- 31/05/2025
This is the way.
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00:00The Star Wars universe is a place ruled by good and evil, heroes and villains, the light side
00:04and the dark. But this galaxy is also governed by regular old laws. Whether they are the sacred
00:10texts of the Jedi or the ways of the Sith, every race and culture have their own set of rules that
00:14they must abide by. With that in mind then, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 crazy
00:19in-universe rules that Star Wars characters follow. Number 10, The Wookiee's Life Debt.
00:24If a person's life is owed to another, they can pledge to protect their saviour for the rest of
00:28their life. This custom, known as a life debt, is common amongst many cultures in the Star Wars
00:33universe. I mean, Jar Jar Binks owed a life debt to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi after they
00:37rescued him in The Phantom Menace, and similarly, Chewbacca vowed to protect Han Solo after he came
00:43to the Wookiee's aid. As understandable as this decree may be, Wookiees in particular take it to
00:48a radical extreme. The hairy creatures from Kashyyyk are so willing to honour the custom that it's not
00:53rare for the recipient of the life debt to turn the Wookiee into a slave. Even if the Wookiee is able
00:58to fight back or flee from their so-called messiah, the fussball won't even try. Since it's devotion
01:03to, the life debt is too strong to break. And this is quite sadly ironic, as can be observed in Solo
01:09A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, as one of the more common reasons that
01:13Wookiees make life debts in the first place is because they're freed from slavery.
01:17Number 9, Stormtroopers Don't Have Names. To ensure the Stormtroopers are of the highest calibre,
01:22each soldier goes through painstaking reconditioning during their induction into the Empire. Not only are
01:28they trained physically, but mentally. They are broken down on a psychological level to ensure
01:32that they are unequivocally obedient to their superiors, no matter how unreasonable their requests
01:37might be, which is almost always very, very unreasonable. Because the original Stormtroopers
01:43were clones who aged at double speed, there was little time for a personality to develop. Since each
01:47member didn't have any real personal traits to separate them from one another, it makes sense
01:52why they were designated by operating numbers rather than names. When the First Order abandoned
01:57the cloning program and hired, or forced, regular soldiers to serve as Stormtroopers, the higher-ups
02:02continued to refer to the cadets by these operating numbers. By dehumanizing them like this, the First
02:07Order believed that their cadets would function more mechanically, making them follow orders
02:12unconditionally. Hell, some Stormtroopers were taken into the First Order at such an early age that many of
02:16them have forgotten their name, if they ever even had one to begin with.
02:20Number 8, Jedi can kill, but never out of revenge. For generations, the Jedi have depicted themselves
02:26as peaceful monks. In the wise words of Mace Windu, we're keepers of the peace, not soldiers. However,
02:31this philosophy is a big fat lie, since Jedi do kill all the time. I mean, hell, Mace Windu himself
02:37didn't look particularly peaceful when he lopped off Django's head in Episode 2. Since Force wielders then
02:42are often in the thick of battle, one can only imagine how many lives they've taken. But according
02:47to the Jedi teachings, they are strictly forbidden to kill out of revenge. As Anakin Skywalker proved,
02:52a vengeance can easily lead one to the dark side. While Anakin may have been arrogant and childish in
02:57his youth, he was still mostly guided by morals. But when his mother was enslaved and killed by
03:02Tusken Raiders, he became consumed by revenge, resulting in him slaughtering the entire tribe.
03:07This was the first time Anakin tapped into the dark side, and is often regarded as his first real step
03:12to becoming Darth Vader. Number 7, Imperials can't hurt people without reason.
03:17As hard as it is to believe, members of the Empire are, on paper anyway, forbidden from harming others
03:23unprovoked. To put it another way, the guys who blew up Alderaan are not supposed to hurt anybody.
03:29Because the Emperor pretends that he has the people's best interests at heart,
03:32he can't just have his subjects shoving blasters in front of citizens' faces with no rhyme or reason.
03:37So, he often just invents a reason. A really flimsy reason.
03:40Unless you've never seen a Star Wars movie, though, you should probably be well aware that
03:44every Empire employee under the sun has failed to abide by this rule. For as long as the Empire
03:49has existed, Stormtroopers have imprisoned, tortured, and shot anyone who had the misfortune
03:54of crossing their path. I mean, just because Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru found themselves in the
03:58wrong place at the wrong time, Stormtroopers had them burned to a crisp, through no fault of their own.
04:03Because the Empire is passionately prejudiced against aliens as well,
04:06Stormtroopers are known for being more ruthless with non-humans,
04:09jailing and killing them for the most minor of crimes.
04:12Despite the fact that it's illegal for Imperials to harm civilians,
04:15history has proven that this law only exists on paper, not in practice.
04:20Number 6. Female Stormtroopers Must Train Harder
04:23Even though several Imperial officers have appeared throughout Star Wars,
04:26all the Stormtroopers initially were suggested to be male. However,
04:29there is no law restricting women from donning the white helmet and armor. Although they don't appear in
04:34the original trilogy, George Lucas did confirm that female Stormtroopers were stationed on the
04:37Death Star and other Empire control units. Because the female enlisted cadets are trained separately
04:43though, you would think that this is the main reason we rarely see them. But there is another
04:47factor why women are rarely spotted marching through Star Destroyers and Empire Sea stations.
04:52And that's because the Empire forced women to work much harder physically to match the male
04:56trainees. Because of this, one can only imagine the grueling experience that Captain Phasma must have
05:00endured to work her way up the ranks to become the head Stormtrooper.
05:04Number 5. Bribes in the Empire are a no-no.
05:07The Empire is a profoundly immoral dictatorship, populated by employees which will commit any
05:12atrocity to further their agenda. Since its creation, these fascists have enslaved millions
05:16of blown up planets and obliterated entire star systems. Despite the boundless evil they've committed
05:22though, there is one law which the Empire takes very, very seriously, and that's bribery.
