The Skywalker argument
Ha.
You know as much as I wanted to do a big dissertation on Leia, I'm that lazy to start one. But then Tatooine's Ghost happened... and that novel basically lined up many things that just prove that Leia was just as likely capable to be turned to the dark side as much as Anakin... or any other Skywalkers there is. Though so far in the list, only involved the males.
I'm going to include the canon as well as EU universe in this... but I won't touch on Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo. Because so far... I had nothing that could justify Ben's turning to the dark side as compared to Anakin, Luke (and even more in EU) as well as Jacen Solo. Because yeah, if you line them together.... you'd find Ben Solo to be so lame to turn to the dark side for the sheer reason of fanboying. So until his true motivations came to light... I am NOT touching Kylo Ren.
The recent 'meme' post that I've seen being posted around, mentioned the fact that Leia still remained strong (and not seduced to the dark side) despite having forced to witness the destruction of Alderaan; where her (adopted) family and friends had lived. Not to mention countless other living beings on the planet that she may have grown to care about.... having been raised as a princess. This, compared to Anakin who had lost his mother to the Tusken Raiders as well as Padme (later on) as well as suffering many other complicated emotional issues during his life as a Jedi apprentice; would have made Anakin seemed so weak compared to Leia. All because Anakin had turned to the dark side... but not Leia.
But this is where the misdirection began. These people who had been hailing this post as a great argument kinda missed a vital point. Leia was never trained in the Force. It wasn't even until Endor that she found out about her lineage as well as ability. Even if she might have been guided in the past by the Force, it was likely that she never even made to be aware that she could touch the Force much less use it to her advantage. How then, could she even be turned?
Even for the respective male Skywalkers, their circumstances prior to being turned... involved the need for them to have at least a certain amount of Force training. Anakin was a Padawan when he was turned. Luke too, during the Return of the Jedi. And like his father, he was almost nearing the completion of his Jedi training. And while confronting Vader, Luke almost did... ended up being seduced to the dark side. Even more during the Dark Empire arc, where for a brief moment Luke did turned evil. Same can be said for Jacen. Heck, even for any other characters in the EU or canon... it was implied that one also needed to be trained in the Force first in order to be turned. It's the same for the Jedi, who served the light side of the Force. Being strong in the Force is not the only criteria needed here. If the person wasn't even trained or know how to use the Force, how even could they used it for good... or evil?
So back to the original argument, how even could Leia be turned to the Dark Side when she wasn't even aware that she could use the Force? And so far in any other media; films, novels and comics... I haven't seen any character yet who have been turned to the dark side without first having any kinds of Force-trainings.
Also, the reason Anakin had turned... was because while using the Force to fight, he had allowed his emotions to affect him. Power corrupts. It's why the Jedi Council was concerned (or more like overly worried to the point of paranoid) when Anakin was shown to be quite an emotional person. While some emotions can help to strengthen oneself, some other emotions could lead them to the dark side. Anger, fear.... hatred, all the negative emotions... as Yoda have said. And while I still haven't really read the comic and/or novels where Luke and Jacen were turned to the dark side, there was a common thread. Like Anakin, at that point in Dark Empire (or even during Return of the Jedi)... Luke had been lead into a desperate situation to want to protect the people they love from harm. While that, shouldn't be a bad thing... the desperation in their actions would lead to fear; and well... you know the rest. Similarly with Jacen, he was faced with a situation that led him to believe he had to do everything he could to prevent a bigger calamity... even if it meant succumbing to the dark side.
(Having listed that... was another reason why I was wary about Kylo Ren.)
That said, Leia was just as likely capable to be turned... ESPECIALLY if she started to learn to use the Force. And when she did, to be honest... it would be just too easy for her to be seduced to the dark side. Even more compared to her other family members. Because she already had half of the criteria needed.
As mentioned in Tatooine's Ghost, Leia had great fear and hatred towards Darth Vader. Not surprising considering what Vader did while he lived; not to mention that Vader was the one that tortured Leia using the interrogator droid at Death Star and HE was the one that forced her to watch Alderaan be destroyed. If that wasn't enough, to learn that the person she hated and feared was in fact her REAL father. Her REAL father had been instrumental to the death of her adoptive family and friends. How much anger, hate or fear would you think Leia would harbour? Do you seriously think that Leia was not capable to turn towards the Dark Side? I'd say no. Especially post Jedi, when she would start to be aware that she COULD also use the Force as much as Luke. Like how she did when she tried to find Luke from Endor using the Force.
Luke's words just summed everything in one sentence.
And yes... even Leia knew that she was not yet ready to embrace the Force. That she was not really immune to the temptations of the dark side of the Force.
I rest my case.
That aside, sure... while half these things are now considered non-canon, doesn't change the fact that there are... dark side to Leia. And she was lucky she haven't experience the many painful things she had while being trained as a Jedi. If ever she do. This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.
