The Chosen One, Balance to the Force, and my son Connor

[DungeonmasterCal]

If this has been posited before, I've not heard it. Connor (who is 11) and I were watching Phantom Menace this afternoon, and he says that Anakin, The Chosen One, DID bring balance to the force as Darth Vader. I ask how did he do that, and he said, "Think about it. Once Vader took his place at the Emperor's side, there were two Sith, and only two Jedi left. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda."

And by golly, he was right. It's all so simple.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

That's not the balance. It's not like there's supposed to be an eqaul number of Sith and Jedi; Jedi are the servants of the force and Sith are a mockery of it. Sith are unnatural aberrations in the Force, they aren't supposed to exist in a balanced universe at all. It was through Jedi bureaucracy and ineptitude and myopia that the Sith were able to return as a threat. Vader did bring "balance to the force" ... by killing the Emperor and turning back to the light, destroying the Sith and allowing a new, rejuvenated Jedi Order to arise.

Just my two credits.

 

[Captain Tagon]

There was a comic I read soon after Phantom Menace came out that had Mace Windu and Yoda in a diner on Coruscant talking about the chosen one and the balance of the force. Windu takes a cup of black coffee and mixes in creamer, saying that the balance of the force would be like that, eliminating the dark and making it light.

Yoda however had a different point to make. He poured a pile of salt on the table, and then two grains of pepper next to it. He then blew away all the salt except for two grains and looked up at Mace and said, "See, balance."

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Its a good theory, but doesn't mesh with Lucas' view of the Force.

Balance of the Force does NOT mean equal number of Dark Side and Light Side. The Light Side IS the Force, and the Dark Side is a horrible corruption OF the Force. Therefore, to have 'balance'(which really isn't even the most accurate word for this), the Dark Side must be completely destroyed.

Anakin definitely did this by killing the Emperor in Jedi, but since that would never have happened without Luke, I believe that Luke may have sort of inherited the 'Chosen One' mantle.

 

[Raven Crowking]

If this has been posited before, I've not heard it. Connor (who is 11) and I were watching Phantom Menace this afternoon, and he says that Anakin, The Chosen One, DID bring balance to the force as Darth Vader. I ask how did he do that, and he said, "Think about it. Once Vader took his place at the Emperor's side, there were two Sith, and only two Jedi left. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda."

And by golly, he was right. It's all so simple.

Let us not forget that Darth tossed the Emperor down the shaft.


RC

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Let us not forget that Darth tossed the Emperor down the shaft.


RC

No one said how long the balance would last.

And the boy's theory is just as good as some of the really convoluted ones out there. Is he right? I dunno. But sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

No one said how long the balance would last.

And the boy's theory is just as good as some of the really convoluted ones out there. Is he right? I dunno. But sometimes the simplest answer is the best answer.

Oh, its a good answer...but it isn't right. Lucas himself has gone into the whole Dark Side doesn't balance Light Side thing.

 

[demiurge1138]

Connor's definition of "balance" sounds plausible, and it gives Anakin's training a level of irony that I appreciate. I've thought that's how it went for a while, and I'm still going to interpret it that way, regardless of Lucas' statements about the Dark Side being aberrant.

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Vader brought balance to the force, by giving birth to Luke.

The balance could also be described by Luke himself, and his connection to the force. The jedi were trained to repress emotion, and had a very difficult time sensing the dark side. Perhaps it was because they were related, but Luke never had a problem sensing Vader. He also never did get a perfect handle on his emotions. While he was certainly a light side jedi, he lacked many of their self imposed limitations. Balance, from a certain point of view...

 

[Ei]

Seeing as how Jedi and the force are much inspired from Taoism, I see balance of the force as the eternal struggle between the light side and the dark side. it is through the motion between the light and the dark that creates the balance.

Before the empire, the light side dominated, and the jedi (along with the galaxy) stagnates. So the chosen one had to destroy the light side, create great upheaval. Then came the empire, as a short over surge of the dark side after the destruction of the light side. Anakin then destroyed the emperor. So in effect, he was able to destroy the old ways (both light and dark) that allowed new Jedi order, as well as new sith warriors to be born. Thus, the struggle continuous, and the balance and the motion are maintained.