The distinction between good and evil isn’t always black and white. Sometimes, there are situations where a person has to make decisions that blur the line between good and bad.
There is no better example of this than George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise. In Star Wars, the force is split between the light and the dark side.
Each side has its own representative organization. On the light side, there is the Jedi Order, and on the dark side, there is the Sith Order.
Throughout the galaxy, the light side, and by extension, the Jedi, are considered good, whereas the Sith are considered evil because of their affiliation with the dark side.
Whether or not this is a fair assessment is up for debate, which raises many questions. Such as, do the Sith think they’re evil? Are they evil by nature?
These questions and more will be answered in this article.
Table of Contents
Do the Sith Think They Are Evil?
It is said, “the villain is always the hero in their story,” and it could not be more true for this situation.
Although some Sith may know that they are evil in comparison to other Force-sensitives, most don’t realize what they’re doing is wrong.
Since joining the Order, the Sith have been taught to use their passion to fuel their thirst for vengeance and power.
What’s more, the reason the Sith wanted to rule the galaxy was that they wanted freedom in the Force. They wanted to believe what they believed without feeling threatened.
Therefore, the Sith saw what they were doing as merely a means to an end. All the bloodshed, hurt, and war were just an unfortunate necessity for the Sith to achieve their ultimate goal of being free.
Are the Sith Naturally Evil?
Now, it can be debated whether or not all dark-siders are inherently evil. Still, this is a complicated topic. There are some Sith who are plain malicious, however, all Sith cannot be placed into a box and labeled as being evil.
As dark side Force users, the Sith are often stereotyped as being completely evil. On paper, the Sith are evil; their actions are thoughtless and overtly cold-hearted.
But it must be taken into consideration that the Sith are simply acting in response to the Jedi’s genocide of the Brothers of Darkness.
Thus, it can be argued that the Sith aren’t truly evil, and they are having a natural reaction to the aftermath of the massacre they endured.
Are all Sith evil?
Even though some Sith seem to be vile and wreak havoc just because they can, all Sith aren’t like this. There were some Sith who were quite pleasant in comparison to the rest of the Order.
Some Sith weren’t interested in hurting others, power, or galaxy-wide domination. They were more interested in discovering all of the dark side of the Force’s secrets.
Furthermore, some Sith simply used the talent they developed on the dark side to fuel their experimental conquests.
So without further ado, here are five Sith who weren’t evil.
1/ Darth Vectivus
Affectionately dubbed “The Sith Lord who could do no evil,” Darth Vectivus was one of the rare Sith who seemed to be genuinely nice. Fans first saw him as the caring director of the mines.
Vectivus closed down the operation because of the negative effect the dark side of the force was having on his employees.
Up until that point, he was not aware of his Force-sensitivity, but once he found out, he knew he wanted to learn as much as possible. For Darth Vectivus, the best way to do so would be through the dark side, so he joined the Sith Order.
He had no interest in the vengeance the rest of the Order sought, nor was he interested in gaining power over the galaxy. Darth Vectivus was one of the few Sith who was more interested in knowledge than anything else.
What’s more, he lived by a code of ethics that kept him from hurting other innocent individuals, regardless of his deep knowledge of the Sith lineage. Eventually, Vectivus died peacefully, surrounded by all his loved ones. This, in and of itself, was a rare occurrence for a Sith.
2/ Darth Plagueis
Another Sith who craved knowledge more than anything else was Darth Plagueis.
He was not interested in power and revenge like the rest of the Sith Order. Rather, Darth Plagueis’s ultimate goal was to crack the code to immortality.
Although some of the methods Plagueis used to get there were less favorable than others, in comparison to other Darths, he was quite kind. He developed bonds with his apprentice, Darth Sidious, and adhered strongly to Darth Bane’s Rule of Two.
Still, he showed no interest in becoming the Emperor, as indicated by Darth Vader. This shows that his ambition lay in his experiments rather than in power.
All Darth Plagueis wanted was to figure out a way to cheat death for him and his apprentice, which showed his clear connection to Sidious.
Unfortunately, for Darth Plagueis, this care for his student was his downfall, as Darth Sidious betrayed him and subsequently murdered him.
