Star Wars Has Finally Taken a Clear Stance on Midi-Chlorians
Do you need a high m-count to be a Jedi? Maybe not.
When Luke Skywalker trained to be a Jedi, his potential was mostly connected to whether he could stop being so impulsive. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke left Yoda before his training was complete, but in Return of the Jedi, Yoda told him, “No more training do you require,” as figuring out his daddy issues came first. But then, in The Phantom Menace, becoming a powerful Jedi became a question of science: if you had a high midi-chlorian count, you could probably grab a lightsaber.
But that wasn’t the only factor. In 2023, Ahsoka made it clear you could still become a Jedi even with a low midi-chlorian count. Sabine, apparently, has a low “aptitude” for the Force, yet she’s in Jedi training. Now, in The Bad Batch Season 3, a former Jedi and former Sith warrior makes it clear that what’s in your blood has nothing to do with anything. Spoilers ahead for The Bad Batch Season 3, Episode 9, “Harbinger.”
At the start of “Harbinger,” the Batch finally gets some intel from one of Fennec Shand’s contacts. But it comes in the form of Asajj Ventress, a fallen Jedi and former assassin for Count Dooku. Omega and the Batch don’t know any of this, and fans don’t even know why she’s alive (Ventress seemingly met her end in the novel Dark Disciple).
But when it comes to Jedi, midi-chlorians, and who’s allowed to use the Force, The Bad Batch mostly follows Ahsoka’s newer Jedi canon. However, it also muddies the waters on how a midi-chlorian count is determined.
Jedi don’t need special blood
Asajj Ventress explains “m-counts” to Omega.
At the start of the episode, Ventress tells Omega about midi-chlorian counts and what it takes to be a Jedi. If this was someone’s first encounter with the question, Ventress succinctly sets up the debate on Jedi abilities: “It’s something in the blood, everyone has it, but on varying levels … those with a higher level were believed to be more capable of wielding the Force.”
“Believed” implies that Jedi testing for midi-chlorian count is something Ventress considers dogmatic. To drive the point home, she adds, “Your blood doesn’t make you a Jedi … you have to be trained for that.”
This all aligns with what Dave Filoni said in 2023 about Sabine’s ability to become a Jedi, regardless of her bloodline. “Everyone can become a Jedi, and everyone cannot become a Jedi,” Filoni said, leaving the door open for any character. So just because Omega is a clone, and Ventress says, “I’ve never known a clone to be Force-sensitive,” that doesn’t mean Omega is ruled out forever. That said, midi-chlorian counts are still relevant.
How to test for Force powers
Ventress using the Force.
Throughout “Harbinger,” Ventress puts Omega through some classic Jedi tests, and by the end, she tells Omega point-blank that she doesn’t have a high “m-count.” Ventress doesn’t have the handy little blood sample kit Obi-Wan had in The Phantom Menace, but it also looks like Ventress is lying about Omega’s Force potential, even as she makes it clear to the Batch that the Empire is coming for Omega regardless.
This touches on two truths in the Star Wars canon. First, there’s some kind of technical blood science that makes Force aptitude easier or harder for someone to grasp. But belief that someone can become a Jedi is part of the process too. By telling Omega that she probably has a low “M-count,” Ventress is protecting her from the risk of becoming a Jedi.
From Leia to Grogu to Omega, Star Wars has demonstrated all sorts of ways a Force-sensitive person might be impacted by how the world perceives their abilities. As Qui-Gon Jinn told Anakin, “Your focus determines your reality.” And in this case, if Omega isn’t focused on her Jedi potential, maybe that makes her less of a target for the Empire. Whether or not you can be a Jedi really is inside you, but it’s mental as well as physical.
