One of the most renowned stories of the Expanded Universe is the famous 19 book series, New Jedi Order. Depicting the galactic struggle against the brutal Yuuzhan Vong and being the trial by fire for our new generation of heroes.
This series is known for its high stakes action, deep philosophical debates on the force, heartbreaking tragedy and overall just being a fun and engaging Star Wars experience but the one true fundamental theme of the NJO is one of hope. We see this countless times in the series, firstly with the devastating death of our beloved Chewbacca, this is the first time our heroes realize that they are not invincible, it’s a wake up call that they really need to take this seriously and keep each other close. Despite Chewie’s untimely death, our heroes push on, they’re willing to fight and repel these strange foes no matter the odds they are faced with.
As the war continues, the Yuuzhan Vong become more than the New Republic and the Jedi can handle, they lose massive swaths of the galaxy to the Vong including the capital of Coruscant. Yet in these dire circumstances, hope is not lost, hope is the light in the darkness that pushes our heroes to keep fighting until the Vong are repelled or they die trying and there is just something so powerful about that, you can lose things, you can suffer losses but hope is something that can never be taken away, it can be lost at times but it will always make a return, hope is perhaps the most powerful weapon one can wield. In the middle of the series when things seem the bleakest is where the tide starts to turn, Anakin Solo’s mission to take out the Voxyn queen, which of course ends with his tragic death, is what truly makes the war winnable, his noble sacrifice is what turns the tide and inspires hope in our surviving heroes despite the grievous loss they just suffered. In death, Anakin gave them the gift of hope and gave them a chance to survive and take back their home. Anakin also becomes a symbol of hope for the Shamed Ones of the Yuuzhan Vong and it is his sacrifice that gives the Shamed Ones the courage to rise up against their masters and were pivotal in the final battle of Yuuzhan’Tar.
There’s certainly something here that we can apply to our daily lives, things may be dark and things may get difficult but keep that hope alive and you will make it through to the other side.
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