One scene excluded from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith would have made Star Wars’ most gruesome massacre even more painful. Revenge of the Sith is one of Star Wars’ most brutal movies for a number of reasons, although Order 66, especially the scene in which Anakin is about to kill a room of younglings, is undoubtedly the worst. Many Star Wars movies and TV shows have moments of horrifying violence, from the Empire blowing up Alderaan to Darth Maul murdering Satine Kryze in front of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but slaughtering children is perhaps as horrific as it gets.
Surprisingly, though, the Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith novelization, written by Matthew Stover, reveals that the darkest moment in the Star Wars timeline could have been even more brutal. Of course, directly depicting the murder of the younglings (which Revenge of the Sith avoided) would have made the scene considerably worse. However, one key moment between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda in the novel nods toward an even darker context.
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In Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan is plenty distraught over Order 66, and that sadness is multi-layered. For one, Obi-Wan is devastated by the Jedi killed during Order 66, many of whom were dear friends of Obi-Wan’s and all of whom were innocent. For another, once Obi-Wan realizes it was Anakin who slaughtered so many at the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan’s world is effectively shattered. And, finally, the murdered younglings in particular crush Obi-Wan.
However, the Revenge of the Sith novelization dives much deeper into Obi-Wan’s mindset at the time, and it has fascinating implications for the Jedi’s role in Order 66 and how Obi-Wan felt about their practices in light of the massacre. In the novel, Obi-Wan laments to Yoda, “We took them from their homes… We promised their families.” This lamentation speaks volumes about how Order 66 shifted Obi-Wan’s perspective (at least temporarily) and opens up some interesting questions about the Jedi Order.
Although Yoda discourages Obi-Wan from pursuing this line of thought, Obi-Wan’s point has merit. The Jedi practice of taking children from their families when they are no older than toddlers isn’t without its flaws. In fact, Star Wars itself has nodded towards the issues with the practice, including most recently in Star Wars: Tales of the Empire when Barriss Offee compares it to the Inquisitors taking and training Force-sensitive children. Although the Jedi themselves weren’t then responsible for Order 66, they were the reason the children were at the Temple when it happened.
Obi-Wan’s grief is interesting in and of itself; however, upon further reflection on this Jedi practice, it becomes absolutely brutal. Identifying and bringing in Force-sensitive children to be trained as Jedi was part of a Jedi Knight’s role—every Jedi. This means that Obi-Wan himself had almost certainly brought on Jedi initiates in his time as a Jedi Master. That knowledge alone would have increased his grief exponentially. In fact, it would have been all the worse had Obi-Wan remembered specific children he’d brought to the Temple.
However, that goes far deeper than Obi-Wan being sad at the loss of someone he knew. Rather, this would amplify his grief, as it would imply that Obi-Wan himself was directly responsible, at least for the younglings he had identified. While, in reality, Order 66 is still not Obi-Wan’s fault, and he consistently tried in earnest to do the right thing, it nevertheless makes Order 66 even darker. However, as it wasn’t in the film, this aspect of Obi-Wan’s guilt wasn’t depicted on screen.
What makes this revelation all the darker is the possibility (or even likelihood) that Anakin had brought certain younglings to the Jedi too. This means that, during Order 66, Anakin could have come face-to-face with—and killed—younglings he had personally introduced to the Jedi. It’s shocking to think that Anakin’s role in Order 66 could become even worse than it already was, yet that would certainly be the case if it was confirmed that Anakin killed the very younglings he had brought to the Temple.
Order 66 is truly one of the most gruesome, heinous moments in all of Star Wars, especially as it pertains to the younglings. While the murder of any Jedi is difficult to stomach, the level of innocence the Jedi younglings represent makes this event excruciating to watch. Somehow, though, this added layer of Obi-Wan’s grief and its larger implications makes Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith even more brutal.
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