10 Crazy In-Universe Rules Star Wars Characters Follow
This is the way.
Transcript
00:00 The Star Wars universe is a place ruled by good and evil, heroes and villains, the light
00:04 side and the dark.
00:05 But this galaxy is also governed by regular old laws.
00:09 Whether they are the sacred texts of the Jedi or the ways of the Sith, every race and culture
00:13 have their own set of rules that they must abide by.
00:16 With that in mind then, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com and these are 10 crazy in-universe rules that
00:20 Star Wars characters follow.
00:22 10.
00:23 The Wookiees' Life Debt
00:24 If a person's life is owed to another, they can pledge to protect their saviour for the
00:28 rest of their life.
00:29 This custom, known as a life debt, is common amongst many cultures in the Star Wars universe.
00:33 I mean, Jar Jar Binks owed a life debt to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi after they
00:37 rescued him in The Phantom Menace.
00:39 And similarly, Chewbacca vowed to protect Han Solo after he came to the Wookiees' aid.
00:44 As understandable as this decree may be, Wookiees in particular take it to a radical extreme.
00:50 The hairy creatures from Kashyyyk are so willing to honour the custom that it's not rare
00:53 for the recipient of the life debt to turn the Wookiee into a slave.
00:57 Even if the Wookiee is able to fight back or flee from their so-called messiah, the
01:00 fuzzball won't even try.
01:02 Since it's devotion to the life debt is too strong to break.
01:06 This is quite sadly ironic, as can be observed in Solo A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Knights
01:10 of the Old Republic, as one of the more common reasons Wookiees make life debts in the first
01:14 place is because they're freed from slavery.
01:17 9.
01:18 Stormtroopers Don't Have Names
01:20 To ensure the Stormtroopers are of the highest calibre, each soldier goes through painstaking
01:24 reconditioning during their induction into the Empire.
01:27 Not only are they trained physically, but mentally.
01:30 They are broken down on a psychological level to ensure that they are unequivocally obedient
01:34 to their superiors, no matter how unreasonable their requests might be, which is almost always
01:39 very, very unreasonable.
01:41 Because the original Stormtroopers were clones who aged at double speed, there was little
01:45 time for a personality to develop.
01:47 Since each member didn't have any real personal traits to separate them from one another,
01:51 it makes sense why they were designated by operating numbers rather than names.
01:55 When the First Order abandoned the cloning program and hired, or forced, regular soldiers
02:00 to serve as Stormtroopers, the higher-ups continued to refer to the cadets by these
02:04 operating numbers.
02:05 By dehumanising them like this, the First Order believed that their cadets would function
02:09 more mechanically, making them follow orders unconditionally.
02:12 Hell, some Stormtroopers were taken into the First Order at such an early age that many
02:16 of them have forgotten their name, if they ever even had one to begin with.
02:20 Shit.
02:21 Jedi can kill, but never out of revenge.
02:23 For generations, the Jedi have depicted themselves as peaceful monks.
02:27 In the wise words of Mace Windu, we're keepers of the peace, not soldiers.
02:31 However, this philosophy is a big fat lie, since Jedi do kill all the time.
02:36 I mean hell, Mace Windu himself didn't look particularly peaceful when he lopped off Jango's
02:40 head in Episode 2.
02:41 Since Force Wielders then are often in the thick of battle, one can only imagine how
02:45 many lives they've taken.
02:46 But according to the Jedi teachings, they are strictly forbidden to kill out of revenge.
02:51 As Anakin Skywalker proved, vengeance can easily lead one to the dark side.
02:55 While Anakin may have been arrogant and childish in his youth, he was still mostly guided by
02:59 morals.
03:00 But when his mother was enslaved and killed by Tusken Raiders, he became consumed by revenge,
03:05 resulting in him slaughtering the entire tribe.
03:07 This was the first time Anakin tapped into the dark side, and is often regarded as his
03:11 first real step to becoming Darth Vader.
03:15 As hard as it is to believe, members of the Empire are, on paper anyway, forbidden from
03:22 harming others unprovoked.
03:24 To put it another way, the guys who blew up Alderaan are not supposed to hurt anybody.
