#battle of jabiim will haunt me to the rest of my days

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We stopped being children weeks ago!

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Question about Zule Xiss in the Jabiim arc of the Star Wars: Republic comics: do you believe her when she said she hated her Master, or do you agree with the other Padawans when they thought she was lying out of hurt/trauma? I did notice in Zule's first appearance (and her Master's only), not only do they seem to have a good relationship, but she also seems to be copying his fashion choices. So this idea of her hating him seems to have been only introduced later. Curious to hear your thoughts?

I did not believe for a moment Zule when she claimed to hate her master. Being angry at Glaive for dying and leaving her alone? Perhaps, to some degree. But I think the main point of such a drastic change between “The New Face of War” and “Battle of Jabiim” is to show how the Order was badly prepared to deal with war brutality and its effect on Jedi, especially padawans.

And yeah, Zule was brash and sarcastic, maybe even a bit too arrogant to begin with, which was especially seen in her short interaction with Anakin and Alpha (x)(x), at the meeting before the mission. But once the fight started, Glaive was constantly worried about her safety and once he died, Zule kept fighting to defeat Asajj and Durge, for her master:

This is not the reaction of someone who hates their own teacher / the closest thing to a parental figure padawan could have, right? And then once the fight was over, she clinged to Alpha, who carried Glaive’s body.

Zule didn’t just lost master that day. Asajj cut her arm, Durge almost gouged out her eye, she saw destroyed settlement by biological/chemical weapon with dozens of dead Gungans - and some of those bodies get reanimated with Dark Side of the Force by Asajj to attack the Jedi and she herself get infected by dangerous gas that killed Gungans. This one fight for sure left scars on Zule’s psyche.

Then we have the grand idea of Jedi Order - collect the masterless padawans in small group(s) so they will replace the killed Knights and have a better chance to survive on frontlines, regardless if they have post traumatic stress disorder (and thus should not serve in the military at all) or not.

And so Zule ended up on Jabiim, one of the most brutal, bloodiest campaigns in the whole clone wars which definitely did not help in the healing process nor in finding peace between people who, like her, lost their masters. And though they were similar in this aspect, every member of the Padawan Pack was coping with their loss in their own ways. There was Kass and Mark who fell in love, there was Tae and Elora connected by telepathic bond (and maybe romantic feelings too), there was Anakin who seemed to be doing fine, but it was noted that without Kenobi (considered then KIA) became more reckless. And then we have Zule, who became more angry and who threatened her fellow padawan for talking too much. Who acted nonchalant about her master’s death and her own lost arm.

And though she claimed Glaive was the worst master and sometimes to think about killing him herself, from the little bits of her past, we get the idea she was considered a failure (most likely to die in cantina brawl, as she was told by the Council) that was passed from one master to another and only Glaive truly gave her a chance. And maybe he was a bad teacher but that does not mean he was a bad man (Jedi). Which is why I believe Vaabesh when he says that Zule is angry and she uses the anger to protect herself from the pain.

Which really brings us to the problem of Padawan Pack - this is a group of traumatized young people who never were given a time to heal nor a proper help to guide them through the darkest time of their life. They had only themselves to rely on, especially once all Jedi generals died in the battle and all the responsibility of command fell on them.

It may look like Zule’s hate for the dead master makes no sense but I think it was a set up for her slowly falling to the Dark Side. The change of behaviour, how aggressive or nonchalant she became even toward her own companions, all of this are little hints she was emotionally unwell and how the Jedi Order failed those in their care. Zule relied on anger and hate, because it gives her strength to keep fighting in brutal war, to protect her Padawan Pack and to kill the enemy.

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Star Wars Republic #55-58 (Battle of Jabiim)