By the time Survivor rolls around, it’s been 10 years since Order 66 was executed, and the vast majority of the Jedi were wiped out. Cal Kestis is one of the few who survived and did pretty well for himself after this.
He then endured a painful number of years on a junkyard planet, Bracca, before being located by the Inquisitors. He then went into full-blown attack mode, working with the Rebels to take down aspects of the Empire.
However, one thing that’s remained is that Cal has always tried to maintain the traditional Jedi ways, especially during Fallen Order, where he’s using an old way in a new world. Maybe Jedi 3 can be an opportunity to move beyond this further than what they have already done so far.
In Survivor, Cal does stray away from the old Jedi Order in sections, not fully at this point. He begins to fall for Merrin, taps into the dark side, and does many things the old Order would question or seriously frown upon.
Emotional repression, detachment, and overconfidence during the Clone Wars were the result of the Jedi Order’s downfall. Things that Cal still tries to reinforce in his adventures despite knowing deep down this isn’t what he wants.
It’s because of this that Cal is successful in Survivor. He takes down Bode, manages to locate Tanalorr, and is all the better for it. Yes, he lost Cere and Cordova, but it could’ve been a lot worse if Cal didn’t tap into the dark side in order to defeat Bode.
There is also Merrin. A huge surprise in the game. When I first played Fallen Order, I never would’ve dreamed of Cal and Merrin actually forming a romantic relationship, and I’m all for it.
We saw the downfall of Anakin Skywalker, holding his relationship with Padme secret. Cal needs to embrace this properly. Cal nearly went full-blown rage mode before Merrin stepped in to calm him. This is why she’s got to be a pivotal part of the third installment. It’s her relationship that is going to restructure what being a Jedi means for Cal; that’s important.
It’s been known before that the old Jedi Order fell due to their arrogance. They stood for peace, but did they really? It was about control and power. Cal originally wanted to build the Jedi Order, but quickly realised that this wouldn’t go down well. He’d fail miserably. Maybe this is a good thing. It allows Cal to forge his own path.
It would be a very interesting dynamic should Cal stumbled across other known Jedi. When you consider the fact that Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi are still around during both of these periods. In fact, the Kenobi show is set around the same time as the events in Kenobi. It would be great to see a dynamic where admitting the Order was destined to fail is seen with the same sentiment from others who were part of it.
Either way, I’d love to see Cal go deeper and deeper into the dark side, to be pulled back by Merrin after he’s about to truly go too far. Imagine wielding force lightning in the third game?!
