Props go out to anakinside1 for an earlier entry that crystallized an idea that's been running around in my head for a while. Now, as we consider the idea of balance to the force, we need to consider just what is out of balance. I believe the Sith to act as parasites, slowly eating away at the very Force itself through their use of the dark side to destroy life and mold things to their own will. The Jedi are almost completely unaware that the Sith have returned and even some members of the Council doubt Qui-Gon after his first confrontation with Darth Maul. In short, the Jedi needed to be more in tune with the Living Force. Their focus on the Unifying Force left them disconnected from what was going on in the here and now, which kept them in dark about the Sith.

It is into this situation that the Chosen One is introduced, discovered by a Jedi Master willing to defy the Council if necessary, and certainly not in lock step with the Council. Qui-Gon's description of Anakin as a vergence in the Force is spot on. As Anakin goes, so goes the Force. In TPM, the Jedi are still very much in control of the situation. They are obviously concerned about the dark side, but they're still in command so to speak. However, by the end of AOTC, Yoda notes that the shroud of the dark side has fallen. Most people would point to the start of the Clone Wars as the beginning of the end for the Order. However, I think it may come from an earlier event in the film, specifically Anakin's slaughter of the Tusken Raiders. In this instance, Anakin uses his Force powers for pure revenge, murdering in cold blood all of the Tuskens in the camp, including the women and children. This is, as R.A. Salvatore signed in my copy of AOTC, the first hints of Vader. At this moment, the balance of the Force is tipping. The Jedi's ability to see has diminished and the Sith now have the upper hand.

When Anakin gives himself completely to the dark side, the Sith now have complete control. It is after this point that Palpatine issues Order 66 since he has nothing to fear. The one Jedi that could stop him is now his apprentice. As far as we know, Palpatine then spends the next couple of decades manipulating events to achieve his desired results. He seems invincible. He even senses the returning presence of the light side as Yoda begins training Luke. However, something happens in Luke's confrontation that begins to shift the balance. Anakin begins to reawaken. Now, by no means is Vader a good guy in TESB, but change is happening. First off, he dares disagree with Palpatine. Instead of killing Luke, he wants to turn him, clearly hoping to take Luke as his apprentice and overthrow Palpatine. But, why in the world does he spare Admiral Piett? This is Darth Vader we're talking about here. He kills officers on a whim, whether they simply disagree with him, make dumb command decisions, or even fail to do something that he told them to. Piett goes to face the music and is stunned when Vader spares his life.

The second strange instance comes when Vader tells Jerjerrod that "the Emperor is not as forgiving as I am." Since when is Darth Vader forgiving? Something is going on here. Luke has reawakened the conflict within Vader. As much as Vader is still Vader, he is now questioning his commitment to the dark side. He's not sure he wants to be a Sith anymore. When he sees Luke, Vader remembers what he used to be, what he wanted to be. Vader's questioning of his life is key here because of one line from Palpatine. "Strange that I have not foreseen it." Wait a minute. Palpatine, who has been the master puppeteer for all these years, can't see something!?! What is going on here?

It's all going to come down to what choice Vader makes. On one side, we have Luke's inherent faith that the good in his father will come out while Palpatine, knowing nothing of compassion and mercy, is convinced that Vader will die a Sith. Palpatine did not see Luke's coming to Vader because Palpatine is losing his influence. To be certain, he still is a Dark Lord of the Sith, possessing power and his famed manipulative skills, but the Force is shifting away from him. The swirling currents of the Force have now focused on Vader.

At this point, the number of Sith is equal to the number of Jedi. One Sith(Palpatine) and one Jedi(Luke). In the middle is Anakin/Vader. As the Chosen One, it is his destiny, and his alone, to destroy the Sith. At this point in the conflict, he sees both sides. He was a Jedi who became a Sith. He has seen both sides, and now he must face them again. He must decide which side he will come down on, again. Will he choose the promised power of the dark side or will he choose the peace that comes from serving others even if that means accepting that sometimes his own will must be submitted to the will of the Force?

On Endor, Luke invites Vader to come back to the light and Vader responds by saying that "it is too late for me, my son." This is not a defiant refusal like Luke gave Vader on Bespin, but instead a touch of sadness. Perhaps Vader wants to come back, but doesn't think he can. Surely he is haunted by all that he's done, perhaps especially by his betrayal of Padme that day. I've often wondered about Vader's actions on the Death Star. When Luke raises his lightsaber in an apparent attempt to strike Palpatine down, Vader raises his blade to stop him.

Why does he do this? Is he defending Palpatine or Luke? Palpatine is not going to let Luke kill him, yet Vader intervenes to stop Luke. Is he defending Palpatine, or perhaps, is he saving Luke from following in his footsteps? Doesn't he want Palpatine dead, so he can now become the Master? Why stop Luke then? If Vader is protecting Luke, this does not mean he's turned back to the light completely yet. He still feels the conflict, and I think this conflict comes to a head when Luke hides. As Vader searches Luke out, he tells him that only through the dark side can Luke save his friends. Vader does not say this out of belief in the power of the dark side, but because it's become rote to him. Yet at this time, Vader remembers what the dark side has given him. Did the dark side save Padme?

Interestingly enough, it is Vader's threat to Leia that drives Luke down the dark path. Luke summons his anger and begins to focus all his energies into destroying his father. After he cuts off Vader's hand, Palpatine claims victory. "Strike your father down and take his place at my side." Vader knows the truth. He's a dead man, and the dark side will kill him. After all, he's been there before as a young Jedi with the life of a Sith Lord in his hands. But then, Luke resists. He does not give in. He throws his weapon aside, defies Palpatine, and then he invokes the good that he still believes is in his father by saying, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

Palpatine, of course, is going to make him pay. You don't defy him. The fundamental difference between the Jedi and Sith is how they use the Force, and Palpatine is going to use the Force to make Luke pay for defying him. When Luke could have used the Force to destroy a disarmed enemy, he didn't. He won't make a good Sith. And now Vader is the fulcrum of the conflict. His decision will determine the outcome. He can leave the Force in chaos, or he can bring balance. He can destroy Palpatine. In sparing him, Luke is telling his father that he can still choose, that it is not too late.

Palpatine failed because he could not see the conflict in Vader. But he could not see the conflict because his complete trust was in the dark side, but we all know how the dark side supports it's followers at the end of the day. Dooku was betrayed by the dark side. Vader learned that the dark side does not deliver on it's promises. And Palpatine is going to fall too. The dark side cannot sustain life because it really seeks to destroy life. In the end, it was the dark side that betrayed Palpatine. The dark side could not overcome compassion and love. And as Vader grew more and more conflicted, he sought to end the conflict. He wanted peace. And he found peace through love. Vader found peace in the love of his mother, his wife, and now his son.