High Republic Jedi Masters Disagree With Yoda's Teachings
As seen in a new preview for Star Wars: The High Republic #4 from Marvel Comics, the upcoming issue will confirm that not every Jedi subscribed to the same teachings as Grand Master Yoda during the days of the High Republic. A flashback sequence has been revealed that sees Jedi Master Sskeer training his apprentice Keeve Trennis, who has just become a Knight in the present day of the series. However, despite Keeve's struggles with her trial in the past, she's actually encouraged by her master to "try" again, seemingly throwing Yoda's "do or do not" philosophy out the window.
In the first issue of the High Republic series from writer Cavan Scott and artist Ario Anindito, Keeve Trennis completed her final Jedi Trial to become a full-fledged Knight of the Jedi Order and was knighted by the new Jedi Marshal of Starlight Beacon Avar Kriss. Determined to prove herself worthy of her new rank amongst great Jedi such as Kriss and her own master, Keeve has been incredibly eager to succeed (despite her frequent impatience and tendency to be headstrong).
However, the preview for High Republic #4 depicts a flashback from six years ago when Keeve was still an apprentice under Sskeer. Standing on one side of an immense chasm, Keeve's master is seen encouraging her to leap across the divide and trust in the Force to help her succeed in getting to the other side. Despite her failures, her master wants her to "try" again, seemingly contradicting Yoda's teachings that a Jedi must "do or do not". Here are the preview images for the issue as well as the synopsis from Marvel Comics:
- STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #4
- (W) Cavan Scott
- (A) Ario Anindito
- (CA) Phil Noto
- THE JEDI TURNED AGAINST EACH OTHER?!
- AVAR KRISS and her band of brave JEDI helpless in the clutches of a traitor in their midst.
- STARLIGHT BEACON under attack from an insidious foe. Danger from an age-old enemy.
- Who is really pulling the strings on the distant planet of SEDRI?
- Plus: The secret history of the terrifying DRENGIR revealed.
While this flashback sequence is undercut by Sskeer's corruption and betrayal in the present with the monstrous Drengir, the training scene is still intriguing as far as what it implies about how Jedi were taught during the High Republic era. Skeer tells Keeve that there are no shortcuts on the path of the light side of Force. They strive and repeat until they succeed, and he then asks her if she'd like to try again. In comparison, Yoda's "do or do not, there is no try" teaching is focused on motivating a prospective Jedi to leave their preconceptions behind and trust in the Force. Luke said he would try to lift his X-Wing in The Empire Strikes Back, though the idea of simply trying indicated he partly believed he would fail based on the preconceptions of his own limits, which lead to his failure after his first attempt. He needed to commit to the belief that he could do by trusting in the Force. However, Master Sskeer seems to subscribe to the belief that repetition and continually trying will eventually yield success in mastering one's ability to trust in the Force.
While neither ideology is inherently wrong, the simple fact that they're different ways of teaching confirms that Yoda's way wasn't the only way, at least not during the High Republic era. It's been implied across multiple Star Wars: High Republic projects that Yoda's influence would continually grow until it became the prevailing doctrine of teaching by the time of the Skywalker saga, purely due to how many Jedi Padawans Yoda ended up teaching across the span of his long life. In any case, this uniqueness and differing teaching style is very interesting to see. Star Wars: The High Republic #4 releases April 7th.