I always wondered what happened to the Jedi who didn’t make it.
Like, what if you trained your whole life, swinging your little training saber, mastering the Force, and then – boom – you flunk the Trials?
Do they just tell you, “Thanks for playing, now get lost”? Or do you get stuck in some weird Jedi side job no one ever talks about?
Turns out, failing the Trials isn’t as simple as getting a rejection letter – there’s a whole system for it, and some of the outcomes are pretty surprising.
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Some Never Even Made It to the Trials
Here’s something that blew my mind – most Jedi who failed didn’t actually flunk the Trials. They just never got picked as an apprentice in the first place.
For human Jedi, thirteen was the cutoff age to get a master. If no Jedi Knight or Master picked you as a Padawan by then? You were done. No Trials, no second chances.
At that point, you had two choices:
- Go back to your birth family (which, uh… would be awkward if you haven’t seen them since you were a baby).
- Join the Jedi Service Corps and still serve the Republic – but without the Jedi Knight title.
Which brings us to…
You Get a Jedi Career Change
If you weren’t Jedi Knight material, the Order didn’t just fire you.
Instead, they usually stuck you in the Jedi Service Corps, which was basically like getting a Jedi desk job – but, you know, without the desk.
- AgriCorps (Jedi Farmers™) – You like farming? No? Too bad. If you got sent here, you’d be using the Force to grow crops and restore ecosystems on struggling planets. The Jedi weren’t just about fighting Sith – they actually did a lot of good across the galaxy, and AgriCorps was part of that.
- MediCorps (Force Healers) – Not all Jedi fought. Some healed. If you had a knack for helping others, you could become a Jedi healer, using the Force to assist in medicine. Pretty important work, especially during the Clone Wars.
- EduCorps (Jedi Professors) – Someone had to train the younglings and keep track of all those ancient scrolls and holocrons. If you weren’t great at combat but had a brain for knowledge, this was your gig.
- ExplorCorps (Galactic Scouts) – These guys went off exploring uncharted planets and looking for new Force-sensitive kids to recruit. Kinda like space-age talent scouts, but with more life-or-death situations.
Now, don’t get me wrong – these were all super important jobs.
But let’s be real – most Padawans trained their whole lives to become Jedi Knights, so getting sent to space farm duty probably felt like being told, “Hey, great effort, but you’re not really cut out for lightsaber duels. Here’s a hoe.”
Fun Fact: Obi-Wan Almost Became a Space Farmer
Yeah, this one still blows my mind. Obi-Wan Kenobi – the ultimate Jedi, the guy who trained Anakin and took down Darth Maul – was one step away from being stuck in AgriCorps.
At thirteen, he hadn’t been chosen by a master, which meant his Jedi career was basically over.
He actually got sent to the AgriCorps on Bandomeer to start his new life. But then, Qui-Gon Jinn happened.
Qui-Gon showed up on the planet for an unrelated mission, and through a series of fights, bad guys, and general chaos, Obi-Wan ended up proving himself.
In the end, Qui-Gon finally said, “Fine, I’ll train you.”
So next time someone asks you, “What’s the most important decision in Star Wars?” tell them it was Qui-Gon deciding NOT to let Obi-Wan go plant space potatoes.
You Stay in the Order, Just Not as a Knight
Not all Jedi had to be warriors. Some Padawans who didn’t make the cut just… stuck around and helped in other ways.
- Temple librarians and archivists – The Jedi Temple had a huge archive of knowledge, and somebody had to keep it all organized. You’d basically become a Force-powered librarian.
- Mechanics and engineers – Jedi also needed people who could fix droids, starfighters, and temple equipment. There was actually a failed Padawan named Heezo who became a mechanic in the Temple.
- Jedi diplomats – Not every mission required a lightsaber. Some Jedi worked directly with the Republic, handling negotiations and disputes without ever needing to fight.
Honestly, these roles weren’t bad. You still got to live in the Temple and be part of the Order, just without the crazy life-or-death missions.
Plus, no Sith trying to murder you every other week? Not the worst deal.
Fun Fact: Jocasta Nu Chose to Be a Librarian
Jocasta Nu wasn’t a failed Padawan – she actually became a Jedi but decided she wasn’t about that warrior life.
Instead of going the Jedi Knight route, she chose to be a librarian – but not just any librarian.
She became the Chief Archivist of the Jedi Temple, meaning she was the guardian of all Jedi knowledge. And trust me, she took that job seriously.
When the Empire took over, she didn’t run and hide like most survivors.
Instead, she broke back into the Jedi Temple to recover a holocron containing a list of every Force-sensitive child in the galaxy.
She almost made it out – until she ran into Darth Vader. They fought, she tried to destroy the holocron to keep it from the Empire, and in the end… she didn’t make it.
But her legacy didn’t end there. Luke Skywalker later found her hidden knowledge and used it to help rebuild the Jedi Order.
You Could Just… Quit
Here’s something that might surprise you – you didn’t have to stay in the Order if you failed the Trials.
Jedi training wasn’t a life sentence. If you weren’t cut out for the Jedi life, you could just walk away.
Of course, that wasn’t always easy. A lot of these kids were taken in as infants, so by the time they failed the Trials, they barely even knew anything outside the Temple.
Some left and had no clue what to do next. Others, though? They actually made it big in the real world.
Think about it – you’ve got years of elite training in combat, strategy, and the Force. That’s gotta be useful somewhere, right?
Some ex-Jedi ended up in security, politics, private sector jobs, or even gambling (because, let’s be real, a little bit of Force power in a casino is basically free money).
In The Acolyte, Osha is a great example – she left the Jedi and became a mechanic instead. Not the worst outcome.
You Might Get Recruited by the Dark Side
Now, here’s where things get dark. The Sith – and later, the Empire – loved recruiting failed Jedi.
Why? Because they were already trained, already had a connection to the Force, and were way easier to turn than full-fledged Jedi Knights.
The Inquisitorius, aka Palpatine’s Jedi-hunting squad, was made up of a lot of ex-Jedi, which might include some who failed their Trials.
When Order 66 went down, the Empire didn’t just execute every Jedi they found. Some got a choice – join or die.
Some accepted the offer and became Inquisitors, hunting down their former brothers and sisters. Others refused and, well… we all know how the Empire dealt with “problems.”
One of the best examples? Trilla Suduri from Jedi: Fallen Order – she was a Padawan who didn’t make it and ended up as a full-blown Sith Inquisitor.
So yeah, failing the Trials didn’t always mean you got stuck farming vegetables. Sometimes, it meant you ended up hunting Jedi instead.
Order 66 Didn’t Spare the Dropouts
So what happened to all the non-Knight Jedi during Order 66? Short answer: they got wrecked too.
- Some were recalled to the Jedi Temple before the attack and got killed there.
- Some were off-world and managed to escape.
- Some got hunted down later.
The Empire wasn’t picky – they wanted all Jedi gone, not just the strongest ones. The Service Corps members were easier targets, since they weren’t trained for combat.
The few who did survive had to go into hiding, cut themselves off from the Force, and hope nobody came looking.
Failing the Jedi Trials wasn’t the end of the road, but it sure as hell changed your future. Some Jedi got reassigned, some walked away, and some ended up on the wrong side of history.
And after Order 66? Survival was the only thing that mattered.