Jedi, Sith, and numerous other organizations. Naturally, given its religious and philosophical inspirations, the Force is the subject of different interpretations among viewers and creators, with a certain perspective being established and shown in the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies, a different interpretation being shown in the sequel trilogy, and numerous variants being explored in canon and Legends non-movie material. The Force Wielders ostensibly represent the view of the Force found in the sequel trilogy, but they can also be interpreted as a metaphor for the original and prequel version just as easily.
The Mortis trilogy of episodes in The Clone Wars season 3 saw Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi stumble upon a mysterious plane of reality called Mortis. It’s there that they discover the three Force Wielders: The Daughter, who seems to represent the light side, The Son who embodies the dark side, and The Father seemingly the balance between the two). Their adventures saw Ahsoka and Anakin briefly corrupted by the dark side, the death and resurrection of Ahsoka, and the eventual deaths of all three Force Wielders. While the Force Wielders’ respective representations were made clear in The Clone Wars, their actions, abilities, and personalities align more closely to the Force as was shown in the original and prequel trilogies.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy and most non-movie material in the post-2014 canon timeline depict the Force as having a light side and a dark side, with balance being found between the two. This contradicts the Force as it was described by George Lucas and depicted in the previous two trilogies, where there was no light side and therefore no need for the dark side for there to be balance. The “light side” is simply the Force, whose natural balance is corrupted by the destructive dark side. Furthermore, the Force can be divided into two categories: The Cosmic Force and the Living Force. While The Son representing the dark side of the Force is a constant, The Daughter represents the Living Force more than the idea of a light side and The Father embodies the Cosmic Force and therefore still represents balance.
The Son Is Still The Dark Side
The dark side is a corruption of the natural Force, inherently causing imbalance and putrefying beings who use it into the worst version of themselves. Tapping into the dark side of the Force is akin to making a Faustian bargain, with the Force-sensitive sacrificing their humanity and the lives of others in exchange for what they perceive to be unlimited power. Moreover, the dark side is often depicted as highly addictive, twisting the mind of its and making it extremely difficult to stop using. In the end, Star Wars characters who use the dark side inevitably end up depriving themselves of what they want and leading themselves to ruin.
The Son of Mortis represents the dark side in all interpretations of the Force, and his depiction in The Clone Wars aligns with its original depiction. The Son is murderous, selfish, deceptive, and has a corrupting influence on the beings around him. The Son entranced Ahsoka into becoming his loyal follower and killed her as soon as she was no longer useful. He showed Anakin visions of his future, prompting him to willfully fall to the dark side years before he’d the Sith Order and become Darth Vader. What this shows is that The Son, like the dark side itself, had no redeeming qualities in the Mortis trilogy and that he intrinsically brought imbalance to the Force through his actions. Whatever balance means, giving The Son influence on the Force would not have sustained it.
The Daughter Represents The Living Force
The Living Force is one of two aspects of the natural Force. The aspect of the Force that is created and sustained by all life in the galaxy collectively forms the Living Force, which exists throughout the natural cycles of life, death, and the harmony of living beings. Force-s, such as Jedi, tap into the Living Force when calming their minds and synchronizing with the universe around them, where it would manifest as powers such as telekinesis or Force healing. Even in death, the Living Force of an individual being allows them to retain their consciousness and interact with the galaxy as a Force ghost.
The Daughter is a better representation of the Living Force than the “light side.” The Daughter is a benevolent being who only acts in the interest of all life. The sequel trilogy’s interpretation of the Force implies that there are negative aspects to leaning too much on the “light side” and not enough on the dark side, yet this point of view is incompatible with The Son and The Daughter of Mortis. Just as The Son only harmed the Jedi visitors on Mortis, The Daughter showed comion and kindness to the three heroes, The Father, and even The Son, despite his sinister actions. The Daughter ultimately sacrificed herself to undo The Son’s damage, transferring her power into Ahsoka and bringing her back to life. The Daughter also frequently used Force powers, such as telekinesis, making her representation of the Living Force even clearer.
The Father Is The Cosmic Force (& Is Therefore Balance)
While the Living Force is created by the galaxy’s life forms and often manifested as powers, the Cosmic Force is the same energy on a far grander scale, with the Living Force fueling the Cosmic Force, which in turn influences the course of galactic history. Force s like the Jedi Knights are ultimately supposed to serve the will of the Cosmic Force. Dark side s like Sith Lords contradict the will of the Cosmic Force by twisting it to their own agendas, therefore intrinsically unbalancing the Force.
The Father of Mortis, while powerful, was overpowered by The Son, who he tried to sway away from the dark side. This shows that balance isn’t truly a midway point between light and dark, but rather the harmony between the Living and Cosmic Forces and the absence of the dark side. The Father didn’t exhibit his powers as often as The Daughter, but he did notably wipe memories from Anakin’s mind, bringing him back from the dark side and putting galactic history back on its intended course as per the will of the Cosmic Force. With this in mind, The Father still represents balance, just not an equal distribution of The Son’s treachery and The Daughter’s altruism. The Force Wielders of Mortis seemingly represent the sequels’ misinterpretation of the Force in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but their actions and personalities align more closely to George Lucas’ interpretation.