Why Did General Grievous Hate The Jedi So Much?
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Growing up in a world of war, Grievous had already gained the skills to become a feared warrior by an early age. Before his cybernetic enhancements, he was a Kaleesh male known as Qymaen jai Sheelal. That war, between his own people and the Yam’rii, would fuel the hatred Grievous had for the Jedi, but that is not where such hatred starts. It is instead born from a legend.
The legend of Grievous himself. Becoming a warlord, he would secure many victories for the Kaleesh, growing a reputation as one of their greatest military leaders. But despite his ruthlessness, he knew there was one enemy he would never be able to defeat. Jedi, with their connection to the Force, were seen as unbeatable. That frustrated him, as the defeat of a Jedi would truly make him a legend.
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It was during his time as a Kaleesh warrior that he would adopt the Grievous name, with his reputation gaining the attention of Count Dooku. Grievous would ally himself with Dooku when, during his own campaigns against the Yam’rii – which drove them from their home planet, the Republic aided the Yam’rii against the Kaleesh forces. The Kaleesh were further weakened by Republic embargoes and penalties. But, rather than seeing this as a result of his own actions, Grievous instead found his hatred for the Jedi deepen. Seeing them as personally responsible for all his people suffered.
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Becoming an enforcer for the InterGalactic Banking Clan, his success was further noted by Dooku, who proposed a way to make Grievous stronger. Become cybernetically enhanced, gaining an increase to his combat abilities that would rival even a Jedi Master. Grievous accepted, ready to start hunting Jedi. During the enhancement process, his mental state would be disturbed, further fuelling the anger he held within. To be point killing Jedi became an obsession.
The final key part of the hate Grievous felt toward the Jedi would come from Dooku. Who, wanting to make Grievous the greatest droid general of the Separatist Alliance, orchestrated an assassination on Grievous. In a shuttle crash that nearly killed him, Grievous would accept what Dooku told him. That it was the Jedi who attacked and nearly killed him. So, when Grievous was rebuilt into the droid general seen during the Clone Wars, his obsession with killing Jedi was pretty much his primary reason for existing.
Upon becoming commander of the droid armies, Grievous would be trained by Dooku to fight them. Mastering everything about the combat Jedi would use. His first real test against the Jedi would come during the opening battle of the Clone Wars. On Geonosis, during the retreat, Grievous would encounter a number of Jedi who had found themselves within the catacomb tunnels. The battle left none of the Jedi alive, though the murder of a few Jedi did little to sate the anger that fuelled him.
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Across the Clone Wars, Grievous would be at the hand of many Jedi murders. The one Jedi he would fail to best would be Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two would fight many times across the Clone Wars, with Grievous gaining a personal vendetta against Kenobi to the point he would also focus his attention to Kenobi whenever multiple Jedi were around. Neither would emerge victorious from those battles, though Grievous would try many times to gain the upper hand against Kenobi.
That stalemate would eventually see a conclusion on Utapau, at the end of the Clone Wars. With Kenobi managing to destroy what little remained of the Kaleesh warrior’s organic parts. While Grievous would not live to see the Jedi eradicated from the galaxy, Order 66 would come just hours after his death, granting that wish. Though whether he would have been happy with how it happened is another matter, considering how personal he had made his hatred of the Jedi.
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Sources: Wookieepedia
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