Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars Visions Vol. 3 episode 1
The Star Wars: Visions anthology series has always thrived on exploring fascinating alternate takes apart from the official Star Wars canon. As such, the same is just as true for the newly released Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3, especially with its premiere episode darkly redefining what it means to be a Jedi.
Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3, episode 1 is titled “The Duel: Payback,” a continuation of the first season’s premiere episode (“The Duel”), which first debuted the fascinating Sith Ronin whose dark quest for redemption saw him hunting down Sith Lords. Now, this new chapter sees the Ronin facing The Grand Master, leader of a Jedi faction that makes the Sith seem tame.
Star Wars Visions Vol. 3 Debuts The Jedi Crusaders
While “The Duel: Payback” begins with the wandering Ronin facing a new Sith Lord named Anée-San, their duel is interrupted by the arrival of the Jedi Crusaders, revealed to be a militant and radical sect of the Jedi Order who lock down entire worlds until their targets are found…and judgment is passed.
Seemingly devoid of the compassion one would expect from typical Jedi Knights who are called to raise their lightsabers only for defense and to protect the innocent, these Jedi are far more aggressive. Descending upon the gambling den where the Ronin first found Anée-San, multiple gunships can be seen while their leader lands to engage the dark side wielders.
All in all, it’s a pretty exciting twist, one that Visions excels at by having a Sith Ronin as the protagonist, with this radical sect of Jedi serving as altogether surprising antagonists.
Although the episode itself may be black and white apart from the lightsaber blades, the morality featured in this new Star Wars tale is anything but. Rather than the light vs the dark, we’re instead seeing something more akin to remorse/redemption vs fanaticism/vengeance, particularly when it comes to the Grand Master, the Jedi Crusaders’ leader.
We’ve Never Seen A Jedi Quite As Dark As The Grand Master
The Jedi Crusaders’ Grand Master is quite a terrifying force to be reckoned with in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3 episode 1.
Covered in cybernetics and wielding a blue-bladed lightsaber with a hilt resembling Obi-Wan Kenobi’s, the cyborg’s depiction is not unlike a twisted “What If…?” version of Obi-Wan had Kenobi and Darth Maul reversed roles after The Phantom Menace, though the parallels to Darth Vader should not be understated either.
Revealing a past with the Ronin where the former Sith was responsible for his needing cybernetics, the Grand Master seeks judgment upon both dark side wielders in this new Star Wars story, displaying an incredible speed that borders on teleportation (though that may just be the result of the episode’s uniquely stunning animation style).
A radical Jedi leader who’s part man and part machine, the Grand Master is wholly consumed by the belief that he represents the Force’s purest will as he delivers judgment across the galaxy.
However, the Ronin (who’s since rejected both the ideals of the Sith and Jedi) calls out the Grand Master’s hypocrisy, confirming that his denial of the dark side has made him unbalanced, making him even “closer to darkness” than himself or Anée-San.
It’s a stunning reversal, suggesting that the Grand Master’s obsession and refusal to acknowledge his own darkness can make it that much stronger. Additionally, it’s perfectly punctuated by the episode’s end following their duel when the wounded Grand Master is unable to register which lightsaber to pick up, his own fallen Jedi weapon or one of the lightsabers belonging to the Sith.
Star Wars Legends Had Its Own Jedi Crusaders (The Revanchists)
Interestingly enough, non-canonical Star Wars stories from the Old Republic Era did have their own Jedi Crusaders, also known as the Revanchists.
In Legends’ Knights of the Old Republic, thousands of years before the Skywalker Saga, a Jedi Knight named Revan led a splinter faction of the Jedi Order during the Mandalorian Wars. This faction became known as the Revanchists, or Jedi Crusaders, warriors who believed the Jedi Council’s inaction to the galaxy’s suffering was itself a betrayal of the Force.
Revan’s Crusaders waged war in the name of peace as they sought to bring an end to the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. That said, their righteous crusade similarly corrupted them as well.
Following Revan’s corruption to the dark side as Dark Lord of the Sith alongside Darth Malak, Revan’s followers became the first generation of Sith loyalists under their leadership as they waged war against the Jedi Order and Republic.
While neither project is considered part of the official Star Wars canon, the echo between these distinct groups of Jedi Crusaders is nonetheless impossible to miss in Visions Vol. 3. These new Jedi Crusaders absolutely mirror the Revanchists’, as they both sought to “fix” the galaxy by force as unorthodox radicals.
All episodes of Star Wars Visions Vol. 3 are now streaming on Disney+.
