The Dumbest Decisions In The 'Star Wars' Franchise

In Attack of the Clones, Count Dooku tells Obi-Wan Kenobi on Geonosis about a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious who secretly controls the Senate in an attempt to sway Obi-Wan to his side. Obi-Wan immediately discounts that information, claiming that the Jedi would have known. However, he passes on the message to the rest of the Jedi Council, who agree with this assessment that it is completely impossible. They claim that it's part of the dark side's attempt to create fear and mistrust. Although they agree to monitor the Senate, they seem relatively undisturbed by Dooku's warning. 

If the Jedi were told that a Sith was running the Senate, wouldn't they do a little more to investigate it? Count Dooku gives quite a lot of information about his Master, including his name, which would suggest that he's telling the truth. Even if he's lying, what's the harm in investigating his claims? Count Dooku gives the Jedi all the information they need to spot Darth Sidious and take him down, and the Jedi ignore him. They assist in their own downfall by failing to do their part and investigate the reappearance of the Sith. 

Jedi aren't supposed to form emotional attachments with other people. It's a strict part of the Jedi Code, designed to ensure that Jedi's decisions aren't clouded by their care for others. In Attack of the Clones, however, Anakin Skywalker makes it clear that he has some sort of feelings towards Senator Padmé Amidala. He openly tells Obi-Wan that he thought about Padmé every day since he last saw her, and consistently oversteps his place in the interest of protecting her. 

Still, despite his clear feelings for the senator, the Jedi Council makes it Anakin's first solo mission to escort her back to Naboo and protect her on her home planet. They're basically dangling the woman he loves in front of him, but are still reminding him that he's not allowed to act on his feelings. Secluded on a planet with Padmé and away from the influence of Obi-Wan, what did they expect to happen? Was there truly no one else who could have guarded the senator? Considering that Anakin's feelings for Padmé ultimately lead to his downfall, this seems like an all-around poor decision by the Jedi Council and Obi-Wan.

When Darth Vader boards Princess Leia Organa's ship in A New Hope, his troops quickly take over the command center. However, when an escape pod is launched, Imperial troops choose not to take it out, as they don't detect a living organism on board. Unfortunately, that pod allows R2-D2 and C-3PO to escape with the plans for the Death Star and a message from Princess Leia. 

The real question is: Why would the Imperial troops simply assume that the ship ejected due to a malfunction? They hadn't yet captured all the passengers aboard the ship and were still in the process of figuring out exactly what was going on. The crew claimed they were on a diplomatic mission, but Darth Vader believed otherwise. For safety's sake, the Imperial troops should have assumed that the escape was launched by someone, even if it was just a distraction. Taking down an escape pod wouldn't have been that difficult. Had they thought a little smarter, the Imperial troops could have basically ended the Rebellion right then and there.

 In Return of the Jedi, the Rebels put together an elaborate plan to take down the new and improved version of the Death Star, which is still under construction. Part of the plan involves Han and his team landing on Endor and deactivating a generator that holds a protective shield in place over the Death Star. Once the shields are down, the Rebel Fleet will emerge and use the Millennium Falcon to fly into the center of the space station and take it out. However, as Han carries out his part of the mission, the emperor reveals that he is walking into a trap. The Imperial soldiers fed the Rebels bad information in order to draw their fleet out of hiding and eliminate them altogether. The Rebels on Endor are captured by Imperial troops before they're able to get the shields down, and the Rebel fleet emerges from hyperspace over Endor, only to discover that the shields are still up. 

This a futuristic world filled with space ships, floating space stations, and a multitude of livable planets. Yet they want us to believe that they don't have the communication systems in place to confirm that the shields are down before they arrive. The Rebels should have waited for some sort of signal from Han that they were safe to emerge over Endor before risking their entire fleet in one battle. If they didn't have full confirmation that the shields were down, they should have delayed their plans. Waiting for a simple radio message of, "Hey, we did it!" would have prevented the Rebels from risking everything on the simple hope that the Rebels on Endor would complete their side of the plan.

On Obi-Wan Kenobi's direction, Luke Skywalker flies to the swampy planet of Dagobah to receive Jedi training from Jedi Master Yoda. Despite insisting that Luke is too old to learn and doesn't have the patience a Jedi requires, Master Yoda agrees to train him. In his short time with Yoda, Luke does learn a lot. He's given lessons about the metaphysical nature of the Force, as well as the need to control one's impulses in order to use it correctly. However, he proves all of Yoda's fears correct when he cuts his training short to save Han Solo and Princess Leia. He has a vision of them in agony and insists that he must save them, ignoring all of Yoda’s warnings in the process. 

Luke doesn't seem to understand how difficult it is to learn the ways of the Force. He stubbornly insists that he can take on the second most powerful Sith Lord in existence with, what, two weeks of Jedi training? You can do a few flips and levitate a few objects, Luke. That doesn't mean you're ready to take on Darth Vader. Although Luke doesn't turn to the dark side, he does lose his hand because of this rash decision.

When Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi land on the desert planet Tatooine to repair their damaged ship, they meet Anakin Skywalker, the 9-year-old slave of junk shop owner Watto. Qui-Gon senses a strong presence of the Force within Anakin, and he immediately believes that the young boy is the prophesied "Chosen One." After finding out that they can't buy parts to fix their ship with Republic currency, Qui-Gon wagers both Anakin's freedom and the parts they need to continue their journey in a podrace. If Anakin wins, he'll leave Tatooine with the Jedi. 

Let's look at this for a moment. Qui-Gon believes he's found the Chosen One who's meant to bring balance to the Force. Not only that, but he also needs those parts from Watto in order to get to Coruscant and inform the Senate about the Trade Federation's deal with the Sith. Anakin's victory is essential, both to the safety of Naboo and to the future of the entire Jedi order. Still, no one bothers to keep an eye on Anakin's pod before the race, allowing an opponent to damage his vehicle. The destruction keeps Anakin from starting the race on time, putting him far behind his opponents. Qui-Gon even walks up a moment after the vandalism, totally calm and encouraging. Why wasn't he guarding the pod beforehand? Why wasn't anyone guarding the pod? With such big stakes on the line, you'd imagine that more people would be around to ensure that nothing goes wrong.