LISTEN, I WILL DIE ON THE HILL OF STANNING MACE WINDU AS AN AMAZING JEDI. I Love That Each Jedi Is Amazing

LISTEN, I WILL DIE ON THE HILL OF STANNING MACE WINDU AS AN AMAZING JEDI. I love that each Jedi is amazing for themselves, that each one is the best Jedi they can be, that being a True Jedi is about what that means for them themselves, but if you asked me to point to a Jedi that embodies so much of their philosophy and compassion and all the best of them?  Mace Windu is on that list in a heartbeat. Mace was a stern-face person, yes, but he cared very deeply about the Jedi Order and about the people around him.

Look at his face, as he’s worried about Yoda!  THAT IS SOMEONE WHO CARES DEEPLY. He also cared about standing up for the last Zillo beast in existence, even when he knew that there wasn’t much chance he could do anything.

He also cared about protecting and saving the clones around him.

He also cared about Anakin–he defends him to Obi-Wan in the Attack of the Clones deleted scenes, telling Obi-Wan to trust him.  He banters with Anakin while overseeing the cadets in The Clone Wars.  He believes Anakin immediately in Revenge of the Sith, even after Anakin accepted Palpatine’s nepotism.  He tells Anakin to stay back when they go to arrest Palpatine because he’s protecting Anakin. Even when Anakin was being kind of a shit when he wasn’t granted the unearned rank of Master (and had just accepted Palpatine putting him onto the Council, rather than earning it himself), Mace is never more than mildly stern with him at most.  Frankly, Anakin deserved a lot more than someone being mildly stern at him (he may not have asked for Palpatine to put him on the Council, but he accepted it and then was upset when he wasn’t granted the rank of Master, yeah, no shit Mace told him to take a seat). He cared about Prosset Dibs, who tried to murder him because he was falling to the dark side, and Mace turned around and said Prosset was as much a victim of this war as anyone, that he shouldn’t be faulted for it, that it was their duty to bring him back to the light.  They sent him to work in the Archives, where he was presumably free to continue to make his own choices.

He advocated for leniency and rehabilitation for Boba Fett, rather than having him sent to prison as a child, even though he was ignored. He struggled with the Jedi being drafted into the war, because they weren’t meant to be soldiers in this way, but the Republic seemed to need them, people were going to die if the Jedi didn’t step up to help, and yet Mace still clearly struggled with this decision because there were no easy answers and he cared deeply.

THAT IS NOT THE FACE OF SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T CARE. Mace also has his softer moments, look at his gentle warmth with the young Twi’lek girl from Star Wars Adventures:

He had a fun side–he was a theater actor and I would have paid CASH MONEY to see that!

He and Yoda had an absolute JOY of a friendship–that conversation they have about what Queen Julia sees in Jar Jar just reeks of two old friends who have spent decades ribbing each other. Or look at the gif above where Mace is deeply worried about Yoda! Or  ANY TIME THEY SIDE EYE EACH OTHER. THEY ARE SO MUCH FUN.

Mace was also incredibly patient with Jar Jar–yes, he expressed some frustration at times (but literally everyone does with Jar Jar, from Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan to Padme to Bail, he takes time to grow on you), but he warmed up quickly to Jar Jar and was so gently warm with him by the end, when Jar Jar says they make a great team, the respect and affection in Mace’s voice when he says, “Indeed.” is plain to hear. And that’s not to say Mace was perfect, he absolutely had to struggle to get to where he is, and that’s one of the reasons I admire his character so much. He wasn’t born with his cool and calm demeanor, he had fire and anger inside of him–

Because he cared–he was angry at what was happening on Mathas, to its people, the way they were being scammed by a conman pretending to be a Jedi, he was angry about the misuse of the name of the Jedi, and that was something he genuinely had to work on. Cyslin Myr says, “A fire burns inside you, Padawan.  That, in itself, is not inherently wrong.  It is my job to help you temper it.  This is why I chose you to accompany me on missions.”

Because Mace’s heart hangs heavy to see the suffering of these people, he’s angry that they’re hurting this way, and he has to temper those feelings. Mace Windu is not an angry man, not because he is unfamiliar with anger, but because he has faced himself and strengthened himself and tempered himself, through his faith, through his religion, through his culture, through his connections to others, through his self-reflection, through his Jedi beliefs. Mace is a character whom I love dearly because he’s so much of what I admire about how he’s defined himself, how much he cares about those around him, how he continued to offer compassion even when he knew it was futile, whether it was fighting for the Zillo beast or Boba or offering battle droids a better path, Mace Windu believed in the ideals of the Jedi Order and was true to his faith. MACE WINDU WAS AN INCREDIBLE JEDI AND AN INCREDIBLE PERSON. AND ALSO THE CUTEST BB YOU HAVE EVER SEEN OH MY GOD: