Star Wars: Skeleton Crewgave us an exciting newStar Warsvillain – Jude Law’s not-quite-a-Jedi pirate – but his rather tragic origin reminds me of one other (former)Star Warsvillain’s dark backstory. ThoughSkeleton Crewwas, for the most part, an Amblin show that happened to be set in theStar Warsuniverse, it still made great use ofStar Wars’expansive and intricate lore. This includes making the kids and the audience guess, for eight whole episodes, whether Jude Law’s character,Jod Na Nawood, was or wasn’t an actual Jedi.
Plenty of theories were bandied about – he survived Order 66 as a youngling, he was never found by the Order but learned to control the Force on his own, everything he did with the Force was an illusion, and the list goes on – but the truth of Jod’s past is, somehow, even sadder. As he revealed inSkeleton Crewepisode 8, “The Real Good Guys,”Jod had a chance to crawl out of the darkness but was tragically shoved back into it– just like what happened to one of my favoriteStar Warscharacters, formerSith Acolyte Asajj Ventress.
Jude Law’s Jod Na Nawood Was Found And Trained By A Jedi Before Order 66
Though the details of Jod’s past with the Jedi are still a little hazy, we now know that he was found by a Jedi who recognized his connection with the Force when he was younger. As Jod himself said, when he was Wim’s age, he was “living in a hole in the ground,” and a Jedi discovered him. He said that the Jedi was just as “desperate and ragged” as him, but from Jod’s expressions, it’s clear that her belief in him truly meant something.
As expected, Jod’s Jedi Master was “hunted down,” and he was forced to “watch whilst they killed her.” Whether this means that Jod’s mentor was killed during an Order 66 raid or perhaps at some point during the Clone Wars, the tragedy remains the same.Like so many Padawans, Jod was forced to watch his Master die. For Jod, though, it was arguably even worse. She never got around to truly teaching him how to enhance his connection to the Force or how best to serve the light, and he was left to flounder on his own.
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This, in my opinion, is very different from what happened to Padawans like Caleb Dume or Cal Kestis. While they, too, watched their Masters die, they at least knew, without a doubt, who they were and what they stood for. Even if they hid from the galaxy for a while, even if they just tried to live and survive, the light side of the Force was always going to be with them. The same can’t be said for Jod, and that, to me, is the real tragedy of his story.
Like Jod, Asajj Ventress Was Coincidentally Found By A Jedi Master
Jod’s history is very similar to former Sith Acolyte turned bounty hunter Asajj Ventress’. While Jod was seemingly left to fend for himself, starving and hunting for scraps, Asajj Ventress was forcibly given over to a pirate named Hal’Sted to keep her Nightsister clan safe. Eventually, however, after Hal’Sted was killed, she was rescued by a Jedi Knight named Ky Narec, who recognized her power and dedicated himself to training her in the ways of the Force.
Asajj Ventress
Hailing from the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Asajj Ventress became Count Dooku’s apprentice during the Clone Wars. Betrayed by her master, she sought revenge - even forming a surprising alliance with Jedi Master Quinlan Vos at one point. Asajj has reinvented herself as a bounty hunter, and survived into the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign.
Together, they became protectors of the planet Rattatak untilKy was shot in the back and killed while the duo battled pirates, and Asajj was left alone once more.The loss of her Master tipped her over the edge, and she reached for the dark side, dominating her oppressors and claiming the planet for herself, eventually alerting other sinister forces to her powerful, dark presence.
Both Jod And Ventress Watched Their Masters Die And Turned To The Darkness
Both Jod and Ventress had their lifeline ripped away from them. Jod and his Jedi Master had only scratched the surface of what he could become before she was killed, and he was forced to fight to survive again. While Ventress got to spend years with her Jedi Master, his loss, combined with the rest of her harrowing life, pushed her over the edge.
If you want to learn more about Asajj Ventress, watchStar Wars: The Clone Wars,Star Wars: The Bad Batchseason 3, episode 9, and readStar Wars: Dark Disciple.
Neither “joined” the Jedi in the conventional sense; to me, that makes their stories all the more upsetting. What if they’d truly been integrated into the Jedi Order? What might their futures have looked like? Why weren’t they ever given that chance?
Jod may not have fully turned to the dark side of the Force, but he did turn to villainy, lying, stealing, and threatening to intimidate those he deemed weaker than him. Ventress eventually became Count Dooku’s apprentice, working as an assassin during the Clone Wars until she finally reunited with her clan and understood Count Dooku’s true intentions.
Asajj Ventress and Jod Na Nawood are two sides of the same coin, forced by circumstance to become something they were never truly meant to be.
Asajj and Jod are two sides of the same coin, forced by circumstance to become something they were never truly meant to be. Asajj was meant to be a Nightsister or a Jedi, but instead, she was forced into slavery and doomed to become a Sith apprentice. Jod, too, should have become a Jedi, but instead, he was forced to become a thieving pirate. Asajj, however, (sort of) turned her life around, and now works as a bounty hunter. Perhaps that means Jod Na Nawood can do the same in apotential season 2 ofStar Wars: Skeleton Crew.
All episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew are streaming now on Disney+.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Cast
Skeleton Crew follows four ordinary children who become lost in the expansive Star Wars galaxy. As they navigate unfamiliar worlds and the challenges they present, the group endeavors to find their way back to their home planet, undertaking a journey across the iconic Star Wars universe.
