Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Throughout the many years of the existence of Star Wars, one recurring theme in all movies is the aspect of good vs. evil, or rather, the Dark Side of the Force vs. the Light.
As most movies tend to do, Star Wars ends each story arc with the “good guys” coming out on top. Most noteworthy of these is the first Star Wars plot of the original trilogy, a classic good vs. evil story in which the hero, Luke Skywalker, defeats the Sith, bringing balance to the Force and saving the galaxy.
Throughout the rest of the franchise, the villains, who are either Sith Lords or Dark Side users, consistently face defeat at the hands of the Jedi. This leads casual viewers to believe that the Jedi are better and more powerful than those who draw their power from the Dark Side.
With that being said, I believe it must be noted I am not one of those casual viewers and am a strong believer the Dark Side is in fact much more powerful and overall better than the Light.
In The Empire Strikes Back, as Luke is learning the ways of the Force, he asks Yoda; “Is the Dark Side stronger?” To this, Yoda responds; “No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.” As previously noted, it is easy to believe this statement as movie after movie results in the Dark Side failing.
However, upon closer examination, there are adequate explanations as to why the Dark Side was defeated as well as several examples of the Jedi displaying their weakness in comparison to the Sith.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
The Phantom Menace
When the Sith first return to the knowledge of the Jedi in The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul, everyone’s favorite dual-bladed Sith Lord, is tasked with dueling Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jin. In doing so, Darth Maul murders Qui-Gon, who was a highly regarded Jedi in his time. Of course, Obi-Wan ends up killing Maul, making the Jedi out to be stronger, yet Obi-Wan showcased skills with a lightsaber that had not previously been seen.
The aggression and fuel for revenge after Qui-Gon’s death had driven Obi-Wan to kill Darth Maul, which would not have happened without Obi-Wan slightly straying from the Light and towards the Dark, if even just for a little bit.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
The second chronological duel between the Jedi and the Sith includes Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan pitted against Count Dooku. Since Qui-Gon’s death, Obi-Wan has calmed his emotions and become a much more mature and balanced Jedi, resulting in his short-lived involvement in this duel. Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan were much of a match against Count Dooku.
Neither of the Jedi channeled any aggression or anger to give them the upper hand over Dooku, giving him the seemingly easy victory over the pair of Jedi. As a result, the Dark Side won this duel. In addition, the duel of Count Dooku vs. Yoda is one in which no clear winner prevails. Neither the Dark Side nor the Light wins this battle.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
The first battle of Revenge of the Sith is a rematch of Anakin and Obi-Wan against Count Dooku. Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, someone who still strictly follows the rules and regulations of the Jedi, he was taken out of the fight quickly again. However, for someone who has continued to stray closer to the Dark Side, Anakin defeated Count Dooku, even murdering him in the most “un-Jedi-like fashion” possible, a feat which would never have happened without part of him accessing the power of the Dark Side.
Once Chancellor Palpatine reveals himself to the Jedi as a Sith Lord, he proceeds to kill three Jedi masters with what appears to be complete ease. While Mace Windu does unarm Sidious, the Dark Side prevails again as it finally consumes Anakin fully, leading him to cut off Windu’s arm as Sidious uses Force lightning to murder him, giving the Dark Side another victory over the Light.
In Yoda’s second on-screen duel, this time against Darth Sidious, the long-time Jedi Master who is universally known as one of the most powerful Jedi of all time, loses the duel outright. Whether it be in regard to lightsaber fighting or use of the Force, Sidious is visibly superior to Yoda as he defeats him, even forcing Yoda to go into exile.
The iconic duel of Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith may be the one exception to the whole the whole theory of the Dark Side prevailing in each interaction with the Light. Although Vader appears to be pushing back Obi-Wan during the entire battle, his arrogance and overconfidence in his power result in his defeat.
It is worth noting a big reason Obi-Wan defeated Vader in the fashion he did was written into the script to allow Anakin to make his complete transformation into Darth Vader. Regardless of the reasons, the Light Side does in fact unanimously win this fight over the Dark Side.
