Upon Mace Windu’s death in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious exposed his true colors and executed Order 66. Commander Gree, also known as CC-1004, faced the tall task of striking down the galaxy’s most powerful Jedi Master.
Yoda sensed something was off during Order 66, given his body language during the Battle of Kashyyyk. When Commander Gree and another clone trooper snuck up behind him following the order, Yoda used his Ataru fighting style and beheaded the duo.
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Did Yoda kill Gree?
Even as he approached 900, Yoda was still the most powerful Jedi Master in the galaxy. He once sensed a void while meditating before 32 BBY that later became Sheev Palpatine.
Although his fighting days were mainly long behind him, Yoda still easily defeated his former Padawan, Count Dooku in 22 BBY. So when he sensed an imbalance in the Force during the Battle of Kashyyyk, he realized the Jedi were in peril.
Gree and his clone troopers helped the Wookiees fight off a Separatist droid army during the battle.
Serving as the commanders, Yoda and Gree oversaw the battle from a central location shortly before the clone trooper received Order 66, forcing him to turn his gun onto Yoda.
Before Gree and another clone trooper could shoot Yoda dead, the Jedi Grand Master did something uncharacteristic: He beheaded Gree and his comrade.
Why Did Gree Try to Kill Yoda?
Gree was a clone trooper built-in Jango Fett’s image. Like all clone troopers, he had Order 66 implanted into his brain via behavioral modification biochips.
These chips forced clone troopers to respond to any order. So when Darth Sidious told the clone troopers to execute Order 66, Gree and others immediately responded to the command.
When Kaminoan scientists developed the clone troopers, they believed Order 66 was only a contingency to kill Jedi committing treasonous acts.
However, the reality of Order 66, also known as Clone Protocol 66, simultaneously saw all Jedi as traitors. This led to the clone troopers the Jedi led into battle to execute their commanders in a single, cataclysmic event, serving as the first act in the Great Jedi Purge.
If a clone trooper refused to execute the order, they too would have faced execution for treason. Yet since the troopers unquestioningly executed the order, it was only possible for them to refuse if a Jedi removed the implants.
This occurred during The Clone Wars when Commander Rex tried to kill Ahsoka Tano. While Rex tried to resist the order, he could not and turned his weapon on the former Padawan.
Tano gained the upper hand against Rex, and once she found a way to surgically remove the chip, the clone trooper was no longer her enemy.
Why did Yoda kill Gree?
Yoda had two choices with Gree. Either kill the clone trooper commander or suffer the fate of his fellow Jedi.
Although Yoda was not one to kill as he of all Jedi would have believed it inched them closer to the dark side, even he resorted to violence when forced to. In this case, Yoda had no choice but to kill Gree and live with the decision.
But why kill and not just subdue Gree?
Had Yoda let Gree live, the clone trooper could have called on reinforcements. The same went for Gree’s backup. So instead of facing a horde of clone troopers to escape Kashyyyk, Yoda instead took the safest way out.
Yoda also had no choice but to spree kill the clone troopers who invaded the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s help. Had Yoda not cleared the temple, he never would have played such a significant role 22 years later in The Empire Strikes Back.
In fact, had Yoda risked keeping Gree and other clone troopers alive, it would have meant dire consequences for the galaxy. Especially if the clone troopers like Gree overpowered and killed Yoda.
What if Gree Killed Yoda?
Had Gree killed Yoda, Luke Skywalker would have never had the luxury of receiving the former Jedi Grand Master’s training. In fact, Luke probably wouldn’t have lived to see his nineteenth birthday.
While we know plenty of Jedi, like Ahsoka Tano, survived Order 66, we need to go back to 1977 and 1980, when the first two movies of the Original Trilogy were released.
At the time, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda were the only two known Jedi left in the galaxy until Luke came along.
Taking Yoda out of the equation, it’s also likely Obi-Wan Kenobi also would not have survived Revenge of the Sith.
Why?
Because during the film, he insisted on confronting Darth Sidious and not Anakin, who he claimed was too much of a brother.
It wasn’t until Yoda stated that Darth Vader consumed Anakin, and that the Padawan he trained was no longer there did Obi-Wan agree to confront Vader. Yoda further stated Obi-Wan was not strong enough to face Darth Sidious.
With this in mind, Darth Sidious would have killed Obi-Wan while leaving Padamè to die on Mustafar after her confrontation with Anakin. And it’s likely Luke and Leia, whom she was carrying at the time, would have died at birth.
While we know Gree killing Yoda would not have ended the Jedi Order thanks to Ahsoka and others, Star Wars, as we know it, would have taken a completely different route.
Although Yoda believed aggression such as killing led to the dark side, he also realized that if he didn’t take such measures and allowed Gree to kill him, the Jedi Order might not have stood a chance.
Conclusion
Yoda killed Gree because doing so allowed the Jedi to cling to life, even if Order 66 dismantled most of the Order. While Yoda was a staunch light-sider who did not believe in killing, he also knew that killing served as the only option under dire circumstances.
Had Yoda let Gree kill him, it would have spelled the end of the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan would have confronted Sidious instead of going after Anakin, as he insisted on doing.
Gree tried to kill Yoda because the implant in his brain forced him to, lest he’d face execution for failing to carry out the order.
Sion Fawkes has been covering Star Wars since January 2022, expanding his expertise in both Star Wars Canon and Legends. When not writing, you can find Sion in the gym or running trails. He also likes watching sports and listening to audiobooks.