#also like. Luke surrendered to Vader and went to the Death Star fully believing he was going to his death

[ladytemeraire]

"He trained me in how to defeat you, not in how to save you – I don't know how to do any of this, I don't know how to be a proper Jedi, I don't know how to save you, but I know I must nonetheless; I am in pain and grieving but this is all I can do, and I will get both of us out of here or die trying."

sometimes star wars is unsubtle in a bad way and sometimes luke skywalker is dragging his father’s dead weight across the death star floor, sobbing from love and exhaustion

[enettov]

LUKE SKYWALKER

Luke Skywalker was a Tatooine farmboy who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known. Along with his friends Princess Leia and Han Solo, Luke battled the evil Empire, discovered the truth of his parentage, and ended the tyranny of the Sith. A generation later, the location of the famed Jedi master was one of the galaxy’s greatest mysteries. Haunted by Ben Solo’s fall to evil and convinced the Jedi had to end, Luke sought exile on a distant world, ignoring the galaxy’s pleas for help. But his solitude would be interrupted – and Luke Skywalker had one final, momentous role to play in the struggle between good and evil.

APPEARANCES

Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian

AFFILIATIONS

Jedi Order, Rebel Alliance

LOCATIONS

Polis Massa, Lars Moisture Farm, Tatooine

GENDER

Male

DIMENSIONS

Height: 1.72m

SPECIES

Human

WEAPONS

Lightsaber, Blaster Pistol, Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber (Green Blade), Skywalker lightsaber

VEHICLES

X-34 Landspeeder, T-16 Skyhopper, X-wing Starfighter, Snowspeeder

TOOL

Bacta Tank, Moisture Vaporator

VIDEO

Bad Motivator

1:24

BAD MOTIVATOR

VIDEO

One in a Million Shot

0:49

ONE IN A MILLION SHOT

VIDEO

There is No Conflict

1:22

THERE IS NO CONFLICT

VIDEO

Luke's Surrender

1:02

LUKE'S SURRENDER

VIDEO

GALLERY

Luke Skywalker Biography Gallery

LUKE SKYWALKER BIOGRAPHY GALLERY

GALLERIES

QUOTES

"I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you."

"I'M LUKE SKYWALKER. I'M HERE TO RESCUE YOU."

A NEW HOPE

"You'll find I'm full of surprises."

"YOU'LL FIND I'M FULL OF SURPRISES."

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

"I AM A JEDI, LIKE MY FATHER BEFORE ME."

RETURN OF THE JEDI

"The Rebellion is reborn today, the war is just beginning, and I will not be the last Jedi."

"THE REBELLION IS REBORN TODAY, THE WAR IS JUST BEGINNING, AND I WILL NOT BE THE LAST JEDI."

THE LAST JEDI

HISTORY

GALACTIC CIVIL WAR

Luke Skywalker on Tatooine

Raised by his aunt and uncle on a Tatooine moisture farm, Luke Skywalker never knew his mother or father. He knew nothing of the Force or Jedi, but longed for a more exciting life. Soon he would have it. With his Uncle Owen’s purchase of new droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, a chain of events was put in place that would change Luke -- and the galaxy -- forever. Artoo, a plucky astromech droid, wandered off in his first night on the farm, telling C-3PO he had to deliver a message to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Luke went looking for the lost droid, he was attacked by Tusken Raiders and knocked unconscious. Before he could be taken captive, friendly hermit Ben Kenobi appeared and frightened off the Sand People. Ben revealed that he was indeed Obi-Wan Kenobi, and had something that belonged to Luke’s father: a lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi. Obi-Wan said that he and Luke’s father were both Jedi Knights, strong with the Force, and good friends. Luke knew none of this, and asked how his father died. The old Jedi said that his former student, Darth Vader, turned to the dark side and killed him.

Obi-Wan and Luke soon discovered that Artoo was indeed carrying a message after all. It was a holorecording of Princess Leia, stating that she had hidden stolen plans for the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star, in the memory banks of Artoo; she asked that Kenobi deliver the plans to her father on Alderaan. Obi-Wan implored Luke to come with him, but the farmboy refused. However, he and Obi-Wan found that the Jawas who sold his uncle Artoo and Threepio had been slaughtered by stormtroopers -- and they may have traced them back home. Luke raced to the moisture farm, only to find the charred remains of his guardians. Stoic, he decided to leave Tatooine, vowing to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like his father.

Along with hired pilot Han Solo and his co-pilot and friend Chewbacca, Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids headed for Alderaan aboard the Millennium Falcon. But when they arrived, the planet wasn’t there -- only rubble, as it had been destroyed by the Empire’s Death Star. The Falcon was soon caught in the tractor beam of the giant space station, but it proved fortuitous; Princess Leia was being held there. Luke and Han, in stormtrooper disguises, staged a rescue while Obi-Wan disengaged the tractor beam. The Jedi Master, however, encountered his old student, Darth Vader, and was killed in battle. Luke saw it happen shortly before escaping in the Falcon, and was deeply affected by the loss of his mentor.

The small band of heroes regrouped with the Rebel Alliance on Yavin 4. With the Death Star plans successfully delivered, Luke joined the mission to destroy the battle station, piloting an X-wing under the call sign Red Five. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffered heavy losses, and Darth Vader entered the fray in his TIE Advanced. One of the last remaining pilots, Luke flew through the Death Star trench at blinding speed with the goal of shooting a volley of proton torpedoes into a small exhaust port. Vader closed in, ready to destroy Luke's starship -- noting that “the Force is strong with this one” -- but a surprise blast from Han and the Millennium Falcon sent Vader's fighter tumbling into space, clearing Luke for the shot. Calling on the Force with guidance from Obi-Wan’s disembodied voice, the Jedi-to-be delivered a precise shot, and the Death Star was destroyed.

Luke Skywalker training with Yoda on Dagobah

Though the Rebel Alliance had struck a major blow against the Empire with the destruction of the Death Star, the war was far from over. The Alliance built a new secret base on the ice planet Hoth, with Luke now a commander. While out on patrol, Luke spotted what he thought was a meteor impact on the surface -- in reality, it was an Imperial probe droid. Before he could inspect it, however, Luke was viciously attacked by a towering wampa. Though Luke escaped the ice creature’s cave, severing the monster’s arm with his lightsaber, the young Jedi nearly died from the frigid surface temperatures. It was also at this time that he was visited by the spectre of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who instructed him to go to the Dagobah system. There, he would learn the ways of the Force from Yoda, a Jedi Master. Han eventually found Luke, keeping him warm inside a tauntaun’s belly until help could arrive. Luke recovered from his injuries and lead the Rebel defense against the Empire’s ground forces, including massive AT-AT walkers, giving the Alliance time to evacuate the planet.

Luke headed to Dagobah as instructed and found Yoda. He was not what Luke expected -- small, alien, and green, with a unique backwards way of speaking. Luke trained hard, failing often but learning much from his wise Master. During an exercise, the young Jedi saw a vision of his friends in pain; Luke cut his training short -- against Yoda's wishes -- to help them. He left for Cloud City where Darth Vader awaited, hoping to capture Luke and bring him to the Emperor. They dueled, but Luke was outmatched and overpowered. Luke was battered and bloodied in the fight, losing a hand, and the Sith Lord revealed a frightening truth: that he was in fact Luke’s father. Vader wanted his son to join him on the dark side, and together they could overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy. Luke was shattered and in disbelief. He refused to turn, managing to escape with his life.

Luke Skywalker as a Jedi Knight on Jabba's Sail Barge

With Han frozen in carbonite and held in Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine, Luke led a mission to rescue his old friend. Now a powerful Jedi Knight, Luke tried to bargain for Han’s life but the crime lord refused. Through a trap door, he dispatched the Jedi into an underground dungeon and unleashed his massive rancor creature. But to the shock of Jabba and his henchmen, Luke was able to destroy the beast. Incensed, the gangster sentenced Luke and his friends to die in the Sarlacc, but again, the Jedi was underestimated. Luke decimated Jabba’s men, and the group of heroes completed their rescue.

