This was a difficult video to make...

This was a difficult video to make...

[Music] Think of diving into a great ocean. Give yourselves over to its weight, its stillness, its uncertainty and tell me what comes into your mind... balance... good life... excellent.

I see fire. It grows larger. It consumes anything that tries to stop it. Being a Jedi can be dangerous. Now, actually being a Jedi, if you're a certain type of individual, can be downright deadly. The Jedi Order is a peculiar organization because it trains its followers in two very contradictory practices. First, there's self-enlightenment, the process through which one removes themselves of their earthly attachments, desires and tries to seize control over their feelings and emotions. It's a very necessary process for the members of the Jedi Order because the power they carry inside of them knows no bounds and can cause destruction and has no limits. Entire worlds have been shattered by the Force. Entire civilizations have been brought to their knees. There's also that one time where Anakin used the Force to levitate fruit to Padme, but yeah, you know, the Force is a powerful, powerful thing and I don't think it's all that it's hyped up to be and not everyone who’s given that power at birth who join the Jedi Order desires it or even is capable of handling it. I mean, I definitely wouldn't want it. I mean the Force, give me a starship, maybe a few tons of spice and detonators, a breeding pair of Ewoks and I'm Gucci.

So, when you become a Jedi and you're taught that emotions can lead to terrible things, I think for some of these younglings they become afraid of the emotions inside of themselves. Not all Jedi, you know like individuals like Andara, probably never struggled as much when it came to control. But Anakin, Osha, and definitely Master Sou, they all had this issue. How lucky these younglings are to have such a compassionate teacher. I am the fortunate one to be taught by them. I remember when you were that small. You were so shy. You know, I'd also be shy if I felt like I was different from everyone else. You know, a bit quicker to anger, a bit quicker to hate or love. I mean, Anakin Skywalker was ruthlessly teased by his classmates because of his emotions and everyone seems to know about Osha’s emotional baggage as well.

Attachments to those we have lost are the most difficult to let go. So why are you here now? You can tell she's used to people saying this kind of stuff to her like, “Hey Osha, stop being emotional because your entire family was burnt down in a tragic oil lantern fire”. I feel like for some kids, they learn to feel shame for themselves and I think that's in Osha's case. She ended up leaving the Jedi Order because she couldn't control this aspect, this very natural aspect of her personality. And I think for individuals like Master Sou, he eventually learned how to mask his emotions and hide them, not necessarily deal with them or control them. But then there's a second thing that all Jedi practice which places them close to a very dangerous path, and that is training in how to use the Force and the lightsaber as weapons. Now Jedi scholars will argue that's not what they're doing. But if you take a close look, when you kill someone with a lightsaber that is pretty offensive to the individual dying.

A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. I mean, he just used the Force to onside kick a guy like come on. You know, this is my problem with this whole idea of what the Jedi are trying to accomplish. You know, training in martial arts and how to control the force by itself is great. You know for people who are stressed, for people who are anxious, who have a lot of emotions kind of beneath the surface, one of the best outlets is exercise because the same things that fuel those emotions, the stress and anxiety, are the same things that fuel your body when you are moving and when you're playing sports or just working out or taking a walk. If you tire out your body, you also tire out the anxiety and stress in your mind. You'll find peace. I remember when I was a sophomore in high school, I would play football games on Friday night and then I would have a JV game on Monday and for the rest of the week, you know, my body would be completely beaten and battered. I wouldn't feel my legs and arms but I was completely at peace. I remember the feeling of just coming home every night on Monday, playing some video games or just watching a movie and just feeling so at ease and comfortable. It's not a feeling that I've managed to get ever since in all honesty.

So, I really like the fact that there's a lot of martial and physical discipline in the Jedi Order. But, at the same time, if you're actually learning martial arts, if you're learning how to use the force so that you can use it in an aggressive, offensive, self-defense, well then you're putting yourself into dangerous situations. And if you put yourself into dangerous situations and you're not really good at handling stressful environments and you have the ability to use this extremely powerful force, well that can lead to a lot of problems. Just like giving a very emotional person a weapon and asking them to police a community, you know, that can lead to a lot of problems. I remember when I was covering the local news in New York City, there was a story about this young cop who was basically deployed in the projects and he had a terrible job where he had to actually walk inside the buildings and, you know, these are confined areas, and he was clearly very nervous. And then one day, while walking up a stairwell, there were two kids running down this stairwell at him and he didn’t know what was going on. And he panicked, and he ended up firing his weapon and he killed like an innocent person. And he went to jail. I mean, he should go to jail but, you know, this is the situation we’re dealing with when we put sensitive individuals in a Jedi peacekeeping role.

You know, a lot of people have said that Master Sou is irredeemable for his actions and others have said that he is right to have done what he did with the witches. I simply just feel bad for the man in all honesty. I think you'll find with the dead that they don’t really care so much about whether they’re right or wrong; they just want people to know and understand what happened to them. That’s kind of why what Vesta Ro does is so messed up. I mean, while understandable, it's just not great. Sorry, my friend.

