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| Because the Exile cannot be sensed through the Force and leaves known space to be in isolation, she is not hunted by the Sith Assassins throughout the Purge, just as trauma victims often disassociate to protect themselves at the cost of their connections to other people. When she begins to feel the Force again, Master Jedi Kavar, Vrook, and Zez Kai-Ell are puzzled as to how this is possible and ultimately try to sever her new connection, fearing that as a "wound" in the Force, the Exile was feeding on those around her and would ultimately threaten all life in the Galaxy. Like many individuals who do not experience trauma themselves, the Masters do not understand the Exile's trauma. They don't understand how she could live without the Force because, unlike her, they were never in a position where they would sever their own connection. | Because the Exile cannot be sensed through the Force and leaves known space to be in isolation, she is not hunted by the Sith Assassins throughout the Purge, just as trauma victims often disassociate to protect themselves at the cost of their connections to other people. When she begins to feel the Force again, Master Jedi Kavar, Vrook, and Zez Kai-Ell are puzzled as to how this is possible and ultimately try to sever her new connection, fearing that as a "wound" in the Force, the Exile was feeding on those around her and would ultimately threaten all life in the Galaxy. Like many individuals who do not experience trauma themselves, the Masters do not understand the Exile's trauma. They don't understand how she could live without the Force because, unlike her, they were never in a position where they would sever their own connection. | ||
| The Masters' interpretation of the Jedi as "tainted" mirrors the treatment of war veterans and trauma victims. The idea that someone could live a life "without the Force" | |||
| The Masters' interpretation | |||
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Revision as of 23:11, 6 January 2022
The Jedi Exile is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created for Obsidian's 2005 role-playing video game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the sequel to Bioware's 2003 game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Players may choose the Exile's gender, appearance, and what path she follows throughout the game, but canonically the character is female and follows the light side of the Force. Within the game's narrative, the Exile is a former Jedi hero who lived during the Old Republic Era (roughly 4,000 years before the original Star Wars film trilogy). She was a general in The Mandalorian Wars under Darth Revan, the protagonist of the first Knights of the Old Republic game.
The Exile's story was expanded in related comic books and novels, as well as the game's sequel Star Wars: The Old Republic, which listed her official name as Meetra Surik. Though she has not gained the level of recognition Revan has, she remains a popular figure in the Star Wars extended universe.
It is widely theorized that aspects of the Exile's story and her complicated relationship with the Jedi Council influenced the canon character Ahsoka Tano, who followed Anakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars similarly to how the Exile followed Revan in the Mandalorian Wars, and who ultimately left the Jedi Order in time to escape a galaxy-wide Purge of Jedi, as the Exile did. Anakin and Revan both went on to fall to the dark side, while, canonically, Ahsoka and the Exile continued to serve the light, albeit as outcasts.
Appearances
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
At the start of the game, the Exile is a former Jedi returning to known space after an unspecified time away in the Outer Rim. As a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars she is loathe to speak about her exile. However, throughout the game, the player learns more about her through dialogue with other characters. The player's choice of dialogue also affects various in-game information about the past.
Background
The Exile fought in the Mandalorian Wars over a decade prior to the start of the game. She rose to the rank of General and fought in the deciding battle on Malachor V. The Exile realized that her troops were outnumbered and activated the Mass Shadow Generator, a devastating weapon that killed thousands of her own Republic troops and Mandalorians. The Mandalorians surrendered, and the Exile's actions in battle are credited with ending the war.
Unlike the rest of Revan and Malak's troops, she returned to face judgement by the Jedi Council to prove they were wrong in staying out of the war. The Council then exiled her and ordered her to return her lightsaber, which she did so defiantly. After these events, she could no longer feel the Force.
According to HK-47, Malak debated sending the assassin droid to kill the Exile but Revan declined, considering the Exile "already dead."
The Exile wandered the Outer Rim alone, while Revan, Malak, and the rest of the Jedi under their command turned to the Dark Side and began a war against the Republic as Sith. These events were covered in Knights of the Old Republic. Canonically, Revan turned back to the light side and defeated the Sith, but the player has the story option in the game to state Revan's gender and light side/dark side alignment.
Synopsis
The game begins with the Exile mysteriously awakening at the abandoned Peragus Mining Facility.
Canon
The Exile is, unfortunately, not canon as of 2022.
Analysis
The Exile's characterization has been praised in reviews of The Sith Lords, and her complexity had major ramifications for the Star Wars universe. Many acknowledge how the "grey" aspects of her character created a more inspiringly human depiction of a Jedi, compared to previously binary light/dark definitions. The Exile faces many choices throughout the game that would affect not just her own life but many lives: on Onderon and Dantooine she must take a side in two separate conflicts that would affect the future of the planet's citizens.
The Exile's unique ability to form Force bonds with others was interpreted as a threat and a weakness by Revan and the Jedi Council; however, in the end the Exile is stronger for her attachments to others. She defeats many enemies throughout the game through Dun Moch, a Jedi technique that utilizes psychological warfare and conversation rather than combat. The Exile's refusal to betray and kill Kreia humbles the Sith Lord, who, on the brink of death, concedes that the Exile is a "true Jedi" for her ultimate commitment to the light side of the Force despite the infinite number of reasons not to by the game's end. Though banished and abandoned by the Jedi, in the end she is the one to rebuild the order, not Revan.
Trauma
The Exile's story can be regarded as a layered depiction of trauma and growth.
Though compelled to commit atrocities during the Mandalorian Wars, including the massive annihilation of her own troops, the Exile remains sure of herself without turning to the Dark Side as Revan did. Her arc in the game could be interpreted as a post-traumatic grieving process that ends with her truly accepting her morally gray actions despite the consequences. As she goes to various planets ravaged by war (one could argue that in winning the Mandalorian War, she also caused the Jedi-Sith War), encountering the damage she did and the pain she caused, she strengthens her connection to the Force and finds meaning and purpose again. In destroying Malachor V a second time, she literally returns to the site of her trauma and makes the same choices, closing the "echo" and giving herself closure.
The Exile notably cuts herself off from the Force, a feat that many people consider worse than death, and she is the only one known to survive it. One could interpret her severance as disassociation, as many combat veterans often exhibit symptoms of PTSD disassociation. The Exile is unaware she did it to herself, and believes it was done to her as punishment, similarly to how many trauma victims often suffer feelings of guilt.
Because the Exile cannot be sensed through the Force and leaves known space to be in isolation, she is not hunted by the Sith Assassins throughout the Purge, just as trauma victims often disassociate to protect themselves at the cost of their connections to other people. When she begins to feel the Force again, Master Jedi Kavar, Vrook, and Zez Kai-Ell are puzzled as to how this is possible and ultimately try to sever her new connection, fearing that as a "wound" in the Force, the Exile was feeding on those around her and would ultimately threaten all life in the Galaxy. Like many individuals who do not experience trauma themselves, the Masters do not understand the Exile's trauma. They don't understand how she could live without the Force because, unlike her, they were never in a position where they would sever their own connection.
The Masters' interpretation of the Jedi as "tainted" mirrors the treatment of war veterans and trauma victims. The idea that someone could live a life "without the Force"