There are people who get to write articles and novels about SW - and are paid to do it - but I think many of them would do it for free. I'm one of those who isn't fortunate enough to be paid for it, but willingly do it for free just because I actually enjoy it. With that said, here's my last novel (hopefully) in this thread.
Something long associated with Star Wars has been the notion of "Balance of the Force." Most of the times that I've seen it brought up, fans treat it with uncertainty and confusion. In part, that's because I think some creators/writers are clueless as to what it was supposed to represent in the first place. The way I see it, the concept is really pretty simple.
The term "balance" usually implies two equally-weighted sides. So, if balance of the Force refers to the dark side and the light side, it's easy to assume that balance would simply mean equal light and dark. And while that's essentially true, it can't be simplified like that. And that's where TLJ stepped in to provide what I think is the best onscreen explanation of SW "balance" in existence. And the film did it with two different scenes.
The first scene was when Luke was telling Rey to reach out and "feel" the Force. What she saw was an equal balance of things that binds the universe together. That's the Force at work. It's a spiritual understanding of the nature of existence. And for the Jedi, it's their religion! The Force is like their God. But the Force has a light side and dark side where both can be tapped into to bring about enhanced results of what each side contributes to the universe. Too much light presents no obstacle to the natural order; but too much dark is a major problem.
Rey tells Luke what she sees, and RJ shows it to us with fleeting images. She sees "life . . . death and decay that feeds new life;" and then "warmth . . . cold;" and ultimately "peace . . . violence." Then Luke asks, "And between it all?" to which Rey answers, "Balance . . . energy . . . a force." For me, that's what "balance of the Force" is all about: keeping the Force in synchronized harmony so that life (and the universe) can continue to exist and evolve the way it's supposed to. I think that scene was as perfect for a SW nerd like me as it can get.
The reason I believe there was a prophecy of the Chosen One in the PT is because George Lucas was telling us why Anakin's journey ended up being so pivotal to restoring balance. By the time we were introduced to SW (with ANH), Palpatine had already disturbed the balance. It was out of whack in the OT. Palpatine/Sidious was a Sith who managed to ascend to a level of power that the Jedi weren't capable of dealing with. Anakin's birth came when Palps was already planting the seeds (and training Maul). That "magical" birth was the Force interceding to allow one special individual to restore balance to what was about to be a severe turn to the dark where an entire galaxy was being oppressed, and entire planets were going to be wiped out.
Which brings me to the second scene, which is really just one line. In Snoke's throne room, he tells Kylo that "darkness rises, and light to meet it." I think too many people take that to mean that the Force has to step in and empower a future Jedi every time someone taps into the dark side. But I don't think that's it at all. I don't think it's about having an equal number of chess pieces (light and dark) on the board. Rather, it's about not letting the dark suffocate the light. Palpatine had accomplished it once, and Snoke with Kylo were threatening to do it again (but not nearly as thoroughly as Palps had).
Balance requires that no dark side user can disturb the overarching harmony of universal order. Jedi don't pose a threat to that. There can be a billion Jedi throughout the galaxy, and they'll never mess with the balance. If there's no evil to thwart, the Jedi simply live very passive lives. But the Sith only exist to try to change order and balance in favor of darkness and death. They are proactive, not passive, by their very nature. So when a darksider gets too powerful for the Jedi to stop, the Force has to provide a new chess piece to help restore proper balance. Otherwise, light would get suffocated for good.
Sidious was getting too influential, so Anakin came along to balance him. But Anakin ended up on the dark side, and needed an anchor to keep him from going so far that he'd end up replacing what he stopped. So, the twins were born. Luke's brave approach to redeem his father rather than fight him was the anchor that Anakin needed. Then when Snoke became too powerful (in the shadows where Luke and Leia were left clueless), Anakin's grandson was there to slice him in half. And Rey was there to help anchor Kylo/Ben from giving in completely as a Snoke replacement. The end result would be: balance! Not in simplistic terms of numbers, but just in preventing the dark from suffocating the light. That's the key (for my interpretation, at least).
For two years, I've been frustrated with all the slams against Rian Johnson for not understanding Star Wars. All along, the irony for me is that RJ is the one who actually gets it. When he met with George Lucas and Dave Filoni, he actually listened. Plus, I think he already understood this stuff by being a fan growing up. Did he make some choices that George never would've made? No doubt. Was TLJ perfect? Not even close! But I think the spirit of his TLJ narrative was every bit what SW was always supposed to be, and his portrayal of "balance of the Force" was one of his best contributions to the lore.
Whew! To those who hate having to scroll through these absurdly long posts of mine, I sincerely apologize (even though you're not reading the apology). I think this was cathartic enough for me, and now my TROS-induced SW apathy will keep this from happening again. Gonna miss this thread, though.
That post actually captures a lot about what ended up months later disappointing me so much in TROS.
