This is the way.
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00:00The Star Wars universe is a place ruled by good and evil, heroes and villains, the light
00:04side and the dark.
00:05But this galaxy is also governed by regular old laws.
00:09Whether they are the sacred texts of the Jedi or the ways of the Sith, every race and culture
00:13have their own set of rules that they must abide by.
00:16With that in mind, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 crazy in-universe rules that
00:20Star Wars characters follow.
00:2210.
00:23The Wookiee's Life Debt
00:24If a person's life is owed to another, they can pledge to protect their saviour for the
00:28rest of their life.
00:29This custom, known as a life debt, is common amongst many cultures in the Star Wars universe.
00:33I mean, Jar Jar Binks owed a life debt to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi after they
00:37rescued him in The Phantom Menace, and similarly, Chewbacca vowed to protect Han Solo after
00:42he came to the Wookiee's aid.
00:44As understandable as this decree may be, Wookiees in particular take it to a radical extreme.
00:50The hairy creatures from Kashyyyk are so willing to honour the custom that it's not rare
00:53for the recipient of the life debt to turn the Wookiee into a slave.
00:57Even if the Wookiee is able to fight back or flee from their so-called messiah, the
01:00fuzzball won't even try.
01:03Since it's devotion to the life debt is too strong to break.
01:06This is quite sadly ironic, as can be observed in Solo A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Knights
01:10of the Old Republic, as one of the more common reasons Wookiees make life debts in the first
01:14place is because they're freed from slavery.
01:179.
01:18Stormtroopers Don't Have Names
01:20To ensure the stormtroopers are of the highest calibre, each soldier goes through painstaking
01:24reconditioning during their induction into the Empire.
01:27Not only are they trained physically, but mentally.
01:30They are broken down on a psychological level to ensure that they are unequivocally obedient
01:34to their superiors, no matter how unreasonable their requests might be, which is almost always
01:39very, very unreasonable.
01:41Because the original stormtroopers were clones who aged at double speed, there was little
01:45time for a personality to develop.
01:47Since each member didn't have any real personal traits to separate them from one another,
01:51it makes sense why they were designated by operating numbers rather than names.
01:55When the First Order abandoned the cloning program and hired, or forced, regular soldiers
02:00to serve as stormtroopers, the higher-ups continued to refer to the cadets by these
02:04operating numbers.
02:05By dehumanising them like this, the First Order believed that their cadets would function
02:09more mechanically, making them follow orders unconditionally.
02:12Hell, some stormtroopers were taken into the First Order at such an early age that many
02:16of them have forgotten their name, if they ever even had one to begin with.
02:21Jedi can kill, but never out of revenge.
02:23For generations, the Jedi have depicted themselves as peaceful monks.
02:27In the wise words of Mace Windu, we're keepers of the peace, not soldiers.
02:31However, this philosophy is a big fat lie, since Jedi do kill all the time.
02:36I mean hell, Mace Windu himself didn't look particularly peaceful when he lopped off Jango's
02:40head in Episode 2.
02:41Since force wielders then are often in the thick of battle, one can only imagine how
02:45many lives they've taken.
02:46But according to the Jedi teachings, they are strictly forbidden to kill out of revenge.
02:51As Anakin Skywalker proved, vengeance can easily lead one to the dark side.
02:55While Anakin may have been arrogant and childish in his youth, he was still mostly guided by
02:59morals.
03:00But when his mother was enslaved and killed by Tusken Raiders, he became consumed by revenge,
03:05resulting in him slaughtering the entire tribe.
03:07This was the first time Anakin tapped into the dark side, and is often regarded as his
03:11first real step to becoming Darth Vader.
03:16As hard as it is to believe, members of the Empire are, on paper anyway, forbidden from
03:22harming others unprovoked.
03:24To put it another way, the guys who blew up Alderaan are not supposed to hurt anybody.
03:29Because the Emperor pretends he has the people's best interests at heart, he can't just have
03:33his subjects shoving blasters in front of citizens' faces with no rhyme or reason.
