Summary
- Yoda’s unsung apprentice Bree had a significant impact on Luke Skywalker’s training despite not being a Jedi.
- Yoda struggles with guilt and self-doubt, blaming himself for the rise of Emperor Palpatine and the fall of the Jedi Order.
- Bree’s reminder that failure is the greatest teacher helps Yoda overcome his doubts and agree to train Luke, bringing hope and leading to the downfall of the Empire.
Master Jedi Yoda‘s most important apprentice was never even a Jedi, but that doesn’t stop him from changing the course of Star Wars history. Bree Menaren learned many things during his time with Yoda, but the way of the Jedi was not one of them. Yoda’s unsung apprentice did, however, directly affect Luke Skywalker’s training.
Yoda is contemplating his past in Star Wars: Yoda #10, by Cavan Scott, Ibraim Roberson, Neeraj Menon, and Joe Caramagna. He still searches for what went wrong that led to the rise of Emperor Palpatine. He revisits his time on the outer rim planet of Turrak, where he helped a young Scalvi named Bree stave off his village’s enemies.
Bree and Yoda naturally established a teacher-student relationship due to Bree’s gentle demeanor and inquisitive nature. This apprenticeship leads directly to Luke Skywalker’s training, as Bree eventually reminds Yoda that he does indeed have a lot to give as a teacher.
Bree Prepared Yoda To Train Luke Skywalker
Yoda blames himself, even after all these years, for not recognizing the hidden evil that was at the helm of the clone wars and the destruction of Anakin Skywalker. When Obi-Wan Kenobi asks Yoda to train Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi, Yoda is still full of self-doubt from the fall of the Jedi Order and is clearly frustrated with the idea of teaching again. He finds himself at the mouth of the Cave of Evil; inside, he is confronted with all of his perceived mistakes, including his former apprentice, Count Dooku. The co-architect to the end of the Republic blames Yoda for not seeing what he had become until it was too late. Just when Yoda is about to be completely overcome by his guilt, visions of Bree appear to the master Jedi.
Bree reminds Yoda that he is a good teacher by reiterating Yoda’s past lessons back to him. The reason Yoda will not answer Obi-Wan’s request to train Luke Skywalker is because he is afraid he will make the same mistakes with Luke that he made with past apprentices. The turning point comes when Bree reminds Yoda of another lesson he once taught the young Scalvi: “You get it wrong, so you start again. And it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, because the greatest teacher failure is.“
Yoda emerges from the cave having shed his guilt and self-doubt because of what Bree says to him, and he tells Obi-Wan that he is ready to teach. If not for Bree, Yoda would never have trained Luke Skywalker, and the Empire would still reign over the galaxy.
Star Wars: Yoda #10 is on sale from Marvel Comics.