Star Wars: Yaddle Mastered A Forbidden Jedi Force Technique Too Graphic For Kids
To someone outside of the "Star Wars" zeitgeist, the battle between the Jedi and the Sith may appear like a pretty black and white good-versus-evil conflict. Dive deep into the lore of the franchise, however, and one will be met with numerous instances of the Jedi subverting expectations and doing some pretty questionable things in the name of good. Case in point: Yaddle, Yoda's female counterpart on the Jedi High Council, is actually confirmed to have learned a certain Force tactic so dangerous and so deadly that it sounds more like something out of Darth Vader's arsenal.
In the several most recent editions of the "Star Wars Character Encyclopedia," the official resource book reveals that Yaddle is the one of the sole Jedi to have learned the technique of morichro, also known as the Touch of Death. Morichro involves users wielding the Force and using it to slow down or even freeze the vital functions of a victim's body in real-time. As can be surmised from its naming, the technique can be quite easily used to kill opponents altogether and it's generally considered a forbidden tactic among Jedi.
Plenty of Star Wars characters use forbidden techniques
Despite Yaddle being confirmed to have learned the deadly art of morichro, she has never been shown actually using it — in canon, "Star Wars Legends" material, or otherwise. However, that's not to see that the Touch of Death has never been witnessed by fans. The 1994 novel "Champions of the Force" by Kevin J. Anderson sees Luke Skywalker's star pupil Kyp Durron using morichro on himself to essentially put his body in stasis for a brief period of time. Instances such as this one aside, fans have yet to see the technique directly used on another being or taken to its extreme — and deadly — conclusion.
Morichro is just one of various taboo Jedi techniques generally frowned up and yet nonetheless learned and wielded by major characters. The climactic battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) on the volcanic planet of Mustafar actually sees Obi-Wan cheat his former apprentice using a banned lightsaber move known as mou kei. Meanwhile, "Ahsoka" sees the bounty hunter Marrok using a tricky lightsaber move that both the Jedi and the Sith agreed to never use called Tràkata.
Based on the precedent of other forbidden techniques, it seems like only a matter of time until morichro is depicted somewhere in the "Star Wars" universe on-screen. The chances of Yaddle being the one to use it are admittedly slim, as the character dies at the hands of Count Dooku around the time of the fall of the High Republic. That said, there's always a chance of another prequel-set story bringing the character back, so anything's possible.