Jolee Bindo

Jolee Bindo was a Human Gray Jedi who participated in the Rimward missions, fought in the Great Sith War against Exar Kun, and went into self-imposed exile on Kashyyyk soon afterwards. Later in life, he joined Revan's adventures near the close of the Jedi Civil War in 3,956 BBY.

Life as a Padawan
"Let's just say that I was a strapping young lad with a head full of hair, and Coruscant was a small town with a well, heh heh."

- Jolee Bindo commenting on his age

During his days as a Jedi Padawan, Jolee was considered brash and reckless, often defying the will of the Jedi Council in order to do what he felt was right, as exemplified by his actions during the blockade of the Ukatis system. Cut off from the rest of the galaxy by its own king, the Ukatis system was unable to receive food and supplies, and no help from the Senate was forthcoming. Jolee decided to help the people himself. He acquired a ship and was joined by a friend. Together they stole from the rich, considering it a "tax on the greedy," and ran the supplies through the blockade to the planet.

Eventually, his craft was shot down on the planet by no less than his future wife, Nayama, and the two were married, although marriage was frowned upon by many Jedi of the time. He discovered her to be strong in the Force, and he took to training her personally despite the advice of the Jedi Council and his Padawan status. During the war with Exar Kun, his wife, like many other Jedi, fell to the dark side. She attempted to turn Jolee, who resisted, culminating in a vicious lightsaber duel which brought her to her knees. Jolee was unable to kill his own wife, and let her go. To his shame, she went on to kill many Jedi in the war. Eventually, she was killed in the last battle.

The Council did not punish Jolee for his actions, stating he had learned his lesson the hard way. When instead they wished to promote him to the status of Jedi Knight, Jolee lost faith in the wisdom of the Council, and went into exile.

Exile on Kashyyyk
"What's there to say? Jolee Bindo is the crazy old man who lives in the dangerous woods. I am content with the impression I give."

- Jolee Bindo

After spending a year in the home of his good friend Sunry, Jolee took to wandering the stars. He drifted for years, keeping employed when necessary. For a time he even took up smuggling, and he was not above using a Jedi mind trick to get past customs.

Eventually he crashed on Kashyyyk, and remained exploring the Shadowlands for the next twenty years. At first, the Wookiees believed him to be a benevolent forest spirit calling him the hairless god, and so left gifts outside of his dwelling, until the old hermit explained the truth to them, albeit with some embarrassment. Still, Jolee remained a friend of the Wookiees, helping them to protect the Shadowlands and its wildlife. He often wandered through the forest, ready to defend himself from predators, sentient or not, with his lightsaber.

Late during his wandering, he discovered an ancient computer guarding a Star Map, and ended up making 152 attempts to communicate with it; however, the computer had been secretly reprogrammed by Revan, during his first trip to Kashyyyk with Malak, to respond to nobody but himself.

Journey and friendship with Revan
"Now let's get moving, shall we? If you stood still for so long in Kashyyyk, a tach would eat you!"

- Jolee Bindo

When Revan passed through the Shadowlands a second time, once more seeking Star Maps, Jolee attached himself to the party, partly out of boredom and partly to face his own past. He was one of the few members of the party to know Revan's true identity all along (actually, the only one besides Bastila Shan, if taken into account that HK-47's memories about his first owner were locked), although he decided it was not his place to say. As he traveled with Revan, he was often reminded of an old friend, Nomi Sunrider, whom he had known during his time as a Jedi.

At one point, Revan questioned Jolee as to why the old man had accompanied him. Jolee's response was to tell the story of a young man who one day finds a snake in his village. He follows the snake, helping it away from the village and into a great desert. Without food or water to be seen, the snake bites the young man. The snake then asked why the man followed him, and the man replies; "Did I follow you? I thought I was leading you away from everyone else&hellip;" Revan could only wonder whether he was supposed to be the snake.

Jolee's professed neutrality, already belied by his joining Revan, was rendered further questionable when Revan landed on Rakata Prime, the home planet of the Rakata. When the Rakatan priest caste allowed Revan into the Temple of the Ancients to disable the Star Forge's disruptor field, they insisted on him going into the temple alone. Jolee, however, persuaded the priests to allow him and fellow Knight Juhani to accompany Revan, and it turned out to be a useful measure: Jolee and Juhani restrained Revan from being once again seduced to the dark side, this time by Bastila Shan.