You know, from the very beginning, Master Sou was a sensitive soul, right? He’s a shy youngling and as a Jedi Knight, he learned how to deal with the sensitivity to a certain extent by using his powers, his force abilities and his sword to control his environment. But what he was really doing was trying to bring peace externally around him instead of finding peace internally in himself. You know, it's not rare for sensitive people to want to control their environments, to have peace and calm around them but when it's a Jedi Knight and you have that much power, again, this leads to problems. Now, because Master Sou openly embraces his own selfish desire to have calm, he instead hid his unease in the guise of compassion. Compassion can be wielded like a sword or a shield that can be used to disarm people, disarm situations but sometimes compassion is not the right choice for a dilemma. Sometimes compassion doesn't actually solve problems and in many cases, it can make things even worse.

The force binds all things, the slightest push, the smallest touch sends echoes throughout life. Even an act of kindness may have more severe repercussions than you know or can see. By giving him something he has not earned, perhaps all you have helped him become is a target. When young Torbin grows upset about how long their mission on Brock is taking, Sou tries to comfort him by telling him that what they're doing is noble and Master Andara sees this and she disapproves. I do not tell him answers to ease his mind. I teach him to seek the answers for himself.

You know, ultimately, Torbin’s unease and his inability to handle the situation puts the entire team at risk. One could argue that the whole Brendog incident is equally his fault. Now, Master Sou, being the complex human being that he is, because these characters are all designed to be realistic and not black and white caricatures of good and evil, Master Sou was truly a compassionate and kind person on top of everything else. It wasn't all for show. It wasn't just for him to hide his discomfort. I think when he first saw Mae Osha in the forest that day, the sensitive side of him immediately detected a bit of fear from the girls as their more disciplinarian mother Coral arrives on the scene. Master Sou is an incredibly empathetic person, he feels emotions but that doesn't mean he's necessarily good at understanding the situation around the emotions. I mean, sometimes the feelings that he senses are actually coming from himself and sometimes his feelings are so strong that people around him can actually feel it as well. I think that little youngling he's teaching in the beginning who detects fire in the force is actually sensing Master Sou's underlying disgust. And in this case, when he witnesses the scene with Mae and Osha, his mind goes directly to fear and paranoia because, as a sensitive person, Master Sou is constantly immersed in his own depth of emotion, right? Therefore, he's a person who relies much more on his feelings, his intuition, rather than analytical or observant thinking because one has to be clear-headed to analyze things properly.

I mean, think about it. Instead of reporting back to the rest of the team that he's made contact with living creatures on this planet that's not supposed to have any life, he decides to pursue the sisters. Instead of reporting back to base that he's found their settlement, he ends up climbing the side of a mountain to reach the top. You can call this initiative but knowing what we know about the rest of Master Sou's behavior, this isn't just initiative. It's clear what's driving him here. And when he finally witnesses the girls being taught a lesson in the forest by a bunch of strange witches, his creative mind starts filling in all the details in the worst way possible.

“They do not treat the girls like children. We should return to the ship, ask the council for guidance. I fear for the girls' safety. The witches prepare for a ceremony tonight. What if the girls are in danger?” Master Andara is the exact opposite of Master Sou. She does not follow hunches; she follows procedure and looks for data. And right now, the procedure she needs to follow is getting guidance from the High Council. It's the right move to make because they're not even in Republic space. But you know, the urgency that Sou displays, the emotion that he feels is also basically rolling off him in tides and I think it affects Master Andara as well, which leads to the Jedi's fatal mistake. They break into the witch fortress and set off a series of events that would doom everyone involved. You know, there's another side to every Jedi, right? If you remove their force abilities, if you remove their cloaks, you'll see that they're just normal people with their own desires and personalities that were all kind of stamped out by the Jedi Order's structure and dogma. But if you look closely enough at these Jedi, you might be able to see the life they would have lived. I mean, Dooku the aristocrat, Anakin the hand model, Coleman Trebor the dinosaur. Like clone troopers who are drafted the day they left their birthing tubes, the Jedi never really had a choice in what they were going to do in their lives. They were born, given away and forced by honor and prestige to pursue a path. I mean, technically they could leave, but not many did and that's because most kids would give an arm and leg to join the Jedi Order.

And no matter how good intentioned or necessary the Jedi Order was, it was still an institution and therefore it had a one-sized fit-all solution for a lot of things and not everyone fit the mold. And more importantly, you know, just my personal view in life is I think it's wrong to force people to live a life that they don't necessarily want to live, that doesn't fit their personality or their interests. I think when Master Sou sees Osha and Mae, he actually develops a deep connection with them and it goes beyond just a stranger caring for the welfare of two children. It's clear to me that he and Mother Anesia during the Brenock arc are supposed to be the embodiment of maternal and paternal love. The only thing is Master Sou's paternal love is misplaced because he doesn't know these children or have any connection aside from just worrying about their safety. But the way he acts around Osha, the way he insists and begs that Andara asks the council to let him train her is quite different from when Qui-Gon Jinn asks to train Anakin. Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't really have, I feel like, an emotional attachment to Anakin at all. And I mean, he didn't even take his mother from out of slavery. You know, that was a pretty easy move he could have made and I think that's something maybe Master Sou would have done. But Master Sou, he's nervous while he's waiting to hear Andara's answer from the council. He's pacing back and forth, he's impatient because what drives him is an emotional energy, a longing to be a father.

