The Force Is Fundamentally Misunderstood By Star Wars Fans

It’s the same thing with the Force. The dark side is not some conscious entity calling out to the Sith, “Join us, join us!” It’s the temptation in the user itself. This is why Palpatine calls the dark side “unnatural” in Revenge of the Sith. It’s not a “side” at all but a corruption of the Force’s natural will.

Here’s another way to put it: Think of the Force as a safe. Opening the safe using the combination is the light side. Using a crowbar to pry the safe open violently is the dark side. Now, the safe makers only intended it to be opened one way: with the combination. Most people would agree that option two is unnatural and not an equally valid method.

So why do so many fans fundamentally misunderstand the Force? I blame Anakin Skywalker and video games. Anakin’s whole schtick as the “chosen one” is bringing balance to this cosmic energy field. It’s not unreasonable to hear that and think an equal mix of light and dark like a yin and yang.

However, as Lucas has stated many times, the Force is in balance when it’s only the light side. Anakin’s job wasn’t to put light and dark on a scale and make sure they weighed the same. The Chosen One’s destiny was to eliminate anyone perverting the Force to their own will. To destroy the dark side if you will.

Unfortunately, most Star Wars fans still think Anakin was supposed to make the light and dark sides equal—an impossibility bolstered by video games. Starting with Knights of the Old Republic, many Star Wars games have given the player a choice between joining the light side or the dark side. KOTOR specifically allowed the player to achieve a perfect balance between the two.

It didn’t take long for fans to run with this concept, which led to my least favorite fan creation in Star Wars: The Grey Jedi. I hate Grey Jedi. I hate them because they go against the whole concept of the Force.

Grey Jedi—which I reiterate are a fake, fan fiction invention—are theoretical Jedi who can use the light and dark sides of the Force equally. That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.

In the simplified fairytale world that Star Wars inhabits, neutrality is represented by the underworld. Smugglers like Han Solo, bounty hunters like Boba Fett—these are the characters that deal in shades of grey. Jedi—or Sith, for that matter—are either good or bad. At least as far as the Force is concerned.

By their very nature, the Jedi can’t give in to the dark side because doing so, even momentarily, can lead to disaster. Sure, fallen Jedi can earn their way back to the light like Darth Vader, but it’s an arduous process that involves sacrifice—often of the fallen Jedi’s own life. Jedi can’t constantly switch back and forth like stepping across an imaginary line.

Not to sound like a broken record, but that’s just not how it works. Arguably, Jedi like Sol in The Acolyte makes this explanation more difficult. He’s definitely a bad guy, even though he’s still a Jedi. The thing about Sol is that at least as far as the Force is concerned, he always walks the path of light. Just because he’s a jerk doesn’t mean he’s ever tapped into the force using his anger or fear.

No Grey Jedi doesn’t mean no bad Jedi. In D&D, this is considered lawful evil. Despite how some people portray it, the Force isn’t sentient. As long as you use it correctly, it doesn’t matter if it’s for the wrong reasons.