Never tell these detectives the odds.
Star Wars is full of mysteries, from finding missing planets to identifying rebel agitators. And when you need to solve a Jedi murder? You call in someone capable of good old fashioned detective work. We’re talking about nose-to-the-ground deduction and puzzling through the facts to find a solution.
Let’s gather the clues on some of our favorite galactic mysteries and the intrepid sleuths solving them. Together, we can crack the case!
1. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Kamino Investigation
Obi-Wan Kenobi might not be the first Jedi that comes to mind when we’re talking about detective work. But during the events of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, he spends a lot of his time in search of a mysterious bounty hunter who sent an assassin after Padmé Amidala. This makes for a perfect detective case. On assignment by the Jedi Council, his search takes him on a journey into the bowels of Coruscant, seeking information in the Jedi Archives, and on an impromptu consultation with Yoda about the missing planet. Eventually, Obi-Wan’s clues bring him to the planet of Kamino — an Outer Rim world where the Kaminoans have created a clone army that would go on to serve the Jedi generals in the Clone Wars. And while the full mystery of the clones and Kamino isn’t totally solved by Kenobi alone, Obi-Wan’s detective work leads him to Jango Fett, a formidable bounty hunter, the template DNA for the clones and son Boba Fett, and the man who hired Zam Wesell to make the attempt on Padmé’s life.
2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – “To Catch a Jedi” (Season 5, Episode 19) – An Unlikely Team-Up Between Asajj Ventress and Ahsoka Tano
In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “To Catch a Jedi,” Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress pair up to crack a classic whodunit case. After Ahsoka is framed for murder and the bombing of a hangar at the Jedi Temple, she manages to evade capture and sets off to clear her name. Moving through the Coruscant underworld in disguise, it’s not long before Tano is tracked down by Asajj Ventress, who’s now working as a bounty hunter. Following some aggressive negotiations, they strike a deal; Ventress will help Ahsoka prove her innocence in return for a favor. Ahsoka and Ventress wind up following leads that take them even deeper into the lower levels of Coruscant as they try to piece together the clues, making for a suspenseful and unforgettable final arc that season.
3. Andor – Seasons 1 and 2, beginning with “The Axe Forgets” – Dedra Meero’s Search for Axis
Dedra Meero’s entire job as a supervisor for the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) is centered around collecting and analyzing Imperial intelligence from across the galaxy. With her methodical and shrewd approach to analysis, Dedra begins to suspect that an organized and sprawling rebellion is taking shape in the first season of Andor. Despite her superiors’ misgivings and doubts, she pursues her hunch as more evidence presents itself, turning into an obsessive hunt for Axis, a mysterious shadow agent whom she believes to be the mastermind behind the growing rebel activity. Dedra’s years-long pursuit ultimately comes to a head when she confronts Luthen Rael in the Season 2 episode “Make It Stop,” touching off another mystery for the Empire to solve when Kleya Marki employs her spy experience to infiltrate a Coruscant hospital and protect the Rebellion’s secrets at any cost.
4. Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows – A Jedi and a Private Eye Work to Solve a Mystery
In a story that feels almost out of a classic murder mystery novel, Jedi investigator Emerick Caphtor is tasked with solving the murder of Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm. And private detective Sian Holt is also on the case for the Galactic Republic! Soon it’s revealed that Sian’s partner was killed in the same manner as Greatstorm, prompting the unlikely pairing. Their investigation leads them to the underbelly of Coruscant society as they follow a lead to a dangerous weapon up for sale on the black market with ties to the Nihil, an anarchist group known for piracy and chaos. With the damage the Nihil could do to the High Republic and galaxy as a whole looming, Emerick and Sian follow the trail in an effort to crack the case — eventually finding there are much larger machinations at play.
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – “Assassin” (Season 3, Episode 7) – Ahsoka and Padmé Tackle a Political Assassination Plot
Our favorite young Queen-turned-Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano up the stakes of their friendship in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “Assassin.” Ahsoka’s been assigned to protect Padmé during a mission to Alderaan for a conference, but she’s having disturbing visions of bounty hunter Aurra Sing. Ahsoka pieces together that they’re all pointing towards the bounty hunter trying to harm Padmé, and her visions come to fruition when Aurra Sing attempts to kill Padmé. A classic bait-and-switch trap helps them snare Sing, but there’s always a bigger fish. And as the mystery continues to unfold, we learn Sing is just a pawn.
6. Star Wars Rebels – “Through Imperial Eyes” (Season 3, Episode 17)
We could hardly talk about brilliant deduction work without including Grand Admiral Thrawn at least once. In the Star Wars Rebels episode “Through Imperial Eyes,” we follow Agent Kallus on a day-in-the-life aboard an Imperial cruiser over Lothal as stormtroopers bring a recently captured Ezra Bridger on board. Kallus, who’s been passing information to the growing Rebel Alliance as a double agent and spy, oversees Ezra’s detainment where he learns that his most recent transmission was intercepted by the Empire. Elsewhere, Thrawn has been spending his time searching for a rebel hiding within Imperial forces. What follows is a cat and mouse game where Thrawn sets into motion a plan to flush the spy out by revealing how close he is to finding the rebel base on the planet Atollon, leading the cunning Chiss to his target.
