10 Star Wars Theories That Make Appalling Sense

Master Yoda, it seems, dropped the ball when it came to watching the Jedi Order’s back in Attack Of The Clones. In spite of his ability to detect subtle emotions and determine major galactic events, he entirely fails to notice the whole Grand Army of the Republic has been given orders to kill him and the rest of the Order.

One explanation is that Yoda was fully aware of Order 66, and chose to let it happen. This particular conspiracy theory has its roots in the idea the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic were decaying, corrupt and ineffectual institutions, as demonstrated by Palpatine’s ability to manipulate it towards its own destruction.

Yoda, seeing this and knowing it had to change, decided to let Palpatine and Vader destroy the Jedi Order and bring down the Republic. Yoda had already foreseen the Empire would be brought down in turn, and that both the Republic and Jedi could be remade from scratch into what Yoda thought they should be.

In the theory's defence, note how Yoda is able to ensure his own safety when Order 66 goes down, so he can help direct the next regeneration in taking down Palpatine and re-founding the Jedi. Yoda might die of old age during the original trilogy, but only after he has set the stage for the destiny he envisages - and safe in the knowledge he can continue to tweak the course of history in Force Ghost form.