You know, we talk about how we can see all of these Jedi if they weren't actually in the Jedi Order. Well, I see Master Sou being a father. I feel like that's probably his calling in life. I think he really wanted someone to take care of, an outlet for his deep compassion and emotions, which were real things, genuine despite all the crazy things he does. He's not a bad person, he's definitely a kind individual. You know, it's not only women who want children. It's probably rarer for a man to want to be a father than a woman wanting to be a mother, but it's a thing. There's also like, you know, the white van, amber alert kind of situation, but I don't think that's what's happening here. Master Sou does seem well-intentioned. He does seem to believe that the witches are trying to do something dangerous to Mae and Osha, but he also might be lying to himself because he is too blind to see that perhaps these children are okay and that maybe it's not the Jedi's role to get involved in such matters. But driven by emotion, by love, he continues to push forward until a fatal mistake is made. And that's what happens guys when you think with your heart instead of your head.

And again, you know, I've said this in the past, like one of the reasons why I really like Master Sou is because like a lot of the issues that he deals with are things that I've had to deal with and learn about throughout my own life. You know, to be emotional, to be a person who follows intuition rather than, you know, observing and understanding what's going on. Like if you're not allowed to fail, if you're not allowed to make mistakes and you're not allowed to see that these are mistakes, you won't be able to overcome them. And I think as a Jedi, because he was forced to really hide this emotional side of himself, he never properly dealt with this side of his personality and this leads to tragedy.

If you take a look at Master Sou's sensitivity, it also makes him jumpy. I mean, he lacks the calm to handle crises when it sneaks up on him. Look at how he acts when Torbin gets ragdolled by some witch magic. He draws his sword like some rookie cop about to pop off at an innocent bystander by accident. Look at how he's unable to control himself when he's fighting Kaimer after he kills Jac'i and Yord. He's clearly even tapping into the dark side at this moment. And the same thing happens when Mother Anesia turns into a black mist. Although in his defense, I think most of us would have done the same thing and stabbed her because witch magic is terrifying to see at first hand.

And so, I don't blame him for killing Mother Anesia. The problem was him being there in the first place. I was going to let Osha go. That's what she wants. She chose you. Now, people are quick to anger, to judgment, to want revenge, to make their own pain go away and that is understandable. But look at Sou, he just stands there afterwards and lets that crazy Zabrak smash him in the face multiple times. He just killed her wife and there's a part of him that just accepts the punishment. Fight me! And after he saves Osha from the fire and they return back to the ship, it's clear that he wants to turn himself in. He's ready to accept responsibility for his actions and that matters. You know, that matters a lot because good people can do terrible things. They can make mistakes. That's why, you know, as a society we have a criminal justice system. We punish people for their actions but we also give them an opportunity to reform, to find penance in their wrongdoings. And you know, when you leave a person alone with their thoughts and sins for a really long time and you lock them up, a lot of people tend to change, you know, and I think when they are finally granted their freedom, if that's in the cards, they have a new lease on life. You know, whether people accept them or not in regular society, that's a whole different issue. And I think this is what Sou is looking for in a strange kind of way. You know, he realizes after letting his feelings guide his actions, he knows he's gone too far and he needs to take responsibility. He yearns for punishment.

I must face the council. And surprisingly, it's Master Andara who's always thinking about actions and consequences who steps in here. Why would you do that to her after everything this little girl has lost tonight? You take away her dream as well? Before you throw yourself at the mercy of the council, ask yourself why you made this choice. Why did you make this choice? Do you see what Master Andara is trying to do here? Forget about her thinking about the welfare of Osha for a second. Yes, if Sou tells the entire story of what happened to the Jedi Council, it will make Osha's life extremely difficult. She'll most likely never become a Jedi. Andara asks Sou why he did this because she wants to teach him a lesson. A lesson that will hopefully last. This is a lesson that no amount of self-pity, no punishment from the Jedi will ever teach him.

Master Andara wants Sou to look directly at what his emotions, what his reckless actions have created and she wants him to take responsibility for it and live with that burden for the rest of his life. Not just the burden of taking care of Osha, something he's more than willing to do, but the burden of living a lie and covering up something so horrible that it will haunt him till the end of his days. Because the tragic thing about Master Sou is he's not evil. He has a conscience. He feels horrible for the things he's done. It's very clear through his actions. And so, when you look back at his life, you can see small pieces of what kind of toll this mistake has taken on him. We see him keep a hologram of Osha when she leaves the order. He gives off impressions of fire and destruction through the force when teaching younglings in a completely calm setting. Everything he wears on his face, his emotions are a mask.

The only time we see the turmoil inside is his