Not allStar Warsmedia is whimsical or playful, and of course its titular wartime themes can be downright devastating and traumatic for characters involved in their consequences across generations. Respawn and EA’sStar Wars Jediseries is no different, choosing to isolate one character, Cal Kestis, and depict how he wrestles withgrief and loss following the fall of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire.Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderleaned into this heavily as Cal is hunted by the Emperor’s Inquisitorius, made up of Force-sensitives who’ve been turned to the dark side through violent and oppressive means.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivordoesn’t concern itself with continuing this throughline further than the Ninth Sister’s reprisal and subsequent mercy killing, but its effects linger in every poignant reminder that Cal is a Jedi Knight in hiding and everyone in the galaxy is either on the run themselves or simply attempting to survive the Galactic Empire’s onslaught.Star Wars Jedi: Survivorreferences some of the casualties that Cal and the Stinger Mantis crew lost to the Inquisitors five years prior, andSurvivorgoes well out of its way to be a constant reminder of two ofFallen Order’s most pivotal deaths: Prauf and Trilla Suduri.
Prauf’s Death is Fallen Order’s Inciting Incident and Catalyzes Everything Thereafter
The argument could be made thatJedi Master Jaro Tapal’s death inFallen Order’s late-game prologueis the actual inciting incident of the game’s story. However, Cal doesn’t brandish his lightsaber and devote himself to an actionable cause until Prauf, his closest friend in the scrapyards of Bracca, is killed trying to boldly cover for Cal and stand up to the Empire.
Ironically, one of the two most significant Inquisitorius casualties, Prauf, is slain by the other, theSecond Sister, formerly known as Trilla Suduri.
As such, Prauf is the reason why Cal is stirred, even ifPrauf nearly falling to his death was what caused Cal to use the Force and drew the ire of the Inquisitorius to Braccain the first place. If all had remained quiet on Bracca and Cal could’ve kept his head down forever in the scrapper’s guild, it’s unlikely that he would’ve ever found a reason to out himself.
Prauf is brought up when Cal reminisces about miscellaneous items on the Stinger Mantis inSurvivor, but even without a ton of other explicit references to the Abednedo he is alive and well in every expression of Cal’s selfless bravery, loyalty, and nobility, particularly when it comes to sticking up for those who are in danger or helpless. This is true ofStar Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Turgle, a charmingly naive stranger whom Cal is willing to expose himself as a Jedi and put himself in the crosshairs of the Bedlam Raiders for.
It’s possible that his altruistic instincts could be purely borne of him being raised as a Jedi Padawan who believes in what the Order is meant to stand for, but it’s more relative and relevant to the narrative to ascribe Prauf’s goodhearted nature as a way Cal is able to honor him for his sacrifice. If so, Cal can be a good person regardless of his association with the Jedi, which makes more sense anyhow given that he has proven himself to be quite unorthodox and three-dimensional compared to traditional Jedi.
Trilla’s Dying Plea is a Tall Order and Cere Junda’s Goal in Survivor May Have to Suffice
A second before she’s killed by Darth Vader, Trilla cries, “Avenge us!” This is an emotionally charged and chilling line of dialogue since it shows that Cal and Cere’s intervention had succeeded in bringing her back from the poisoned state her mind was in, only it was tragically too late.
Trilla’s plea is an impossible task to request of anyone, especially when players know full well that Cal and Cere fail to have any lasting impact on the broaderStar Warsmythology beyond theJedigames thus far. Still,Survivorthankfully reveals that even though they never went searching for Force-sensitive children after all, Cal and Cere never quit fighting to avenge Trilla in their own compartmentalized ways.
Cal continuing to chip away at supply lines and depots doesn’t seem to make any discernible dent in the Empire’s forces, but it at least demonstrates that he feels a great burden to honor everyone who’s died under its occupancy and reign in the galaxy. Likewise, Cere doubling down on the Force, sacred archival knowledge, and the Hidden Path was all an effort to secure a future for Force sensitives and Jedi (though Cal, Cere, and Eno Cordova seem to be the only ones gathered on Jedha without knowingly counting Bode Akuna among them), which was all evidently inTrilla’s posthumous honor as Cere mutters her Padawan’s namein her dying breath.
Moreover, even if it ends with her death,Cere’s epic rematch against Darth Vader inStar Wars Jedi: Survivorleaves the cape-clad Skywalker gravely wounded, and that by itself might’ve been enough to make Trilla proud.
Cal’s conversation with Greez Dritus in Pyloon’s Saloon’s living quartersteases that Cal may eventually stash away his lightsaber and retire from fighting back against Imperial oppression, and perhaps Cal will have done enough now to adequately say he’s avenged Trilla if he manages to smuggle the Hidden Path to Tanalorr. In a third game, though, neither Prauf nor Trilla should be forgotten, and the confirmed existence of an upcoming third entry alone suggests that Cal has meaningful work to do yet.
