Did telecommuting doom the Jedi Council in the ‘Star Wars’ prequels?

The end of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Sith and the Galactic Empire is well documented throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but amid all the corruption and ignorance, we may have missed a hidden—albeit minor—reason for the Jedi’s ruin.

According to a fan theory posted to Imgur (and later shared to r/StarWars), the Jedi Order’s lax policies on telecommuting led to its downfall. In The Phantom Menace and part of Attack of the Clones, the entire Jedi Council showed up to its usual meetings on Coruscant. They traveled to and from the office, and they were able to interact with one another, perhaps even grabbing lunch together and chatting about their lives. They socialized; they probably even went out for Happy Hour.

But at some point in Attack of the Clones, it became more commonplace for Council members to telecommute to work and communicate through holograms. Perhaps it was to boost morale; perhaps it was to allow for qualified employees who couldn’t live on Coruscant. And at first, it was great. But the longer the telecommuting policy lasted, the more complacent the Jedi became. More people phoned it in or only got dressed enough not to get fired.

Soon enough, nobody came into work, whether due to laziness or business trips. (Admittedly, many of them were fighting the Clone Wars.)

By the time Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force in Revenge of the Sith, Mace Windu was the most senior Jedi still at the Temple. Once Anakin helped kill him, there was no one left to give him advice—nobody could dissuade him from the notion that the Jedi had become evil.

There was also nobody for Anakin to talk to when he decided to quit—and nobody to defend the younglings from his wrath.

We should point out that this theory is likely tongue-in-cheek, seeing as many of the Jedi Council members were leading clone troopers into battle or were off-planet on special missions—particularly Obi-Wan Kenobi, who used holograms the most out of all the Jedi Council members.

These Jedi Masters communicated their progress out of necessity and were ordered to travel to different worlds and fight in a war by their bosses. They were wiped out due to the execution of Order 66—although that still doesn’t explain the dearth of senior Jedi keeping an eye on the younglings.

Even so, employers may start using this whole setup to guilt more of their employees into coming into the office. You don’t want to cause the rise of the Sith, do you? 

BONUS: I watched every Star Wars in one sitting: