Revan

I was lucky enough to make it to class about Revan, despite ‘odd’ circumstances. Now, Revan himself is a very complicated and rather controversial character from history.

I believe Revan was both. During Mandalorian Wars, instead of returning back to the Jedi Order, he decided to pursue the remaining Mandalorians and kill them. That itself is not what a Jedi should do, and I believe it was initial step to his corruption, which led to inevitable - his fall to the Dark Side. He and his apprentice, Malak, then killed millions and millions, Revan now being Darth Revan, ‘Sith Lord’. He sought for even more power, but his apprentice Malak decided to betray him, which led to Revan being nearly killed; his mind destroyed. Bastila Shan managed to capture him, but the general population believed that Revan was betrayaled by Darth Malak and killed on board of his own ship.

Revan could be easily seen as ‘villain’ until now. And I would completelly agree. But since Revan was rescued by Bastila Shan, his mind was altered and he believed to be loyal servant of the Republic. Later eventually, he was sent to re-training as a Jedi, still unaware of his real past. The Jedi Council wanted him to start search for ‘Star Forge’, as they believed it could provide more answers as to where Malak gets his power. He fought his former apprentice in the end, putting an end to long war, which cost lives of many.

Now, here’s the controversy of it - Yes, original Revan was a villain, no doubt. But the ‘new’ Revan? What was he? I think of him as a victim of the Jedi Order. They abused his ignorance, used him against Malak. Now, the intentions of the Jedi were good, yes, but the way they did it wasn’t. But that doesn’t make the ‘new’ Revan a villain. The fact is, Revan fought Malak after being aware of what happened. At least according to the Archives. He could decide to go back to his dark past, but instead, he decided to defeat Malak and stop the war. That part would make him a hero.

So yes… both hero and villain. But it all depends on which Revan we are looking at. I believe that person cannot be changed from purely evil to purely good. In everyone there’s seed of good… and seed of evil. Our actions, events around us is what decide which one will grow. In my eyes, Revan got a second chance, as harsh as Council’s decision was, to redeem himself. Revan redeemed himself as a Jedi with turning his back to the Dark Side, renouncing it completelly by putting an end to war and saving many lives which would be lost if he didn’t do what he did.

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