The Force works in mysterious ways

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"The Force works in mysterious ways" was a phrase that concerned the energy field known as the Force.^[1] Werth Plouth,^[2] the Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh,^[3] Ylena,^[4] and Leia Organa^[5] at various points all uttered the phrase^[6] or a variation of it.^[5]

In 232 BBY,^[7] a party including Vernestra Rwoh, human Jedi Padawan Imri Cantaros, and the aspiring inventor Avon Starros escaped the destruction of^[6] the star cruiser^[8] Steady Wing. Afterwards, Starros inquired whether Rwoh and Cantaros really were not interested in determining the identity of the party that had sabotaged the Steady Wing and thereby caused the death of Cantaros' Jedi Master, Douglas Sunvale. In response, Cantaros noted that the Jedi philosophy opposed vengeance on principle, further adding that the Jedi believed that everything transpired according to the will of the Force, although the Padawan admitted that it worked "in mysterious ways."^[6]

Nevertheless, later Cantaros himself dueled Rwoh in order to attempt to exact vengeance upon the group of Nihil marauders responsible for the Steady Wing's destruction. During the confrontation, Cantaros recalled a memory of Sunvale and had an experience of his deceased master telling him that a part of being a Jedi was "to always trust that the Force works in mysterious ways." Directly after that, the Padawan ceased trying to attack Rwoh.^[6]

When the human Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was providing the young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker with introductory Jedi training while the pair was traveling to the planet Alderaan aboard^[9] the light freighter^[10] Millennium Falcon^[9] in 1 BBY,^[11] Skywalker asked why some Force-users aligned themselves with the dark side of the Force despite that aspect of the energy field involving negative emotions and experiences. Kenobi's reply claimed that, although the Force worked "in mysterious ways," it guided individuals to situations where they could play their part in achieving "balance."^[9]

In 34 ABY,^[12] when the human Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was reunited with the First Order stormtrooper deserter Finn, with whom he had developed a friendship during a joint escape from the First Order, Dameron mentally noted that "the galaxy sure worked in mysterious ways" when he was reflecting on their unlikely relationship.^[13] The phrase "the Force works in mysterious ways" was also used by^[1] the human^[10] Jedi apprentice Rey^[1] at one point between that year and 35 ABY.^[14] Rey rescued Finn, who was by then her companion and a member of the Resistance member, and the Kessurian Leesa Chaffni from gnaw-jaw creatures aboard the buried wreckage of the cruiser Explorator on the planet Jakku. In response to Chaffni's inquiry, she then recounted how she and Finn had arrived on Jakku, which had later led them to meet the Kessurian in a previous encounter. Noting that seemingly unusual sequence of events, Rey remarked that the Force worked "in mysterious ways."^[1]

Behind the scenes

The phrase "The Force works in mysterious ways" first appeared in the current Star Wars canon in Alexandra Bracken's 2015 junior novel A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy.^[9] The phrase "the Force works in mysterious ways"^[15] originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it first appeared in the form "the Force moves in mysterious ways" in Soldier for the Empire, the 1997 first entry in the Star Wars: Dark Forces series of novellas by William C. Dietz.^[16] A variation of the phrase, "the Jedi work in mysterious ways," debuted in The Fight for Justice, John Peel's 1998 first installment of the Star Wars Journal series of young reader novels.^[17]

Michael Reaves and Steve Perry's 2004 novel Battle Surgeons, the first novel of the MedStar Duology, introduced "the Force does work in mysterious ways,"^[18] and the novel Dynasty of Evil, Drew Karpyshyn's 2009 final entry of the Star Wars: Darth Bane Trilogy, debuted the unemphasized version of the phrase, "the Force worked in mysterious ways."^[19] The phrase "the Force works in mysterious ways" shares similarities with the real-world proverb "God moves in mysterious ways," which originated from William Cowper's 18th-century hymn "Light Shining out of Darkness."^[20]

Appearances

• The High Republic: Path of Deceit
• The High Republic: A Test of Courage
• The High Republic: Out of the Shadows
• Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
• A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel (Indirect mention only)
• Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire
• Resistance Reborn
• The Jaws of Jakku

Notes and references