Jolee remained with Revan until the end, and along with Revan's other companions, was honored at the Republic's celebration of their victory over Darth Malak.

It is, as of yet, unknown if Jolee survived the First Jedi Purge, was struck down by the assassins of the Sith Triumvirate, or was consumed with the rest of the Jedi by Darth Nihilus on Katarr. While several articles of clothing believed to have once belonged to Jolee are known to have been in circulation at that time, they were not in his possession when he joined up with Revan.

Personality and traits
"Oh, I get it. Let's play with the old man's head, is it? He's half-senile, he'll forget I said anything! Wait, uh, what was this about, anyway?"

- Jolee Bindo

Even during his days with the Order, Jolee allowed emotion to drive his actions, and thus walked a fine line between the light and dark sides of the Force, claiming that he saw "only in gray." He was therefore a heretic and, according to some, probably would have supported the Potentium theory of the Force, had it existed at the time. However, this is frowned upon by many since Jolee clearly believed that there was evil in the galaxy, as witnessed during the fall of his wife to the dark side as well as his experiences during his time in the Ukatis System. Likewise, Jolee's "gray" view didn't stop him from having a stable position against the Sith, and being a good man throughout his life.

He appeared as a cantankerous old man who readily dismissed the galaxy and its troubles with an impatient wave of his hand. Bindo appeared to outsiders as a grumpy old man, directing his scorn at both the youth and old alike, but his care and wisdom still shone through the many layers he draped around his heart. He insisted that all he wanted was peace, and yet he was drawn back to war when Revan arrived in the Shadowlands for a second time. Jolee sensed a powerful destiny ahead of Revan, though he insisted that he was simply along for the ride. Even when Bastila insisted that Jolee was a Jedi and needed the Order's structure, he waved her off, saying he had done plenty well without it. Likewise, he cautioned Carth's insistence that the universe would be irreparably changed should Malak succeed in collapsing the Republic. "Heroes and tyrants rise and fall, and historians sort out the pieces&hellip; don't go thinking that this war&mdash;your war&mdash;is any more important than any other war simply because you're in it."

Jolee was prone to speaking in story and allegory, with a sense of humor that was wickedly sarcastic and more than a bit self-derisive. In addition to the snake story, he told the tale about Jedi Master Hortath, who was blind and refused to see it, meeting a Padawan who followed the master's incorrect direction unthinkingly, and a Council who may have covered up for the blind master out of their own blind adherence to rank. Even his tale about Andor Vex was a cautionary tale intended to get Revan looking at the potential for folly. Still, he never considered himself Revan's teacher in any form. "Don't coddle me, child, I'm neither a Jedi or your master. I'm just an old man who's been lost in the woods for far too long."

Powers and abilities
"I wasn't always the wrinkled coot I am now, you know. I can still fight, too, so wipe off that smirk I see there."

- Jolee Bindo

Despite the fact that he followed the Jedi way and used the Force, Jolee did not consider himself part of the Order because of his history, or rather due to the fact that the Order failed him. He never officially progressed beyond the rank of Padawan, although he explained to Revan once that he was to be knighted before he went into exile. His time in the Shadowlands only enhanced his survival skills. He had even learned to craft medicine from simple herbs, without any access to kolto or medical supplies. Physically, despite his age, Jolee's time living in the dangerous Shadowlands kept his body in shape and nimble and saw him into dangerous situations on a regular basis. Even though lightsaber combat was not his primary strength as it was his command of the Force, the very first time he talked to Revan, several katarns had fallen to his lightsaber. In their travels, Jolee would display his signature talent for Jedi Mind tricks, something he thought could serve them well when Admiral Saul Karath ambushed them, if he was going to be their Leviathan Prison Break Agent.

He possessed a unique personality that allowed him to command the Force through both its light and dark sides. Lack of records have made it impossible to know the specific extent of Jolee's powers, but he could have potentially mastered dark arts such as Force lightning as easily as any other power, which would have been nearly unthinkable for most light-sided Jedi of the time. It was possible that his philosophy on controlling his emotions&mdash;neither blocking them nor allowing them to control him&mdash;that allowed him to draw on the Force as he did without fearing corruption from the dark side.

