10 Smartest Decisions In Star Wars History

5. Qui-Gon Learns How To Manifest After Death - Revenge Of The Sith

Qui Gon Jinn Force Ghost
Lucasfilm

So, Qui-Gon Jinn. We've already talked about how he was one of the smartest Jedi of the Prequels, given he was brave enough to defy the council and had the foresight to see where they were headed, but there's another more obvious example of the late Jedi's intelligence in the films: his exploration of the living Force and learning how to manifest after death.

That one exchange in Revenge of the Sith - where Yoda informs Obi-Wan that he's been communing with Qui-Gon - takes Jinn from being just another tragic figure in the Jedi Order to a character of even greater importance in the saga.

Without Qui-Gon's spiritualism, and his breakthrough in learning how to retain his being beyond the physical realm, Luke Skywalker would've been lost in his journey. Kenobi wouldn't have been able to sacrifice himself to ensure Luke's escape, or provide guidance in either Episodes V or VI.

Jinn is instrumental to the Skywalker Saga, but had he joined the Jedi Council and gotten absorbed in their politics, it's doubtful he would've been able to make such a pivotal breakthrough.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.