Spoiler Alert: what does "restore balance to the force" prophecy mean?

[pcmodem]

Howdy,
What's the deal with the Star Wars prophecy about the one who will restore balance to the force? What do they even mean by balance?

I suppose in a simplistic way, since at the beginning of Episode I there are so many Jedi and only two Sith (Darth Sidious and Darth Maul), if all the Jedi get killed off except Yoda and Obi-Wan and there are only Darth Sidious and Darth Vader left, that would be balance. But I get the feeling that balance was supposed to mean something else.

-PCM

 

[TallBill]

it is something else.. but believe me.. theres WAY more then just 4... the others are just hidden.. dark and light .... read some books

 

[shikhan]

That is what I thought at first too but after seeing EPII, I have another theory. I think the restoration of balance means that it will do just that, balance the powers of light and dark. But not in terms of number of followers but in terms of ability to use and sense the force. Remeber how Windu was talking to Yoda about their powers being deminished? Maybe, anikain is supposed to somehow make it so that the jedi masters will be able to wield the force to their full extent again.


Blah, i'm not being that clear but maybe you can figure it out.

 

[hoihtah]

who cares...
natalie is hott!!!!

sorry... i just can't help but to post that whenever i see a starwars thread.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: bob970
it is something else.. but believe me.. theres WAY more then just 4... the others are just hidden.. dark and light .... read some books

Which books would you recommend to get started on? I read some Timothy Zahn books back in the day, the ones with the Grand Master Thrawn in it. But I don't want to re-read those (I can't remember which ones they were). I want some stuff before Ep. 1...

 

[shikhan]

There isn't much that covers what happens before EPI too much. If you want to get into the EU, I would suggest just starting to read the new series - New Jedi Order, as it will slowly fill you in on the stories you missed and is one great series right now :-D


Someday, some good authors should tackle the Sith and Clone wars [I know that the clone wars was set off limits by Lucas, not sure about the sith wars]. The Jedi Academy Trilogy has some past information I believe, but its scattered around.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: bob970
it is something else.. but believe me.. theres WAY more then just 4... the others are just hidden.. dark and light .... read some books

The books are nice, but they are not part of the official Star Wars-story. Meaning: Lucas can freely contradict the books in any way he wants. Only the movies are official.

 

[LordThing]

You know, I kinda debated this since Episode one. What did they mean by Darth Vader being the one restoring balance? I mean he is the one that turns evil and kills most of the Jedi. He Even goes as far as to bring the dark side into more power. So, I came up with 3 theories about what this could mean:

1) He brings the Dark side more into power. There by restoring balance in a Yin-Yang kinda way. Where there is Light, there must be darkness. So possibly they were thinking/hoping it meant that he was to bring the light side and everything hunky dorry but it really means that he is going to destroy the overwhelming majority of light and bring back the equal footing for the Dark side.

2)He has Luke as a son. He doesn't restore order/balance to the force personally, he is prophecied to bring about balance. So by being the father of the "chosen one" he could be the one that effects the outcome by also being the one that tests the chosen one and is finally defeated. He creates the chosen one by conception and the advisarial nature of their relationship. If he was a good father or raised luke himself, Luke would have never sought after defeating the empire and no restoration of the Light side of the Force would have occurred.

3)He Kills Palpatine. Yes he does bring about the destruction of the jedi as they were before the Empire, but at the end of ROTJ, he is the one that actually kills the Dark Lord. So by killing Palpatine and saving luke, he leaves only the light side left in power. So eventually he does "restore balance" to the Force.


Just my 2 cents.

edit:fixed a few spelling/grammer mistakes I noticed

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

A Jedi is to be neither light nor dark. They are to help those who can't help themselves or to bring balance to either side of an opposition. There are butt-loads of fairly strong light jedi. Anakin will become an incredibly strong jedi and go around killing off 1000's of jedi, both light and dark -according to officially licensed books.

nik

 

[peterparker]

I believe it refers to Vader/Anakin destroying the Emperor, because he was giving the Dark Side the upper hand.

 

[BigJohnKC]

It's not that they're trying to balance the numbers of dark and light jedi, it's the balance of the force itself that is desired. Ideally, with a balanced force, a jedi wouldn't be a dark or a light jedi, just a jedi, one who is able to use the whole force, not just the dark or light qualities of it.


BTW, Nemesis77, I like your sig (the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear)

 

[JellyBaby]

You're thinking too rigidly. The Force manifests itself in everything, not just Jedi and Sith. You could have one thousand Jedi Masters running around and no dark Jedi and still the dark side could be stronger, IMO. Non-Jedi have the ability to do great acts of good and evil, too, you know.

The question I have is what exactly is preventing the Jedi Council from using their powers to see into the future? Is it the will of the Force (dark side) or is it a direct effort by Sith Lords aimed to stunt their power? What created the imbalance in the first place?

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: BigJohnKC
BTW, Nemesis77, I like your sig (the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear)

You seem to have the tendency to like my sigs . Great minds think alike it seems

 

[shikhan]

Originally posted by: BigJohnKC
It's not that they're trying to balance the numbers of dark and light jedi, it's the balance of the force itself that is desired. Ideally, with a balanced force, a jedi wouldn't be a dark or a light jedi, just a jedi, one who is able to use the whole force, not just the dark or light qualities of it.

Ummm... What? Are you trying to tell me that you believe that the goal is to get a jedi in a state of mind where he can wield both sides of the light and dark sides of the force? If not, read no further. If so, I must think you are crazy.

The books and movies have both established that this isn't possible. The entire point of the light and dark sides are they are the ways to aquire power. And there isn't just light and dark, there's a helluva lot of shades inbetween. Light side users are tempted to the dark side. Alot of them are pulled to the dark side because they believed in what you imagined, that they could use the powers of the dark side without getting corrupted. But just using the dark side powers is enough to start corrupting a jedi, making them think that they are acting in the best intrest of people until they are past the point of no return. The streght of light and dark is pretty much even, its just that the dark side is faster, easier, and at a very large cost.