03:29 Because the Emperor pretends he has the people's best interests at heart, he can't just have
03:33 his subjects shoving blasters in front of citizens' faces with no rhyme or reason.
03:37 So he often just invents a reason.
03:40 Unless you've never seen a Star Wars movie, you should probably be well aware that every
03:44 Empire employee under the sun has failed to abide by this rule.
03:48 For as long as the Empire has existed, Stormtroopers have imprisoned, tortured and shot anyone
03:53 who had the misfortune of crossing their path.
03:55 I mean, just because Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru found themselves in the wrong place at the
03:58 wrong time, Stormtroopers had them burned to a crisp, through no fault of their own.
04:03 Because the Empire is passionately prejudiced against aliens as well, Stormtroopers are
04:07 known for being more ruthless with non-humans, jailing and killing them for the most minor
04:11 of crimes.
04:12 Despite the fact that it's illegal for Imperials to harm civilians, history has proven that
04:16 this law only exists on paper, not in practice.
04:21 Female Stormtroopers Must Train Harder Even though several Imperial officers have
04:25 appeared throughout Star Wars, all the Stormtroopers initially were suggested to be male.
04:29 However, there is no law restricting women from donning the white helmet and armour.
04:33 Although they don't appear in the original trilogy, George Lucas did confirm that female
04:36 Stormtroopers were stationed on the Death Star and other Empire-controlled units.
04:40 Because the female enlisted cadets are trained separately, you would think that this is the
04:44 main reason we rarely see them.
04:46 But there is another factor why women are rarely spotted marching through Star Destroyers
04:50 and Empire C stations, and that's because the Empire forced women to work much harder
04:54 physically to match the male trainees.
04:57 Because of this, one can only imagine the gruelling experience that Captain Phasma must
05:00 have endured to work her way up the ranks to become the head Stormtrooper.
05:05 Bribes in the Empire are a No-No The Empire is a profoundly immoral dictatorship,
05:10 populated by employees which will commit any atrocity to further their agenda.
05:14 Since its creation, these fascists have enslaved millions of blown up planets and obliterated
05:18 entire star systems.
05:20 Despite the boundless evil they've committed, there is one law which the Empire takes very
05:25 very seriously, and that's bribery.
05:28 Even though payoffs are obviously illegal in real life, it's baffling why this is
05:32 the one crime that causes Imperials to suddenly take the moral high ground.
05:36 After all, wouldn't accepting bribes be a really effective tactic to learn crucial
05:40 information to smoke out vigilantes?
05:42 Will Darth Vader really care if a scout trooper is bribed a few space credits if he learns
05:47 the location of a rebel base?
05:49 Considering the Empire has allied with scum like the Hutts and countless bounty hunters,
05:53 it's genuinely bewildering that they act holier than thou when it comes to accepting
05:57 a few kickbacks.
05:58 I'm sure the paperwork for building three Death Stars wasn't legit, and a few palms
06:03 were greased to get those battle stations up and running, right?
06:06 Therefore, a laugh a day keeps the Jabba away.
06:09 Jabba the Hutt loves nothing more than to be surrounded by all manner of little freaks.
06:13 His den is a hive of scum and villainy, and as you might expect from a demented crime
06:17 boss, he runs a pretty tight and tough ship.
06:19 He has all manner of rules that his subordinates have to abide by in order to win his respect,
06:24 but none of his subjects live under quite as much fear as one salacious B. Crump.
06:28 Now while you might not know this little rat by his real name, you will remember him from
06:33 Return of the Jedi, where he essentially served as Jabba's hype man and jester.
06:36 While that's not the worst job in the world to have, Crump doesn't exactly perform it
06:41 under ideal conditions.
06:42 See in a twisted way, Jabba saved Crump from death.
06:45 However, it wasn't out the goodness of his heart.
06:48 Instead, Crump lives under a tight contract whereby he has to justify his life by making
06:52 Jabba laugh at least one time per day.
06:55 And if he misses the mark, then well, Jabba will just off him.
06:58 So Crump existed under this rule for a good while, only to end up dead in the end anyway.
07:03 3.
