Star Wars is a vast universe rife with possibilities. The galaxy far, far away not only has impossibly advanced sci-fi tech but it's also fueled by the mystical energy field known as the Force. It can be tough for anyone to account for all the variables.
Even the brightest stars dwindle eventually. Characters whom audiences thought had all the answers churn out an amateurish mistake. In the end, the smartest guys in the galaxy of Star Wars are just as human (figuratively) as the rest. These obvious oversights really make you question how they got where they are.
10 Thrawn Overlooks The Force
Grand Admiral Thrawn is easily among the best strategists to ever emerge in the Star Wars saga. His extensive knowledge of history and other cultures gives him unparalleled insight into their behavior, putting him five steps ahead of any opponent. While he's a brilliant technical leader, however, the intangible eludes him.
The more metaphysical aspects of the Star Wars mythos are beyond his understanding. He can't derive any concrete patterns from their unpredictability, so he never devotes himself to learning about the Force or the connection it has with the natural world. This seems like a shortsighted move when dealing with Jedi.
9 Vader Clones Starkiller
Perfectly epitomizing the title in The Force Unleashed, Darth Vader's apprentice is one of the most powerful Force users to ever live. Thanks to his discipline and natural gifts, he soon surpassed the Sith Lord himself and even went toe-to-toe with the Emperor, albeit perishing in the process. It'd have been a waste to let such a valuable asset rest in peace.
However, the reason Starkiller revolted against Vader was that he found new friends and a noble cause in the rebels. Commissioning a clone with the same memories and pitting him against these same rebels is just asking for trouble. It comes as no surprise that the same thing happens: the asthmatic evildoer has another mess he can't clean up. Gee, who could have seen that coming?
8 Tarkin Doesn't Evacuate
Upon the Death Star's completion, few people are more confident in the Empire's battle station than Grand Moff Tarkin. He asserts that rather than any unified republic, fear will keep the various star systems in line. Indeed, he wields this weapon with efficiency and extreme prejudice, but that confidence is his downfall.
When the rebels attack the Death Star, an officer suggests Tarkin evacuate just in case. The commander bluntly refuses, so enamored with military might that he doesn't entertain any notion of failure. It turns out a slim chance is better than none, and the heroes succeed in their desperate attack. Tarkin played the odds and lost.
7 Dooku Doesn't Expect Palpatine To Betray Him
Count Dooku was once a revered Jedi Master who abandoned the Order and joined Darth Sidious. The new Sith Lord showed great managerial prowess, persuading many planets to leave the Republic and organizing them into the Separatist alliance.
Even amidst this political maneuvering, he had to have noticed his master's interest in Anakin Skywalker over the years. Did the "rule of two" never cross his mind? Sidious replaced his last apprentice with little issue. What made Dooku think he was indispensable, especially to a guy as obviously evil as this?
6 Luke Becomes A Recluse And Forgets About The Map Straight To Him
Many fans (and Mark Hamill himself) took issue with Luke Skywalker becoming the grouchy, old "Get Off My Lawn" guy. Though he tries training a new generation of Jedi, his own nephew falls to the Dark Side and kills them all. Rather than righting this wrong and helping the galaxy with the newly-established First Order, Skywalker goes into hiding.
Yep, he leaves his friends, family, and everyone else to the slaughter. He apparently went senile as well. The goal was supposedly to remain hidden for the rest of his life, but he forgot about the map leading right to him that he left stored in R2-D2. Who knew his friends would actually use it?
5 The Jedi Don't Search For The Sith Lord In The Obvious Place
Upon meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku tells him about a Sith Lord secretly controlling the Republic. The Jedi dismisses this as nonsense, but he and the other Council members still search for the elusive Darth Sidious. The problem is that they search seemingly everywhere but the Republic.
Why don't they look closer to home, specifically around Chancellor Palpatine? This guy deviously holds onto his power long past his electoral term. The Jedi even acknowledge that the Dark Side surrounds him, yet they don't conduct any investigation into him or his staff. Are they afraid of violating people's rights? They don't seem to have any qualms about exercising their power over those they deem suspicious, so this inaction comes down to either laziness or stupidity.
4 Obi-Wan Trusts Anakin Alone With Padmé
When a grown-up Anakin walks onscreen in Attack of the Clones, he's fixated on what most adult males are: women. His ham-fisted lusting after Padmé is as obvious as it gets. While Obi-Wan warns him against such feelings, the Jedi Council assigns Skywalker to be Padmé's personal bodyguard.
Anyone with eyes could see that he'd make a move on her, especially given his blatant disregard for his master's authority. Obi-Wan only offers the meagerest resistance to this plan, so he's every bit as complicit in their collective stupidity.
3 Leia Leaves Holdo In Charge
Older and supposedly wiser, Leia leads the rebels in the sequel trilogy. Unfortunately, a First Order attack puts her out of commission. The chain of command then falls to a purple-haired woman named Admiral Holdo.
Viewers hear she was handpicked by Leia herself, but every action she takes shows that she's utterly unfit to lead. She puts on a snotty attitude toward Poe Dameron and the other grunts; she withholds her plan even while their enemies breathe down their necks, and her endgame is an asinine escape ploy that dooms the entire group. With this moron in charge, the whole rebellion would have gone up in smoke.
2 Hondo Doesn't Prepare For Dooku's Revenge
This shifty pirate is good at spotting a profit, and ransoming high-value targets (including Jedi) is one of his favorite ways to make a quick buck. However, he bites off more than he can chew when he captures Count Dooku. When the villain inevitably escapes, Obi-Wan warns Hondo that the Sith Lord isn't the forgiving sort.
This foreboding threat doesn't seem to sink in, as the pirate goes back to business as usual. He doesn't move his base or take any extra precautions. When the Separatist army comes to take his stuff, he can't even put up a fight. Maybe he figured he could talk his way out of it, but that's a big gamble even for him.
1 The Jedi Train Revan
The big twist in Knights of the Old Republic is a compelling one, but it calls certain events into question in hindsight. When Jedi Knight Bastila Shan brings her amnesiac companion to her superiors on Dantooine, all of them know the poor sap is really Darth Revan, the leader of the Sith Empire. They not only keep this to themselves, but they also train the guy to harness his dormant Force abilities.
It's understandable to want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but these Jedi don't see any problem empowering the most dangerous man in the galaxy? As if that wasn't bad enough, they then trust him with the pivotal mission to find the Star Forge, which will assuredly pit him against his former allies. Revan could easily slip back into his Dark Side tendencies, especially given what the Jedi did to him and their lack of transparency. That thought doesn't seem to cross the minds of these "wise" Jedi masters. No wonder Kreia outwits them in the sequel.
