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Star Wars Rant- Did Anakin Balance the Force?
By Ryan Parsons | Images property of Lucas Film
Did Vader balance the force?
The Prophecy of the One Who Will Bring Balance to the Force
From the first film of the new trilogy, Phantom Menace, it is repeatedly mentioned that there is a prophecy that told of a person, a jedi, who would bring balance to the force. As the movie continues, Qui-Gon figures he finds this person in Anakin, the son of a slave woman who has had no [how do you say] gentlemen in her life. The force, or should I say midiclorians, decided to grant Shmi Skywalker [Anakin's mom] a son. A son that was naturally powerful with the force as he had a ton of midiclorians; 'even more so than Yoda.'
Quick side note: midiclorians are in your blood, but they
supposedly do not truly exist like a red blood cell would. In my cloning
theory, I stated that you should find those who are high in midiclorians
and clone the shit out of them. Some one later wrote to me about an error
in my judgment. The writer said that the midiclorians would not carry over
to clones, as it was the force that decided how many you got, not genetics.
I do not know if this is true or not, but definitely put a damper on my
last argument. So I say it isn't true.
Alright, Anakin seems to be the likely contender to fill the prophecy known by all the jedi. However, as those who have seen the films know, Anakin fails at becoming a jedi master and, instead, joins powers with the Sith; the dark side. Anakin, now called Darth Vader, then helps the Sith to wipe out the Jedi orde and become an Empire. Now, most would argue that Anakin was probably not the one chosen to fulfill the prophecy. The guy switched sides, and then eradicated the good guys.
The Prophecy Lives on in Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI
In the original Star Wars trilogy [IV,V,VI], we begin with the tale of Luke Skywalker [Anakin's son]. Through this tale we learn of Darth Vader, who slowly grabs control of the entire Empire. While most see Vader as a bad dude, Luke still feels some good in him [he is his father after all]. Luke was not able to capitalize on this goodness until his final confrontation with Emperor Palpatine.
Now, here is the big question. Was it Luke or Anakin that brought a balance to the force, if either? What did balance of the force mean when it came to the prophecy?
Yoda and Luke discuss the Force and its balance.
The Teeter-Totter of the Force
Alright, lets take a look at Anakin's adventure in stages. As we progress, we will see how Anakin first played a major role to bring the force into balance, and then back out of balance, only to end up back in balance [or close to it].
Anakin Helps Bring the Force to Balance, but Shifts this Balance Too Much in Favor of the Sith
When Anakin joins the Sith, the dark side gets a huge jump in power. However,
there are still some jedis out there doing their thing. As far as we know,
the Sith only have a few real delegates that can wield the force, unlike
the jedi order. Therefore, it is hunting season for the Sith as they attempt
to kill all jedis and completely vanquish the order. Obviously, Anakin,
now Vader, has a big role in this process.
Anakin sets out on Sith missions to assassinate, or convert, those who favor
the light and can wield the force. As Anakin continues, the force paradigm
begins to shift from the light to the dark. Sometime during this shift,
the force finds itself in balance. However, this balance is only short lived.
The last remaining survivors, that represent the light side, are forced
to flee and hide. Among these are Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Sith slowly
takes full power and soon becomes the Empire, instead of the Republic. Now
the force is imbalanced again, but this time in favor of the dark side.
For the force to reach a balance, Yoda had to bite the bullet.
In Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, we witness a huge event at the
end of the film. Vader turns on his master, Emperor Palpatine, in order
to protect Luke. The end result is the death of Palpatine at the hands of
Vader. Vader, from pre-distained injuries, dies a little while after. This,
I believe, is the closest to an actual 'balance of the force.' Vader and
Palpatine are gone, left is only Luke and Leia. Yoda dies of natural causes
in Return of the Jedi. Some could say that the force may have selected
for Yoda to die as it knew that Palpatine and Vader would soon be gone as
well. By Yoda still being around, there would still be an imbalance to the
force. The only Jedi left is Luke, and he isn't nearly as powerful [thanks
to lack in training] as the original Jedi. Leia has force abilities, but
hasn't even remotely discovered them. In The Empire Strikes Back,
we see Leia and Luke use telepathy to contact one another [the scene near
the end where Luke calls for Leia].
Remember how I said the balance could come from the removal of both the
light and dark side? Well, this is what I believe the force meant to happen.
True, harmonious, balance could only occur when both sides were removed
to an almost non-existent level.
Anakin- the Key Player
If you remember, the Sith took advantage of hiding and only felt fit to
reveal themselves once their power grew to a considerable extent. With the
conversion of Anakin to the dark side, the Sith could begin showing their
true strength. Without Anakin as the catalyst, the Sith may not have ever
truly exposed themselves. Without exposure, the force would have continued
to remain imbalanced unforeseen years in the future. But with Anakin, the
Sith could now make their move. So, by the Sith revealing itself, and its
founded power, it made the first step towards a balance. A confrontation
had to occur between the opposite sides of the force, a confrontation that
required the Sith to reveal themselves.
Anakin begins to join the switch... obviously |
The next problem was Emperor Palpatine. With him, the force could never
reach a balance, as not only is Palpatine extremely powerful, but he continuously
strives to increase his force wielding ranks. The only way to get close
enough to Palpatine was for Anakin to become Vader [not saying it was a
choice], a trusted servant to Palpatine. Vader was allowed to be close to
Palpatine and he also had the power to stand up to him [when the time came].
Without Vader/Anakin, Palpatine may have been able to go on unchallenged
for a longer period of time. Thanks to Anakin, Palpatine was destroyed,
helping bring balance to the force.
In the end, I do believe that Vader was the person that the prophecy had
discussed. It still remains unclear on how the prophecy saw the balancing
of the force to occur, but the number one fact was that it would take a
key player; Anakin. Certain events had to occur: Sith reveals itself thanks
to help from Anakin, Sith confronts Jedi Order, Sith vanquishes Jedi Order
thanks to Anakin, Emperor Palpatine now exposed in the public eye, Anakin/Vader
is close to Emperor Palpatine, Vader kills Palpatine and dies as well.
BALANCE RESTORED!!
*That's it for this rant. If there are any errors, which I'm sure the die
hard Star Wars fans will find, let me know. |
Ryan Parsons
Sources: Images property of Lucas Film
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