Star Wars KOTOR 2's Kreia Is One of The Series' Most…

The world of Star Wars is massive and includes many well-written characters that go overlooked, especially if they aren't included in the movies. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords had one of the messiest releases of its time and was largely unfinished, had hours of cut content, and broken questlines. Despite these significant flaws, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords is still hailed today as one of the best Star Wars games thanks to the quality of its writing, its worldbuilding, and its characters.

One of the main characters in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords is Kreia. The first party member the player character meets, Kreia fills the role of the old and wise Jedi Master. She teaches the player, advises them on the ways of the Force, and oftentimes offers her perspective on situations and their outcomes throughout the course of the game's story. This is made even better by the player character's Force Bond with Kreia, allowing them to share their thoughts, feelings, and possible mortality.

three pictures of darth scion, darth nihilus and kreia

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By Jake Fillery

Star Wars: The Sith Lords Subverts the Role of the Wise Mentor in Unexpected Ways

Kreia's role as a mentor is clear, but she both serves the role and subverts it as she's one of The Sith Lords' primary antagonists, having intentionally sought out the Jedi Exile in an attempt to bring about the death of the Force. The subversion of the mentor goes deeper than having failed students, and her teachings are blamed for the fall of numerous Jedi, including KOTOR's Revan, even if she wasn't a Sith Lord at the time.

Rather than a complete refutation of the lore that came before it, The Sith Lords instead takes Star Wars' lore and examines it. At the end of The Sith Lords, the result is not a rejection of the philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith, but a more nuanced understanding of the lore that the Star Wars movies and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic introduced. This type of examination of Star Wars lore has been done since The Sith Lords' launch, but arguably these attempts have not been as effective, save for The Clone Wars' TV series.

Kreia's Relationship with the Jedi Exile in KotOR 2

This dissection and examination of the Force is primarily carried through Kreia's arc and goals. Within her arc comes a blend of narrative and video game mechanics, where Kreia teaches the player to tap into the Force in new ways and becomes more powerful as a Force-user but, in doing so, also plays into Kreia's goal of destroying the Force.

This creates an interesting dynamic between Kreia and the Jedi Exile as, for the most part, the Jedi Exile is very aware that Kreia is manipulating them, but accepts her for any number of reasons, from sympathy to care to necessity.

Kreia is genuinely a character that hadn't been seen before in Star Wars and has rarely been seen since. While Jolee Bindo from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was also something of a subversion of the wise mentor as a gray Force-user and an ex-Jedi, he still encouraged Light-sided actions. Rather than encouraging the Jedi Exile onto the path of the Light or Dark, Kreia truly wishes for the Jedi Exile to remain neutral, and disapproves of actions that are overtly good or cartoonishly evil.

An attempt has been made to replicate Kreia's perspective with various jaded Jedi Masters, but always with a change of heart and an acceptance of the Jedi teachings at the end of their stories, making them less intriguing when compared to Kreia. Kreia's experiences informed her outlook, and her unique relationship with the player makes her a character that many remember even two decades later.

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