To start this post off, my unpopular opinion is that midi-chlorians are completely in line with the original film that everyone has the Force and the potential to use it. ROTJ arguably does a lot more harm. “The Force is strong in my family, my father has it, I have it and… my sister has it.” Now that’s talking about how it’s completely genetics. But it’s not just genetics, which we know it isn’t from the original Star Wars and later on the PT, even if certain families have more affinity for the Force than others. But the Force never was Harry Potter magic.
NeverarGreat said:
Exactly. The Force can be with anyone at any time; microscopic life forms in the blood are a reductive and quite frankly destructive element which constrains the Force to practical irrelevance in its own story.
I never saw it that way, personally. And I doubt George does. From TPM:
ANAKIN: Master, sir, I heard Yoda talking about midi-chlorians. I’ve been wondering…what are midi-chlorians?
QUI-GON: Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that resides within all living cells.
ANAKIN: They live inside me?
QUI-GON: Inside your cells, yes. And we are symbionts with them.
ANAKIN: Symbionts?
QUI-GON: Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.
QUI-GON: Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.
So what he’s saying is that midi-chlorians are what make life possible and that there’s several midi-chlorians inside every cell of every living being (kinda like what Yoda tells Luke in TESB, no?), and that they’re a bridge between the person and the Force. If people have more, then they’re more likely to become strong in the Force. If they have less, they could still become strong but possibly never as strong as someone else that just has more affinity.
I think it’s mostly a way of “quantifying talent”. Think of it like learning an instrument. Some people just are more talented than others, but if one wishes and works incredibly hard for it, they can absolutely be very good too. But some people are just naturals, and the midi-chlorians was a way to tell the audience that Anakin’s objectively the kid with the most Force potential ever, almost a freak. Not the most poetic way, but still effective and I don’t see how it betrays the script of the original movie.
Heck, one of the big issues with PT Jedi is how they’re basically on this ivory tower being total elitist assholes that train only those that have the potential to be strong, leaving them no say in the matter - as opposed to picking newcomers based on their character and desire and will to do good. No wonder they’re this corrupt and arrogant institution.
But yeah, according to TPM, even Han Solo has midi-chlorians (otherwise he wouldn’t even be alive!) and if he chooses to, he could hone his skills and become a Jedi.