1. The Jedi Aren't All That Good
One of the fundamental rules of the Star Wars Universe is that the Jedi fight for peace and harmony in the galaxy, the Jedi Council are the most disciplined and wise of the Order and whilst they can be tempted towards evil they are generally good characters. 'KOTOR II' changed all that. The first Jedi Master you encounter proves to be anything but kind and forgiving. Atris (above) is arrogant, self-righteous and refuses to listen to your reasons for fighting in the Madalorian Wars. Atris was a detestable character because she repeatedly criticises the Exile's past decisions but pays no heed to the hatred and contempt in her own voice. The player later learns that Atris has fallen to the dark side, she "has bathed in knowledge of the Sith" believing herself immune because she was once a Jedi Master. It is ironic that she claims to be saving the last of the Jedi Order by cowering away with Sith holocrons on Telos whilst the player can choose to seek out the remaining Jedi and train new apprentices. Atris forbids her handmaiden's from learning the ways of the Force, she is like a teacher constantly afraid of pupils surpassing her or discovering her flaws. There is no gratitude from the Jedi Masters on Dantooine if you save them, the Exile is told he/she is a threat to all life in the galaxy and even when the player protests and wishes to help the Jedi they are still condemned to lose their connection to the Force. Kreia confronts "the arrogance" of the Jedi Council members by showing them how it is through the eyes of the Exile. I felt no pity for these dead Jedi because they have once again taken a 'we know best' approach to all matters, they are so sure of their own righteousness that they fail to see things from the eyes of another. In short the Jedi here can be accused of being incredibly closed minded. They are afraid of the Exile. The Force has a will of its own and any being capable of rejecting its will is dangerous, the Jedi fear that which cannot be tamed so seek to sever the Exile's connection. Throughout the game's plot you can choose to train some of your party members to be Jedi, as Kreia later reveals they are "the Lost Jedi - on which the future will be built". The Exile allows his followers to feel the Force freely, he/she does not wish to control them as the Jedi Council does when they take children in infancy. These new Force Users are not bound to any Order or Code, in many ways the Exile and his followers can be seen as a sort of anti-establishment or renegade group, regardless of whether they are light or dark side. The Exile is not truly a Jedi as Kreia confesses at the end, and it is this freedom from the control of the Jedi Order than allows the player to judge the Jedi differently. The story took a big risk in daring to question the virtuous and superior nature of the Jedi Order, but because it did the story opened up a new and unique way of observing the Star Wars Universe and those within it. For all of these reasons the game's story emerges as one of the strongest and most well written in all of Star Wars.