Star Wars' Jedi Knights acted as guardians of peace and justice in the Republic, handling its toughest assignments and leading its armies into war. However, for all their power, the Republic Jedi always seemed to be a tad less powerful than the ones who survived or trained after the events of Order 66. Though most have written it off as a power-scaling issue, one fan has found the perfect explanation for why the Jedi managed to reach new heights after their worst tragedy.

Reddit user u/EquivalentInflation has proposed that the Jedi depicted in the Star Wars prequels were actively having their powers limited by the Dark Side influence of Emperor Palpatine. In Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu admits the Jedi's "ability to use the Force has diminished." The source of this weakness has been debated, including a forgotten Sith shrine under the Jedi temple featured in The High Republic: Into the Dark novel. However, most agree that Palpatine played an active role in exacerbating the Jedi Order's weakening.

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A major reason for why this strategy was so effective was likely that the Jedi mostly lived in one place, where Palpatine's plan could be focused. Even after the outbreak of the Clone Wars, when the Jedi took on leadership duties across the galaxy, they still frequently returned to Coruscant, where they could be weakened again.

Palpatine issues Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith

Once Order 66 had been initiated and the Empire established, Palpatine probably abandoned his efforts to weaken the Jedi's Force connection, as only a handful had survived. The few who did pop up were instead individually dispatched by Darth Vader. However, this now opened up the Force for those who were around to use it, allowing them to call upon it to perform great feats and demonstrate why the Jedi were so feared across the Star Wars galaxy.

Cal Kestis, from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, was only a Padawan at the end of the Clone Wars and spent years in hiding, which limited his ability to refine his craft. Despite this, once he returned to action, Kestis was able to regularly defeat waves of enemies, hijack powerful vehicles and overcome two Inquisitors.

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Though she abandoned the Order as a Padawan, much like Kestis, Ahsoka Tano was close to becoming a full-fledged Knight, placing her slightly above the former. Unlike Kestis, who simply ran from Darth Vader when the two met, Tano was actually able to hold her own against her former master, even coming close to being victorious. Anakin was admittedly one of the most gifted Jedi of all-time, meaning Tano's connection to the Force had to be very strong to overcome her training disadvantage and become a match for the Sith Lord.

Most famously, Luke Skywalker grew into a full Jedi Knight after only a handful of years, with extremely limited training from Obi-Wan and Yoda. This timeline can be contrasted with the prequel Jedi, who often spent a decade or more as Padawans before being knighted. Beyond mere physical prowess, Luke's transition into a Jedi was also evidenced by the emotional maturity he displayed in refusing to strike Vader down, which can be attributed to both his personality and becoming one with the Force.

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Even Rey, who is often targeted by fans as an example of poor power-scaling, could be redeemed if the theory is applied. Her rapid growing ability to use the Force could be the product of living in a galaxy where the connection to the Force is stronger than it has ever been before.

There are a number of other examples, such as Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, all of whom never reached the Jedi rank and yet still performed impressive feats worthy of a fully-fledged Force user. Even Obi-Wan's ability to become a Force ghost has been presented as a lost art, and his and Yoda's ability to transition into one can be seen as further proof of the increased strength of the Light Side.

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Though Dark Side users did survive, they probably did not enjoy the increase in connection because Palpatine was only clouding the abilities of Light Side users. Others, such as the Grand Inquisitor and Taron Malicos, were Jedi during the Clone Wars but began to draw on the Dark Side after Order 66, negating any potential gains.

Though there are still some minor limitations to the theory, such as explaining why the Sith didn't use their advantage to defeat every Jedi they faced during the Clone Wars, it still succeeds at addressing the discrepancy in a satisfying way for Star Wars fans. The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series will be a perfect litmus test, as Obi-Wan will have a chance to show his connection to the Force while still in his relative physical prime.

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