Dear Master Windu,

I celebrated May the 4th like many Star Wars fans, glued to my quarantine couch enjoying one of my favorite franchises. As a child, you were my favorite character. You’re a cool guy, you’re a powerful Jedi with a prominent seat on the council, and you have a sweet purple lightsaber. Unfortunately, as a 26 year old, my position on you took a dramatic change in the year 2020.

As I watched Revenge of the Sith with my lovely parents and impressionable teenage sister, horror cascaded over me as I realized the demise of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader was heavily influenced by your provocative attitude towards The Chosen One.

The second young Anni stepped foot in the Jedi Temple, you were cold and skeptical. Trusted Jedi Knight Qui Gon Jinn dropped the Chosen One in your lap, and you rejected him the moment you laid eyes on him. You deemed him too old, emotional, and full of fear and anger. This 9 year old boy was rescued from slavery and brought to your sanctuary, only for you to tell him he was not worthy, reaffirming what he has been told all his life.

Despite your efforts, Anakin was trained and became a Jedi. After years of resentment, you felt the need to continue to prod and humiliate him every step of the way as he rose the Jedi ranks. You made sure to embarrass him in front of the entire Jedi Council by granting him a seat, but not the title of Master. Oh, how much joy that must have given you.

Despite years of keeping Anakin at arms length and undermining him at every turn, he still comes to you with news that Chancellor Palpatine is, in fact, the Sith Lord that’s been hiding right beneath your nose. You made it your mission to keep him down and smother his advancement every chance you got, and still, he did as you asked. How did you thank him? By leaving him in timeout as you set off to claim the glory of ending the Sith, once and for all.

Speaking of, your actions of eliminating Palpatine instead of bringing him to justice sealed your own fate. Anakin followed you and still had your back, as Palpatine was on his. He still preached the Jedi way of giving Palpatine over to stand trial. Maybe then you and the Jedi Council could have smothered him, despite a corrupt Senate. Maybe then Anakin could have seen the way of the Dark Side was built on lies, first hand. Maybe then Anakin would have fulfilled his prophecy and Luke and Leigh would not have grown up orphans. Maybe….

After your death, did you ever consider that your treatment of Anakin pushed him into the vice grips of the Dark Side? That maybe, had you been more loving and accepting of a boy plucked from slavery, he would have seen that love and good are the way of the force? Did you ever once think that at the Battle of Geonosis, you could have eliminated Count Dooku yourself, taking that burden off of Anakin in another ploy of Palpatine’s to twist him over? Has it crossed your mind that giving Anakin orders that go against the Jedi code, like spying on Palpatine in the first place, muddied the waters of good and bad in his mind even further? Do you regret taking a firm stance against your friend Obi Wan, who insisted on making Anakin his pupil? Or has the cloud of your own thirst for power left you to blame Palpatine as the sole reason Anakin’s weaknesses were exploited?

Anakin could have killed Palpatine the moment he found out he was the Sith Lord. He could have struck him down and ended it all but, that is not the Jedi way. Everything the Jedi stood for and everything he had been taught to that point lead Anakin to do the right thing and report Palpatine to you, Mace. And you blew it. You spit in his face and stood in the way of the prophecy that was Anakin’s to fulfill. Anakin Skywalker brought you 99 yards to the goal line, and you fumbled.

They say some of the best teachers are the ones that bring the best out of their students. The one’s who believe in them even when they don’t believe in themselves. You failed Anakin and pushed him to the Dark Side just as much as Palpatine, and you should be ashamed.

Best wishes,

A concerned Star Wars fan.

Follow me on Twitter @T_Ry25_

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