Qui-Gon Jinn

Qui-Gon Jinn was a Force-sensitive human Jedi Master who served the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic during the final decades before the Clone Wars. Trained by Dooku and the master of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jinn was a maverick who followed the will of the living Force even when it set him against the Jedi Council. He discovered the boy Anakin Skywalker and believed him to be the Chosen One of prophecy. Jinn was killed on Naboo by the Sith Lord Darth Maul, but he became one of the first Jedi to learn how to retain his identity after death and return as a spirit.

Apprentice to Dooku#

Qui-Gon Jinn was taken in for training by the Jedi Order and assigned to the Heliost Clan, where he learned lightsaber combat from Jedi Master Tera Sinube. Around 68 BBY, he presented himself to his new Master, Dooku, in Dooku's quarters. Dooku observed that Jinn was frightened, and with some pressing Jinn confessed that he was, not of Dooku but of failing to become a Jedi, of not being worthy. Rather than rejecting him for the admission, Dooku praised it as wisdom, noting that most Padawans would deny such fear, and commended Jinn for his honesty, insight, and intelligence.

Jinn underwent his trials on the Outer Rim planet Felucia. Dooku's eventual decision to leave the Jedi Order came as a shock to Jinn, who felt lost for a time as he grappled with doubt and fear. Trusting in the Jedi teachings and in himself, he recovered and replaced his shaken feelings with resolve.

Master to Obi-Wan Kenobi#

Jinn took Obi-Wan Kenobi as his Padawan and taught him as best he could, though Kenobi did not always agree with his methods. Despite Kenobi's clear proficiency with a lightsaber, Jinn held him to practicing only basic techniques. He did so to avoid rushing his apprentice and to let Kenobi build his own distinct style from a mastery of the fundamentals, but his lack of clarity about this teaching philosophy at times hurt Kenobi's confidence and their relationship. Jinn could sense whenever Kenobi was discontent, which proved useful on missions but also annoyed his apprentice.

Between roughly 41 and 39 BBY, Jinn and Kenobi were sent on an extended mission to Mandalore to protect Duchess Satine Kryze, leader of the reformist New Mandalorians, who had become a target for traditionalist factions during a civil war. On a separate mission to the planet Bri'n, Jinn met with rivals of the Priestess Th'er to broker negotiations between the Priestess and the Metal Clan. When the Metal Clan tried to kill them to justify cutting down the world's trees, Jinn defended the Priestess, deflecting blaster bolts before using a Force jump to escape with her aboard their shuttle.

A unique follower of the Force#

Jinn held an unusually defiant outlook toward the Jedi Council, captured in his exchange with Kenobi: "Do not defy the Council, Master, not again," to which Jinn replied, "I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan." Such defiance was rare in his time. He understood that the Force was larger than any single Jedi's connection to it, larger even than the concepts of life and death. He was troubled by the idea that a Jedi could be regarded as a warrior, believing such a title was not what a Jedi was meant to be. He was also recognized as a Jedi Vanguard and was skilled in the ability of Force jump, leaping high into the air.

After Jinn's death, Dooku claimed on Geonosis that he wished his former apprentice were still alive to help him with the Confederacy, suggesting that Jinn knew of the Senate's corruption and might have joined the Separatist cause. Kenobi rejected the idea that Jinn would ever have joined Dooku.

Death on Naboo and the path beyond#

Qui-Gon Jinn was slain on Naboo in 32 BBY by the Sith Lord Darth Maul. By killing Sidious and bringing balance to the Force decades later, Anakin Skywalker would prove Jinn's strongly held belief right: that Skywalker was the Chosen One.

After his death, Jinn became the first Jedi known to learn the art of persisting in the netherworld of the Force while retaining his individuality, a feat the Order had believed impossible. He passed his knowledge to Yoda, speaking to the Grand Master and guiding him during his exile, and he sought to manifest himself to Kenobi. In reality Jinn was always with Kenobi, even when his former Padawan was not emotionally ready to see him because of his guilt over Skywalker's fall.

When Skywalker's son Luke was three years old, Jinn warned Kenobi to protect the boy, sending him racing to the Lars homestead to defend against bandits. He appeared to Kenobi again after Kenobi came to terms with Skywalker's fall, telling his former Padawan that it had taken him long enough, and clarifying that he had always been there. When the time came for Luke to be drawn into the wider galaxy, Jinn appeared once more to offer Kenobi guidance.

Legacy among the Jedi#

Jinn's influence outlived him by generations. His voice was heard by the Padawan Ezra Bridger during a mission to a place between time and space, and Jedi Master Eno Cordova recounted his friendship with Jinn to the knight Cal Kestis. At the Battle of Exegol, Jinn's voice joined the multitude of Jedi spirits who aided Rey against the resurrected Darth Sidious. "Every Jedi who ever lived lives in you," he told her, adding that they all stood behind her.