10 Greatest Fantasy TV Quotes About Power

The maxim that absolute power corrupts absolutely shows up again and again in fantasy television, whether the power is magical or political. These shows pause to examine how authority is gained, wielded and kept in check, and their lines often translate easily to real-world concerns.

Yoda sums one strand of that thinking: "To answer power with power the Jedi way this is not, in this war a danger there is of losing who we are." In Star Wars: The Clone Wars he warns that fighting fire with fire risks becoming the very thing the Jedi swore to oppose—power should aid those in need, not escalate violence.

Other series echo different angles. In Merlin, Mordred says, "The love that binds us is more important than the power we wield," arguing that connection matters more than authority.

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