#do I relate to Mace since he is both an ISTJ and Enneagram 1w9?

[enigmaticexplorer]

Mace Windu: A brief character analysis

I’ve always been surprised by the claim that Mace Windu is heartless. That he doesn’t care about other people. I’m assuming those who believe this haven’t actually watched Season 1 of TCW.

Mace Windu is more serious, dogmatic, and aloof than most other Jedi. He’s sarcastic at times. Obstinate in other moments. 

But he’s not heartless. And he’s certainly not uncaring.

There are three moments in TCW 1:21: “Liberty on Ryloth” that contradict the ‘heartless/uncaring’ claims. 

1. The Rescue

In the opening sequence of “Liberty on Ryloth,” Mace’s transport is destroyed. As he escapes, he rescues the driver of the transport. 

It may seem like a “bare minimum” moment, but it’s not. Mace is being shot at by long-range cannons. He needs to join his men behind the protection of another transport. He needs to get to a semblance of safety.

Instead, he orders the men with him to “Take cover.” He doesn’t ask for their help. And then he takes time—that is precious in a life-or-death situation—to rescue the clone pilot. A man he doesn’t even know is alive. And he rescues this clone trooper without hesitation or regard for his own life. 

Again, this seems like such an inconsequential moment but it’s important to Mace’s character. We have seen countless times throughout TCW when other Jedi and clone troopers have left clones who are presumed dead. 

From a battle strategy standpoint, it makes sense. When you’re in the heat of battle, your job is to stay alive and protect those who are alive. You’re not given the opportunity to check on every soldier who could potentially be alive.

But in this moment, Mace risks his own life to rescue a clone trooper who’s not even guaranteed to be alive. 

2. The Bridge

Toward the end of the episode, Mace and two clone troopers are trying to cross the bridge into the capital city of Ryloth. The bridge can be turned on and off. And since the Separatist droids command the bridge’s operation tower, they turn it off. 

Rather than get himself to safety first, Mace Force throws/pushes his two men to solid land. Without hesitation, he saves them first. 

This might seem like another “bare minimum” moment, but it’s significant. Mace is a general. Per military hierarchy, you want to keep your top-military leaders alive. Their lives are more important than those of regular troopers. (Whether you agree with this sentiment or not isn’t the point of this post.) 

“But Mace has the Force, so he could save himself.”

Sure. He does have the Force, and in an impressive display of his skillset, he saves himself. But it was still a risk. He didn’t save the two troopers under the assumption he would survive the bridge’s collapse. There wasn’t a guarantee he would survive. 

He did save those two troopers, and he put them first, because he’s a good leader who values the lives of his troopers.

It's also important to note that Mace is more restrictive with his battle strategies—modest and less inclined to brazen maneuvers. (Obviously, when necessary, he will rise to the occasion, but usually when it's necessary.) Unlike Anakin who, in "Storm of Ryloth" admits his strategies are risky and endanger more lives, Mace is slower to act, contemplating his strategies so that they're effective and minimize risk. It's not outright stated he does this because he values his troopers' lives. But I believe it shows his care for the men under his command.

3. The Politicking 

Returning to the beginning of the episode, Mace is discussing his battle plan to take back the capital city of Ryloth. He’s discussing his plan with Chancellor Palpatine, Senator Taa, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Admiral Yularen.

Palpatine and Taa immediately dismiss Mace’s plan to engage Cham Syndulla’s Freedom Fighters on the claim Cham is a radical and political rival to Taa. Mace replies, “I’ll leave the politics to you, Senator. I’m going to do whatever I can to help these people.”

Whether you like or dislike Mace Windu is beside the point. He may be dogmatic, obstinate, and aloof. He may be easily irritated by Skywalker, and a self-righteous voice amongst the Jedi Order. But he’s not heartless. And he does care for people. 

As we can see from this scene, Mace is willing to bat against both the Chancellor—the head of the Republic government—as well as a senator in order to help the people of Ryloth. He doesn’t care about politics. He doesn’t care that Palpatine and Taa feel threatened by Cham Syndulla. He doesn’t care because all that matters is saving the victims of Separatist occupation, and he will do whatever is necessary to protect these people.

“But he was mean to Anakin and referred to Ahsoka as ‘Citizen Tano’.”

Okay? Sorry you can’t appreciate the hilarity of his dogmatic pettiness.

All that to say, Mace can be an absolute dick. But he’s not a heartless dick.