The Star Wars universe is full of complex villains. The franchise has a habit of looking for redemptive arcs concerning these characters, but not every antagonist actually manages to follow through on the opportunity. Sometimes they revert back to their old ways or the damage is already done.

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Hunters such as the Mandalorian have largely shown that they are able to redeem themselves for slightly longer periods of time, thus winning over the characters in the universe and audiences. Others see only fleeting moments of redemption, and perhaps even look for the next opportunity to commit heinous crimes once more.

Darth Maul

Darth Maul wields his blade in Star Wars Clone Wars

Darth Maul is a conflicted creature of malice, manipulated by the Nightsisters and his own master to serve a dark purpose. Once he found himself going solo, Maul began to sense a disturbance in the Force. He knew of the coming Empire and briefly tried to stop it from emerging.

Maul understood there needed to be balance. He had an opportunity at redemption, teaming with Ahsoka to try and push back Palpatine. His moment of clarity was taken over by madness once more. Maul would find himself heading up the crime syndicates before eventually battling Obi-Wan as if he was an old friend. In his last moments, Maul may have realized he had another choice.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader holds his blade in Star Wars comics

Darth Vader famously had a moment of redemption after rescuing his son from his near-death. However, this brief heroic scene wasn't quite enough to redeem the character overall. After Vader's death, the legacy of destruction he caused was still very much present.

He had ruined any chance of redemption considering the relics he had left behind. His Castle for instance was haunted with the darkness imbued into the building by Vader. The planets he destroyed were still dormant in the galaxy. Ultimately, it would have taken a lot more for Vader to right his wrongs and his immediate death stopped that chance which is quite tragic.

Asajj Ventress

Asajj Ventress wields her blade in Clone Wars

Asajj Ventress might have left the service of Count Dooku but that didn't stop her murderous ways. Her time as a bounty hunter saw her help out Ahsoka Tano, but once again she continued to use her abilities for her own selfish purposes. Each time there was a chance for redemption, she ruined it.

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Eventually, she met Quinlan Vos whom she shared a deep romantic relationship. This could have been her moment to embrace the light side of the Force, but unfortunately, she corrupted Vos bringing him slightly over to the dark side instead. She might have sacrificed herself but she never had an overwhelming moment of redemption before her death.

Savage Opress

Savage Opress kills Jedi and clones in The Clone Wars.

Some of Darth Maul's most dangerous lightsaber duels have been alongside the brutish Savage Opress, whose own story is so intrinsically tied to his brother's. Savage had the opportunity to act in a more heroic capacity but chose a far darker path.

He gave in to the magic and teachings of the Nightsisters and even after joining with Maul ignored any desire to break off from his master and embark on a new chapter. His intelligence expanded and he began to understand the consequences of his merciless actions, but he instead gave his life for his brother, fighting against Palpatine, and never quite learned the valuable lesson on offer.

General Hux

General Hux delivers a speech to the First Order before the Hosnian Catyclysm in Star Wars The Force Awakens

General Hux has been a thorn in the Resistance's side throughout most of his career. Despite overseeing the destruction of multiple planets, the character felt that Kylo Ren's new leadership style was too much to handle. He thus became a secret informer to the Resistance.

This was his moment of redemption, but his motivations behind the attack were just as selfish as those that drove him to the First Order in the first place. Ultimately, he is still a war criminal and a vicious, merciless man, who had no intention of doing the right thing but was at least prepared to grovel in the face of justice.

Barriss Offee

Barriss Offee with red lightsabers in Clone Wars

Barriss Offee oversaw a master plan to try to bring about the end of the Jedi Order. A number of terrorist attacks led to Offee framing Ahsoka Tano for her own crimes. The character felt guilt for that decision but doubled down on her efforts.

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She ruined a beautiful friendship and at the moment where she could have turned her back on the dark side, embraced it even more. Offee was eventually captured but continued to spout her ideological views concerning the corruption at the heart of the Jedi.

Boba Fett

Boba Fett in his ship in the mandalorian

Boba Fett spent a lot of his life on the run and looking to make ends meet. During this process, he became one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters. The character did everything for a price, but it appeared that by helping out the Mandalorian in his rescue of Grogu, he was turning over a new leaf.

In actual fact, one unpopular opinion is that this redemption was more about paying off a debt. Boba Fett has thrown himself back into the criminal underworld once more and is hellbent on ruling it rather than trying to stave off corruption. Fett is obviously not against ruling through violence when the time comes.

Aurra Sing

Aurra Sing shooting blasters in Star Wars The Clone Wars

Aurra Sing brought up Boba Fett and was a skilled bounty hunter in her own right. She paraded around the galaxy using her vicious methods to continue to earn a living. She rarely took on jobs that were actually morally acceptable.

There were a few moments in her career where Aurra did the right thing. They were always overshadowed by her last-minute betrayals though. She seemingly died doing what she loved, carrying out a job that finally backfired on her at the hands of Tobias Beckett.

Jango Fett

Jango Fett #1

It's possible that Jango Fett could appear once more in a flashback of Boba Fett's life, but for now, audiences know the bounty hunter to be anything but kind. To some, it appeared that Fett was graciously lending his services to the Republic so that they had a chance in the ongoing war.

He could have been a hero amongst the Clone Troopers, but instead looked back to his pockets and moved to the Separatists. A partnership with the Jedi ended before it began and Fett would feel the consequences thanks to Mace Windu's purple blade.

Death Watch

Satine Kryze speaks with Death Watch in The Clone Wars

Death Watch was a terrorist group hellbent on bringing back the traditional values of Mandalore. Their message got lost when Darth Maul began to take his own chunk of the planet, with some of Death Watch breaking off from the main group.

They could have been the saviors of the people, but Death Watch was too corrupt and blew its chance at redemption. Some founded an underground resistance movement instead, while others mauled the name of Death Watch, twisting its values completely.

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