In the film series “Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith,” General Grievous is portrayed as an antagonist. He is the leader of the droid army. We learn over time that he hates Jedi. So why does General Grievous hate Jedi?
Here, we will explore this character’s background with an emphasis on his hatred of Jedi. This answer will hopefully shed some light on this topic for those who are interested in learning more about the character and his background leading up to his appearance in Revenge of the Sith.
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Who is General Grievous?
Initially, many had believed that Grievous was simply an advanced droid, but he was a cyborg. He was a well-known Jedi killer and the leader of the droid during the Clone Wars. Who was he before all of his Cybernetic enhancements?
The answer was revealed in Legends. General Grievous was once a Kaleesh male named Qymaen Jai Sheelal. He grew up during a Huq war that ravaged his homeworld. Huq wanted to enslave the Kaleesh people.
Sheelal led many campaigns against the Huq’s in the war, freeing his people from their shackles. One of Sheelal’s battles ended in tragedy when his best friend was killed by the enemy in combat. Deeply depressed, Sheelal changed his name to Grievous.
Grievous’s depression eventually turned to hatred, causing him to viciously attack the remaining Huq’s. Grievous was able to successfully drive the Huq’s off of his home planet, Kalee, but he wasn’t satisfied. Grievous wanted to destroy all of them and avenge the suffering they had caused his people. The Huq, fearing for their lives, asked the Trade Federation for help.
The Huq won the support of the Galactic Senate by persuading them that the Kaleesh had begun the conflict. As a result, The Republic sent a group of Jedi to stop the Kaleesh.
Why Does General Grievous Hate Jedi?
In addition, the Galactic Republic imposed sanctions on Kaleesh that led to widespread famine and poverty among the Kaleesh people. This led to Grievous’s hatred of both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic.
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Grievous saw the Galactic Republic as corrupted, that only served those in power. In his early campaigns, Grievous was successful, making him famous. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious took notice of Grievous and decided that he would make a useful pawn in his plan to destroy the Jedi.
Grievous’s early successes in battle brought him to the attention of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who saw an opportunity to use Grievous as a pawn in his own scheme to overthrow the Republic. The Sith Lord Darth Sidious ordered his apprentice Count Dooku to recruit Grievous into the Separatists’ forces.
As it turned out, Grievous and his people made a disturbing discovery: their sacred burial grounds were being destroyed by the Huq. After discovering the Huq were desecrating their sacred burial grounds, Grievous and his people became re-involved with the Huq.
However, aboard the ship he boarded, hoping to find them, there was a bomb. This bomb was set by Count Dooku and exploded while Grievous’ shuttle was traveling over water.
Once Dooku had framed the incident as an attack perpetrated by the Jedi, he took Grievous’ body to Geonosis, where he placed it in a bacta tank. Upon awakening, Grievous was greeted by Chairman San Hill of the Intergalactic Banking Clan.
At first, Grievous wanted to be returned to his people to die with them, as was the tradition. However, Sandhill had other plans.
Sandhill told Grievous of his plan to rebuild him as a vicious killing machine who could even surpass Jedi. He would then lead the largest droid army in galactic history and overthrow the old Republic, instituting a new order.
Grievous did not want to be part of any “mighty scheme.” But when Sandhill assured him that his people’s debts would be taken care of and that the Republic sanctions would be lifted, Grievous decided to go along with it.
Grievous was infused with blood from Sifo-Dyas, a Jedi who had died years earlier and whose body had been preserved in stasis; though this infusion did not unlock any latent Force sensitivity in Grievous, it did allow him to live despite the severe injuries he had previously suffered.
As a result of Dooku’s mind manipulation, Grievous developed a stronger hatred for the Jedi and became more compliant to the count’s will. Once the surgery was completed, Grievous was a cyborg consisting of only his brain, heart, and other vital organs.
After Grievous was given his new body, he was trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku and his MagnaGuards. During the Clone Wars, Grievous killed many Jedi and collected several lightsabers from their defeated owners.
Why did General Grievous Collect lightsabers?
In addition to a pair of cybernetic implants, Grievous received his first Lightsaber from Count Dooku. Dooku had killed the previous owner of that Lightsaber, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Weeks later, during the Battle of Geonosis, Grievous collected his next Lightsaber as a trophy.
Dooku ordered Grievous to remain hidden, but when the clone army arrived, he was ordered to retreat without being seen. While fleeing from the battle against the Jedi, General Grievous encountered Jedi Master Ur-Sema Du.
She had been sent out with the main strike Force but got separated and was alone. Told by Count Dooku to stay undercover, Grievous struck her down and took her Lightsaber for himself as a prize.
Near the beginning of the Clone Wars, he defeated a rogue Sith apprentice who had captured Darth Zannah’s double-bladed saber staff. Over the course of the battle on Hypori, General Grievous collected several Lightsabers from Jedi he killed.
General Grievous defeated the Jedi Knights Daakman Barrek, Tarr Seirr, and Sha’a Gi in battle and took their Lightsabers; although he didn’t kill Jedi K’Kruhk, he did collect his Lightsaber.
During the war, Grievous almost killed Jedi Master Quarmall, who survived despite battle droid fire and took his Lightsaber.
In the late Clone Wars, General Grievous captured several Jedi children and padawans, taking their lightsabers. Jedi Master T’chooka D’oon, B’dard Tone, and Jedi Padawan Flynn Kybo were killed by the cyborg General Grievous, who took their Lightsabers in addition to his trophy collection.
Around the war’s midpoint, Jedi Master Jammaar was killed and his Lightsaber taken by General Grievous. Jedi Master Jammaar’s Lightsaber had sentimental value to Grievous because it once belonged to a Jedi who helped fight against Grievous’s people during the Huk War.
Grievous also captured Obi-Wan and Anakin’s Lightsabers at one point before they were taken back by those who wielded them. So, in the end, General Grievous, once a nobleman, was feared for his ruthlessness in killing many Jedi during the Clone Wars.