The Philosophy of Kreia: A Critical Examination of Star Wars

The character Kreia from the game Knights of the Old Republic 2 is arguably one of the greatest female characters in gaming. However, despite her fame, much of her philosophy has been misunderstood due to the puzzling manner in which the game presents her backstory and motives. This video will serve both as an examination of Kreia’s philosophy and her criticisms of the Star Wars universe as a whole. Chris Avellone famously said in an interview that Knights of the Old Republic 2 was meant to question everything there had to be questioned about Star Wars. This video will be answering those questions. This video has been five months in the making. 0:00 - Introduction 2:28 - The Jedi Code 3:56 - Jedi/Buddhist Philosophy comparison 5:10 - The Sith Code 6:24 - Nietzsche/Sith Philosophy Comparison 7:10 - The Duality of Kreia 8:25 - Atris’s Path mirroring Kreia’s Past 9:49 - Arren Kae’s “Fall“ from the Jedi Order 11:30 - Darth Traya’s Origins 12:50 - Why Jedi Keep Falling to the Dark Side 17:50 - Anakin’s Example 19:50 - Jolee Bindo’s Rejection of Traditional Jedi teaching 21:05 - Luke’s Conflict with the Code 21:52 - The Self-Destruction of Altruism 24:30 - On Jedi Training Children 26:20 - The Sith’s Repeating Pattern 27:10 - Yuthura Ban’s Story 29:12 - Anakin’s Emotional Entrapment 32:18 - Master Morality 34:58 - The Emptiness of Revenge 37:50 - What Defines Kreia? 39:40 - The Ithorians vs Czerka Corporation 43:10 - Kreia’s Iconic parable on Kindness/Cruelty 47:00 - Nar Shadda’s Lessons in Manipulation 55:11 - A Lesson in Strength and Power 1:02:52 - Kreia’s Motivation 1:04:47 - Jolee Bindo’s parable of Master Hortath 1:07:12 - The Jedi Masters’ Judgment of the Exile 1:09:02 - Kreia’s Judgment of the Jedi Masters 1:09:34 - The Revelation of Atris’ Fall 1:10:50 - Jedi/Sith Similarities 1:12:20 - Lightsabers’ Symbolic Colours 1:13:50 - Corruption of the Dark Side 1:14:56 - The Weaknesses of Dependence on the Force 1:22:03 - Master Morality vs Slave Morality 1:26:00 - Why Kreia Hates the Force 1:28:53 - Free Will/Choice vs Fate/Destiny 1:35:42 - An Unsettling Recurrence of Events 1:37:00 - Kreia’s Grand Schemes 1:41:28 - Name Symbolism 1:42:48 - The Significance of the Exile and Malachor 1:49:28 - Kreia’s Final Wish 1:50:52 - Luke’s Original Purpose 1:51:44 - Conclusion