Behind the scenes



 * Bindo was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.


 * Although Jolee's in-game character class is a Jedi Consular (also known as the Sage Master) and is supposed to use a green lightsaber (which he wields in the game), initial pictures on the official KOTOR website and in the game instruction manual depicted Jolee wielding a blue blade instead.


 * In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, there are two items that might have belonged to Jolee: Bindo's Band and Jolee's Robe.


 * When Revan confronted Bastila on the Star Forge and defeated her, Bastila begged Revan to kill her because she thought there was no way she could be redeemed, Revan had the choice of saving her with persuasion ("The Jedi will forgive you" or "Look in your heart, I know you still follow the light"), or through their love for each other, which is canonical ("I love you, Bastila and I can't ever abandon you, ever"). In the end, Bastila loved Revan and because of this she was saved. In a way, the credit should go to Jolee, because of what he said when Revan spoke to Jolee about love. This would also apply to the non-canon female Revan's relationship with Carth Onasi, in which Jolee will give feedback on their professed love on Rakata Prime, commenting that they should take love wherever they find it.

"Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you."

- Jolee Bindo


 * Despite Jolee's apparent disdain for the Jedi Order, should the player choose to reclaim the Sith throne he will proclaim his ultimate allegiance to the light side claiming, "I am a Jedi, and I will never bow down to a Sith." The player will then have to kill Jolee and Juhani (if she is not killed earlier in the game) before going on to confront Darth Malak. Also, on Manaan, during the murder trial of his friend, Sunry, when (and if) the player confronts Sunry with a tape proving he is guilty, Jolee will respond to Sunry's defense with, "I am a Jedi, Sunry." Later, when Sunry is sentenced and Revan asks Jolee's thoughts about the matter, the old Jedi says that what matters is that justice had been served. This, along with a Force aligntment score of 55, indicates that Jolee was following the tenets of the light side more than those of the dark side.


 * It is possible, though not proven, that Jolee Bindo's last name was derived from George Lucas's original name for the Jedi Knights, the Jedi Bendu.


 * In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II&mdash;The Sith Lords, in a conversation with Handmaiden about the Jedi's ways, one of the options in response to Handmaiden's question on the love part of the Jedi code is "I think it's called 'pulling a Bindo.'" Handmaiden then has no idea what you are talking about, and a dialogue option is "Bald guy, bad joke, long story."


 * In a conversation with the Disciple on Dantooine, as he is mentioning what would be lost of the Jedi, he mentions "The adventures of Jolee Bindo on the Rimward Missions."


 * A seemingly incongruous entry for Jolee appears in Star Wars: Databank. There, it says of Bindo: "Though a useful ally, Jolee is not crucial to the completion of the KOTOR storyline."  This seems contradictory for a number of reasons. Firstly, only Jolee could get Revan past the Star Map barrier on Kashyyyk. Secondly, when Revan faces Bastila on the Temple of the Ancients, Jolee and Juhani, both come to help Revan, due to a premonition they had. Even if Juhani had been killed by Revan on Dantooine, Jolee would be the only one there to save Revan, if Revan was being persuaded to become the Dark Lord reborn.


 * Like HK-47, Jolee has become a fan favorite character due to his humor and mannerisms.


 * Jolee Bindo's legend as the "Hairless One" among the Wookiees of Rwookrrorro may be a play on the Bigfoot legend common among the United States of America and Canada; in direct contrast to a simian creature possibly living in the wild near large groups of humans, Jolee is a human living in the wild near a large group of simian Wookiees.


 * Jolee's tree house on Kashyyyk is similar in appearance to Yoda's house on Dagobah and Noa Briqualon's house on the Forest Moon of Endor.


 * During a conversation with Revan, Jolee will at one point say, "I did it all for the Wookiees." Revan has the option of responding, "The Wookiees?", to which Jolee will also respond, "The Wookiees."  This is in reference to the lyrics of the Limp Bizkit song "Nookie."

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords