I’ve always wondered—if Jedi can use the Force to manipulate objects and even people’s minds, why couldn’t Obi-Wan just Force yeet General Grievous off a cliff?
Turns out, it’s a lot more complicated than I thought.
Between Grievous’s cybernetic upgrades, Dooku’s training, and some sneaky psychological warfare, the answer is both fascinating and a little frustrating.
If you’re as curious as I was, you’ll want to dig into this!
Table of Contents
Why Can’t Jedi Use the Force on General Grievous?
In the Star Wars prequel film, Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous successfully eludes a Jedi ambush and escapes to fight another day. But this wouldn’t have been possible if Obi-Wan had been able to use the Force on him.
So, why can’t Jedi use the Force on General Grievous?
To understand Grievous’ success in combat against the Jedi, it is necessary to examine how Grievous constructed his fighting style and built his body to counter the abilities of a Jedi Knight.
His many cybernetic enhancements allowed him to be significantly faster than a standard human, and his fighting style was explicitly designed to disrupt a Jedi’s connection to the Force.
General Grievous possessed high-speed and dodged attacks, such as the multiple Force-pushes thrown at him during the Battle of Khorsan. He also demonstrated similar feats in other battles.
Count Dooku trained General Grievous in lightsaber combat. Dooku knew that Grievous lacked a connection to the Force, and would thus be at an instant disadvantage against any Jedi opponent.
Dooku attempted to diminish Jedi’s connection to the Force through fear tactics, following this strategy.
Grievous mastered the strategy of mentally demoralizing an opponent before the battle began. Using fear and anxiety to his advantage, Grievous would often attack Force-sensitive Jedi who were more susceptible to the effects of a mental attack.
In battle, Grievous often attempted to overwhelm his enemy with swift attacks. He usually opened with two or more lightsabers activated and tried to drive an opponent back or kill them as soon as he engaged.
Grievous is particularly fond of torturing his Jedi opponents, as a distressed Force user will have a more difficult time harnessing the power of the Force.
Grievous’s strategy was to allow himself to be attacked, then counterattack with full force, exploiting his enemy’s dependence on the Force.
In the pre-Episode III era, the Jedi didn’t have a ton of offensive power with the Force. They were primarily skilled at defending themselves but lacked any offensive capabilities.
Some were more proficient at offense than others, but all Jedi relied heavily on their Force abilities to protect themselves and others. They wouldn’t even need to use the Force offensively in most scenarios.
The original trilogy made it clear that using the Force for offensive purposes was dangerous. Yoda warned Luke about this when he told him to never give in to anger, leading to hate and suffering.
That theme is taken further in Attack of the Clones, where Count Dooku chastises Anakin for his inability to control himself.
He points out that Anakin has too much fear and anger within him, and that he needs to let go of those negative emotions before they consume him.
Why Couldn’t Obi-Wan Use the Force on Grievous?
The reason Obi-Wan couldn’t use the Force to attack Grievous is that George Lucas wanted the fight scene between them to last longer than a few seconds.
If he hadn’t taken away Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, then it would have been over after one or two strokes. If he’d used the Force, it would have been over even quicker.
The whole point of that scene is to show how skilled Grievous was with his four lightsabers, and how much of a challenge he was to fight, so they had to make sure that he lasted long enough for that to be conveyed.
The idea that the Force couldn’t be used against Grievous is ridiculous because we see Obi-Wan using it constantly in all three movies.
In fact, in The Phantom Menace, we see Qui-Gon using the Force against Darth Maul (the only time in any Star Wars movie that this happens). He didn’t just use telekinesis, he also used telepathy and mind control on numerous occasions.
Even though Obi-Wan never uses his mind powers on screen again after The Phantom Menace, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have done the same thing here.
Can General Grievous Use the Force?
There are two primary kinds of Force-sensitive beings in the Star Wars universe: Jedi and Sith.
Jedi knights are trained by the Jedi Council in the ways of the Force, while Sith are naturally gifted in their use of the Force.
The movies directly establish that Grievous is not a Sith Lord, even though they have trained him in lightsaber combat. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious says that Grievous was not a true Sith, but merely a pawn.
In 2005, George Lucas stated that Grievous is not Force-sensitive, meaning he cannot use the Force. However, some believe he may have used the dark side to help him in combat. It is possible because it only takes one moment to turn to the dark side for help.
Even though Grievous does not use the Force himself, he does know of it.
For example, during his training with Count Dooku, he learned about how Qui-Gon Jinn had used a mind trick on Watto when buying Anakin Skywalker’s freedom from slavery.
Conclusion
Here is your chance if you want a history lesson on Star Wars. If you ask how General Grievous can use the Force, he is an entirely different type of beast.
Remember, back in the day, Yoda, who was strong with the Force and a powerful Jedi, could barely fight Count Dooku for an extended time in the first movie ever: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
So if you think about all of this information that I’ve given, it becomes pretty clear why General Grievous could fight Jedi knights and even battle them more than what can be expected.
To sum up, what we’ve learned today, although Grievous is not Force-sensitive, he is a significant foe because of his skills and the tendency towards psychological warfare.