KOTOR 2 Kreia Megalomaniac

Or more specifically, Kreia is a Sith who's megalomania would embarrass even Palpatine. Clone bodies? Laughable. Plagueis' feeble attempts at immortality? Child's play. Vitiate's attempt to consume all life in the galaxy so that he could live forever? Short-sighted and weak.

First a disclaimer: what I lay out below is not a hot take. I realize that there's nothing I can write about a game this old that hasn't been talked about before. by someone, somewhere. And it isn't my only explanation for Kreia's motives. But it is my favorite. In previous playthroughs I've mostly found Kreia a mix of confusing and annoying, and I never got why so many people were so fascinated by her. But this new line of thought flipped a switch for me, and I now see Kreia as not only one of the most interesting villains in all of Star Wars, but probably the most dangerous. So I thought I'd share. That way, at least people can tell me where I'm wrong, and I'll learn something. So here goes...

Kreia claims to be neither Sith nor Jedi. Or at least, she sidesteps the question as irrelevant when directly asked by the Exile. She's been both in the past, but now indicates that she's beyond both orders. Instead, she adheres to her own teaching, which she sees as superior to, and superseding, the flawed teachings of both the Jedi and the Sith.

Kreia values personal strength of mind and will, especially overcoming challenges on one's own rather than with the assistance of others. Two iconic example are the beggar on Nar Shaddaa and also the couple with the husband unable to enter the Refugee area to search for his wife. In both cases, if the Exile helps the person, Kreia reprimands the Exile. Helping others, according to Kriea weakens both them and the person doing the helping. People should solve their problems themselves.

However, Kreia sees manipulation of events through the manipulation of others to be a very valid and desirable way to achieve goals. In fact, she seems to see using others to achieve one's ends rather than directly achieving them one's self, as superior. For example, if you demoralize the Refugees by convincing Geriel to commit suicide and Nadaa to join her daughter Adana in slavery, Kreia commends you for manipulating events to your convenience.

Finally, Kreia objects to codes of behavior in general. She especially despises the Jedi and Sith codes, but also denigrates the Wookiee Life Debt code. She sees those who adhere to such codes as merely tools, with no power or agency of their own.

Some of this might be pretty Dark Side, but it isn't Sith. So why did I say that Kreia is a Sith with unmatched levels of megalomania? Haven't I disproven my own point?

First, a quick caveat. I'm not going to claim that Kreia follows the Sith Code. Kreia would despise such feeble guidelines as a shackle, an unnecessary limitation born from weakness and lack of vision. If your definition of "Sith" is "someone who follows the Sith Code", then I'll agree with you that, by that criteria, Kreia is not a Sith. And she herself would, if she'd give a straight answer, probably say she isn't. Instead, I'm going to argue that Kreia's Sithness goes far beyond something as mundane as a written Code. And that if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. So without further ado, here's my argument:

"It is said that the Force has a will. That it has a destiny for us all. I wield it but it uses us all. And that is abhorrent to me, because I hate the Force. I hate that it seems to have a will. That it would control us to achieve some measure of balance"

Read that quote again. Kreia says that the Force is a strong, independent actor that follows its own agenda and uses others for its own goals. Sound familiar?

The Force is not only following Kreia's teachings - it is a virtually irresistible, almost all-powerful embodiment of everything that Kreia has been teaching. It is Kreia's philosophy, acting at a cosmic level. It turns out, by Kreia's own analysis, that the whole galaxy is built on her teachings. The Force is the ultimate validation of Kreia's philosophy. Kreia should LOVE the Force, not hate it.

On the Ebon Hawk, Kreia says to Mical, "When I win I want it to be because I was right, my teachings true". Being right is important to Kreia, but notice that it isn't enough. She doesn't just want to be correct. The first three words of that quote are key: "When I win". As much as Kreia talks about her teachings, as if they are her focus and her goal, they aren't. Her goal, as she lets slip here, is to win. This is the source of Kreia's hypocrisy, and why she can't be satisfied in the assurance the she was right. This is why she can't be satisfied in the revelation that she, and perhaps only she, truly understood the nature of the galaxy and the Force. This is why she hates the thing that is the ultimate and eternal expression of everything she has been espousing.

