I was thinking about how Anakin Skywalker is supposed to / was supposed to bring balance to the Force. Does that just mean that because he kills all the good Jedi he equals out the good and bad Force users? Or is it because he killed the Emporer who seemed to be overly powerful in the Dark Side? Or does it have something to do with his kids? Also, because the Force is all balanced after Episodes IV-VI, does that mean that Jedi can sense the dark side in others more easliy (I remember Yoda saying that the Dark Side had clouded everything). And if that is the balance that Anakin brings to the Force, then why can't Luke sense the evil of Exar Kun on Yavin 4 while that Sith Lord is running around turning Luke's students to the Dark Side. Maybe Luke is just inept?
I was under the impression that the balance restoration thing was as follows: 1) Years ago the supposedly good Jedi wiped out the Sith, or very nearly. This created an imbalance, too much goody-goody. 2) Vader wipes out the Jedi, achieving balance against what was done to the Sith. 3.) PEnguins take over
So revenge is the key to balance? Give me my gunPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I think that it has something to do with the number of jedi on each side. Vader kills all but Yoda and Obi Wan. Then they die, but Luke replaces them, but there are so many jedi that aren't even in the movie, like Lukes wife, Mara Jade. Anyway, Luke doesn't bring balance as he trains Jedi for good so the cycle will keep going around
Anakin brings balance by Luke achieving balance... my thoughtsPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Anakin did not bring any balance, they mistook him for Luke, his son. But of course, in that sense, that he is the father of the one who will eventually bring balance to the force, then you could also say that he DID bring balance, by producing a son. Depends on how philosophical you want to become. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The balance is between the living force and the cosmic force. The living force is embodied by Qui-Gon in TPM, but then by Qui-Gon's master Count Dooku in AOTC. (Note the comparisons made several times in AOTC between Qui-Gon and Dooku.) In TPM you can see that the living force didn't quite fit in with the Jedi -- Qui-Gon was a rebel, a nonconformist who kept disobeying the Jedi council. The Jedi Council is the cosmic force, sitting around in contemplation in their chambers while the galaxy begins to crumble. After Qui-Gon's death, the living force takes the step -- not as large of a step as it might seem -- to the dark side, with Dooku becoming fed up with the complacency of the council and leaving on a trip that leads him to Palpatine, who is of course a figure of action and reformation. Anakin has a lot of Qui-Gon in him, and sometime in Episode III he follows the path of Qui-Gon's master Dooku and replaces him as Palpatine's apprentice. Anakin is following the living force, but in such a complete way as to deny the cosmic force and be led to evil. Anakin/Vader becomes a tool of action for Palpatine, letting Palpatine do the contemplation. In the end, however, he turns on the Emperor and saves his son -- he takes the living force back to the light side again. Through Anakin's action of saving Luke, Anakin brings the living and cosmic forces into balance -- a balance which, after Anakin's death, lives on embodied in Luke. Luke is part Vader, tempered by Yoda and Ben... he's started down the dark path very briefly in ROTJ when he cuts off his father's hand, but the cosmic force is always in his mind as he thinks about the need for control and refuses to fight. Balance is achieved when a person can act in the moment without losing sight of the larger importance. The living force by itself is amoral, it trusts feelings and simply acts in the moment, and thus is easily led to evil. The cosmic force by itself is incapable of any real independent action, it simply sits around thinking philosophical thoughts while the world crumbles. Anakin brings balance by modifying the living force in himself to consider the greater good and escape the grip of Palpatine... and by saving his son, who has shown himself capable of maintaining a grip on the cosmic force while still using the living force to act in the moment.
Wow Hoth! Very eloquent. So completely answers my thoughts, and even gives me new ones to contemplate. I kept wondering about Qui-Gon...He did seem to be a kind of embodiment of emotion, with little emphasis on fore-thought. Is THAT why he didn't disappear? No, wait, don't answer that. I want to think about this for a while. Thanks again for the food for thought.
