Darth Cognus
The Huntress™
I intend to update this as time goes on to a proper essay or article or whatever, but I figure I may as well start something here for early input and let it grow. This might come off as a rant at the start though, so apologies in advance.
Kreia presents a different, underrepresented view of the force not just as a side tangent fans come up with but as a character in the universe. Where Jedi see the force as a natural state of balance and Sith see a thing to bend, and others still like to toe the line and call themselves 'grey', Kreia recognizes that the force is an omnipresent meddler. You could say it represents the spirit of writers creating stories to clash in the universe and this is probably the straightest explanation, but obviously that doesn't cut it for the characters who live it in setting.
There is room for stories that build upon her observations. Her solution does mean essentially cutting out the Force itself, which would invariably result in the death of the force and probably everyone who depends on it. KOTOR 2, the game that brings her to existence, also shows you can cut yourself off from the force and not be dependent on it. But the majority of force users would assuredly not survive and the outcome would be a more generic sci-fi universe. Still, it's inevitable that some would look at the galactic conflict and go 'this is silly, we're pitted against each other for the galaxy's amusement'. And even if your conclusion, as a wayward Jedi or Sith was not to try and kill the force itself, you may conclude that it's a very good thing not to depend on it completely. To exist and conduct yourself without depending entirely on the force for guidance. After all, the force is the essence behind dramatic, yet inconclusive confrontations between "good" and "evil". The Jedi rule, well there must inevitably be the dark side. The Sith rule, well either they will cannibalize themselves or the force itself will produce a kneejerk that usurps them. It can be Luke Skywalker, it can be the protagonist of any number of stories but it will happen.
I think the 'balance' is a bit of a misnomer an incomplete conclusion as flawed as the name of Grey Jedi (something Dave Filoni very much likes to encourage but doesn't entirely line up with the original vision presented by George Lucas). As far as I knew, or at least thought early on, the idea of the light side is to live in harmony with the Natural State of the universe and the idea of the dark side is to bend the force to personal designs, pushing it to its limits. Perverting it if you will. It's not an equal fight per se, there is nuance here. The conflict between Jedi and Sith is a conflict between organizations and while the two tend to align they are not the same. But it's undeniable that things always result in a great confrontation between the two so I guess the question is, does the force actually want to be balanced, is there such a thing as a natural state that the universe wishes to be in that mere mortals keep screwing up because human nature, or does it want endless conflict for sick omnipresent amusement? Disregarding the fact that all conflict in the galaxy exists for the entertainment of unknowable masses outside the universe. This is the problem that someone who thinks in the vein of Kreia would worry about. The force will show you the way, but oh by the way, here's an enemy you need to confront - now, or centuries later. There's quite a lot of storytelling potential a) in people who have learned the observations of Kreia herself, taking advantage of the lost potential of her student who threw it away after KOTOR 2 (thanks SWTOR), and b) come to similar conclusions independently (or from a) and either conduct themselves with this knowledge or attempt to thwart the deadly chaos the Force likes to instigate.
Here's a more coherent video that I watched some time ago that got me started on this topic. If you have any particular interest in the philosophy of Star Wars it is worth a watch.
This is all probably a Legends only tangent, I haven't seen anything from modern canon that explores or affirms anything in this line of thought. KOTOR itself is dubiously canonical, I'm pretty sure you could bring this stuff up to a movie-only character and they'll just look at you funny.
If you've actually stuck around to the end here thank you for your time, and feel free to vote for what you figure is the 'correct' nature of the Star Wars universe or present another philosophy entirely.
Kreia presents a different, underrepresented view of the force not just as a side tangent fans come up with but as a character in the universe. Where Jedi see the force as a natural state of balance and Sith see a thing to bend, and others still like to toe the line and call themselves 'grey', Kreia recognizes that the force is an omnipresent meddler. You could say it represents the spirit of writers creating stories to clash in the universe and this is probably the straightest explanation, but obviously that doesn't cut it for the characters who live it in setting.
There is room for stories that build upon her observations. Her solution does mean essentially cutting out the Force itself, which would invariably result in the death of the force and probably everyone who depends on it. KOTOR 2, the game that brings her to existence, also shows you can cut yourself off from the force and not be dependent on it. But the majority of force users would assuredly not survive and the outcome would be a more generic sci-fi universe. Still, it's inevitable that some would look at the galactic conflict and go 'this is silly, we're pitted against each other for the galaxy's amusement'. And even if your conclusion, as a wayward Jedi or Sith was not to try and kill the force itself, you may conclude that it's a very good thing not to depend on it completely. To exist and conduct yourself without depending entirely on the force for guidance. After all, the force is the essence behind dramatic, yet inconclusive confrontations between "good" and "evil". The Jedi rule, well there must inevitably be the dark side. The Sith rule, well either they will cannibalize themselves or the force itself will produce a kneejerk that usurps them. It can be Luke Skywalker, it can be the protagonist of any number of stories but it will happen.
I think the 'balance' is a bit of a misnomer an incomplete conclusion as flawed as the name of Grey Jedi (something Dave Filoni very much likes to encourage but doesn't entirely line up with the original vision presented by George Lucas). As far as I knew, or at least thought early on, the idea of the light side is to live in harmony with the Natural State of the universe and the idea of the dark side is to bend the force to personal designs, pushing it to its limits. Perverting it if you will. It's not an equal fight per se, there is nuance here. The conflict between Jedi and Sith is a conflict between organizations and while the two tend to align they are not the same. But it's undeniable that things always result in a great confrontation between the two so I guess the question is, does the force actually want to be balanced, is there such a thing as a natural state that the universe wishes to be in that mere mortals keep screwing up because human nature, or does it want endless conflict for sick omnipresent amusement? Disregarding the fact that all conflict in the galaxy exists for the entertainment of unknowable masses outside the universe. This is the problem that someone who thinks in the vein of Kreia would worry about. The force will show you the way, but oh by the way, here's an enemy you need to confront - now, or centuries later. There's quite a lot of storytelling potential a) in people who have learned the observations of Kreia herself, taking advantage of the lost potential of her student who threw it away after KOTOR 2 (thanks SWTOR), and b) come to similar conclusions independently (or from a) and either conduct themselves with this knowledge or attempt to thwart the deadly chaos the Force likes to instigate.
Here's a more coherent video that I watched some time ago that got me started on this topic. If you have any particular interest in the philosophy of Star Wars it is worth a watch.
This is all probably a Legends only tangent, I haven't seen anything from modern canon that explores or affirms anything in this line of thought. KOTOR itself is dubiously canonical, I'm pretty sure you could bring this stuff up to a movie-only character and they'll just look at you funny.
If you've actually stuck around to the end here thank you for your time, and feel free to vote for what you figure is the 'correct' nature of the Star Wars universe or present another philosophy entirely.