Juhani in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Juhani, a Cathar Jedi Knight, is an NPC in the Star Wars Old Republic Era. She appears in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but is mentioned or shown as a hologram in later games in this series and in Star Wars: The Old Republic. She is “the first female character written for the Star Wars universe that is a lesbian” (Juhani, n.d.). Other lesbian, bisexual, and gay characters appear as romanceable options in Star Wars: The Old Republic. 

When the game was first released, a bug in the code meant that she could be romanced by male or female player-characters. That error was later corrected with patches that made her only available to female PCs. Players have created mods, however, that make her a romance option for male PCs.

When the players meets Juhani for the first time, they have the option of killing her. If they do, another female Jedi Knight, Belaya, will be angry and want vengeance because as she puts it, “Juhani was…a dear companion to me for many years. We spent many nights together alone under the stars” (Juhani, n.d.). Some players believe this implies they were lovers, though at least one message board read this as signs that they were “best friends.” This can be seen in this video.

If the player saves Juhani, she returns to the order of the Jedi and joins the player in quests. This video shows this option. She is also a romance option for the female player-character Revan, who is canonically male but players can play this character as female in this game. The culmination of their romance can be seen in this video. However, in the sequel of the game it is assumed that the female Revan had a relationship with Carth Onasi.

Citations:

  1. AccioAbarero. (2013, July 21). Star Wars: Knights of the Republic, Female!Revan x Juhani Romance. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii9Q9lhCO_E
  2. Dickens, D. (2011, May 9). 16 LGBT Video Game Characters. BuzzFeed. http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/16-lgbt-video-game-characters#.goan8Erz1N
  3. harriet. (2013, November 13). Check out These Lesbian Content in Video Games. GameGuys. http://www.gameguyz.com/news/gossips/check-out-these-lesbian-content-in-video-games.html
  4. Flanagan, J. (2014, May 16). The complete history of LGBT video game characters. The Daily Dot. Retrieved from http://www.dailydot.com/geek/gay-characters-video-games-history
  5. Juhani. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Juhani
  6. Juhani Falls in Love With Fem Revan. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=19&v=lnIXY-n-E0g
  7. Killing Juhan- Good thing or bad? (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox/556553-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic/answers/139260-killing-juhani-good-thing-or-bad
  8. Lee’s Shizzle. (2010, January 26). KotOR- Killing Juhani. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReY57uC4IE0
  9. LGBT characters in video games. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_characters_in_video_games
  10. Revan. (n.d). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revan
  11. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (series). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_(series)
  12. virtualcat2010. (2008, August 7). [36] Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (Light Side Female) Walkthrough – Saving Juhani. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0LfMJ4wXtQ
  13. WatchMojo.com. (2015, June 16). Top 16 LGBT Characters in Video Games. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEL0ZMO-DMc