Did Anakin Bring Balance To The Force, Or Was The Prophecy Left Unfulfilled?
This is a loaded question, to be sure, one that is hotly debated by Star Wars fans across the galaxy. According to Wookieepedia, “The Jedi prophecy foretold the destruction of the Sith, but it never predicted the end of darkness. Although Anakin Skywalker brought the Force back into balance, the Jedi Order was decimated by his actions as Darth Vader, leaving Luke Skywalker as the last of the Jedi.” The site also offers a direct quote from Luke Skywalker himself – “For many years, there was balance, and then I saw… Ben. My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood. And in my hubris, I thought I could train him, I could pass on my strengths.”
One could argue that Anakin brought balance to the Force, not directly but by proxy, as his children – the twins, Luke and Leia ultimately brought the balance. Only to have Ben, Leia, and Hans Solo’s son somewhat repeat history as he gravitated toward the path of his grandfather, Anakin. He would struggle but eventually find his way back to the light through his connection to Rey, as did Anakin through Luke. Further, Ben’s connection to Rey and her training from both Luke and Leia would lead toward the fulfillment of the prophecy by destroying the Sith when all the Jedi of the past lent their voices to support Rey as she faced off with Palpatine, her long lost biological grandfather.
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This proved that she was more Skywalker than Palpatine when she defeated him once and for all. One could argue even further that the dyad of Rey’s bloodline – Palpatine and Ben’s bloodline – Skywalker coming together to combine the power of both the light and dark sides of the Force is what the prophecy predicted with the end of the Sith. We even hear Anakin’s spirit among the Jedi speak to her adding to her strength to defeat her own grandfather – “Bring back the balance, Rey, as I did.”
Canonically speaking, Anakin brought the prophesized balance, and each Star Wars film, TV show, comic, etc., confirm, again and again, that fact despite his fall to the dark side itself. In fact, he still was the balancing agent to the Force, allowing equal parts to both the dark and light sides, albeit coming dangerously close to rendering the Jedi extinct in the process as Darth Vader. Anakin is introduced in Episode I of the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace.
We learn then that his midichlorian blood levels were off the charts and that he was able to control the Force with a strength not typical for his age at the time. Yoda sensing his fear, understandably forbade training, yet Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn believed in him so passionately that he trained him anyway. After Darth Maul killed Qui-Gon, his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi took up the mantle and continued Anakin’s Jedi training. He rose through the ranks to the level of Jedi Knight.
In The Clone Wars, prophecy was brought up again when discussing the lore around “The Father,” described by Wookieepedia as “one of the three Mortis gods, would seek to recruit Skywalker as his successor, believing that only the Chosen One had the strength to maintain the balance between his children, the Son and the Daughter in the realm of Mortis.” The story depicts that The Father requests Anakin stay to continue to control his children. When Anakin refused, The Father foreshadowed his fall to the dark side, claiming Anakin’s selfishness would lead him down the path of darkness.
It is interesting to consider that against the exchanges between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan in the recent Disney+ mini-series, Obi-Wan Kenobi where Obi-Wan is clearly devastated and guilt-ridden as he apologized profusely to Anakin. Vader’s response, “I am not your failure. You did not kill Anakin Skywalker. I did.” Indicates that Anakin is, in fact, still there somewhere. While it could be argued that he is simply dismissing Obi-Wan’s guilt, it suggests that, on some level, he is showing compassion for his old friend by acknowledging his own mistakes and releasing Obi-Wan of his guilt.
Luke coincidentally could see the light in Vader. As a result, he was able to see Anakin’s potential for redemption. This is why Vader chose to sacrifice himself to save Luke, thus destroying the last of the Sith Lords while releasing Anakin Skywalker to the light side of the Force, further demonstrating that he was the chosen one from the prophecy all along.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia, Nerd Stash