Well, after a very, very long time away it appears as though I am back, at least for the moment. Now I know what you're thinking ("who the heck is this guy" is probably along those lines), I've said I've been back before but then was gone again. Well I can't promise that that won't happen yet again, but all I know is that quite a few people asked for me to write another entry, so I caved in.

Now I know many of you either don't remember me or have never heard of me (quite possible, I've been gone for a while), but nonetheless I hope you decide to stick around and read what I have to say and then maybe check out some of my earlier entries (the ones that made me decently popular back in my day). If you do so then please go to the directory (right HERE ), and glance at those.

Well now that we're all caught up let's go ahead and get started on this long in coming entry. As I said in an earlier post today I said that I was planning on speaking about Qui-Gon Jinn, and the role that he played in our favorite saga. Some would say that he played an obvious role, just a segue character to show a little of Obi-Wan's training as a padawan before he became the lead Jedi we all know and love. In all liklihood that's one of the best filmmaking reason for his creation, but let's talk more about his purpose "in-universe."

Jinn was a Jedi, and a dang good one. He didn't always heed the Council, but he did always show respect. Instead he followed what he called the "will of the Force." He left his decisions to a higher power, and let that higher power guide him in all things. See this is why he is so good. Jinn never really cared for politics and refused to worry about them. The Council on the other hand, having to worry about the senate and what they said or asked them to do, was highly political. They had to focus on maintaining their status amongst the universe, and so did things accordingly.

Qui-Gon was different though. He did what he felt was right, regardless of the rules sometimes. He did what the Force told him to do, because he believed so fully that it would not lead him wrong. And it didn't. He fought strong and hard against Darth Maul, not completely sure whether or not he was going to win. In fact I believe that he knew he was going to lose, and to die, and had prepared for it. This is not to say that he went into the fight with this attitude, but when him and Maul were separated by the ray shield, during his meditation, he knew at that moment that he was going to lose.

But he wasn't upset by it. He knew the Force had purpose for him, and he took comfort in that. In so doing he accomplished something no other Jedi had ever done before him. He did something that the Sith had tried to discover for centuries....he discovered the key to eternal life. Was it by chance that Qui-gon was the first to discover this? I don't think so, I think that the force chose him, because of his devout and faithful service to It.

When he became one with the Force, he did so in a way that Yoda could have never thought of. He in essence became an emissarie for the Force, a real voice for it, that could help lead others (Yoda and Obi-wan) towards the true way of the Force, and teach them how to be 'real' Jedi. My best proof for this is what Yoda once said to Luke on Dagobah that "only a fully trained Jedi, with the Force as his ally" could defeat Vader (if I didn't get it exactly right, have mercy). I know this quote has caused confusion in some people because there were several fully trained Jedi in the Prequel era that couldn't hold a candle to him (as greatly demonstrated in the great novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader ). But Yoda knew different. He was speaking of a new kind of Jedi Knight, a real Jedi who followed the will of the Force, as Qui-Gon had tought him about.

The Force needed a real Jedi in order to once and for all destroy the Sith, to rid their evil from the galaxy, but none of the Jedi around could have done it, not even Qui-gon because he was still in many ways bound to the Council. So the Force needed a Jedi free of politics, free of any Council, and free of all of the old strictures of Jedi training. The Force required a Jedi trained in the 'will of the Force' from the start. Thus the humbling of the Order as well (I'll leave that remark alone as I have already written many an entry based on the reasons why the Order fell, make sure to check the index for those).

So Qui-gon reached out to Yoda, who was strong enough to survive the Purge that was coming, (his first try was in the novel Yoda: Dark Rendesvous, and then he succeeded completely in ROTS) and of course his old padawan Obi-Wan knowing that Kenobi was more receptive to the idea because of his own training.

Am I saying that Jinn sacrificed himself in any way for this higher purpose? No. You can tell how hard he was fighting against Maul even at the end. All I am saying is that he knew that he wouldn't survive, but he trusted that things would work out. He was rewarded for his trust, and granted eternal life. He was saved by faith (Now I am not going to go too much into this concept either, because I have done a few entries based on the nature of the Force and it's relation to a biblical diety check out The Power Of The Star Wars Televangelists!, which is the main one that speaks about it. The others can be found in the index).

Well I suppose that's enough of my rambling for one evening. I hope you all enjoyed this entry and my return, and I also hope that you don't think that I need to go away again. As always I am open to comments and welcome them heartily, so hopefully there won't be too many comments telling me to go back where I came from. See you soon.

Great to be back

--DLZ