Snoke, Luke, Conflict & The Jedi.

In the recent trailer, Snoke says (or he says at least part of it!) that:

"Darkness rises...and light to meet it".
This theme of light & dark is obviously prevalent throughout Star Wars, but has been given even greater focus in the ST. Alongside this, we have been lead to believe by Luke that "it is time for the Jedi to end". A comment that is as shocking as it is confusing - after all, didn't his pal Lor San Tekka say that there can be no balance without the Jedi?

However, we have also been made well aware of Luke's current state of mind and his "loss of faith in the Force". Clearly, losing Ben to the Dark Side was a big knock for Luke and he doubts himself and his own connection to the Force. But we have long asked ourselves why he has exiled himself on Ahch-To, rather than rise up again and fight Snoke.

I believe this line from the trailer explains this.

Snoke's agenda, above anything else, is to create conflict. He says with glee, when "darkness rises", the "lights meets it". Compare this with Palpatine who was all about the darkness taking away the light. Snoke seems to revel in conflict - I suspect because in times of war, the Dark Side is at its strongest and old grand-canyon head needs the Dark Side to survive/regenerate.

Now if we consider Luke's current state of mind as well as his new enemy in Snoke, it becomes apparent why he has exiled himself and believes the Jedi must end. For Luke knows that Snoke's agenda is to create conflict and that the brightest light casts the largest shadow. And as Luke's connection to the Force has been severed somewhat, his faith depleted (in it and himself), he simply thinks the Jedi must end to stop Snoke from being further empowered (which is especially more dangerous now he has Ben Solo by his side). So Luke likely thinks it better to leave it to his sister and the resistance to sort out - and that his/the Jedi's involvement will only make matters worse.

But what Luke needs is a kick up the ar$e. Yes, the Jedi would further the conflict, but they're also the only ones who can truly end it. And Luke is the only one who can help "the new Jedi rise" and fight the forces of evil (as both LST and Maz Kanata suggested in TFA). This then also explains why the Force sent Rey to Luke (it doesn't explain Rey's power or origins). The will of the Force is for balance and without the Jedi there can be no balance. Therefore, the Force has intervened (as it did in ANH) to start a sequence of events that will lead the future Jedi (Rey) to Luke Skywalker. It is no coincidence that LST & the Falcon were on the same planet as Rey who then goes to Maz Kanata and finds Luke's saber - all pointing to what Maz realises is a destiny being built by the Force for Rey, so she can bring Luke home and become a Jedi.

Again, this doesn't tell us who Rey really is or what happened in hers or Ben's past. It doesn't explain why she is so powerful, if indeed there is a reason for that. But it does explain Snoke's agenda, why Luke is in exile and what has to happen going forward.

I'd speculate that TLJ will be as much about Luke regaining his faith in the Force as it will be about Rey discovering it and finding her place (in the struggle between light and dark).

 

I actually view the balance differently from this, kind of.
Yes, balance means the equality of light and darkness in the galaxy. Or good and evil to put it more simply.
When the Sith were about they spread evil everywhere and this of course disrupted the balance.
The thing that I see as the big difference is in regards to the Force users.
I don't think for example that there is a middle ground between light or dark that a "Jedi" must find to keep balance.
For a Jedi to maintain the balance they must remain in the light and fight tooth and nail vs the Dark Side.
And so for me, the Whills poem is about a Jedi being wise enough to decide what is right and wrong (will of the Force) and make the right choice.

The Force is generated by everything and connects everything - all people, all life - and that is the focus of the balance, not the individual Force users that have the power to greatly influence events in the galaxy. And do I don't think Luke imbalanced the Force by training Jedi - that would infer that the imbalance is caused simply by the existence of Jedi or Sith. No, for me what caused the imbalance was Ben Solo turning bad and helping the FO rise to power. Once again, as LST points to, there is despair across the galaxy once more. The Dark Side is empowered over the light.

Can the light itself, if dominant, cause imbalance? Technically yes, but I doubt this can really happen as absolute selflessness and compassion is very hard to attain. This is what makes the path to Jedihood so difficult (though it is far more rewarding). I say this because, as the balance of the Force is determined by every living being (perhaps that has ever existed) it is also linked to "human nature" (for want of a better term). And so it's highly unlikely that a vast majority of people could act selflessly because a) it's a difficult path b) it sometimes goes against survival and c) evil is easier to come by. And so when we look at the Dark Side, when that spreads, being the "quicker and easier path" we can see why this upsets the balance of the Force. (I hope you're following me?!).

Thus going back to the Jedi, this is why it is so important that they remain in the light and are wholly compassionate and selfless. Only through using the light can they defeat those that wield the dark (else they add to it - as we see with the Jedi in the PT). Again, it's a hard life being a Jedi - but the rewards are great. For those that obey the Dark Side will always be left wanting. They can never be satisfied and can only be destructive - of themselves and others.

And so when balance is restored in RotJ, I believe that light and dark are equal again in the galaxy. But there is a cyclical nature to this. Evil will always exist and there will always come a point where evil manages to take over - and in the GFFA this is what makes the Jedi, as LST points out, so important as only the Jedi, through their refined sight, can end the oppression of the Dark Side and bring balance once more.

In terms of Rey and Ben, I think this relates because they are at the moment "in the middle" (well, Ben is of course more in the dark) and the tension of the ST is about which way each of them will go. But because they're so similar, they can help each other make the right choices. And the right choice is to embrace the light - embrace compassion over hate and anger. If they do that, they can help bring balance and find happiness...