MoviesNewsTalk
The Galactic Empire's attempts to destroy the Jedi Order were greatly aided by the group of Force-wielders assigned to hunt down surviving Jedi following the terrible Order 66. Often former Jedi themselves, these dark side users were crucial in helping Darth Vader hunt Jedi relics all around the galaxy. Once their quest seemed fulfilled, though, what happened to these Jedi hunters?
Originally featured in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, under Darth Vader's direction the Inquisitors were a powerful tool. Their main goal was to eradicate any last Jedi who had escaped Order 66's execution so guaranteeing the Emperor's total rule. Their roots, though, are firmly in tragedy. Once Jedi themselves, many inquisitors were abducted and subjected to torture and manipulation until they gave in to the dark side, so serving tools of destruction for their former order.
Fans have speculated about what might have happened to the Inquinctors following the Jedi threat apparently disappearing. Although some ideas claim that battles and attrition caused their numbers to drop, a more convincing theory—presented in Dr. Chris Kempshall's Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire—points to a conscious decision by Emperor Palpatine.
Investigators Getting Obsolete
Ever the master manipulator, palpatine might have decided the Inquisitors outdated once the Jedi threat had been greatly reduced. The value of the Inquinctors as Jedi hunters became dubious given most survivors in hiding and those surviving choosing to cut off from the Force. As seen by interactions with Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, who was first hiding from the Empire but was driven back into the fight, their ongoing existence ran the danger of inspiring more resistance.
The Rising Cal Kestis and the Jedi Resistance
One Padawan who survived Order 66, Cal Kestis, shows how the actions of the Inquinctors unintentionally stoked the Jedi resistance. The Inquisitors restored Cal's link to the Force by driving him from hiding, so guiding him on a road that finally resulted in the destruction of Fortress Inquisitorius, a principal base of operations for these Jedi hunters.
Another fascinating possibility arises from the question of how the Inquisitors finally perished: did Palpatine command Darth Vader to kill them? If so, the Jedi hunters' shockingly fitting ending would be Once a Jedi himself and the designer of the Inquisitors' creation, Darth Vader would turn into their final killer.
Darth Vader: Jedi Hunting Master
Over the Star Wars narrative, Vader's mastery in Jedi hunting is well-known. It is quite improbable they could have survived an encounter with their master since his strength and ability much exceeded those of the Inquinctors. Once strong Jedi themselves, the inquisitors would be useless against the dark lord they serviced. For the company, this would also mark a sad complete circle.
The story of the inquisitors finally is one of catastrophe and hopelessness. Their own identities distorted by the dark side, they were victims of the Jedi Purge, turning tools of their former order's destruction. In Palpatine's grand scheme, they were pawns with a transient use. Originally hunted down by the very creature Anakin Skywalker became, they were the ultimate victims of his plunge into the dark side.
Anakin Skywalker: Tragic Architect's Designer
Fall to the dark side Anakin Skywalker had terrible effects on the Jedi Order and the galaxy overall. He was the designer of the Inquisitors' work; his actions resulted in the persecution of his former brothers. It is a sad irony that the personification of Anakin's darkness, Darth Vader, would finally bring about the very institution he helped to build to collapse.
The dismal reminder of the terrible force of the dark side provided by the inquisitors comes from the other side. They stand for the corruption of the Jedi Order, its turn from a lighthouse of hope into an oppressive weapon. Their existence is a warning about the seductive force of the dark side and its capacity to turn even the most moral people twisted. Ultimately, they were only the result of the machinations of the dark side; their fate attested to the terrible results of its influence.