Spoilers for RENEGADE SCUM 10: Branches

The latest episode shares more of the Force tradition Izer Munn came from, and I’d like to expand on them even more here. The Guides do not believe in fate, destiny, or predestination. Their conception of the Force puts people in difficult situations and asks them what action they will take. It is a comforting belief that any wonderful thing could come to pass with only the right effort. It is less comforting in dark times than faith in a redemption promised.

For the Guides it is sacred to help people in those difficult moments. To show an unnoticed option, to help someone make a choice without fear, to assist them through the difficult path beyond, these are why they choose the title Guide. Personal responsibility is important to everyone, but what sets a Guide apart is a duty to support others in that difficult work.

It is profane to remove choice. The essence of violence is limiting choice. This is the part of his teachings Izer summarized to Grace as “no prisons”.

Izer is, in a professional capacity, a violent person. There are times he believes he is simply providing consequences. Every path ends somewhere. There are times he believes he is ultimately spreading evil, and hopes he can be redeemed in the balance. He always wishes there were other Guides left to discourse with.

The last years have left him with a choice. He can hold the burden of knowing that ultimately he is at fault for the near-extinction of his tradition. Or, he can absolve himself by laying those events at destiny’s feet, which would mean the Guides have truly died out.