3/ Darth Gravid
By nature, the Sith are supposed to loath the Jedi and the light side as a whole. However, Darth Gravid did not follow suit with this trope.
For one thing, Gravid showed actual respect towards the Jedi instead of detesting them because he had to.
Even though Darth Gravid was a powerful Sith, he knew that the Order’s ignorance of the light side would be its eventual undoing.
Therefore, Gravid believed that the only way to save the Sith Order would be to integrate the light side’s ideology into the Sith’s philosophy.
While this was a good idea, in theory, this amalgamation of conflicting ideals and knowledge drove Gravid to near insanity.
So much so that he thought the only way to save the Order would be by destroying any trace of the Sith ideology. This prompted him to demolish centuries’ worth of Sith artifacts and historical records.
4/ Darth Caedus
Jacen Solo grew up on the light side of the Force as a Force-sensitive. Naturally, this meant that he rose through the ranks of the Jedi Order and made his mark as a talented Knight.
Jacen endured many conflicts, but there was one that effectively changed his outlook on life. That is the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy, and it is at this point that the Jacen began to lose faith in the Jedi Order.
He even argued with his uncle, Luke Skywalker, about whether it was in the Order’s best interest to fight fire with fire. To Jacen, this was a slippery slope that would lead to the downfall of the Jedi Order.
Regardless of the words of those around him, Jacen understandably felt guilty about the death of his younger brother and left the Jedi Order as a result.
Darth Caedus was born from Jacen’s embrace of the darkness.
He did not want the same power and revenge that his new comrades wanted. Instead, he simply wanted galaxy-wide peace.
Unfortunately for Caedus, his method of achieving that peace was muddied with malintent.
He had to do things that were oxymoronic to the peace he was trying to achieve, such as murdering Luke’s wife, Mara Jade.
What followed was so much destruction that Jacen’s motives were beginning to be questioned. It was no longer clear if his intentions were still good.
The only way he was stopped was when his twin sister, Jaina Solo, begrudgingly had to slaughter her brother.
5/ Darth Vader
Although no one would expect to see Darth Vader on a list of Sith who aren’t evil, when given some thought, it makes sense. As strange as it may seem, Darth Vader was not “evil” in the traditional sense of the word.
Being the “Chosen One” meant that he had some arrogance that made him quite selfish while in the Jedi Order.
He felt that he could blatantly disregard the rules and he would still be entitled to certain things, such as Jedi Master.
After being rejected, he made his way to the top of the Sith Order as Darth Vader. Sure, Vader was ruthless and filled to the brim with anger. However, he never considered himself to be evil.
So much so that after he played a key role in Order 66, which wiped out ninety-nine percent of the Jedi Order, he sought to justify his actions in any way he could. All these things make the Sith Lord seem like one of the most malicious people in the galaxy.
Yet, he was not motivated by pure evil. Darth Vader was a complicated character who had lost a lot in his life.
There is no simple answer as to why he did all the things he did. Nevertheless, it can be theorized that his motivations were personal and not power-driven.
One of the major catalysts that pushed Anakin to becoming Darth Vader was his quest to save the love of his life, Padme Amidala.
He believed Darth Sidious and the dark side would be the way to save her and tried all that he could, to no avail. She unfortunately died, despite all he did.
Therefore, Anakin was more driven by his unquenchable anger, hurt, and intoxicating self-loathing than anything else. He did not possess the essence of pure wickedness like his master, Darth Sidious.
As a result, Darth Vader was ultimately defeated, and Anakin was redeemed to the light side by his son, Luke. His being saved showed that his motives were not solely rooted in power. Vader was so full of rage and hatred that it fuelled his choices.
Conclusion
Among the Star Wars communities, the Sith are often synonymous with evil.
However, this is not a fair assessment of them. Not only do most of the Sith not know that they are evil, but they think that what they are doing would be the best thing for the Force.
Despite how cold and ruthless the Sith are, everything they do is just a means to an end in their eyes.
Moreover, all Sith do not follow the trope of wanting revenge and power. Some of them are quite nice and have good moral standing.
And while others may still leave a long line of dead bodies in their path, their motives still make them “good” in comparison to the other Dark Lords that served the Order.