The movie “Star Wars”, re-release as “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”, written and directed by George Lucas. Seen here from left, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Alec Guinness as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both observe a recorded transmission featuring Princess Leia Organa. Initial theatrical release May 25, 1977. Screen capture. © 1997 Lucasfilm Ltd. Credit: ©
Star Wars: A New Hope
Nineteen years following Obi-Wan’s defeat over his former apprentice, the two meet again aboard the Death Star, although very different results follow. Throughout the fight, Vader taunts Obi-Wan, pointing out his weakened powers and old age on multiple occasions, resulting in the entirety of the fight appears to be in Vader’s favor.
Although Vader ultimately kills Obi-Wan, many bring up the simple point that Obi-Wan allowed Vader to strike him down. Regardless, it is highly likely Vader would have ended up on top had Obi-Wan not purposefully given his life.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
The second film of the original trilogy features one of the more beloved lightsaber duels of the entire franchise of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, who is revealed to be his father during the same fight.
Darth Vader tells Luke he is his father to sway Luke to the Dark Side by manipulating his emotions, yet Luke pushes away these emotions and stays true to the Light Side. Vader ultimately defeated Luke, cutting off his hand in the process and chalking up an easy victory for the Dark Side yet again.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – The final duel of the original trilogy includes another classic fight between Darth Vader and Luke, yet this one includes many more emotions and temptations towards the Dark Side. The entirety of ROTJ includes Luke being tempted to join his father and join the Dark Side, a theme which is most prominent while in the presence of Vader and the Emperor.
As Luke and Vader fight, Vader is given the slight advantage until Vader and the Emperor continue to toy with Luke’s emotions. Luke eventually becomes angry, channeling a small part of the Dark Side and unleashing his full power.
In doing so, he strikes down Vader and cuts of his hand, in turn realizing he is no better than Darth Vader so he returns to the Jedi mindset, leaving his father further unharmed. Without Luke’s small glimpse of the Dark Side’s true potential power, it is possible he would not have been able to defeat Vader, who in turn defeats the Emperor and brings balance to the Force.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Although The Force Awakens is the first film in the franchise to not feature the Sith, it is still very much a story about good vs. evil or the Dark Side vs. the Light Side. This time around, Kylo Ren, a Dark Side user who has already killed an entirely new generation of Jedi in training (although the exact number is not yet known) fights the newfound Force user, Rey.
Rey defeats Kylo Ren, despite her lack of experience in the force, mainly for two reasons. The first reason Rey defeats Ren is the fact that she fought using aggression and anger fueled by the very recent murder of Han Solo by the hands of Kylo Ren.
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While Rey fought using aspects of the Dark Side, she also ended up victorious due to her lack of knowledge in the philosophies of the Jedi.
Rey was completely unaware at the time that Jedi are expected to push out any emotions such as anger or the lust for vengeance, a fact that did not hinder her thinking like Jedi before her who were expected to push those thoughts out of their minds.
For these reasons, the Dark Side played another integral part in Rey’s victory in TFA.
Upon close examination of each battle between the Jedi and the Dark Side of the Force, it is evident the Dark Side is conclusively better than the Light.
Even though each story arc results in the Jedi victorious, as expected, it likely would not be as consistently possible without the Dark Side of the Force and its influence on all Force users, Jedi included.
While it may be easy to believe the Dark Side is more powerful than the Light Side, it is important to understand there are many rules the Jedi expected to strictly follow. The Jedi live under moral codes and are more focused on control and balance, while on the other hand, the Sith are more focused on strength and power. For this reason, the Jedi may be restricted in terms of ability when fighting while the Sith are free to go as crazy as they’d like.
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For this reason, it is important to note the Sith do not necessarily have more skill in the Force than the Jedi, they simply have nothing restraining them. Regardless, the strict code the Jedi place on themselves results in the Sith surpassing them in power, strength, and potential in the Force.