If you hypothetically had Ben Solo live, how could you do it? A part of me does like how Ben realized he would need to give his life to save hers, and the rules of Force healing are clearly established in the film. But I would like to figure out how to have him survive appropriately for the sake of a potential fan edit. I was thinking maybe in a close-up of Ben’s hand on Rey, we could see the hand of a Force ghost also lay their hand on top of Ben’s. Maybe Leia or Anakin? Basically she or he helps him in order for them both to live. Wanted to get some thoughts on this.

Maybe the idea would be that Force healing is a power Jedi can have. But reversing death, once a living thing dies, is a power beyond any mortal. So when Obi-Wan says, “I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine” in ANH, we see that power can also be resurrection. And I can see the poetry of it being Anakin at the end. He desperately sought that power to save Padmé from a death that he foresaw. He sold his soul for that power and fell to the dark side. But since he turned back to the light and became one with the Force, he finally understands what that power means, and he uses that power to help Ben save the woman he loves.

This would sort of retcon ROTJ in a way. If Ben and Rey represent the new balance of the Force, saving Rey from death would be the way Anakin actually brings balance to the Force. Not by throwing Palpatine over the ledge, but by healing Rey. Anakin would fulfill his destiny as Chosen One not by killing the last Sith, but by saving the last Jedi. An act of love over an act of violence.

You could argue that basically what he does with Luke in ROTJ, but he saves Luke through an act of violence. With this idea, his way of restoring balance would be a purely non-violent act.