Just saw Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

[Boss-Hog]

Anakin brought "balance" to the Force by killing off the Jedi. Before that, the scales were tipped heavily to the light side of the Force. He tipped them to the dark side, then killed Palpatine and brought everything back into balance.

That's a good take, as well.

My only question is this - as you mentioned, the scales were tipped heavily towards the light side even before Anakin was even discovered. That being the case, why did he need to bring balance to the force, from the light side's perspective, since they were the ones generally in control?

[SandyD]

That's just it ... from the light side's perspective.

Perhaps both sides were getting too powerful. Both sides were using the force to their own ends. The "light side" may have had the best of intentions, but who's to say they were always "right"?

And, power corrupts. No one is perfect, so how do you prevent others from turning to the dark side? Better the ability to manipulate the force dies out with Luke?

I agree with JF's interpretation.

[KronoRed]

And, power corrupts. No one is perfect, so how do you prevent others from turning to the dark side? Better the ability to manipulate the force dies out with Luke?

I always thought Luke was the 'New Beginning' the first in a new type of Jedi...

[Boss-Hog]

Luke is the "New Hope" that the title of episode IV refers to.

[SandyD]

yeah, could be, Krono ... after all the last movie was called "The Return of the Jedi."

I just don't quite see that as balance. You give people power, someone will abuse it. So you start training new Jedi, you'll eventually have Sith. But maybe the cycle just starts all over again.

[GAC]

Since seeing this newest version with my 9 yr old son he has been hitting me with all types of questions (driving me nuts!!!).

He bought a Darth Sidious action figure this weekend.

I think all children gravitate to the "dark side".

I gotta rent the original trilogy so that he knows how things turn out. Right now he thinks the Jedi are a bunch of wousys. And that "little green guy" as he refers to him (Yoda) freaked him out.

[Caveat Emperor]

Anakin brought "balance" to the Force by killing off the Jedi. Before that, the scales were tipped heavily to the light side of the Force. He tipped them to the dark side, then killed Palpatine and brought everything back into balance.

The way I always interpreted it was that the Sith (Dark Side) were a "perversion" of the natural order and that their very existence was unnatural and tainted the force (see: Mace Windu's comment in E2 about their ability to see the future being clouded by the Dark Side; Palpatine's line in E3 about the Dark Side being considered "unnatural"; Yoda's comment about death being the way of the force whereas Sith hold onto life long beyond their natural time). As long as a Sith exists and is using the Dark Side, the Force is out of it's natural balance.

Thus, it was Anakin's fate to destroy the Sith and restore balance to the Force. He does this in Return of the Jedi when he kills the Emporer and then turns back to the light side and dies, effectively removing the only two Sith from the universe...

At least, that's my take...

[Johnny Footstool]

As long as a Sith exists and is using the Dark Side, the Force is out of it's natural balance.

Yin and Yang. Positive and negative. Light can't exist without dark, and they always swing back into balance. One has to counter the other.

[gm]

Obi Wan is going to basically have to live in exile for 20 years with nothing to think about except how his failure in training Anakin probably led to the complete destruction and murder of the Jedi and the rise of a tyrannical dictator to power.

Yeah, and it "aged" him much more than those 20 years. McGregor to...Guinness?

In E6 Kenobi tells Luke that he failed because of pride "I thought I could train your father better than Yoda, I was wrong." But the story didn't play out quite that way in E2-3. Kenobi convinced the council that he should train Skywalker, but it wasn't like Obi-Wan was so full of himself that he demanded that he train Anakin instead of Yoda. It was more like "the prophecy said that a chosen one was coming to balance the force, and we think he's the chosen one, right?" Hardly a case of Obi-wan letting his pride get in the way

[Steve4192]

Yeah, and it "aged" him much more than those 20 years. McGregor to...Guinness?

They aren't THAT far off.

Alec Guinness was born in 1914, making him 63 years old at the time 'A New Hope' was released in 1977. Ewan McGregor was born in 1971, making him 34 at the time 'Revenge of the Sith' was released. Take out the 20 years that are supposed to elapse from the end of Epidsode III until the start of Episode IV, and the difference is only 9 years.

[Joseph]

Maybe I'm being obstinate, but I still see Luke as the one who bring balance to the force, always will. I fully understand the point of view about Anakin being the Chosen One, but to me he swung power to the Dark side because he and Palpatine were stronger than any of the then current Jedi. Luke however, counteracted that reign and brought some semblance of balance.

[GOOCH]

Another prequel? God, shoot me now. Talk about an inability to move past one good idea. D.GOOCH (just don't get me started on Darth Lucas...)

[ochre]

the Jedi assumed "balance to the force" meant "rid them of the disturbances" that they had been encountering. Yoda was right. They missinterpreted the meaning of "bring balance to the force". There could very well have been a follow on, as yet undiscovered, prophecy that Luke would bring "balance to the force" again after the tide switched to the Sith advantage, but any record of said prophecy would have been lost in the destruction of all things Jedi as Palpatine/Sidious purged their collected knowledge from the Empire.

I am still surprised that in the end Lucas' foil was a woman. Very misogynic approach to the epic tale. Luke and Anakin, Anakin loved a woman unconditionally and it caused his demise; Luke was devoted to a cause and ended up a success.

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

Maybe I'm being obstinate, but I still see Luke as the one who bring balance to the force, always will. I fully understand the point of view about Anakin being the Chosen One, but to me he swung power to the Dark side because he and Palpatine were stronger than any of the then current Jedi. Luke however, counteracted that reign and brought some semblance of balance.

>>SPOILER ALERT<<

In my best Yoda speak:

Agree I do not that Vader and Palpatine were stronger than any current Jedi. Obi Wan clearly defeated Anakin/Vader one-on-one at the end of E3 and chose not to finish him off. The question is why? Did he not deliver the fatal blow to Vader because he thought his situation was helpless and he wouldn't survive in his condition just inches from molten lava? Or, as is my theory, did he not kill Vader because he still believed the prophecy that Anakin would eventually bring balance to the force -- something that would never be possible if he was dead? Perhaps Obi Wan thought that if Anakin could somehow survive then maybe he was the "Chosen One" after all.

As to who was stronger, consider that Master Windu had Palpatine defeated before Anakin interferred. Yoda vs. Palpatine was esentially a draw. And Obi Wan beat Vader (in their first battle at least) and had already beaten Darth Maul. The only way the Sith could gain the upper hand was because of that dirty "Order 66" sneak attack that caught the Jedi by complete surprise.

[GAC]

I think Darth Vader was still the "chosen one" and responsible for bringing that "balance" back into the force. In that final battle with his son he realized what he had become, what the dark side and the Emporer's influence and treachery had made him into, and became Anakin once again when he intervened and killed the Emporer. If he hadn't intervened and saved Luke, then the dark side would have won once again. I don't think Luke was strong enough to defeat the Emporer in their head to head conflict. He needed Darth to intervene and realize his true destiny.

Then again, one could also say that Luke's strength and resolve, while not powerful enough to defeat the Emporer himself, was able to "open the eyes" of Darth Vader as he witnessed his son's losing battle with the Emporer, and thus bring Darth back to his postion as the chosen one in that climatic moment.