Summary
- Hayden Christensen's portrayal of Anakin Skywalker as both light and dark in Ahsoka aligns with his belief that balance in the Force requires both sides.
- Palpatine's return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker appears to contradicts the idea that Anakin is the Chosen One and undermines his destiny to bring balance.
- Anakin's Force Ghost may have been trapped and weakened by the Sith, explaining his inability to work against Palpatine and his manipulation of events through Rey to restore balance.
Palpatine's return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker makes even less sense after Hayden Christensen's recent comments about balance of the Force. Viewers were delighted when Hayden Christensen returned as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka, but what seemed to be his Force Ghost was unlike anything that had ever been seen before. This incarnation of Anakin Skywalker appeared to be both light and dark, with haunting glimpses of the iconic shadow of Darth Vader.
Christensen himself has recently addressed this unusual portrayal, and he's made it clear this was intentional. "I was getting to play a version of this character that I hadn't before," he noted, "and that was the all-knowing, all-powerful Jedi master who could wield both sides of the force — light and dark." The implication is that balance in the Force requires both light and dark. What's more, it seems as though Anakin Skywalker has accomplished his destiny after death; he is now the agent of balance.
