There Is Only Passion

Speaking of the Jedi’s hubris, we move on quickly to spend some time with a very intriguing character who only becomes more intriguing in this brief moment. Qmir, played by The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto, is talking to Mae, and says to her “The Jedi justify their galactic dominance in the name of peace.” Over shots of Jedi Padawans undergoing stylish weapon drills and of Sol walking through a corridor of ray-shielded cells housing prisoners, the message here is clearly that Qmir has something out for the Jedi and their high-and-mighty place in the galaxy. After all, he’s previously been described as being a former smuggler—and someone who relies on ferrying goods across space with as few questions asked as possible doesn’t want wandering magic samurai coming along and tutting at him. Fair!

However it’s what Qmir says next, especially in saying it to Mae, that sparks intriguing: “But that peace… is a lie.” Sharp-eared Star Wars fans will recognize that this is the infamous opening line of the Sith Code:

Peace is a lie. There is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain bictory.

Through bictory my chains are broken.

The Force shall free me.

Created for the classic video game Knights of the Old Republic and eventually canonized in contemporary Star Wars by its inclusion in the Clone Wars episodes “Altar of Mortis” and “Brothers” before going on to be used elsewhere, the Code of the Sith is the dark mirror to the Jedi Code—and of course, in a show that’s all about the rise and return of the Sith in their fight against the Jedi, having a character suddenly say something so specific to our seemingly dark-sided protagonist is going to set alarm bells ringing.