Happiness is one of the most sought-after things in life. In our reality, the pursuit of happiness drives most, if not all, people into many situations.
Of course, in George Lucas’ Star Wars universe, it’s expected to be the same. If you think about it, regardless of how different the light and dark sides of the Force are, the end goal is theoretically the same.
On the light slide, the Jedi are the peacekeepers of the galaxy. Their ultimate goal is to achieve galaxy-wide peace and strengthen themselves in the Force.
If this goal is achieved, the Jedi would feel happy that the galaxy’s people are at peace.
Alternately, on the dark side, the Sith live their lives with the sole purpose of gaining power over the galaxy by getting revenge on the Sith. They are so full of hate and anger that the Sith wanted to unleash a world of pain onto the light side.
Ergo, if they were to accomplish that, the Sith would have been satisfied, which is synonymous with happiness.
The potential of these generally malevolent individuals to be happy raises an important question: can the Sith be nice? Can they be happy?
Keep reading this article as we explore these questions.
Table of Contents
Can Sith be nice?
Many individuals in the Star Wars community see the Jedi as good and the Sith as evil. However, things are never black and white.
The Jedi had corruption within the council and committed acts considered completely immoral. A perfect example of this is the Jedi’s genocide of the original Sith Order.
Therefore, if the Jedi can be harmful, the Sith can be nice. In fact, there have been a couple of Sith who have been compassionate and shown far more affection than the Order is notorious for.
One such Sith is Darth Vectivus. But what exactly makes him so nice when compared to other Sith?
Darth Vectivus’ niceties began long before he even knew he was Force-sensitive. At first, he was a mining director. That was until he closed the company. He did this because the energy of the dark side was harming his employees.
When Vectivus discovered his Force-sensitivity, he joined the Sith Order. From there, he quickly climbed the ranks and became a Sith Lord, Darth Vectivus.
What set him apart from his comrades was that Vectivus did not care for galaxy-wide domination. He didn’t try to wipe out the Jedi Order, and he didn’t want revenge.
Darth Vectivus was not interested in war; rather, he just existed and used the dark side to learn as much as possible.
Can Sith do good things?
As we can see from the example above, the Sith can be nice. This means they can do good things if they so desire.
Apart from those firmly in the Order that simply were not interested in the brutality that the Sith were known for, some decided to be nice. These individuals are known as Light Sith.
The Light Sith is somewhat of an anomaly within the organization.
These Sith reject the dark side of the Force and its teachings. They believe in the light side and do as much good as possible.
Still, they retain their name, “Sith,” because, despite their dismissal of the dark side, they still believe in the Sith Organization. Thus, they were the light-sided Sith.
Of course, just as the Jedi refused to accept the Dark Jedi as one of their own, the Sith usually did the same with the Light Sith. Understandably, the Sith Order viewed Light Sith as traitors to the organization.
Can Sith be happy?
As per the Sith Code, the Sith are to use their negative emotions to fuel their hunger for power. Being trained in this prompted many Sith to see anything contrary to blinding rage as harmful to the cause.
So much so that the Sith Lord, Darth Malgus, murdered his wife because he loved her and that love made her a liability to him.
As cold-blooded as it is, his thought process proves that the Sith can be happy. However, because happiness would jeopardize everything they’ve worked for, they try their best to actively avoid it.
Nevertheless, regardless of how hard they fight it, the Sith can potentially feel involuntary happiness. If we apply the rules of our universe to theirs, whenever someone has a goal set, they will feel relieved once it’s accomplished.
The goal of the Sith is to get revenge on the Jedi and take over the galaxy. So, if they made this goal a reality, they would feel happy, no matter how briefly.
Conclusion
Happiness is something that most people crave and would do anything to attain. Certainly, it is no different in the Star Wars galaxy.
With this in mind, the Sith have a bad connotation to their name because they have been written to represent all things related to the dark side. Even so, there are some Sith who are nice and choose to do good for those around them.
Apart from the Light Sith who dive headfirst into doing good by rejecting the dark side, some Sith Lords make the conscious decision not to be as malicious as the rest of the order. such as Darth Vectivus.
To quote many Star Wars fans, “Darth Vectivus could do no wrong.” He did not shed any blood. He had an incredible moral compass, which allowed him to care about others in a way that the Sith usually did not.
Vectivus wanted to soak up as much knowledge about the Force as possible, and he figured the dark side would be the best way to do that. He eventually died of old age surrounded by his loved ones.
For that reason, the ability to be nice lies with the Sith, whether they like it or not. Once they feel contentment or satisfaction, they will simultaneously feel a slight tinge of happiness.