25 most heartbreaking Star Wars character deaths of all-time

The Younglings

Apologies, but there’s really nothing that’s more heart-wrenching than the slaughtering of innocent children. Maybe cooking your adorable, furry Porg friend in front of his family–but we’ll get to that later.

In the Star Wars universe, “Younglings” are a term used for Force-sensitive children, or children who are a part of an organized group of people in the Star Wars galaxies. In this case, we’re talking about the Jedi Younglings, who were being trained by the Jedi Order in Episodes I through III, and who Anakin mass murdered after turning to the Dark Side.

While the “Younglings” murder is one of the few heartbreaking deaths not shown on-screen, Obi-Wan’s account to Padme in Episode III about Anakin’s actions is bone-chilling. It doesn’t help that what is shown is an adorable, scared, blonde-haired boy asking for Anakin’s help during the Jedi murders and two seconds later Anakin draws his lightsaber like a weapon. It’s sickening, and maybe “heartbreaking” is a bit of an understatement.