Kosiah

In the second game isn't it mentioned that no one lives on Malachor V? And that traditionally it's some sort of uninhabited planet that is sacred to the Mandalorians in some way? I was under the impression that the general habitat on the planet wasn't exactly pleasant, even before gravity wells. I'd assume the NPC that lost relatives there did so because of who they were. Given the NPC in question, (unless there's another one I'm not thinking of), I'd asume those relatives were not exactly civilians. And no, I don't mean Cand. I mention "civilian" casualties not just casualties, because I always inferred, from the text quoted above in KoTR1 that Revan and the Republic's tactics did have a high civilian body count. This is also suggested (at least to me) in the questions asked by the Kashyyyk computer.

Why are you all bothered by this and not by Malachor V being the defining and most devastating incident of the Mandalorian Wars, despite it never being mentioned in KoTR1? In KoTR1 Canderous says, (I am pretty sure), that Revan besting the Mandalore in single combat won the war. He doesn't mention a shadow gravity bomb thing, nor is it entirely clear where the battle between Revan and the Mandalore took place. The only thing that is mentioned is that afterwards Revan made them all melt down the basilisks, etc. You could easily assume that this single combat was accompanied by a great naval battle or whatever, but it's not mentioned. If it was so devastating, why isn't it mentioned? I have no problem assuming several people tried to take the title of Mandalore, only to fail in some way before Canderous took it up. How can Malachor V be the most devastating incident anyways, if there were no civilian casualties? In other battles there were. That is mentioned too. This seems like a larger plot hole to me, shrug.

There's alot of interesting stuff here. I like the Nihilus /Exile theory. Even if there's nothing in game to support it, it still makes alot of sense. But there are a few points in the lore, and in the speculation that fall apart for me. Why would the Jedi be more important than the rest of the population? What exactly do they do that makes them so important, historically, for the Republic? (Besides saving it from Jedi-that-have-fallen-to-the-Dark-Side, I mean.) I also think, there's a danger here of giving Rev too much credit: why would he or she alone be aware of this threat and create such an elaborate history-changing thing? And seriously, plotwise, is that more interesting to you than Revan's fall? Revan's mistakes? It's less to me.

On Nar Shadda I made the Exchange thugs jump to their deaths, but then said something pretty ls as an excuse to Atton and gained influence.

LS ending had some similarities to the ending of SW Episode IV " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm not easily placated by a nice medal or minions chanting "All hail Lord Revan". I didn't like those endings either...and I have no problem with the unresolvedness of the Hawk taking off into space, destination unknown. However, the parts on Malachor that involve your side characters are entirely unresolved. Some kind of conversation aboard the Hawk would have been nice, although, by leaving it out, they leave it open to any interpretation you like, which I do respect. It's the other plot holes that bother me more.

My original Nihilus theory, after the "he's not a man anymore" conversation was that he was Malak's ghost. (He's a tall robed figure, after all, and under that mask in profile he doesnt seem to have a jaw) Corny as that plot device would have been, I still think it would have added an interesting element. In general, KoTOR2 seems less like a plot than a series of themes: ruminations on good and evil, petty evils, big bad evils, the futility of good. One thing I loved was the way the Mandalorian wars Were a focus, the way they were shown to scar the people who fought in them. The Ravager, coming back torn and broken from the ruins of Malachor V, Darth Sion, Bao-Dur, and you, the Exile, all changed utterly by a war that your side (at least at the time) "won." That is interesting. That's fascinating. I think they did a fair job of explaining Revan and Malak's fall to the Sith with that too, even if they did have to pull out the "evil ancient Sith Academy" card to fully justify it. If I had any issue with the first KoTR, it was that the Republic was too noble and good (a few exceptions like Roland Wann aside), and that the Sith were too cartoonishly evil. So, I liked the ambiguity alot. Where all of this breaks down for me though in KoTR2 are the simple things that should hold the plot together. Okay, Revan runs off to fight an ancient evil. Alone. Yes, well, although that never works out, Jedi do that. It's dumb and hackneyed, but they do. She (or he) leaves the Ebon Hawk with Kreia on Malachor V then? Or she just leave it on Malachor and Kreia takes it? What ship does Rev fly off in then? For some reason this bothers me. Or does she send Kreia after the Exile for some reason that I really can't make any sense of? Moving right along... Canderous mentions betraying the Republic at one point on the Ravager. However, this doesnt seem to ever happen. Phew--I would have been sad to see him and Carth at odds again. Still, why does he mention it? Is it just an opportunity to talk about the theme of the Mandalorian Empire being a better idea than the Republic? (Which admittedly, is interesting.) The Exile wanders the Outer Rim and beyond for ten years. Then for some reason, she accepts a ride from the Harbringer. What does she think she's going to do? Why? What is her original motivation? Coincidentally, the doomed crew come across the Ebon Hawk, who is under attack and manned by Kreia, T3, HK 47 (who may or may not be operational), and some other unnamed people who are dead. Everyone on the Harbringer is killed, but foruntately, their trusty HK-50 protocol droid who is working for the Exchange (presumably, according to Go-To), saves the Exile by locking him or her in a closet. Good thnig Sith are dumb! *as we learned in kotr 1) Or did the Hk-50 come aboard with Kreia...? Hm, but that makes even less sense--unless he was part of some diabolical scheme of hers to make the exile feel like she needed help? (hoardes of Sith assassins presumably not doing enough to give that feeling?) Possibly, Kreia uses the Exile to draw out the hidden members of the Jedi Council and kill them. Betray them. Ok, I can buy that. And her plan works. Meanwhile...the Republic, broken, shattered and corrupt, has everything staked on one fabulous PR plan: rebuild worlds shattered by war, and get Onderon (historically Such a nice place with no ancient evil artifacts or anything!!) to stay in the Republic. Without that, all is lost, despite those worlds not seeming to have any significant military or strategic importance. And never mind all those refugees on Nar Shadda either... Moving right along...the threat against them. 3 Dark Lords of the Sith, 2 of whom choose to run around on battered starships killing Jedi. oooo scary. For the Jedi. But how is that a threat to the Republic? This is explained in several long and rambling speeches about how important the Jedi are, and how the rest of the sentient population doesn't really matter. At the time, I assumed these speeches were supposed to be ironic, but since the plot depends on them I am not so sure. I could go on and on...but maybe this is becoming a rant. On the plus side, it all makes alot more sense than "Return of the Jedi" ever did.