As a franchise,Star Warshas always been somewhat obsessed with giant, powerful weapons of war. There’s been some variety here of there, but one only needs to look through a list of the deadliest weapons in the galaxy to see that it’s true. The most terrifying part is howKnights of the Old Republic 2’s Kreia, otherwise known as Darth Traya, rivals them in sheer destructive power.
Kreia couldn’t destroy a planet, per se, but her machinations and her plans as a Sith Lord and afterward shows how risks in Star Wars pay off. Kreia is ultimately proof that Star Wars doesn’t need a Death Star to be Star Wars, somethingfuture games should look atKnights of the Old Republic 2to replicate.
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Death Stars, Star Forges, Starkillers, Oh My!
One look atStar Warsmedia easily proves this reliance on Death Stars, or Death Star-like machines. As a recent example,Star Wars: Squadronsfocuses on a new invention, the powerful Starhawk. The original trilogy obviously has the two Death Stars, with the operational one destroying Aldeeran. Come the Sequel Trilogy, the First Order fire a massive attack from Starkiller Base, destroying several New Republic planets in the process. It is later destroyed by Poe Dameron much like how Luke Skywalker destroyed the first Death Star.
InRise of Skywalker, there’s Palpatine’s Final Order. It’s not one concentrated weapon of war, but it is a massive Sith fleet with unparalleled potential for destruction. Even in games like theoriginalKnights of the Old Republic, there was some big machination of war in the Star Forge, which used the Dark Side of the Force to pump out starfighters at unprecedented rates. These massive, planet-destroying weapons of war are as muchStar Warsas the Force and the Jedi, but there’s more potential than just unleashing a new “Death Star” with every mainline entry in the franchise.
Kreia’s Plan
In so many words,Knights of the Old Republic 2’s Kreia wanted to destroy the Force. It’s a lot more complicated than that, as she insisted that many were tied to the Will of the Force through no choosing of their own. She was able to manipulate both the Jedi Exile, the Jedi Order, and the Sith in her goals, while also creating such beings asDarth Nihilus and Darth Sion. She may not have been able to blow up a planet with one push of a button, but she controlled the push and pull of the galaxy for a short time period.
In this way, she’s comparable toEmperor Palpatinein a way. Her manipulated events of the galaxy, embroiling it in a massive war from his introduction as Senator Palpatine in the Original Trilogy to his final death (hopefully) in the Sequel Trilogy. What separates the two, however, is that Palpatine wore his Dark Side influences on his sleeve. Kreia was different, yes wielding the Dark Side, but focusing more on the politics of the Force than the Force itself.
Individuals like Kreia are dangerous and can define the entire galaxy for years and decades. It’s uncertainwhereStar Warswill go next, but instead of creating a new planet-destroying monstrosity, perhaps it’s worth looking at the monsters that the galaxy itself creates.
