Warscharacter of all, Anakin was faced with tragedy from the beginning. Somebody always had designs on him. He was owned as a slave from birth and forced to work all the time. He never had a father and was forced to take the opportunity to escape as soon as possible, even though it meant leaving his mother forever.
Anakin was marked from early on by Palpatine, and the machinations of that man led to Anakin’s downfall. His journey was one constantly marked by sadness and loss. Even when Anakin found love, he had to hide it from the Jedi Order, for it was forbidden. He was plagued by nightmares of his wife dying, and every act and atrocity he committed was to try and better the galaxy for him and Padme. Many of his reactions, like attacking those who killed his mother, felt reasonable. In a tragic battle against his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was left more machine than man, forever limiting his powers in the Force, and destroying what hope he had of being the Chosen One. However, Anakin was able to die a better man, having ended the Emperor’s reign of terror, at least temporarily.
