CT There Is Still Good in Him: Do The Jedi Believe Anakin Can Come Back From The Dark Side? - The End

Alexrd

I’m so glad you know the exact wording of the prophecy. Perhaps you could share it with us as well as your source for the exact wording.

Let me ask this. Does the exact wording say, “conceived by midi-chlorians” or “descended from midi-chlorians”. If it says “descended from” rather than “conceived by”, then it’s every bit as applicable to Luke Skywalker as it is to his father.

 

Sorry, but the "rules" you keep bringing up are not actual rules, and your interpretation of how the characters must act is opinion, not fact. As a literary device, prophecies are inherently vague. They are intended as foreshadowing, and too much specificity gives away the ending. And the characters, themselves, are inherently human, and as such, don't always make perfect judgements. Otherwise, a perfectly defined prophecy and perfect characters would create zero suspense and a boring film.

 

I just posted every line of dialogue (there's very, very little) from the PT dealing with the prophecy. As expected the only consistent part is "bring balance to the force".... which is extremely vague.

Did anyone ever even explain what that even means in the films? I certainly don't recall much in the way of explanation.

 

There isn't much explanation in the films, themselves...but Lucas says it refers to eliminating the Sith.

Here's all the quotes I have...

 

Yeah I know Lucas has talked about what the "balance of the force" means in interviews... unfortunately I don't think it's ever explained in the films (unless I'm forgetting something).

MeBeJedi
thanks for posting all that

 

Well, that's kinda the point of an indeterminant prophecy in a film....too much detail takes away from the ending. The characters, as well as the audience, are wondering to see how it will all pan out. Even Lucas ponders what "balance" might mean within the films, to show the mystery of it in-universe.

There was a Lucas quote somewhere about how Anakin was supposed to fulfill the Prophecy in ROTS, but he made the wrong choice. Basically, Luke and Leia were needed to bring him back around to make the correct choice.

 

I actually like not explaining the prophecies... since prophecies are only cool if they are vague and you never know if they were true or not. Otherwise they just remove agency from the characters. I mean if the prophecy says the chosen one will destroy the sith and Anakin is the chosen one and the prophecy is true than nothing Luke does matters at all.... and that is DUMB.

So I'm quite happy that it was left fairly vague.... In fact the concept of bringing "balance to the force" is also better left to the imagination now that I think about it more.

 

No....Luke was still important to the Prophecy...and while I agree with the rest of your post whole-heartedly, the fact that the Prophecy requires Luke's involvement, yet focuses on Anakin, helps to distract from the final outcome. The fact that everyone was so focused on Anakin and how far he had fallen had fooled everyone (including Anakin, himself) that the Prophecy wouldn't come true. Knowing Luke's importance to the Prophecy would have ruined the surprise.

(Again, though...I think Ben and Yoda knew more than they were letting on, at least in the OT.)

 

MACE: "It is time to inform the Senate that our ability to use the Force has diminished."

YODA: "If informed the Senate is, multiply our adversaries are."


YODA: "The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."


OBI-WAN: "You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness."

So, yes, it was explained. Not as detailed as in the interviews, but it is there.

Anakin has a choice. He always did. He could have taken Sidious out in Palpatine's office. He could have crashed the Invisible Hand and end it all right there. But he chooses to run away from his destiny because he cannot make the sacrifice of Padme's life for the lives of everyone else. When Luke is dying from Palpatine's attack, Anakin makes a choice to save his son instead of letting him die, but he could have easily let Luke die and let the cycle continue.

 

As an aside, I have to admit that I honestly really don’t care as to who the Chosen One really is. I’m honestly really tired of Chosen One narratives. Luke Skywalker worked just fine as a hero without being the Chosen One. Frodo Baggins worked just fine without being a Chosen One.

One of the few Chosen One narratives that I think is handled kinda cleverly is Disney’s ALADDIN…largely because the whole Chosen One subplot is over and done with before we even meet the movie’s most famous and heralded character. Literally, by the time we first see Robin Williams’ Genie, they’ve already wrapped up the Chosen One subplot.