With Han safe, Luke returned to Dagobah to complete his training. Yoda, however, was dying. In his final moments, the old Master told Luke that he required no more lessons, but he had to confront Darth Vader -- who was his true father -- once more. Yoda also told him of another Skywalker, who Obi-Wan would confirm was Leia, his twin sister.

Meanwhile, the Empire was constructing a new Death Star -- with the Emperor personally overseeing its completion. Utilizing stolen schematics, the Rebel Alliance formulated a plan to destroy this new superweapon. Luke joined his friends for the mission on Endor, but departed when he sensed Vader’s presence. Luke believed there was still good in his father, that the Emperor had not driven it from him fully. He tried to convert Vader to the light side, but the Dark Lord claimed it was too late. Instead, he brought Luke before the Emperor on the Death Star. The evil Sith Master looked to turn Luke to the dark side, and goaded him into a duel with his father. When Vader suggested that Leia could be turned to evil, Luke embraced his rage and pummeled his father relentlessly -- giving the Emperor exactly what he wanted. But before he delivered the killing blow, Luke paused, remembering his teachings. Calming himself, Luke threw away his weapon. “I am a Jedi, like my father before me,” he said. The Emperor, confounded by Luke’s actions, unleashed Force lightning upon the young Jedi. Vader rose and threw the Emperor down a deep shaft, his true self reawakened by his son’s love. Luke had one final moment with his father, and escaped the space station before it was destroyed. The once reckless farmboy’s journey was complete: he was a mature Jedi, freedom was restored to the galaxy, and his compassion had saved his father.

THE NEW REPUBLIC

Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 after the destruction of his Jedi Academy

After the Battle of Endor, Luke traveled the galaxy with R2-D2, seeking long-forgotten Jedi lore as he pondered how to resurrect the Jedi order. But his efforts ended with one of his apprentices leaving his plans in ruin. After this tragedy Luke vanished, and no one knew where he had chosen to spend his self-imposed exile.

THE FIRST ORDER

Luke Skywalker training Rey in the ways of the Force on Ahch-To

The scavenger Rey tracked Luke down on Ahch-To, and pleaded with him to return and help the Resistance. Rey also needed his help to understand her burgeoning Force powers. Luke refused, telling her it was time for the Jedi to end. When Rey resisted refused to leave, Luke reluctantly agreed to teach her enough that she would understand why he had made his decision.

Luke Skywalker performing Force projection from Ahch-To to Crait

Rey insisted that the galaxy needed the legend of Luke Skywalker, a plea that seemed to fall on deaf ears. She left Ahch-To, but Luke had opened himself to the Force – and a last lesson from his old master, Yoda. Luke projected himself through the Force to confront Kylo Ren on Crait, giving the Resistance a chance to escape the First Order. He passed into the Force, but his legend would continue to inspire the galaxy.

Did you just send me the entire Luke skywalker page on Wikipedia

[dalekofchaos]

How the Empire could’ve won the war

Imagine if The Empire had competent military leaders and decided to bypass Palpatine’s overconfidence and incompetence. These are ways I think the Empire could’ve won. Before anyone calls me out, this is just for fun and I do not believe they should’ve won, I just think if more competent Imperials were in charge aside from Thrawn, The Empire could’ve won.

Better PR. Seriously, The Case for the Empire lays out an excellent defense for the Galactic Empire. Basically, the Republic was rotting, everyone saw that. All the Empire had to do was take power and not make people desperate enough to rebel. Keep the peace, enforce the law and not be so heavy handed.

Do not be dependent on fear. When Palpatine ascended as emperor, ended the rotting Republic and ended the Clone Wars basically everyone was happy. However in only 20+ years he went from most loved person in the galaxy to the most feared/hated one. There was no need to build the Death Stars and such a massive military. Those were necessary for rule through fear. But instead of fear Palpatine could’ve ruled by love. He was definitely cunning enough to fool the galaxy further. Instead Palpatine’s, Vader’s and Tarkin’s methods led to a creation of a giant rebellion that brought the Empire down.

Act like a real Empire with no Xenophobia. Induct alien races into their empire and continue their expansion by conquering territory while promoting their way of life over others. Their downfall was being dogmatic and authoritarian to the point that everyone rebelled against their regime.

