Thread:Rodangizzardcrusher3/@comment-26687285-20160822213306/@comment-26687285-20161001191358

True, it's just that most fans saw this as a right slap in the face to what made The Force so inspiring and magical (much more so than it desereved IMO). I agree that trying to add a psuedo-scientific angle to this mythology feels very antithetical to the franchise's logic and mechanics. However, i really think the fans have made a much bigger deal out of this than it really is.

First off, it is never actually stated that having a high Midi-Chlorian count means you are superior in terms of character or wisdom, just potential.

Second, most fans (understandably, yet wrongly) assume that this revelation reduces the Force's meaning and workings down to "It's just a buch of microbes in your blood", when all that is ever said about them is:

1: That they work as a kind of receptor/translator, enabling the Jedi and Sith to sense the will of The Force.

2: That they are present in all living cells.

3: That they are a nessecary element for the evolution/ /creation of all (organic) life in the universe.

That's all!. There is literally not a single line or moment in the entire trilogy which suggests that they are anything more than that, or that they anywhere near as signifficant as the fans have made them out to be.

Ironically enough, the phrase that fans use to illustrate how supposedly terrible this idea is, actually just reinforces how trivial and unimportant it all is. They realy ARE just a bunch of microbes in your blood. That's it!, nothing more!.

Thirdly (and i admit this is an apologist argument), who is to say that a person's Midi-Chlorian count can't change over time?. It's never said that just because someone is born with a certain amount of Midi-Chlorians that the number or strenght of them can never be increased or decreased.

And there i think lies the real problem with this idea. As it appears in the films, the concept feels very vague and random. And in a trilogy with mindless and dull exposition, no clear protagonist or character arcs, overly long action scenes, bad acting, annoying and lifeless characters, mindnumbing political talk, etc, it makes sense that people would misinterprate such a detail. If there is no clear focus on any particular themes or character arc, the audience will become frustrated and lose interest. And at that point, what else is there left to do besides tearing the movie a new one.

Now am i saying that this was a great idea through and through and the fans have no right to complain about it?, no. I agree with them that the fault here lies with Lucas, but not in the way you might think. The problem wasn't that he wanted to put this idea in the story. The problem was that he made the story boring, confusing and obnoxious to watch, thereby making the idea come across as far more damaging and contrived than it really is.

My point is, Midi-Chlorians do not define The Force, they are just another part of how it works.

There's a great article about this on starwarsreport.com:

P.S. I actually think it's pretty funny that the backlash was so bad that LucasFilm basically had use the EU to tell fans: "Oh no no, it's ok. It's not as bad as you think, really. They're just little lifeforms. We didn't ruin what you loved, honest. Case and point, this excerpt from Darth Plagueis, Chapter 2:

"A common misconception held that midi-chlorians were Force-carrying particles, when in fact they functioned more as translators, interlocutors of the will of the Force."

If that's not fan appeasement, i don't know what is!.