Until 2015, no one had considers this. Why does the Force awaken, and where did it go? Steve investigates.
By Steve McGillivray // Now that the dust has settled on The Force Awakens and all eyes turn to Rogue One and Episode VIII speculation, I find myself continually mulling over the events of The Force Awakens. My main train of thought is around the title and its implications within the story and the wider Star Wars universe. Why does the Force awaken? The Force is a natural presence in the Star Wars universe, but over the course of the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, it has been smothered, shrouded and blanketed in darkness thanks to the users of the dark side. The light side becomes suppressed during Episodes I to VI. It’s my belief that Luke is aware of this suppression and retreats after his failure with Ben. But while he is in exile…
…the Force awakened.
Much of the talk after the movie is about the awakening of Rey, and to a lesser extent, Finn–lesser in Finn’s case as his seems to be a moral awakening, while Rey’s awakening is definitely Force related. You can take your pick as to the exact moment it happens; whether it’s during the Force led interrogation at the hands of Kylo Ren or during the climactic lightsaber battle with the same enemy. She certainly draws on the Force during each encounter, with varying degrees of awareness.
The aspect of the title that interests me, however, is how the awakening is related of the Force itself. To me, the movie title has a dual meaning, much in the same way The Walking Dead can be interpreted in two ways. It’s my view that the Force itself has awakened. What had happened to the Force to cause it to recede or slumber, leading to its awakening? The Force is a natural thing, an energy field that surrounds and binds every living thing in the galaxy.
Yoda himself describes it to Luke, as if it is an actual person.
“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.”
Obi-Wan also tells Luke about the nature of the Force.
“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
Armed with this information, what could possibly have happened to cause the Force itself to be in some form of stasis or to become shrouded and elusive to the Force sensitive beings? What happened to cause it to awaken so spectacularly in The Force Awakens? To answer these questions, I must delve back into the past to understand how the Force works in relation to events in the Star Wars universe. I’ll be honest, during my initial musings on this topic, I leaned towards the Force needing balance through a metaphorical set of scales with Jedi/light side on one scale and dark side/Sith on the other. Looking at the evidence though, I feel like I was a little off the mark here.
When I looked over some words from Yoda and other Jedi, I found evidence of the impact that the dark side has on the Jedi and the Force. The idea of balance being a measure of numbers or strength is diminished, considering what Yoda says. A conversation between Yoda and Mace Windu gives credence to the idea that the dark side is muddying the waters, affecting the Jedi’s ability to manipulate and use the Force. It didn’t take more Sith to affect the Force; the mere fact that the dark side was moving against the light at all was all it took to throw things off. Consider these quotes from the prequel trilogy.
“The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see the future is.”
Yoda “Blind we are, of creation of this clone army we could not see.”
Mace Windu “I think it is time we inform the senate that our ability to use the force has diminished.”
Yoda “Only a Dark Lord of the Sith knows of our weakness. If informed the senate is, multiply our adversaries will.”
The Jedi had been accustomed to having insights into the future and a greater sense of awareness through the Force, but with the emergence of the dark side, these abilities they had taken for granted have been greatly reduced; this diminishment certainly assisted their destruction by a Sith Lord sitting right in their midst. The effect of the dark side on the light blinded them to the enemy within.
[The Jedi have one advantage over the Sith and dark side however. They discover the ability to survive death, appearing as Force ghosts for a time, before ascending to immortality. Qui-Gon discovers how to commune with Yoda from beyond the grave in The Clone Wars Season six. Not only can he talk to Yoda, he can manipulate the Force. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin are all able to become one with the Force, the latter only after his redemption with Luke aboard the second Death Star. One thing the Yoda arc in The Clone Wars teaches us is that the Sith cannot become immortal within the Force. Qui-Gon’s ascension, and his subsequent ability in the Force are behind Obi-Wan’s, “I’ll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine” statement to Darth Vader. It also explains his decision to give himself up during the duel. Not only does he know he will become one with the Force, he knows he will able to communicate with Luke from this new plane of existence, as his master was able to do before him.]
This ability allows Obi-Wan to guide Luke in his journey, aiding in the destruction of the Death Star and guiding Luke to Yoda where he began his Jedi training. Had the Jedi not discovered this ability events may have gone very differently for Luke and the rebellion. It appears that when the Jedi are at one with the Force in death, they are more powerful than they were in life. By their own admission their ability to use the Force is hampered by the dark side, but beyond the grave they are able to communicate with the living. For me Obi-Wan’s decision during the duel with Darth Vader illustrates just how strongly the light side is being suppressed. Obi-Wan essentially commits suicide to circumvent this effect on the Force that the dark side has.
In the years between the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, we learn that Luke has tried to train a new batch of Jedi, but that this endeavor had failed. Luke retreats into exile, much like Yoda did after his defeat at the hands of The Emperor when they battled in the Senate. There’s another parallel when we learn that the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke, are searching for Luke. Snoke is a dark side user and his apprentice is none other than Luke’s former pupil Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. During the course of events in Episode VII it is revealed Kylo Ren is a Knight of Ren and there’s a glimpse of them (Kylo Ren and at least six others) during Rey’s Force vision. Even after Palpatine and Vader are gone, the dark side is still prevalent in the galaxy.
Luke’s ability to tap into the Force and teach a new batch of padawans is greatly affected by the dark side. Snoke and the Knights of Ren are active in the Unknown Regions and somewhere between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Ben Solo is seduced by the dark side. When we meet him as Kylo Ren he seems to worship his Grandfather, Darth Vader. Supreme Leader Snoke has somehow gotten into to his head and turned him, but we see the unfinished article in Kylo Ren, unlike our first encounter with Darth Vader. As Kylo Ren finally rejects the light side that had been threatening to seduce him, the light in the world literally goes out. The light side is now blanketed in darkness.
When Rey and Finn battle Ben/Kylo, the latter makes a plea to Rey to join him. “You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force.” Even earlier, Maz Kanata alludes to the nature of the Force just after Rey has her Force vision, “I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes. Feel it. The light… it’s always been there. it will guide you. The saber. Take it.” When Kylo Ren makes his plea, Rey is reminded of the Force at his mention of it and she appears to look within, before drawing on the Force to defeat him. Even a complete untrained novice, she is powerful enough to defeat a him. Admittedly he is pretty banged up and not fully trained himself, but he’s clearly very powerful.
Supreme Leader Snoke feels the first stirrings of the Force awakening before Rey’s initial encounter with Kylo Ren. There’s no real hint of any Force sensitivity from Rey at this point though. I believe the battle with Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base is where the her true understanding of what she has inside her occurs. It’s not only Rey’s awakening though. She looks deep inside herself at Kylo Ren’s mention of “the Force” and in that moment when she opens her eyes, you know she’s drawing on the Force in a big way and forces Kylo Ren onto the back foot. His categorical defeat only avoided by the breaking up of Starkiller Base and the geological upheaval that separates Kylo and Rey from each other. This is also the moment the Force itself awakens. I’ll wager my last pound (or dollar if you prefer) that the moment that happens, Snoke feels something altogether different than he had earlier in the movie. With the awakening of the Force, together with Rey’s own personal awakening, order is being restored to the Force. Nature is fighting back and the smothering effect of the dark side seems to be weakening after many decades.