Don’t terrorize other species. Whether Palpatine genuinely hated other races than humans or just pretended to do in order to divide his potential enemies it was a bad move. Excluding non-humans from the upper echelons of the Imperial military and power structure (Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor or Mas Amedda excluded) limited the Empire’s power base. Terrorizing other species created more enemies the Empire had to deal with and which helped to brought it down.

Krennic’s survival. I fee like the Death Star might not have been destroyed in A New Hope if Orson Krennic was still in charge. He was far more in tune with the battlestation’s capabilities than Tarkin ever was. I feel like he would have recognized the threat to the base sooner and squashed the Rebel fighters in the trench sooner He wasn't afraid to get into the battle and it really wasn't his fault that the plans fell into the wrong hands, the Rebels just outclassed the Empire during that sneak attack. Tarkin's blind arrogance and underestimation of the Rebels is what allowed the Death Star to be destroyed.

A New Hope 1. Recover any jettisoned escape pods right away, otherwise destroy them: Some see this a major plot hole. I'd say people (and imperial personnel, for that matter), do make mistakes. To avoid those, they should have had a pursuit protocol: Pull the captured ship in, then close the doors, maybe have two or three squadrons of TIE fighters doing the rounds, in case a escape pod gets out before the doors are closed and, more important, have some recovery ships out, so that fleeing pods can be captured instead of just blasted into oblivion. A captured pod can be searched. As far as we know, only one copy of the plans was made. 2. Disable the Millenium Falcon: You just captured a ship that matches another ship you were chasing, no one is inside, at the very least, take the keys off the ignition, remove the battery, maybe secure it with a chain and a lock. And they had time to work on it, enough time to install a tracking device, anyway. However, I'm willing to give them this one: Let's say they were absolutely sure the Rebellion would not find anything useful by looking at the plans, so it was fine to let them escape with them, make presumably a hundred copies and spread them across the galaxy. That level of confidence in your development and validation teams is amazing. Not only do you think a potential enemy will not find any flaws, but you're also convinced they won't try to build their own space station using your plans. Bravo. 3. Build an Imperial blockade of Star Destroyers around the Death Star. 4. Send the Imperial Fleet to Yavin IV, not your ultimate weapon: The Death Star had just accomplished what it had been built to do: It was a last-resort enforcer of policy. They destroyed an entire, fully populated planet, because Tarkin wanted to do a demonstration. That was stupid, but effective anyway, it would definitely make it into the news all over the place. Then you put the gun away, hopefully never to use it again. Any opposition in the galaxy would have crumbled at the chance of seeing that thing show up in the sky. They had tracked the Millenium Falcon to Yavin IV, but the Rebel Fleet was clearly not there. The attack on the Death Star was executed with thirty small ships, hardly a major engagement (unlike the battle against the second Death Star). If anything, the Battle of Yavin could have been compared in size to the Battle of Hoth, which was dealt with using a subset of the Imperial Navy, plus infantry. In the meantime, they could have done some additional vulnerability analysis with the Death Star well hidden elsewhere, find the exhaust port and maybe even other vulnerabilities, and put torpedo-proof blinds on it.

