Hello

<Sidious "forces" the Force to create life, trying to make the ideal apprentice. He succeeds, and yet the Force manifests this child and fulfills the prophecy the Jedi foresaw about balance being restored...all at the same time!>

ahhhhh, i don't know. almost a no-downside situation for him, really... it really didn't work against him at all that anakin fulfilled the prophecy. the jedi definitely should have read the fine print on that one, or even bothered to think hard about the headline. since there were already so many jedi (and considering that for a while they even thought the sith were extinct) there really was no jedi advantage to "balance." anyone who thought about that for even a few minutes would realize that it meant the total or near-extinction of the jedi, who were currently holding the unfair advantage of numbers.

so they should have snuffed the little bugger as soon as they found him.

> who were currently holding the unfair advantage of numbers.<

Finally someone sees my point.

Golda

[/quote]

Depends entirely on your definition of "balance."

Balance COULD mean balancing out the numbers: 2 Jedi, 2 Sith.

But considering that the Jedi look for things a bit more spiritual than physical numbers, they may not have seen the situation that way. And, in fact, I don't believe that the "balance to the Force" in the prophecy had ANYTHING to do with the numbers of Jedi or Sith involved.

To me, what needed to come to balance was the way each INDIVIDUAL interacted with the Force. The Sith are way out of balance because they seek power, and look to the self only, and are not involved with the world or others except as a means to aggrandise themselves.

The Jedi are also way out of balance, because by trying to BE balanced and aloof from the passions of the world, they are retreating too far into isolation, into tradition, and into a profound disconnect between their teachings and the true path to wisdom, which is not to isolate oneself from the universe and one's feelings, but to be able to experience the full range of life and still approach it from a standpoint of kindness and healing. Being enlightened isn't raising children to never have attachments, it's raising children who have profound attachments to the world and dance the dance without hurting themselves or others.

So, to me--the true balance eventually brought to the Force was:

A. Vader/Anakin getting rid of the Emperor, who embodies the Sith "out of whack" relationship with life/the Force, and...

B. Vader/Anakin wiping out--not the Jedi themselves, but their rich and totally stagnant tradition of isolationism and aloofness, and...

C. Luke being the new sort of Jedi, who had a family, who loves fiercely, who interacts fully with the world and still can rise above the self-centeredness and the anger and the lust for power and turn away from the darkness.

Of course, in the extended universe books, Luke ends up being--in my opinion--a piss-poor teacher. But that's beside the point, if we're looking just at the films. Luke is a new sort of Jedi, who has lived in the world, and experienced the wild swing of loss and betrayal and rage, and rises above it all. To me, at least, that's the true path to enlightenment--not turning your back on it all (Jedi), and not deciding the way to deal with all the pain is to control everything and everyone else (Sith).

Thus endeth the sermon.

And now for something completely different...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/evadne_noel/20062.html

Here's the REAL skinny on Revenge of the Sith.

Heh heh heh.

Seriously, it's funny.

I would just like to go on record as saying that I have been reading this conversation as it has progressed and I have found it very interesting, but didn't think I had anything much to add so I haven't stuck my oar in.

I do maintain, however, that Anakin's conception was just "the will of the force," not a Sith lord, simply because I want to think that. I also believe that the Jedi interpreted "balance" as meaning "the cloudiness brought on by a mysterious Sith Lord (who right now sits plotting our demise in a building a mere 2 blocks away) is going to somehow dissipate soon thanks to good ole Anakin, the chosen one, who we don't trust anymore than that fiendish annoyance Palpatine," rather than really taking that word "balance" into much consideration. I find the 2 Jedi, 2 Sith situation very interesting, and very condusive to tying both trilogies together even more, whether the 2 and 2 thing was meant to have any significance or not.

Lastly, that Episode III breadbox thing was the most HI-larious thing I have read in forever, which is why I opted to write this message in the first place. HARDY HAR HAR, good one, that is.

Glad you liked it! I snorted hot cocoa out my nose, which was very painful, but worth it--I guess--since I read to the end anyway.