Star Wars: 10 Greatest Betrayals In The Franchise, Ranked
From Lando giving up Han Solo to Anakin forsaking the Jedi Order, these are the greatest betrayals of the Star Wars franchise so far.
Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of the Star Wars franchise (if such a thing even exists after over forty-years of dominating the pop culture sphere) is the twists and turns that the stories provide. While there are many, many parts of the franchise that play out as they are expected to, surprises still hit fans hard, and so often, these surprises have to do with characters betraying others.
Not all betrayals are surprises, and not all surprises are betrayals, but there is certainly a healthy cross-over between the two. The struggle between the light and dark shines when a character turns their back on or betrays the trust of another, and there are many examples of this within the Skywalker saga and the extended canon.
11 Honorable Mentions
The franchise has a collection of famous betrayals, but some just miss out on being amongst the top ten. Beckett turning his back on Han and siding with Dryden Vos and eventually just being on his own side was a valuable lesson for the smuggler, so too was Qi'ra's betrayal mere minutes later. There are also the betrayals of people jumping allegiances during the wars, Bodhi Rook, General Hux, and perhaps best of all, Agent Alexandr Kallus. Finally, one of the most unique betrayals is that of the Son to the Father during the Mortis arc.
10 Lando Calrissian To Han Solo
The original Star Wars betrayal in terms of the Skywalker saga's release order came in The Empire Strikes Back when Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids arrived at the iconic Cloud City Bespin and meet fellow icon Lando Calrissian.
The moment where the dining room doors open and Vader rises from his chair is incredible, and for the rest of the movie, audiences cannot help but despise Lando for giving up Han to Vader and Boba Fett and almost getting him killed.
9 Count Dooku To Asajj Ventress (& Then Darth Sidious to Count Dooku)
Asajj Ventress is undoubtedly one of the best characters of the prequel era, making The Clone Wars that much better with her inclusion, and she arguably shines most when her Sith Master betrays her.
When Dooku casts out Ventress at the order of Sidious, it leads to the phenomenal Nightsister trilogy as well as the tragic events of 'Dark Disciple,' two excellent stories of the Clone War era. This is, of course, not Dooku's only involvement in a huge betrayal, with his own Master ordering his death, a moment that was shocking to Dooku and made way for Palpatine's new and ultimate apprentice.
8 Barriss Offee To Ahsoka Tano/The Jedi
Barriss Offee is a fascinating character in the Star Wars canon. It was made clear to fans years ago that there were plans for the character, but since the new canon came to be, she has yet to have her post-Order 66 fate revealed.
What makes this so interesting is her last known role in the canon, which was to betray the Jedi Order, frame Ahsoka Tano, and seemingly turn to the Dark Side after becoming disillusioned with the Jedi, arrested for her actions never to be heard from again. She is a great character, and this was a stunning betrayal given the friendship between her and Ahsoka.
7 The Jedi Council To Ahsoka Tano
Offee's framing of Ahsoka led to another betrayal that, while never led to death nor a fluctuation between the light and dark side of the Force, was still an emotional story and a terrible time for Ahsoka Tano, who the Jedi Order betrayed.
There is an argument to be made that perhaps Ahsoka was not betrayed, that the Jedi High Council were doing what had to be done. But, the fact that none of them, except for Anakin and, to a lesser extent, Plo Koon, had belief in Ahsoka and were willing to find out the truth was shocking and further displayed the hubris of the Order which led to their downfall.
6 Luke Skywalker To Kylo Ren/Kylo Ren To Luke Skywalker
One of the fascinating betrayals in Star Wars comes from the hugely divisive entry to the Skywalker saga The Last Jedi. What makes it so intriguing is the different points of view, Luke's, and then the seemingly warped view of Ben Solo/Kylo Ren.
In a moment of weakness, Luke did consider striking down his nephew, a betrayal in itself, but Ben clearly saw this as more than a moment of consideration and proceeded to turn his back on his uncle and Master. While it was not him who burned down Luke's temple, he still abandoned his family in favor of Snoke and the Knights of Ren.
5 Kylo Ren To Supreme Leader Snoke
The Last Jedi not only revealed the dual perspective nature of Luke and Kylo's parting of ways but also saw Kylo's incredibly torn nature reach a boiling point as he betrays his master, Supreme Leader Snoke.
At first, it seems as though this may be Ben Solo coming round to side with Rey, but the darkness in Kylo wins out with the young Solo shockingly killing his master and taking the mantle of Supreme Leader for himself. No matter how the aftermath with Palpatine was executed, the entire sequence of Kylo betraying Snoke and fighting the Praetorian Guards with Rey was astounding.
4 Pong Krell To The Jedi/The Grand Army of the Republic
Before the final arc of the entire series - the Siege of Mandalore - came along and blew everything out of the water, every Clone Wars fan debated what the best story arc was in the show Umbara arc thrown out constantly as the top contender.
The Umbara arc revolves around the Clone War's toll on Umbara, in which the clones are in an intense battle. It introduces fans to Pong Krell, a ruthless Jedi with a hatred of clones who ended up revealing himself to be a Separatist sympathizer and someone looking to catch the attention of Count Dooku. His violent betrayal of the Republic was outstanding to watch, and the way it helped with the thorough exploration into the place of clones in the Galaxy was perfect.
3 Order 66
Before The Clone Wars, clones were simply soldiers, numbers in a war who were pawns of Palpatine programmed to unleash his plans when he saw fit. That plan, of course, being Order 66.
First seen in Revenge Of The Sith, and later in a more personal way in The Clone Wars, Order 66 is tough to watch. These clones, many of whom have become adored by fans as well as the characters they betray, were used by Palpatine and tossed aside when they were no longer needed. It is Sidious's ultimate victory and betrayal of the Jedi, the Galactic Republic, and the Galaxy as a whole.
2 Darth Vader to The Emperor
Many years later, in the events of Return Of The Jedi, Sidious - or more commonly known in the original trilogy as the Emperor - got his comeuppance when his long-time apprentice and manipulation victim Anakin Skywalker returned.
It is one of the greatest scenes in all of Star Wars when Darth Vader looks down on his son, who is dying at Sidious's hand, so full of faith in his father, and realizes that he must return to the light. When he tosses the Emperor down the imminently exploding Death Star, it is perhaps the biggest fist pump moment in all of the franchise.
1 Anakin Skywalker to Everyone
The end of that journey of two Sith ruling over the Galaxy with the Galactic Empire could easily be regarded as the greatest betrayal in Star Wars. However, it is hard to argue against its beginning as being superior.
As a master manipulator, Palpatine shaped Anakin in his image, taking advantage of all of his raw emotions to create Darth Vader. When Anakin slays Mace Windu, helps execute Order 66, and joins Palpatine's side as Darth Vader, it is chilling, heartbreaking, and objectively awesome.