Empire Strikes Back 1. The Battle of Hoth: There are eight Star Destroyers (Executor, 6 smaller but still impressive Star Destroyers of two classes and one Victory class) involved. Executor closes with the planet and proceeds to blast the surface with their turbolaser batteries, ignoring the shield generator. Eventually the base with flood (with magma or ice). The two Imperial-1 class destroyers fly interference for the Executor, keeping fighter wings in the air as well as intercepting anything attempting to escape. The four Imperial-II class destroyers blockade the planet: One at each pole, and one either side of the equator to watch for trickery. The Victory class destroyer is a mobile interception device for capital ships and corvettes launching from Hoth. Now all they need to do is wait. They'll either pick the base off piecemeal, destroy it with Turbolaser Terraforming or the rebels will attempt to flee: In which case, the remaining destroyers will pick them off. The Ion Cannon doesn't act as a permenent 'disable', the base has a limited power generator and there are too many ships for the Ion Cannon to cover for. The planet will give way long before they starve the rebels out. Hell, the 501st had elements in the fleet sent, they could have just left everyone in orbit and stuffed Vader with them into a drop pod, unleashing on the base instead of the costly assault. 2. On Bespin: A heavier hand. The figurehead of the rebellion and five of its greater heroes were present.. and all of them got away. As soon as the trap was sprung, simply moving in with heavy interception cover would have been enough to decapitate the Rebellion. They had, at the bare minimum, twelve fighters: Three ties, 8 tie-interdictors and at least one Tie Defender (Which was probably capable of destroying the Falcon alone). They'd surrender before dying, so Vader gets his apprent-er, 'the emperor's prize', the Rebellion gets executed in a suitable gory fashion on Galactic Holovision and the Rebellion ends. 3. The Falcon, a known dangerous and rebel-owned craft, was sitting on its landing pad the whole time. You've got EIGHT Tie Interdictors (bombers) prowling Bespin. Maybe one could spare a second to drop some ordinance on the powered down craft? The one on a pad with no supports barring its umbilical, about 50-100m out from its parent building? 4. If you won’t destroy the Falcon, criple the Falcon. Seriously, cripple the Falcon: The same technicians who disabled the hyperdrive could've taken a few more minutes to mess up the rest, making it unable to take off. Leia, Chewie, Lando and the droids were already surrounded at the landing platform. It would've ended up in a horrible standoff or maybe even a peaceful surrender. But it would have ended there. Afterwards, Vader would've sensed and captured Luke, making sure he was given top-notch medical attention and a high-end replacement hand. Then, who knows, maybe he could've have enjoyed some much-needed face time with his dad and get things off to a better start.

Return Of The Jedi 0. Jabba The Hutt is smart. Jabba does not hold a grand execution. He has Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and the droids at his mercy. He plans to offer them up as hostages to the Empire. Since it's established that Vader and Jabba became partners in the new canon comics, I could see The Empire paying Jabba's demands. Jabba’s demands are simple. Money, a replacement Rancor and Princess Leia as his personal slave for the rest of her life. The Empire is more than happy to oblige. Vader comes to Jabba’s palace and takes the Rebels. The droids are dismantled.  Han, Lando and Chewbacca are executed. Leia remains by Jabba’s side as a slave. Now that Luke has nothing left, he embraces his destiny and joins his father. They take out The Emperor and rule the galaxy as father and son. 1. Stop and arrest the crew of the stolen imperial shuttle: Part of this is pure speculation, but I assume the crew led into Endor by Han Solo had no way to let their fleet know that they had made it. So, as a perfect corollary to a great plan to force the Rebel Fleet into a decisive battle, set up an ambush to capture the advance team on the ground on Endor as soon as they set foot on it. Of course, it would be a lot easier to just blast the shuttle before it even lands. The thing was loaded with explosives, even a humble stormtrooper with a thermal detonator could have done the work. Of course, Vader would have been upset because of his insistence in mixing family and business. In any case, the generator shield would have remained intact, with the second Death Star being fully operational: It did manage to do a lot of damage to the Rebel Fleet, and the Imperial Navy could've done the rest once they started fighting at close range. Also, think of the fact that the Rebels would've had Lando Calrissian insisting that they should wait on Han to blow up the shield. At that moment, Han would've been either dead or sitting in a cell. And the assault on the Death Star II would’ve been a failure. 2. Vader tries to convince his son to join willingly. Vader does very little to connect with his son. He wants to call him Anakin? That's fine, let him do it. In fact, Vader could have used that to tell him his story, after all, the Jedi were indeed very arrogant and unfair towards Anakin, let Luke know that. Maybe even tell him about Padme, he seemed very curious about his mom, he would've listened to that. Same goes for the Emperor, instead of antagonizing Luke from the beginning, he could have asked him about the things he disliked about the Empire. What reforms would he support? Would he be willing to lead some of those reforms from the inside? Just because you're bad, doesn't mean you need to be crass. Also, Palpatine was friends with Padme, right to the very end, bring that up as well. 3. Exterminate the Ewoks. The Empire is not above genocide and would showcase even more reason to want to take them down. They're a warrior culture. You know it, they know it. Your first expedition to Endor was nearly foiled by the furry little bastards, who were surprised and outnumbered. You know, the one where they were looking for a site to set up the shield generator for the second Death Star? Or don't even bother! First, glass the area with turbolasers. A quick planetary firestorm and you've got a nice wasteland to build your facilities in. Suddenly, no ewoks. You can see the rebels coming a few kilometers away. Problem solved, no exploding battlestation.

