The basic belief in Star Wars is that the Force consists of a light and dark side. These designations, first referenced by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977 are presented as something that can overtake a person. Darth Vader, Obi-Wan explains to Luke, was “seduced by the dark side of the Force.”
This way of speaking about the Force is carried through all of the movies. Characters feel the pull of the Force one way or the other. For Anakin Skywalker, the dark side calls to him. For Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens, he feels “the pull to the light,” pushing him to walk away from Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order.
But, as further lore tells us, this is not how the Force works at all. While Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced viewers to The Mortis Gods — the Son, who represents the Dark Side, the Daughter, who stands in place of the light, and the Father, who is the balance between the two — it is in Star Wars: Rebels that the true nature of the Force was revealed.
The Bendu Represents The Truest Version Of The Force
In Star Wars: Rebels, Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine Wren meet the Bendu, an ancient Force wielder who claims to be the embodiment of the center of the Force. The Bendu sees the Force in a way that Darth Sidious, Master Yoda, and every other expert on the Force never could. He sees it as it is, not as he wants it to be.
In the Rebels Season 3 episode, “Steps Into Shadow,” when Kanan believes that a Sith holocron is turning Ezra to the dark side, the Bendu explains why that is not how the Force works, saying…
An object cannot make you good or evil. The temptation of power, forbidden knowledge, even the desire to do good can lead some down that path. But only you can change yourself.
In essence, the Bendu is telling Kanan that there is no “light” or “dark” side to the Force, there is just the Force. What decides how a being uses the Force is not the energy itself, but the being themselves.
George Lucas Always Knew This. He Even Told Us In A New Hope
In A New Hope George Lucas has Obi-Wan explain the Force as an “energy field created by all living things” that “binds us together.” That, in itself, makes it clear that the Force does not have a light or dark side, as energy has no desire or want.
The elements of good and bad, or selflessness and selfishness, are decided by the person, not the energy that they have. There is no dark side pulling Anakin to be evil, or Kylo Ren to be good, there is only their own desires.
This Obi-Wan Line From The Clone Wars Explains Why He Never Fell To The Dark Side, But Anakin Did
One line from Star Wars: The Clone Wars reveals why Obi-Wan Kenobi never turned to the dark side of the Force—and it’s exactly why Anakin did.
But the concept of a dark side allows for someone like Obi-Wan to, in part, forgive Anakin’s actions, and his own inaction. As Anakin’s mentor and closest friend, Obi-Wan failed to see what was happening before his eyes. Or he saw what was happening and chose to ignore it. In either case, he is partially to blame.
But if he can say, and believe, that the dark side “seduced” Anakin and not that he failed to help his friend, than the onus is not on him. It was something no one could have changed. It was, in effect, the will of the universe.
And for Anakin, he can claim the same. It was not his choice to kill younglings. He did not want to destroy the Republic. But the dark side was too strong for him to overcome. He was forced into it. It was not his fault.
But the Bendu knows better. The Bendu sees the Force for what it is; a tool that can be used for whatever the wielder chooses. So, as he said to Kanan and Ezra when they asked him what they should do to remove Ezra’s Force connection to Maul, “What do you want to do?“
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
- Character(s)
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Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
