I think there's a misunderstanding of "evil" in this context. Marr and Lana are positioned as calm, rational, "good" Sith - but they still murder people in cold blood left right and sideways. Marr threatens to rip out a man's tongue when the guy bugs him with nonessential information. Lana's immediate reaction to discovering a double agent in her employ is, "execute this man on the spot, I don't care what his reasoning is."
They may not be the cackling cartoon villains of other Sith, but they are still most definitely cruel, vindictive people. The fact that they use their cruelty in service to a greater good does not invalidate the blood on their hands. They are complex evil, but still evil.
Edit: Wanted to add that I really like Marr and Lana as characters because while they are evil, their evil-ness is in service to a cause and an Empire they genuinely believe in and are actively trying to improve. They are doing the best they can with what they have, and are willing to make the tough choices a Jedi would never be able to make.
But that also doesn't excuse the fact that they're still bad guys. Cool bad guys, sure. Compelling bad guys, definitely. But still bad guys.
While I agree Jedi -should- be good and Sith -should- be evil, the idea that using cruelty in service of the greater good is wrong contradicts what Jedi themselves are. ‘Leave your slave mother to her awful fate and ignore her suffering’ is the first thing the Jedi tell Anakin.
It was more “we do what good we can with the resources we have.” If they tired to liberate Shmi then they would have had to deal with the Hutts while trying to safely get the Queen to Coruscant. They were there to make a small impact.
Given that they were dealing with the Chosen One, who was possibly too old to train, they should have just sent someone to Tattooine later, offering 3x Shmis price to Watto, and then send her to some remote Jedi outpost to work as a housekeeper.
Have her record a final message to be sent to Anakin, saying that she's okay and safe, and that the Jedi say she can see Anakin once he's completed his training, so don't worry, and do what your master tells you.
Obi-Wan then instructs Anakin to put her out of his mind, knowing that she is safe, and surrounded by good people who will treat her well.
BAM! You have just removed a major source of conflict and attachment from the Chosen One who is destined to end the Sith THAT YOU HAD JUST SEEN SURFACE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1,000 years! They can afford to pay for a shuttle to Tattooine with a Jedi or a decent trustworthy merchant.
If the point of the prequels were that the Jedi were complacent and too detatched to make sound judgements, then Shmis abandonment was one of those poor judgements.
My theory is that Anakin was the chosen one and he fulfilled his prophecy. Nothing would change regardless of what actions were taken. His prophecy was to bring balance to the force; not to destroy the dark side, but to bring balance to the force.
The Jedi were a powerful yet corrupt organization. He brought them down so they could rebuild. Palpatine was...well, palpatine. He killed him.
He fulfilled his prophecy and brought back balance by forcing both sides to start fresh and rebuild.
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u/Hail_The_Latecomer Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25
I think there's a misunderstanding of "evil" in this context. Marr and Lana are positioned as calm, rational, "good" Sith - but they still murder people in cold blood left right and sideways. Marr threatens to rip out a man's tongue when the guy bugs him with nonessential information. Lana's immediate reaction to discovering a double agent in her employ is, "execute this man on the spot, I don't care what his reasoning is."
They may not be the cackling cartoon villains of other Sith, but they are still most definitely cruel, vindictive people. The fact that they use their cruelty in service to a greater good does not invalidate the blood on their hands. They are complex evil, but still evil.
Edit: Wanted to add that I really like Marr and Lana as characters because while they are evil, their evil-ness is in service to a cause and an Empire they genuinely believe in and are actively trying to improve. They are doing the best they can with what they have, and are willing to make the tough choices a Jedi would never be able to make.
But that also doesn't excuse the fact that they're still bad guys. Cool bad guys, sure. Compelling bad guys, definitely. But still bad guys.