2. The Sith Become Darker And More Interesting
It is only recently that I noticed the term 'Sith' is not used at all in any of the Original Trilogy; with Vader and The Emperor simply referred to as being part of the 'Empire' or 'the dark side'. The Sith Empire in the original 'KOTOR' does differ from the Galactic Empire of the OT in some ways but there are obvious similarities, both are imperial fascists with the aim to control the galaxy through any means. In 'KOTOR II' the Sith undergo a darker change. Instead of being concerned with galactic domination the Sith become far more corrupting and consuming, their very nature is altered by basking in the power of the dark side. When the player boards the Harbinger on Peragus it becomes very clear that these Sith operate differently from those in the Jedi Civil War, there is no grand empire with massive fleets, these Sith strike from the shadows. It is through these tactics that the Sith manage to wipe out the Jedi Order, the Jedi cannot fight these Sith as they do not know where they are coming from, or what they even are. This made the Sith all the more deadly as they were not a known enemy that could be stopped by merely finding a giant space station and destroying it as in the first game. Darth Malak is an interesting character but he has obvious links that can be drawn from Darth Vader, the Sith Lords in 'KOTOR II' however are not like anything in the films. Darth Sion as the Lord of Pain is a walking corpse bent on vengeance, Darth Nihilus "is power but it consumes without end" and Darth Traya is the Lord of Betrayal "who will betray in turn". These antagonists are some of the most intriguing Sith in all of Star Wars because their power extends beyond leading armies and dominating the galaxy, their power is both physical and meta-physical. As stated already Kreia is a unique character and whilst the reveal that Kreia is one of the three major Sith Lords is not mind shattering or unpredictable, having her as the final test further illustrates how powerful she is. For me what is most surprising is that Sion and Nihilus have crucial weaknesses and that Kreia exploits these. She has the strongest power of the three. Manipulation. Kreia, using Colonel Tobin, tricks Nihilus into believing there are Jedi on Telos. Unable to deny his hunger he attacks Telos, only for the Exile to reveal their are no Jedi on Telos, leaving him weakened with little to sustain him. Sion despite his invincibility is plagued by envy and bitterness because Kreia abandons him. On Malachor V she again gives him hope that he can become her apprentice again, only for the Exile to convince him that he has again been used by Kreia, leaving Sion with no reason to live. Not only then do the Sith become darker, they become less omnipotent and strong than initially thought, leaving them as far more interesting villains.