“Gray Jedi” completely misunderstands The Force | Star Wars

Been working on this one for a while, been wanting to make it for even longer. Hope you all enjoy!

Think the idea of "Grey jedi" is popular in online circles because the Jedi are so inconsistent. Their code prioritizes not forming attachments and being removed from the worries of the world. However, we see them form attachments and interfere in world events. In short, Jedi can't decide if they are aesthetic monks or galaxy hopping heroes. And yes, those two roles don't quite mesh. If you only see the Jedi as cold detached monks, there is something appealing in the idea of non-evil Force users that actually form bonds of love, mourn their loved ones, and feel passion.

I’ve been a Buddhist most of my life so my understanding of the Force was implied to be life itself and the journey to enlightenment by self development. Jedi seek enlightenment but get bogged down by pride while the Sith fully embrace attachments and negative emotions, becoming demons.

I am what I like to call a grey heorin addict. I do heroin 24/7 but I'm BALANCED, so I experience none of the downsides of my lifestyle. So cool. This is very logical.

Morality is a fiction, there is only Indifference. Through Anger I gain Dark Side Powers, Through Loopholes I keep Light Side Powers. Through Edginess my mediocrity is Glossed Over. The Force makes me Special.

‘I’m a grey Jedi’. Oh so you’re not disciplined enough to be a Jedi and you’re too scared to be a sith?

Qui Gon acts like a High Republic Jedi. He couldn't be further from a "Grey Jedi". I'm so glad you made this video.

Taking the term “balance” too literally has created all sorts of misconceptions. Trying to use the dark side for a noble purpose was the whole cautionary tale behind Dooku and Anakin’s falls. You can’t just use a little dark side here and there; you simply succumb to it once you choose to embrace it.

Videogames like KOTOR and Force Unleashed, while a lot of fun, definitely played into the misconceptions surrounding the Force, treating it like an RPG power system where you can use both with little consequence. A lot of people fail to realize that was done to make the games fun not an actual template for how the Force actually works.

Right at the beginning, I can say that on top of what other comments have put in, "following the will of the force" isn't grey, it's just what a jedi should be. The force has a will, but it generally aligns with the selflessness and benevolence the jedi claim to be all about on paper, and ignoring it and asserting your own will over the force is the defining trait of dark siders. Stripping away any morality, you're left with "I do what the force tells me, and the force tells me to ignore it sometimes"

This is just the enlightened centrist meme but for Star Wars.

I dont have a problem with exploring a concept like Gray Jedi. After all, with something like the Force, it makes sense that there would be multiple schools of thought beyond light or dark. But like you said, it's important to remember Lucas' definition, and that characters trying to walk the line usually leads to the dark side. The Mortis trilogy and Dawn of the Jedi had characters striking a literal balance between light and dark. Jacen Solo and Cade Skywalker thought light and dark were either tools or a matter of intention. All these stories and arcs were great, but they also show where such thinking inevitably leads. Luke may have rejected certain Jedi practices in Legends, namely emotional detachment, but he didn't believe in the idea of Gray Jedi. He acknowledged that it may work for other Force groups, but not for those who are supposed to defend peace and justice.

"You can use the dark side and not be corrupted," is exactly how every Jedi goes dark.

“The dark side is natural.” So is cancer. So is disease. But no one in their right mind condones using chemical weapons or inflicting disease upon someone, and willingly taking on that disease is a pretty dumb idea.

Also, THANK YOU for bringing up the "Two Jedi Two Sith" argument. It makes absolutely zero sense that balance in THE FORCE is measured in the numbers of Force Users and not the Nature of the Force itself.

I think the main reason for the popularity of Gray Jedi lies in the restrictiveness of the apparent binary presented by the Force. Either you're a slave to it or you're a jackass, making ironically anybody disconnected from the Force or its binary seem free by comparison. We don't really see a lot of canon examples of Jedi embracing emotions and attachments without being punished for it, which ironically also tends to lead to them becoming secretive, paranoid, and mistrusting of others as they have to hide their feelings. The biggest recruiter for the Sith is the Jedi, after all. So the idea of somebody who refuses to be controlled or restricted by the Jedi while still refusing to become a monster like the Sith becomes appealing, and then people want an organization for that third faction.

Honestly the biggest crime of the Grey Jedi concept has to be the name. Like seriously we have so many other cool force religions in-universe with badass names like Disciples of the Whills, the Fallanassi, The Sorcerers of Tund and then there's 'Grey Jedi.' Booo what lazy naming. Anyway great vid, can't disagree on a single point here.

I thino of it like a body. Getting a cold or even cancer is natural like the dark side but a balanced body isnt half healthy and half cancerous, its a body with all Healthy cells

Man, the whole "gray jedi" thing always sounded to me like bs, thank you for explaining why it makes no sense according to what Lucas had already established

Jolee Bindo is the best "Grey Jedi" character and he's still very much a Jedi