Kreia hates the Force not because it goes against her teachings, but because it follows them. And in following them, it manipulates everyone, even her. Kreia can't tolerate that she is the one being manipulated, not the one doing the manipulating. She can't abide that something more powerful than her is using her rules to control her. Kreia's need to be above everything is so consuming that it is unacceptable for anything, even the Force, to be greater than her. It is her Master, and she can't stand it. And so, like any Sith apprentice, she seeks to destroy it and take its place.

This explains why the Exile is so important to Kreia. I've seen people say that Kreia wanted to use the Exile, first as the only person who could destroy Nihilus, and then as the key to destroying the Force itself. And that seems true. But in my opinion, there's more to it.

The Exile managed to survive cutting themselves off from the Force. As Kreia says, "In times past, and in times future, there are Jedi who will stop listening to the Force. Those that will try to forget it, but maintain unconscious ties. And those in the past, just as I, who have had the Force stripped from them. But no Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly, that it leaves a wound in the Force. And that is why I chose you."

Kreia sees the death of the Force in the Exile, sure. But Kreia sees more than that. Kreia sees a way to destroy the Force, and survive. Killing the Force isn't enough if it is a pyrrhic victory. Kreia, as she admitted to Mical, wants to win. There's no point in killing your Master if you kill yourself in the process. The Exile is Kreia's way out of this conundrum. If she can find a way to duplicate the Exile's achievement, she can win and live to enjoy her victory, taking the Force's place as the power manipulating all life in the galaxy.

Assume she's Kae. She's had her lover killed (by Revan), been expelled from the Jedi, been betrayed by Revan, who attempted to kill her (if you believe that Malachor V was in part a trap by Revan for those "allies" that he wanted out of his way), betrayed by the Sith she then trained, and been robbed of the chance to raise her daughter, or even have a relationship with her. Instead, her daughter was raised by (or at least, heavily influenced by) Atris, who Kreia clearly hates. And then she had the Force stripped from her.

So, Kreia may want to destroy the Force simply to attack everyone (at least, all other Force-sensitives) that hurt her. She's pissed at everyone and everything. As much as she'd like to, she can't do all the things that happened to her to all of them. But maybe she can destroy the Force and make them all feel the way she did when it was stripped from her. And that also takes away their ability to keep doing this stuff to people. Not that Kreia really cares about other people, she just wants to hurt the kind of people that hurt her. The fact that it may not be exactly the same people is irrelevant.

Going a little deeper down the rabbit hole, it could be even more personal. Revan is gone, and Kreia doesn't know where. She has no way to find him so that she can get revenge. But he's the key person that hurt her - everything she suffered is at least indirectly due to him. She followed him into the Mandalorian Wars, which got her kicked out of the Jedi. He killed her lover. He betrayed and tried to kill her at Malachor V. He's the one that put her in a position to become a Sith in the first place. So she REALLY wants to hurt Revan. And if she kills the Force, it'll hurt him. No matter where he is. This could all be a quest to hurt one man. Kreia may be so angry and bitter that she's willing to change the very nature of the galaxy just to kill Revan.

I realize this alternative is a pretty shallow take. And that it is contradicted by dozens of things that Kreia said. First off, it is honestly a bit of a spoof, and I wrote it when I was annoyed at Kreia ranting endlessly at me. Second, I don't believe even one single word that came out of that crazy old witch's face. So her contradicting it almost makes it more likely, not less. And finally, the fact that a fictional character can evoke such intense negative feelings in me is evidence that it is a very well written character. Poor writing doesn't do that. So hats off to the KOTOR II writers for some great work.