Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has proved to be a massive hit with fans, introducing new worlds and characters into the wider Star Wars lore. However, one of the most interesting characters introduced is also one of the sequel’s weakest. With a fascinating premise, this character’s potential was disappointingly never reached in the game.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.]
Set five years after Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor picks up with a very different Mantis crew. Each of the main characters has changed between Fallen Order and Survivor, and the game addresses that wonderfully while adding new characters. However, not all the new characters are treated equally in of character development and sufficient motivation. In fact, one of the Star Wars Jedi series’ most interesting characters is given far too little screen time to make a decent impact, robbing them of a fulfilling character arc.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Doesn’t Give Dagan Gera Enough Development
Fallen High Republic Jedi Dagan Gera had players guessing about his role ever since his first appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s teaser trailer. Anticipation built steadily around the man in the bacta tank, but when players finally got to meet this mysterious figure, the results were disappointing. With weak motivation and little character development, Dagan is far from the imposing villain the game attempted to make him.
Dagan Gera Begins Jedi: Survivor As A Compelling & Promising Villain
Dagan has a strong start in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, immediately monologuing to Cal while bleeding his kyber crystal. This is the first time this action has been seen outside the Star Wars comics, and is a fascinating look at the process all those who succumb to the dark side must take. It also signals clearly to players, if not Cal, that Dagan cannot be reached anymore.
Unfortunately, from there, things start to fall a little flat. What should be a compelling antagonist and a cool insight into the High Republic is wasted in favor of a twist betrayal. This is such as shame as Dagan is one of the most interesting characters introduced in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, but he could have been so much more.
As a surviving member of the Jedi Order from the High Republic era, Dagan could have offered insight and guidance for Cal in place of Cere. His turn to the dark side could have been held off a little long in favor of some better backstory building, allowing players to get to know Dagan better. This would have made his fall then more impactful and more of a blow to Cal, and by extension, the player.
Dagan Gera Never Reaches His Potential In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
As Star Wars Jedi: Survivor progresses, however, players actually learn very little about Dagan, and part of this is how little screen time he has. Most of what is learned about Dagan this through flashbacks using Cal’s psychometric abilities. Although those flashbacks are not really about Dagan at all, and instead serve the purpose of establishing for Jedi: Survivor players what Tanalorr is and why they should want to go there.
In fact, players learn more about Dagan’s Gen’Dai ally Rayvis during Star Wars Jedi: Survivor than the main man himself. Through clever use of cut scenes and dialogue with Cal, players can learn about Rayvis’ oath to Dagan and what he really thinks of his master’s plan. But while having another awesome Gen’Dai character in Star Wars is great, Rayvis, at the end of the day, is Dagan’s lackey and players shouldn’t know more about him than who he works for. At the same time, Rayvis’ motivations throughout Jedi: Survivor are clear, while Dagan’s feel incomplete.
The problem with Dagan’s motivation is that it's weak and relies too much on the player not reading too much into his flimsy plan. His entire plot hinges on his turn to the dark side because he wants to return to Tanalorr, but no explanation is given as to why Tanalorr is so important to Dagan other than he discovered it. Yes, an attack from the Nihil meant that the Jedi Council abandoned Tanalorr and Dagan felt betrayed by that. But why react in the violent way he did? There is no explanation given in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor beyond that he just really wanted to go back.
If Dagan had felt betrayed by the Jedi Council of the High Republic and injured in an altercation with them, having him immediately fall to the dark side is sloppy storytelling. There is no chance for Cal and the player to understand Dagan’s motivations because there is no opportunity for interaction. Furthermore, many of the flashbacks which inform players about Dagan are framed from the point of view of Santari Khri, further emphasizing to the player that Dagan is the villain of Jedi: Survivor without providing much evidence.
While the desire to return to Tanalorr could be ed off as an obsession, the rest of Dagan's plans are stretched thin and are tenuous at best. He declares at one point in Jedi: Survivor that he will forge the Bedlam Raider gang into an army to replace the Empire - but why? Having shown no prior inclination towards ruling the galaxy, this new plot twist feels shoehorned in to double down on making him appear as a worthy villain.
Looking at Dagan with the benefit of hindsight and through the lens of gameplay, it is obvious that his characterization was given little thought as Bode Akuna was intended to be the main villain of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Because of this, Dagan isn’t properly fleshed out and feels rushed in comparison to Bode and Rayvis. The end result is what started out as such a cool idea, Cal interacting with a High Republic Jedi ended up feeling empty. Players learned almost nothing about the Jedi Order of the High Republic, no insight was given as to why Tanalorr was so important beyond it being hidden, and his interesting use of the Force to conjure a phantom limb is never mentioned again.
It’s such a shame Dagan Gera ended up feeling like such a two-dimensional character. Brilliantly voiced by Australian actor Cody Fern, Dagan chews the scenery at every opportunity, hinting at the depth players could have been given. Dagan had such a great design and interesting premise that players will be sure to want to learn more about him in media beyond Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
