Major spoilers ahead for the main storyline of Star Wars Outlaws!
I'm going to be honest with you all- I've had an outline of this article in my drafts for almost a year now, and just never got around to finish it. But with the recent release of Star Wars Outlaws (and the unreasonable amount of hours I already have in the game), this is something that has been running through my mind a lot recently, and I thought there would be no better time to talk about it than now!
So first of all- what am I even talking about? Typically our stories focusing on the criminal underworld of the galaxy far, far away could not be further away from the Force and the conflict of the Jedi and the Sith. Movies like Solo, shows like The Book of Boba Fett and of course, games like Outlaws don't see our characters having more than surface-level interactions with these ideas, if they cross paths at all. But thematically, many of these stories focus on the same ideas that ones about the pull of the dark side do.
You see, the dark side is corruptive and persuasive. It is tantalizing, and pulls you in with what you want. It is a selfish path to walk down, as George Lucas says, but it's easy to slip down that path. Whether it's power, revenge, being possessive of a person, or anything else, it's all about what you want, what feels good- and it's why Jedi are always so vigilant about keeping themselves in check to not fall down the easy path.
Because while the dark side can bring you momentary satisfaction, it can't bring you true peace and happiness. In fact, it's incredibly self-destructive. We see this in characters like Anakin, who's fall to the Dark Side out of fear of losing Padmé is what leads to her death and a tortured existence for essentially the rest of his life. Or characters like Maul, who lives a miserable, lonely life until he dies on his fruitless quest for revenge. Because the core of the Dark Side is greed- you can never actually be satisfied, you always need more- more power, more control, and more pleasure. And so you get pulled further and further in. It's possible to turn to the light of course, but the deeper you get pulled into the dark side, the harder it is to leave it behind.
Now what does this have to do with the criminal underworld?
I'd like to first point out that I am not calling all characters on this side of Star Wars selfish or evil in my comparision to the dark side. I'm not sure I'm even saying that about every character on the dark side. Many of these characters in the criminal underworld are selfish or evil, but just as many don't fit that description. Selfish characters don't jump back into danger for no reward other than saving their friends from a Death Star or a power-hungry man's restraining bolt. My point is more about how "falling" into the dark side or the criminal underworld uses very similar ideas.
Similar to the dark side, the criminal underworld makes promises of power and "freedom" in exchange for diving deeper and deeper in- and making it more and more difficult to escape. Each heist, or bounty, or whatever else they do promises rewards of power and influence, credits or other gifts. Keep working at it, go deeper into the criminal underworld, and get closer to whatever it is that you want most in the galaxy. How many characters- Beckett, Han, Kay, to name a few- gear up for their next job, saying this is the one? Just one more job, one more score, one more heist, and then we're free.
And how many of those jobs pan out? Beckett and his crew certainly aren't set for life after the Vandor heist, and Kay isn't after the Canto Bight one. Even if a heist were successful- will it actually be enough? Or do they need another one, or will they now have to live a life on the run from crime syndicates, bounty hunters, the Empire or whoever else they upset? Or in the case of Kay's heist- which was successful according to their plan- the people you are working with are also deep in this lifestyle, so selfish that you can't trust them to not stab you in the back, or have a shred of honesty in the first place.
It rings to me the same way as Anakin believing he could run away with Padmé in Revenge of the Sith. After slaughtering Jedi younglings with his own blade and orchestrating wiping out the entire culture, helping Palpatine facilitate a fascist takeover of the Republic, he meets with Padmé on Mustafar. And now they can run away together! He did it, he did the "one more job" and now they're free- without a concern of what Padmé wants, or what it even means to live in this new galaxy he's created, the power over himself he just handed to Palpatine. And of course, the moment the visage of the dream cracks, he has to turn back to what brought him here in the first place- violence fueled by hatred.
The inclusion of the character Hoss in Outlaws really wrote this home for me. He was considered to be succesful, had a notorious reputation for how good he was at his job- yet despite his years of experience and how good he was, he lived miserably. Just within the short span you know him in the game, he goes from being captured by a sheriff in a small Tatooine town, to holing up in an abandoned house to hide from bounty hunters, to being held captive by a Tusken Raider tribe. When rescued, he double crosses Kay for his own gain, but that ultimately just gets him killed in the end by the very people he betrayed her to. Kay even comments on it in the game- it's a sad way to end up, one she wants to avoid. How many people in this world meet this fate? And is this really any different from the fates of characters like Anakin, Maul or Dooku?
Just like the dark side, it is hard to get out of this life, to avoid how it can lead you down a path of destroying your very self. You have to fight tooth and nail, face consequences (fair and unfair) for anything you did, and atone for harm you may have caused. But the commonality to help you escape? It's selflessness, compassion. George Lucas spoke about the dichotomy between the light and dark side, and it ultimately comes down to selflessness and selfishness, and we see this in Anakin's selfless sacrifice to save his son, but also in Han's selfless choice to join the Rebellion. Or we see it in Ventress choosing to help the Jedi and save Vos, and Boba choosing to rule from Jabba's seat justly instead of what brings him the most power. Ben decides to go back and save Rey, and Kay chooses to go back and save ND-5. It's not about making the choice for what you want- it's about making the right choice, even when it's harder and the consequences may be greater. That is what sets you on the path to the light side, and true happiness.
Even if you don't leave that world entirely- Kay is still our beloved outlaw, for example- you'll be faring off better than those who don't make those choices. Kay has Nix and ND-5 as part of her little family on the Trailblazer, who love and trust her, and who she loves and trusts- the same can't be said for characters like Jaylen Vrax.
And that also doesn't mean it's over off of this one choice. Just like how Yoda or Luke say that a Jedi must face the pull of the dark side constantly throughout their life, an outlaw must face the pull back into that life- whether it's an old contact trying to get them for another job, or a bounty hunter coming to collect a price on their head long after their transgressions, like Han must face in The Empire Strikes Back. But choosing the right path again and again and surrounding yourself with the right people is what can bring you greater peace, even- especially- if it's hard and you stumble and fail from time to time.
At it's core, Star Wars is about good versus evil, and selflessness and compassion versus selfishness and greed. Whether it's reflected in magical powers, spirituality, or just getting sucked in to a life of crime, you can find those themes reflected everywhere, with characters making right and wrong choices at every turn.
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