While the original trilogy of Star Wars films was set after the fall of the Jedi Order and the sequels left the Jedi to rot into mythical status, the prequels focused in on the Jedi at their peak. Well, their very temporary peak, because those films also depicted their almost total destruction. A few members of the Jedi Order as shown in the prequels were main characters, while many were background characters who were fleshed out in The Clone Wars.
No matter how important they were in terms of storyline, each member of the Order had some sort of flaw. We’ve ranked them.
Ki Adi Mundi: Didn’t Understand
While Ki Adi Mundi became one of the most consistent fan-favorite characters in the prequel trilogy, his existence has become rather over-hyped. He might have two brains and have provided some of the easiest to meme quotes in all of Star Wars history, but he just didn’t understand the situation properly. Stating that Count Dooku was “a political idealist, not a murderer” was simply incorrect- shouldn’t a Jedi be able to sense that?
Yoda: Wandered Off To Dagobah
Yoda is typically known as the most powerful Jedi of all time. He is the only one who Palpatine really feared and the one who everyone knew would have the answers to everything. When the Empire rose, he just went off to the Dagobah System and stayed there for years, allowing the Empire to take over without his attempt to do anything to stop it. He might have trained Luke while he was there, but it didn’t seem like a good way to try and bring the Empire down.
Quinlan Vos: Turned To The Dark Side
He might look and sound like he’d be pretty evil, but Quinlan Vos was actually a Jedi Master. We saw him very briefly in the flesh during The Phantom Menace, but his character was provided a lot more detail during The Clone Wars.
He was powerful, and trained Aayla Secura, and teamed up with the newly redeemed Asajj Ventress. However, after a failed attempt to assassinate Dooku, he temporarily turned to the dark side.
Kit Fisto: Was Easily Overpowered
While we saw Kit Fisto engaging in some seriously impressive fights at times, proving time and time again that he was a powerful Jedi with some cool moves, he just wasn’t able to prove his worth in the end. In fairness, he was fighting directly with Emperor Palpatine himself, but in Revenge Of The Sith, he is killed within about five seconds of their fight.
Yaddle: Was Just So Pointless
Luckily, Yaddle did basically nothing. He didn’t speak or impact the plot or even move, as far as we know. This made his character totally pointless.
His existence in the first place is even more unnecessary: the only reason he has a seat on the Jedi Council is because he is of the same race as Yoda, and Lucasfilm though this might lend itself nicely to some new toys.
Qui-Gon Jin: Sought Out Anakin
While Qui-Gon Jin was introduced to us as one of the most powerful Jedi of all time (he was the only who rediscovered the ancient art of Force Ghosts), he made a rookie error on day one. He was eager to train the Chosen One, and it was he who tried to convince the Jedi Council that Anakin wasn’t the guy everyone was a little bit suspicious of. He might not have lived to see it, but this was the first step towards the rise of the Empire.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Couldn’t Keep Anakin On The Light Side
Similarly, it was Obi-Wan who continued Anakin’s training after the death of his master. Obi-Wan didn’t really share the suspicion everyone else had surrounding his padawan and trained him well.
However, you’d expect that a truly brilliant master would be able to keep his apprentice on his side. It didn’t work, and on top of that, Obi-Wan didn’t take his chance to fully put a stop to the rise of Darth Vader.
Mace Windu: His Brutality Wasn’t The Jedi Way
Because he had a purple lightsaber and a few quick quip, everyone was quick to love Mace Windu. However, he was a desperately aggressive Jedi who represented the epitome of their failure. He killed Jango before they could use him to get one step ahead of Palpatine, and his desire to kill Palpatine without a fair trial was one of the main reasons Anakin became completely disillusioned by the Jedi.
Count Dooku: Betrayed Everyone
By the time Count Dooku is introduced to us, he has become a rather unpleasant guy. What we didn’t see, however, was his time on the Jedi Council.
He was trained at the hand of Yoda himself but was quickly picked up by Palpatine, turned into Darth Tyrannus and put himself against the Jedi.
Anakin Skywalker: Became Darth Vader
The only betrayal bigger than Dooku’s was that of Anakin’s. He might have had a rough time of it, but he was trusted by the Order (to an extent) and loved by his master. Rather than becoming a powerful Jedi, he let Palpatine corrupt him, killed a multitude of Jedi and Padawan and became Darth Vader; Palpatine’s right-hand man.