Star Wars has always been about balance, and the franchise has just given the most beautiful presentation of the concept to date. Balance lies at the heart of the Force; light and dark, yin and yang. "The Force naturally exists in balance," Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni explained in one interview. "That balance is thrown out when someone chooses to give in to their fears and then spirals out of control making selfish choice after selfish choice. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." As the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker was destined to bring balance to the Force by defeating the Sith.
Recent Star Wars tie-ins have suggested balance is an aspect of the Force, like dark and light. Cavan Scott's audiobook Dooku: Jedi Lost, for example, contains an ancient Jedi mantra that seems much closer to the truth than anything taught by the Jedi of the prequel era. "We call upon the three — light, dark, and balance true," the mantra declares. "One is no greater than the others. Together, they unite, restore, center, and renew. We walk into the light, acknowledge the dark, and find balance within ourselves. The Force is strong." It's beautiful and poetic, and fits well with Star Wars' latest portrayal of balance, in Star Wars: Visions season 2, episode 1, "Sith."
Star Wars: Visions Explores The Balance Of The Force Through An Unlikely Hero
Star Wars: Visions is easily Lucasfilm's most creative TV show to date; each episode is made by a different animation house, and the stories aren't considered canon, giving writers a remarkable amount of flexibility. "Sith," by the Spanish animation house El Guiri, is a stunning episode loosely set 3,000 years before the prequel trilogy, during the first war between the Jedi and the Sith. It features the most unlikely protagonist, a former Sith Apprentice named Lola who left the Sith after she became captivated by the beauty of art. This experience gives Lola a surprising insight into the balance of the Force, one expressed so well through El Guiri's amazing animation
Star Wars: Visions Presents Light & Dark As Yin & Yang
George Lucas was always influenced by Buddhist philosophies, and it is so very appropriate for "Sith" to draw upon the concept of yin and yang. Lola attempts to recreate the beauty of the galaxy around her through Force-created artwork, and at first she is distraught over the fact darkness seeps into her paintings. It is only after she is confronted by one of her former Sith colleagues that she realizes the reason; because "Light and darkness are part of the painting. Part of me."
Lola's lesson aligns to the ancient Jedi mantra from Cavan Scott's Dooku: Jedi Lost. She walks into the light, acknowledges the darkness, and in doing so finds balance within herself. Star Wars has tended to focus on Jedi who seek balance, characters like the maverick Qui-Gon Jinn, but Star Wars: Visions season 2, episode 1 is surprising in that its protagonist is a Sith whose openness to the galaxy around her naturally leads her to a place of balance. It's beautiful to see, and so very true to the spirit of Star Wars.