Was Qui-Gon responsible for Xanatos' Fall?

by Eshva (eshva_i@yahoo.co.uk)

The problem with the text is that it doesn't say *enough*, which is why there is such a range of opinion on the question - everything from "Xanatos would be a sweet angel of light if he hadn't had the nastiest meanest bastard in the whole Jedi order for a Master" to "Qui-Gon is completely innocent". My own view tends much more towards the latter, so here's my interpretation (with textual support where possible).

In the course of JA2 we get a series of flashbacks from Qui-Gon's point of view of Xanatos' history, and it's clear from these that Xanatos had dark tendencies *before* Telos. On the way to Telos, their pilot is someone called Steig Wa, who Xanatos dislikes because he pokes fun at him. Xanatos reacts by sabotaging the ship, which results in Steig Wa being captured by pirates. Meanwhile Xanatos takes Qui-Gon to an escape pod he had pre-prepared and they get away. Now, to me, that looks like Xanatos is a *very* nasty piece of work.

And there are even earlier signs of his darkness. Qui-Gon remembers:
"I didn't start it," Xanatos would say whenever a fight broke out between him and another apprentice. His blue eyes would blaze with sincerity and sorrow. Like a father, Qui-Gon would always try to believe him."

This suggests that he was already starting fights and lying, even younger. So the question is - was Qui-Gon responsible for these character flaws in Xanatos? Personally, I see no evidence for it. I know this is an eccentric view, but I don't see Qui-Gon as being cold in TPM - not with Anakin and not with Obi-Wan - so I don't see why he would have been with Xanatos. Rather, the above quote suggests the reverse - that he treated Xanatos like a son. In fact, I think it holds the key to why Qui-Gon was blind to Xanatos' flaws. It wasn't just pride - he loved him and wanted to believe the best of him.

Another quote: "Now Qui-Gon could see his mistakes. He had been blind to Xanatos' faults. He indulged the boy. He gave without seeing. He was a failure as a Master, because he trusted his apprentice too much. He let his fondness blind him to what he should have seen all along."

This fits perfectly with the way I see Qui-Gon. I don't buy this "cold and untrusting" idea - that's not what I saw in TPM. If anything, Qui-Gon trusts *too much*, but that's not exactly a flaw, because it's what would make him such an excellent master. It's especially evident in his interaction with Anakin - he puts his trust in Anakin's abilities completely, and not just with words - he bets his ship on it. And Anakin is utterly amazed at this trust and blossoms under it. He manages what he never has before - he finishes the race and wins. The approach also seems to have worked well with Obi-Wan, for the Obi-Wan of TPM is highly capable and self-confident. So I think that Qui-Gon expects the best of people and mostly this inspires them to achieve their best. But the risk he runs is betrayal and that's what happened with Xanatos.

The way I see their relationship as master and apprentice, Qui-Gon is effectively Xanatos' dupe. Xanatos is very clever and manipulates him, using him for protection and advancement (Qui-Gon pushes for him to be made a knight, and defends him against Yoda's criticisms). So at this point I don't think Xanatos hates Qui-Gon - note that he makes sure Qui-Gon escapes the ship to Telos - but rather he probably despises him.

When they reach Telos things change. Yoda has set up the test so that Xanatos has the choice between the Jedi and the light (represented by Qui-Gon) and the greed, lust for power and darkness represented by Crion, his father. Crion was clearly also not a nice dude - plotting to invade a nearby planet to enrich himself, and planning to trick the people of Telos into supporting him.

Xanatos made his choice freely. Qui-Gon says, "I saw that Yoda sensed this would happen, that this was the last, great test. I did not doubt Yoda's wisdom. I did what I knew I should. I stepped back. I did not attempt to guide Xanatos. He was ready to make his own choice."

However, Qui-Gon is still a Jedi so he has to try to prevent the war that Crion and Xanatos are engineering. Qui-Gon informs the people of Telos of the plan and they revolt. Xanatos and Crion respond by hiring an army and attacking their own people and thousands die as a result. The war ends in the battle where Qui-Gon kills Crion and Xanatos scars his own face with Crion's ring.

Qui-Gon remembers:
"He said the scar would serve to remind him always of what I had taken from him. How I had betrayed him. The fact that thousands had died because of his father's greed meant nothing to him. The weight of those deaths meant everything to me."

I think Xanatos hated Qui-Gon for two reasons - firstly as the representative of the Jedi order for taking him away from the wealth and power he would have had on Telos. And secondly for his "betrayal". Xanatos thought that Qui-Gon would always be his dupe, wrapped around his little finger, so when Qui-Gon opposed his plans and fought on behalf of the people of Telos, Xanatos perceived this as a betrayal.

So why did Xanatos turn to the dark, if it wasn't Qui-Gon's fault? I think the only clue is this bit:
"Though he was young when he left Telos, he remembered that he had come from a powerful family on a powerful planet. He used the information to try to impress the other students".

My theory is that the seeds of darkness were planted very early, by Crion. Xanatos was indoctrinated early with the idea that he was more important, entitled to more of everything, and to preferential treatment than everyone else, and that the rights and wishes of others did not matter. He never forgot these early lessons and they led to his fall to the dark.

Possibly this is intended as a hint of the danger of bringing initiates to the Temple when they are too old - because they can never unlearn this kind of thing.

Anyway, that's my theory of the fall of Xanatos.