Summary of "Easily One of the Most Evil Things Darth Vader Has Ever Done"

This video delves into one of Darth Vader’s darkest and most chilling acts—not a battlefield massacre, but a deeply personal and eternal form of cruelty: the spiritual imprisonment of the Grand Inquisitor. Once a proud Jedi Temple Guard, the Grand Inquisitor’s story is one of disillusionment, betrayal, and ultimate damnation. Denied access to forbidden Jedi knowledge and frustrated by the Jedi Order’s failures, he turned to the dark side and became Vader’s ruthless enforcer, hunting Jedi with brutal efficiency. Yet, his greatest fear was failure—especially in Vader’s presence.

During a pivotal duel in Star Wars Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor chooses death by falling into fire rather than facing defeat. But Vader does not allow him peace. Instead of letting his soul pass on, Vader binds the Grand Inquisitor’s spirit to an ancient, forgotten High Republic Jedi outpost on the remote world of Tempest. This is no mere haunting—it’s a ritualistic, calculated imprisonment where the Inquisitor becomes an eternal warden of Jedi knowledge he can never access or understand, forced to guard the very truths that once drove him mad with desire.

The video highlights how this act is deeply ironic and symbolic: Vader breaks his servant not with a lightsaber, but by condemning him to a fate worse than death—eternal torment and purposeless servitude. The Grand Inquisitor’s ghost later confronts Luke Skywalker, attacking him not out of will but as a cursed guardian compelled by the ritual binding. Luke barely survives, and Vader’s involvement in this spiritual trap reveals a rare, unsettling side of him—one that uses dark rituals and necromantic binding, traditionally Palpatine’s domain, to serve his own secretive goals.

The temple on Tempest is more than a prison; it’s Vader’s hidden project, a repository of Jedi knowledge preserved not for the Empire, but perhaps for Luke, his son and potential heir. Unlike Palpatine’s blatant hunger for power and immortality, Vader’s motivations are more paternal and strategic—he wants Luke to learn forbidden knowledge, to be tested and prepared to overthrow the Emperor. This act of binding the Grand Inquisitor’s soul is both a punishment and a grim lesson on the Sith hierarchy: loyalty is a lie, and failure leads to eternal suffering, not reward.

The video stresses how unusual this is for Vader, who is typically a warrior of brute force, not arcane rituals. His obsession with resurrecting Padmé and exploring forbidden powers may have driven him to experiment with spiritual binding, making the Grand Inquisitor’s torment a prototype for something darker. Ultimately, this act shows Vader evolving from a mere tyrant into a master of psychological and spiritual domination.

The video closes by reflecting on the Grand Inquisitor’s tragic fate—a ghost trapped forever in a prison of knowledge and rage, serving a master he can never escape. It invites viewers to ponder whether this calculated cruelty is truly one of the most evil things Vader has done, and whether there are even darker hidden acts in Star Wars lore.