03:37So he often just invents a reason, a really flimsy reason.
03:40Unless you've never seen a Star Wars movie though, you should probably be well aware
03:44that every Empire employee under the sun has failed to abide by this rule.
03:48For as long as the Empire has existed, Stormtroopers have imprisoned, tortured and shot anyone
03:53who had the misfortune of crossing their path.
03:55I mean, just because Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru found themselves in the wrong place at the
03:58wrong time, Stormtroopers had them burned to a crisp, through no fault of their own.
04:03Because the Empire is passionately prejudiced against aliens as well, Stormtroopers are
04:07known for being more ruthless with non-humans, jailing and killing them for the most minor
04:11of crimes.
04:12And despite the fact that it's illegal for Imperials to harm civilians, history has
04:16proven that this law only exists on paper, not in practice.
04:206.
04:21Female Stormtroopers Must Train Harder
04:23Even though several Imperial officers have appeared throughout Star Wars, all the Stormtroopers
04:27initially were suggested to be male.
04:29However, there is no law restricting women from donning the white helmet and armour.
04:33Although they don't appear in the original trilogy, George Lucas did confirm that female
04:36Stormtroopers were stationed on the Death Star and other Empire-controlled units.
04:41Because the female enlisted cadets are trained separately though, you would think that this
04:44is the main reason we rarely see them.
04:46But there is another factor why women are rarely spotted marching through Star Destroyers
04:50and Empire C stations, and that's because the Empire forced women to work much harder
04:54physically to match the male trainees.
04:57Because of this, one can only imagine the gruelling experience that Captain Phasma must
05:00have endured to work her way up the ranks to become the head Stormtrooper.
05:045.
05:05Bribes in the Empire are a No-No
05:07The Empire is a profoundly immoral dictatorship, populated by employees which will commit any
05:12atrocity to further their agenda.
05:14Since its creation, these fascists have enslaved millions of blown up planets and obliterated
05:18entire star systems.
05:20Despite the boundless evil they've committed though, there is one law which the Empire
05:24takes very, very seriously, and that's bribery.
05:28Even though payoffs are obviously illegal in real life as well, it's baffling why
05:31this is the one crime that causes Imperials to suddenly take the moral high ground.
05:36After all, wouldn't accepting bribes be a really effective tactic to learn crucial
05:40information to smoke out Vigilante, say?
05:42Will Darth Vader really care if a Scout Trooper is bribed a few space credits if he learns
05:47the location of a Rebel base?
05:49Considering the Empire has allied with scum like the Hutts and countless bounty hunters,
05:53it's genuinely bewildering that they act holier than thou when it comes to accepting
05:57a few kickbacks.
05:58I'm sure the paperwork for building three Death Stars wasn't legit, and a few palms
06:03were greased to get those battle stations up and running, right?
06:06Therefore, a laugh a day keeps the Jabba away.
06:09Jabba the Hutt loves nothing more than to be surrounded by all manner of little freaks.
06:13His den is a hive of scum and villainy, and as you might expect from a demented crime
06:17boss, he runs a pretty tight and tough ship.
06:19He has all manner of rules that his subordinates have to abide by in order to win his respect,
06:24but none of his subjects live under quite as much fear as one salacious B. Crump.
06:29Now while you might not know this little rat by his real name, you will remember him from
06:33Return of the Jedi, where he essentially served as Jabba's hype man and jester.
06:36While that's not the worst job in the world to have, Crump doesn't exactly perform it
06:41under ideal conditions.
06:42See in a twisted way, Jabba saved Crump from death, however it wasn't out the goodness
06:47of his heart.
06:48Instead, Crump lives under a tight contract whereby he has to justify his life by making
06:52Jabba laugh at least one time per day, and if he misses the mark, then well, Jabba will
06:57just off him.
06:58So, Crump existed under this rule for a good while, only to end up dead in the end anyway.
07:033.
07:04Sith Must Respect Each Other, But Can Kill One Another
07:07As a student to a Sith Lord, one is expected to carry out every order without question
07:11or hesitation.
07:12Any form of defiance will be met with a punishment of the highest order, so as a result, an apprentice
07:17should be utterly obedient to their superior.
07:19However, the only way for an apprentice to complete their training as a Sith is to kill
07:24their master.
07:25Even though Sith Lords spend years or decades training their student, they know it's only
07:29a matter of time before the apprentice turns on them.
07:31In fact, Darth Vader has battled the Emperor in the comics, books and video games on many
07:35occasions in a vain attempt to usurp his master's throne.
07:39If the apprentice wishes to challenge their mentor, they're expected to take part in
07:42a lightsaber duel.
07:43But since the Sith are, well, the Sith, they often rely on less direct methods to dispose
07:48of their rival.
07:49Sadly, Darth Plagueis learned this the hard way when Darth Sidious murdered him in his
07:52sleep.
07:53The most hypocritical code of honour, more ridiculous though, is how the Darksiders would
07:57probably have succeeded at destroying the Jedi Order eons ago if they weren't so busy
08:00trying to kill each other.
08:03Some Mandalorians can't show their face
08:05Of the multiple factions of the Mandalorians, the most well-known is the Children of the
08:08Watch.
08:09Because these bounty hunters are not permitted to show their faces, the other tribes regard
08:13the Watch as a religious cult.
08:14Some Children of the Watch take this rule so seriously, in fact, that they won't remove
08:18their helmet while eating alone or even sleeping.
08:21If a member shows their face to another person, they will be disowned by the entire tribe.
08:25Now the lead character in The Mandalorian, Din Djarin, was so immersed in the Watch's
08:29way of life that he never even questioned his comrades, nor did he realise that he was
08:33being raised by Zealots.
08:34Until Bo-Katan set him straight, he had no idea that Mandos outside the Watch could whip
08:38their helmet off whenever they wanted.
08:40The divide between the Watch and the other tribes eventually led to a culture war though,
08:43which concluded with Din Djarin's people locating to another planet.
08:47This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the Watch were offworld when Mandalore
08:50was decimated during the Night of a Thousand Tears.
08:53Ironically, the Children of the Watch were only spared because they were too stubborn to change.
08:571. Jedi Cannot Have Attachments
09:00To become a Jedi, being able to wield the force isn't enough.
09:03If one is truly sincere about being inducted into the Order, they must give themselves
09:07to the light side completely.
09:08These monk-like warriors are expected to give up leisure, non-practical possessions and
09:12family, all in the name of living up to being a Jedi.
09:15Likewise, Jedi are not allowed to give in to negative emotions such as greed, envy or
09:19hate since such feelings can lead to the dark side.
09:22However, Jedi are also expected to never embrace love physically or mentally.
09:25If a Jedi is caught having a relationship with another, they will be excommunicated
09:29from the Order immediately.
09:30Even though Anakin Skywalker was fully aware of this, he was unable to control his feelings
09:34for Padme Amidala, and so married her in secret.
09:37At first, one might assume that this rule is put in place to ensure Jedi weren't impaired
09:40by distractions, but history in this world has proven that love is the most powerful
09:44as well as the most dangerous of all emotions.
09:47After all, it was not hate that brought about the collapse of the Republic and Jedi Order,
09:51but love.
09:52Well, love and fear.
09:53When Anakin had a vision that he would lose Padme, he vowed to do anything that would
09:56save her, including turning to the dark side.
09:59Had Anakin never experienced mutual love, it could have prevented the Empire from ever
10:02taking over the galaxy in the first place.
10:05At least on paper.
10:06So that's our list!
10:07I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
10:08What do you think about these rules?
10:10How many of them did you know?
10:11How many of them didn't you know?
10:12And are there any interesting ones I missed off here?
10:14While you're down there as well, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe and
10:16head over to WhatCultureStarWars for more lists like this on the regular.
10:19Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see
10:22you soon.