07:04 Sith Must Respect Each Other, But Can Kill One Another
07:07 As a student to a Sith Lord, one is expected to carry out every order without question
07:11 or hesitation.
07:12 Any form of defiance will be met with a punishment of the highest order, so as a result an apprentice
07:17 should be utterly obedient to their superior.
07:19 However, the only way for an apprentice to complete their training as a Sith is to kill
07:24 their master.
07:25 Even though Sith Lords spend years or decades training their student, they know it's only
07:29 a matter of time before the apprentice turns on them.
07:31 In fact, Darth Vader has battled the Emperor in the comics, books and video games on many
07:35 occasions in a vain attempt to usurp his master's throne.
07:39 If the apprentice wishes to challenge their mentor, they're expected to take part in
07:42 a lightsaber duel.
07:43 But since the Sith are, well, the Sith, they often rely on less direct methods to dispose
07:48 of their rival.
07:49 Sadly, Darth Plagueis learned this the hard way when Darth Sidious murdered him in his
07:52 sleep.
07:53 What makes this hypocritical code of honour more ridiculous, though, is how the Darksiders
07:57 would probably have succeeded at destroying the Jedi Order eons ago if they weren't
08:00 so busy trying to kill each other.
08:03 Some Mandalorians can't show their face
08:05 Of the multiple factions of the Mandalorians, the most well-known is the Children of the
08:08 Watch.
08:09 Because these bounty hunters are not permitted to show their faces, the other tribes regard
08:13 the Watch as a religious cult.
08:14 Some Children of the Watch take this rule so seriously, in fact, that they won't remove
08:18 their helmet while eating alone or even sleeping.
08:21 If a member shows their face to another person, they will be disowned by the entire tribe.
08:25 Now the lead character in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin, was so immersed in the Watch's
08:29 way of life that he never even questioned his comrades.
08:31 Nor did he realise that he was being raised by Zealots.
08:34 Until Bo-Katan set him straight, he had no idea that Mandos outside the Watch could whip
08:38 their helmet off whenever they wanted.
08:40 The divide between the Watch and the other tribes eventually led to a culture war, though,
08:43 which concluded with Din Djarin's people locating to another planet.
08:47 This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Watch were offworld when Mandalore
08:50 was decimated during the Night of a Thousand Tears.
08:53 Ironically, the Children of the Watch were only spared because they were too stubborn
08:56 to change.
08:57 1.
08:58 Jedi cannot have attachments To become a Jedi, being able to wield the
09:02 Force isn't enough.
09:03 If one is truly sincere about being inducted into the Order, they must give themselves
09:07 to the light side completely.
09:08 These monk-like warriors are expected to give up leisure, non-practical possessions, and
09:12 family, all in the name of living up to being a Jedi.
09:15 Likewise, Jedi are not allowed to give in to negative emotions such as greed, envy,
09:19 or hate, since such feelings can lead to the dark side.
09:22 However, Jedi are also expected to never embrace love physically or mentally.
09:25 If a Jedi is caught having a relationship with another, they will be excommunicated
09:29 from the Order immediately.
09:30 Even though Anakin Skywalker was fully aware of this, he was unable to control his feelings
09:34 for Padme Amidala, and so married her in secret.
09:37 At first, one might assume that this rule was put in place to ensure Jedi weren't
09:40 impaired by distractions, but history in this world has proven that love is the most powerful
09:44 as well as the most dangerous of all emotions.
09:47 After all, it was not hate that brought about the collapse of the Republic and the Jedi
09:50 Order, but love.
09:52 Well love and fear.
09:53 When Anakin had a vision that he would lose Padme, he vowed to do anything that would
09:56 save her, including turning to the dark side.
09:59 Had Anakin never experienced mutual love, it could have prevented the Empire forever
10:02 taking over the galaxy in the first place.
10:05 At least on paper.
10:06 So that's our list!
10:07 I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
10:08 What do you think about these rules?
10:10 How many of them did you know?
10:11 How many of them didn't you know?
10:12 And are there any interesting ones I missed off here?
10:14 While you're down there as well, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe, and
10:16 head over to War Culture Star Wars for more lists like this on the regular.
10:18 Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see