05:27Even though payoffs are obviously illegal in real life as well, it's baffling why this
05:32is the one crime that causes Imperials to suddenly take the moral high ground.
05:36After all, wouldn't accepting bribes be a really effective tactic to learn crucial information
05:40to smoke out vigilantes, say? I mean, will Darth Vader really care if a scout trooper is
05:45bribed a few space credits if he learns the location of a rebel base? Considering the Empire
05:50has allied with scum like the Hutts and countless bounty hunters, it's genuinely bewildering that
05:55they act holier than thou when it comes to accepting a few kickbacks. I mean, I'm sure
05:59the paperwork for building three Death Stars wasn't legit, and a few palms were greased
06:03to get those battle stations up and running, right?
06:06Number 4. A Laugh-A-Day Keeps the Jabba Away
06:08Jabba the Hutt loves nothing more than to be surrounded by all manner of little freaks.
06:13His den is a hive of scum and villainy, and as you might expect from a demented crime boss,
06:17he runs a pretty tight and tough ship. He has all manner of rules that his subordinates
06:21have to abide by in order to win his respect, but none of his subjects live under quite as
06:26much fear as one salacious B. Crumb. Now, while you might not know this little rat
06:30by his real name, you will remember him from Return of the Jedi, where he essentially served
06:35as Jabba's hype man and jester. While that's not the worst job in the world to have, Crumb
06:39doesn't exactly perform it under ideal conditions. See, in a twisted way, Jabba saved Crumb from death.
06:45However, it wasn't out the goodness of his heart. Instead, Crumb lives under a tight contract,
06:50whereby he has to justify his life by making Jabba laugh at least one time per day. And if he
06:55misses the mark, then, well, Jabba will just off him. So, Crumb existed under this rule for a good
07:00while, only to end up dead in the end anyway. Number three, Sith must respect each other,
07:06but can kill one another. As a student to a Sith Lord, one is expected to carry out every order
07:10without question or hesitation. Any form of defiance will be met with a punishment of the highest order,
07:15so as a result, an apprentice should be utterly obedient to their superior. However,
07:19the only way for an apprentice to complete their training as a Sith is to kill their master.
07:25Even though Sith Lords spend years or decades training their student, they know it's only a
07:29matter of time before the apprentice turns on them. In fact, Darth Vader has battled the Emperor in the
07:33comics, books, and video games on many occasions in a vain attempt to usurp his master's throne.
07:38If the apprentice wishes to challenge their mentor, they're expected to take part in a lightsaber duel.
07:43But since the Sith are, well, the Sith, they often rely on less direct methods to dispose of their
07:48rival. Sadly, Darth Plagueis learned this the hard way when Darth Sidious murdered him in his sleep.
07:53What makes the Sith's hypocritical code of honor more ridiculous, though, is how the Darksiders
07:56would probably have succeeded at destroying the Jedi Order eons ago if they weren't so busy trying
08:01to kill each other. Number two, some Mandalorians can't show their face. Of the multiple factions of
08:06the Mandalorians, the most well-known is the Children of the Watch. Because these bounty hunters are not
08:10permitted to show their faces, the other tribes regard the Watch as a religious cult. Some Children of the
08:15Watch take this rule so seriously, in fact, that they won't remove their helmet while eating alone
08:19or even sleeping. If a member shows their face to another person, they will be disowned by the
08:24entire tribe. Now, the lead character in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin, was so immersed in the
08:29Watch's way of life that he never even questioned his comrades. No, did he realize that he was being raised
08:33by zealots. Until Bo-Katan set him straight, he had no idea that Mandos outside the Watch could whip
08:38their helmet off whenever they wanted. The divide between the Watch and the other tribes eventually led to a
08:43culture war, though, which concluded with Din Djarin's people locating to another planet.
08:46This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Watch were off-world when Mandalore was
08:50decimated during the Night of a Thousand Tears. Ironically, the Children of the Watch were
08:55only spared because they were too stubborn to change. Number one, Jedi cannot have attachments.
09:00To become a Jedi, being able to wield the Force isn't enough. If one is truly sincere about being
09:04inducted into the Order, they must give themselves to the light side completely. These monk-like warriors
09:09are expected to give up leisure, non-practical possessions, and family, all in the name of
09:14living up to being a Jedi. Likewise, Jedi are not allowed to give in to negative emotions such as
09:18greed, envy, or hate, since such feelings can lead to the dark side. However, Jedi are also expected
09:23to never embrace love physically or mentally. If a Jedi is caught having a relationship with another,
09:27they will be excommunicated from the Order immediately. Even though Anakin Skywalker was fully
09:32aware of this, he was unable to control his feelings for Padme Amidala, and so married her in secret.
09:37At first, one might assume that this rule is put in place to ensure Jedi weren't impaired by
09:41distractions, but history in this world has proven that love is the most powerful as well as the
09:45most dangerous of all emotions. After all, it was not hate that brought about the collapse of the
09:49Republic and the Jedi Order, but love. Well, love and fear. When Anakin had a vision that he would lose
09:54Padme, he vowed to do anything that would save her, including turning to the dark side. Had Anakin never
09:59experienced mutual love, it could have prevented the Empire forever taking over the galaxy in the first
10:04place, at least on paper. So that's our list. I want to know what you guys think down in the
10:08comments below. What do you think about these rules? How many of them did you know? How many
10:11of them didn't you know? And are there any interesting ones I missed off here? While you're
10:14down there as well, can you please give us a like, share, subscribe, and head over to WhatCulture
10:17Star Wars for more lists like this on the regular. Even if you don't though, I've been Josh.
10:20Thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.
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