Why Star Wars Jedi Risks Ending on an Anticlimactic Note

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 1, 2025 3 Views 5 Min Read
Why Star Wars Jedi Risks Ending on an Anticlimactic Note
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Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi series is aiming to wrap up in an upcoming third entry as per the announcement that it would be “the final chapter of this thrilling story.” This doesn’t necessarily mean Cal Kestis will never make an appearance in another Star Wars game or medium, but it does suggest that the Jedi franchise will conclude as a trilogy and most likely retire the Stinger Mantis crew as well as any storylines or loose threads that haven’t already been resolved in either Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order or Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In fact, despite how well Star Wars Jedi: Survivor elaborates on gameplay, the series could’ve quit while it was ahead after Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order due to how open-ended its conclusion is.

Huddled with companions Cere Junda, Greez Dritus, Merrin, and BD-1, Cal decides to destroy the Jedi holocron players had searched the whole game for so that the Force-sensitive children listed on it have a chance to live free from persecution. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor ends with a bit more of a throughline to pursue with the Hidden Path, but even it leaves a sequel up in the air regarding what it may entail. The ends of both Jedi games, but specifically Fallen Order, have played it safe regarding how much of an overall impact Cal Kestis is allowed to have on Star Wars’ looming canon.

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Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Makes the Case for a Nostalgic Force Power in Cal Kestis’ Final Chapter

If Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s sequel truly ends Cal Kestis’ story, closure can’t be left unrequited between him and his original father figure.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a Droplet in an Ocean

Fallen Order is a remarkably refreshing detour from traditional Star Wars stories and Cal Kestis, who plays the role of a dutiful Jedi Padawan/refugee, easily could’ve been one-dimensional. Instead, how Cal tackles situations and how he interacts with characters is nuanced.

Fallen Order itself basks in the knowledge that it is canonical to the overarching Star Wars umbrella but is not beholden to it; it tells an authentic story that is careful not to ruffle feathers, and yet the events that occur are no less emotional or high-stakes. Destroying the holocron is a choice that makes sense for those involved, though it also cleverly absolves Respawn of having to embed itself further in a plot that would stir more far-reaching and epic consequences.

In an effort not to tear holes in established lore across multiple generations, Fallen Order’s ending ensured that the series would always need to be an intimate, tight-knit story because, at this moment, neither Cal Kestis nor the Stinger Mantis crew has been seen or referenced elsewhere in Star Wars.

The Effect of Star Wars Jedi’s Third and Final Game May Be Weightless

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s story then had the daunting task of following its predecessor with a grander story while tip-toeing around the same canon eggshells, and the threequel’s responsibility is no different. A less chaotic or branching narrative wouldn’t hurt Survivor’s sequel, and yet if it’s being billed as the Jedi franchise’s final entry it will have to leave no stones unturned and leave a worthy mark on the IP as a whole. Darth Vader returning for a second time wouldn’t be all too surprising now, for example, and Cal’s quest to find refuge for himself, his loved ones, and the Hidden Path will likely lead him to one last conflict.

Bode Akuna became Survivor’s main antagonist in the third act and it’s possible that someone Cal meets in the third game may have a like-minded arc. Regardless, however the narrative takes shape it will almost assuredly end on a note where Cal’s journey is either bookended definitively—his death, for instance—or open-endedly, and no matter which route Respawn takes it probably won’t have a larger impact on Star Wars’ timeline since its anonymity thus far has been patternable.

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