The Beauty of Star Wars

In honor of National Star Wars Day I decided to explain why I love Star Wars. I will try to speak English, not Nerdlish, as much as possible. If you want to do further reading, Wookieepedia is an amazing resource. (Nerds, I’m not going to be all that exact here, just writing down the jist. If that bugs you, go read Wookieepedia until you feel better).

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn finds Anakin Skywalker (future Darth Vader) on Tattoine (you will remember this as the desert planet Luke grew up on). He believes Anakin is the Chosen One because his mother got pregnant “spontaneously” (actually a Sith caused it, but no one knows about it), and he has the highest midi-chlorian count anyone has ever seen. (Midi-chlorians are tiny organisms that live in your blood and allow you to feel and use the Force).

The prophecy states that the Chosen One will “bring balance to the Force”. The Jedi Order assumes this means he will destroy the bad guys for good, and the Jedi will be left to run things.

But that’s not balance.

You can’t have the good guys standing there unopposed. Then the scales are decidedly tipped in their favor. In fact, the scales are already far in their favor when the prequels start. There are tons of Jedi, and just 2 (or 3) Sith (bad guys). Anakin of course starts working for the bad guys, and slaughters every Jedi he can get his hands on. The rest are scattered to winds, to be hunted down and destroyed.

The beauty of Star Wars is that the Jedi assumed the Chosen One will be on their side. This is so tragic, because this assumption guides their actions, and at its core, it’s wrong. They trained Anakin believing him to be their salvation, when he is the direct cause of their downfall.

Even at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi does not see the huge mistake they’ve made. As he fights Anakin he screams, “You were meant to destroy the Sith, not join them!” He still doesn’t understand that Anakin will balance the Force by wiping out EVERYONE, both good and bad. He kills both the Emperor and himself at the end of Return of the Jedi, thereby fulfilling the prophecy.

And that’s why I love it. Such epic tragedy, plus Ewoks. Absolutely fantastic.