You know as much as I wanted to do a big dissertation on Leia, I'm that lazy to start one. But then Tatooine's Ghost happened... and that novel basically lined up many things that just prove that Leia was just as likely capable to be turned to the dark side as much as Anakin... or any other Skywalkers there is. Though so far in the list, only involved the males.
I'm going to include the canon as well as EU universe in this... but I won't touch on Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo. Because so far... I had nothing that could justify Ben's turning to the dark side as compared to Anakin, Luke (and even more in EU) as well as Jacen Solo. Because yeah, if you line them together.... you'd find Ben Solo to be so lame to turn to the dark side for the sheer reason of fanboying. So until his true motivations came to light... I am NOT touching Kylo Ren.
The recent 'meme' post that I've seen being posted around, mentioned the fact that Leia still remained strong (and not seduced to the dark side) despite having forced to witness the destruction of Alderaan; where her (adopted) family and friends had lived. Not to mention countless other living beings on the planet that she may have grown to care about.... having been raised as a princess. This, compared to Anakin who had lost his mother to the Tusken Raiders as well as Padme (later on) as well as suffering many other complicated emotional issues during his life as a Jedi apprentice; would have made Anakin seemed so weak compared to Leia. All because Anakin had turned to the dark side... but not Leia.
But this is where the misdirection began. These people who had been hailing this post as a great argument kinda missed a vital point. Leia was never trained in the Force. It wasn't even until Endor that she found out about her lineage as well as ability. Even if she might have been guided in the past by the Force, it was likely that she never even made to be aware that she could touch the Force much less use it to her advantage. How then, could she even be turned?
Even for the respective male Skywalkers, their circumstances prior to being turned... involved the need for them to have at least a certain amount of Force training. Anakin was a Padawan when he was turned. Luke too, during the Return of the Jedi. And like his father, he was almost nearing the completion of his Jedi training. And while confronting Vader, Luke almost did... ended up being seduced to the dark side. Even more during the Dark Empire arc, where for a brief moment Luke did turned evil. Same can be said for Jacen. Heck, even for any other characters in the EU or canon... it was implied that one also needed to be trained in the Force first in order to be turned. It's the same for the Jedi, who served the light side of the Force. Being strong in the Force is not the only criteria needed here. If the person wasn't even trained or know how to use the Force, how even could they used it for good... or evil?
So back to the original argument, how even could Leia be turned to the Dark Side when she wasn't even aware that she could use the Force? And so far in any other media; films, novels and comics... I haven't seen any character yet who have been turned to the dark side without first having any kinds of Force-trainings.
Also, the reason Anakin had turned... was because while using the Force to fight, he had allowed his emotions to affect him. Power corrupts. It's why the Jedi Council was concerned (or more like overly worried to the point of paranoid) when Anakin was shown to be quite an emotional person. While some emotions can help to strengthen oneself, some other emotions could lead them to the dark side. Anger, fear.... hatred, all the negative emotions... as Yoda have said. And while I still haven't really read the comic and/or novels where Luke and Jacen were turned to the dark side, there was a common thread. Like Anakin, at that point in Dark Empire (or even during Return of the Jedi)... Luke had been lead into a desperate situation to want to protect the people they love from harm. While that, shouldn't be a bad thing... the desperation in their actions would lead to fear; and well... you know the rest. Similarly with Jacen, he was faced with a situation that led him to believe he had to do everything he could to prevent a bigger calamity... even if it meant succumbing to the dark side.
(Having listed that... was another reason why I was wary about Kylo Ren.)
That said, Leia was just as likely capable to be turned... ESPECIALLY if she started to learn to use the Force. And when she did, to be honest... it would be just too easy for her to be seduced to the dark side. Even more compared to her other family members. Because she already had half of the criteria needed.
As mentioned in Tatooine's Ghost, Leia had great fear and hatred towards Darth Vader. Not surprising considering what Vader did while he lived; not to mention that Vader was the one that tortured Leia using the interrogator droid at Death Star and HE was the one that forced her to watch Alderaan be destroyed. If that wasn't enough, to learn that the person she hated and feared was in fact her REAL father. Her REAL father had been instrumental to the death of her adoptive family and friends. How much anger, hate or fear would you think Leia would harbour? Do you seriously think that Leia was not capable to turn towards the Dark Side? I'd say no. Especially post Jedi, when she would start to be aware that she COULD also use the Force as much as Luke. Like how she did when she tried to find Luke from Endor using the Force.
Luke's words just summed everything in one sentence.
And yes... even Leia knew that she was not yet ready to embrace the Force. That she was not really immune to the temptations of the dark side of the Force.
I rest my case.
That aside, sure... while half these things are now considered non-canon, doesn't change the fact that there are... dark side to Leia. And she was lucky she haven't experience the many painful things she had while being trained as a Jedi. If ever she do. This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.