Explaining Yoda’s ‘Disaster Lineage’ in ‘Star Wars’
Welcome to the family, Sabine!
Ahsoka Tano, former apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, now has an apprentice of her own. And it’s none other than Sabine Wren. This means that Sabine is now technically part of Star Wars’ “Disaster Lineage.” But what exactly does that mean?
What is the “Disaster Lineage?”
The “Disaster Lineage” is the joke name given by Star Wars fans to students of Grand Master Yoda’s lineage. It refers to the fact that almost every member of the Lineage is a walking disaster who defies direct orders, starts wars, and/or falls to the Dark Side. It’s often used as a tag in fan content on Archive of Our Own or Tumblr to discuss how the generations of Jedi mirror each other in their youth and make for a very dysfunctional family. It also occasionally gets compared/contrasted with the “Shatterpoint Lineage,” made up of the much more functional Jedi line of Mace Windu, Depa Billaba, Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus, and Ezra Bridger.
Who counts as being part of the “Disaster Lineage” depends on who you ask, but it generally includes the padawans/apprentices of Yoda (or other lineage members) while they were on the light side. Sith assassins/inquisitors do not count (my apologies to Asajj Ventress).
Luke Skywalker is generally considered part of the “Disaster Lineage,” as not only is he literally descended from Anakin Skywalker, but he was also taught by two members of the lineage (Obi-Wan and Yoda). The fact that Luke had multiple mentors does call his lineage placement into question. Is he part of the lineage or does he have his own branch entirely? Luke’s placement would also technically make any apprentices he took on a part of the “Disaster Lineage.” However, we don’t yet know if Luke’s Jedi Order did the whole Master/Padawan thing. This could mean that any student he personally trained would be considered part of the lineage, such as Leia, Grogu, Ben Solo, Rey, etc.
Who makes up the (Main) Disaster Lineage?
The main line starts with Yoda, of course, and includes his direct students. While Yoda himself is the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, the fandom also notes how he has a tendency to gaslight his students and ultimately saw the Jedi Order’s fall coming but did almost nothing to stop it.
The main “descendant” of this first line is Count Dooku (played by Christopher Lee, voiced by Corey Burton), who turns to the dark side between Episodes I and II. Dooku started out as (mostly) a model Jedi Master, one who saw the destruction of the Jedi Order coming but ultimately failed to stop it. While much of the media about Dooku has been de-canonized, Tales of the Jedi shows Dooku as a complicated figure who cared for his padawan but was also frustrated that the Jedi would not listen to him.
Dooku eventually took on Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) as a padawan. Qui-Gon Jinn was well known for being a rebel and defying the Jedi Council’s orders, even swearing to teach Anakin Skywalker the ways of the Force even if the Council forbade him. This led to a strained relationship with his own padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who disapproved of his master’s actions but still fulfilled his dying wish and trained Anakin Skywalker on his behalf.
Now, you might think that Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor) would be the most functional character on this list, but that also depends on what media you consume. In the films, Obi-Wan Kenobi is basically the ideal of what the Jedi should be: patient, wise, and willing do what is right no matter the personal cost. The shows (animated and live-action) make it a little more clear that he, like Anakin, struggles with non-attachment and is also quite willing to bend the rules when it comes to his padawan.
Now we come to perhaps the most disastrous member of the whole disaster lineage: Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen and voiced by Matt Lanter). The chosen one who has taken down multiple governments and turned to the dark side, Anakin was also the only Sith who ever fully returned to the light. He is a flaming dumpster fire and we love him for it. Especially when Ahsoka gets added to the mix.
What’s really fun about Ahsoka Tano (played by Rosario Dawson, voiced by Ashley Eckstein) is that Yoda himself assigned her to Anakin as a way of teaching him responsibility. Of course, it somewhat backfired as Anakin’s attachment issues latched onto Ahsoka and gave them a bit of an unhealthy, codependent dynamic. Ahsoka began taking care of Anakin while Anakin encouraged some of Ahsoka’s more aggressive tendencies. By the end of the war, Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order, which some argue breaks the Disaster Lineage, as she was never officially knighted and therefore cannot take on an apprentice.
However, Sabine Wren marks an interesting shift in canon as she is not Force-sensitive in the traditional sense. Huyang, the lightsaber craftsman droid, even comments on this by saying “[her] aptitude with the Force falls short” of almost every other padawan in history.
So why train her in the first place? I can’t speak to Ahsoka’s reasonings just yet, but Sabine Wren is very much like a young Ahsoka in her stubbornness and recklessness. In fact, those traits are shared by most members of the “Disaster Lineage.” Maybe Ahsoka saw herself in Sabine and wanted to mentor her in the only way she knew how. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens with this pairing.
(featured image: Disney+)
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