Build the Death Star II around Coruscant. This is the heart of the enemy. It's in the galactic core, there is plenty of space for a shield generator and it is HEAVILY defended. Not only is it heavily defended, it's even further into the Core than Coruscant and Palpatine is even more powerful there. He can very literally puppet a good portion of the population.

Practical Mass Production Vs. Egomaniacal Engineering. Bigger is not always better. Constantly seeking to build bigger military weapons takes time, money, and resources all of which could be used towards the mass production and perfection of smaller weapons. For example, how many millions of Republic credits does an Imperial AT-AT walker cost and how completely unnecessary is a vehicle of that size on the battlefield? The Empire already has a fighting force a million times larger than any other in the galaxy, why does it need to waste time on things like Death Stars and Super Star Destroyers? Building smaller fighters and ships is the better way to go. Build more Interdictor-class cruisers. These ships used mass shadow generators to literally pull ships from hyperspace by projecting an illusion of the gravity well of a planet. In Star Wars a ship cannot go into hyperspace while inside a planet’s gravity well. This means that any rebel ships that unwittingly raid an Imperial facility where an Interdictor class vessel is present are sitting ducks from the moment they are sucked out of hyperspace. In the Imperial Handbook: A Commander’s Guide, Princess Leia writes that “if the Empire had known how to build smart instead of big they would have built thousands more Interdictors.” She goes on to claim that, if they had, the Rebel Alliance “might not have survived.”

Give Tie-Fighters armor and shields. Sacrificing armour and shielding for maneuverability and speed is gross incompetence. With armour and shielding plus the talented Imperial Pilots, you have an Imperial Navy that is a force to be reckoned with.

Do not sacrifice quality for quantity for the Stormtroopers. They are as they are meant to be, elite soldiers of the Imperial Military. So do just that. Make them elite, feared and powerful. Only recruit the best. Give better protection and the best tech. Give the quality of the Clone Troopers, but improve on that for the Stormtroopers and you have an army worth fearing.

Continued Production Of Dark Troopers. Sometimes a top secret expensive weapon can give you an advantage in war. One that the enemy will never see coming and not have the slightest hope in the universe of stopping. Enter the Imperial Dark Trooper, a seven-foot tall robot who fights better than any human being, has a jetpack, fast, fires a supercharged weapon that shoots both high concentrated plasma and rockets, and is considerably scary looking. A simply platoon's worth of these guys is enough to wipe out entire outposts and bases of their enemy. They work fast and leave nothing, but death in their wake. After a few minutes whatever was their target is gone, reduced to smoldering ruins. Sometimes their victims don't even have time to make a distress call. Needless to say, they're bad news, though they remain pretty much unheard of. Fortunately for the good guys, the Empire never got around to truly deploying the Dark Troopers in great numbers like the Trade Federation did with their goofy battle droids. You may already know the history from playing the classic first-person shooter Dark Forces, of course: the mercenary Kyle Katarn was able to locate the secret production facility for Dark Troopers in space. Once aboard the Arc Hammer, he destroyed the ship and the Dark Trooper menace was put out of commission to almost never be seen again. If they did have more than one facility, and use Dark Troopers solely in their battles and invasions, keeping the regular storm troopers in reserve, The Rebels would not have a hope of winning.

Design better Death Stars. This might be the single most obvious and easiest solution to them all. If you build a planet-sized space station, then you don't leave a small hole two meters wide for the enemy to launch torpedoes into. Now the idea of a Space Station needing an exhaust port does make sense in that pseudo sci-fi way. Don't want our Stormtroopers dying in the middle of the night to carbon monoxide ventilation problems, do? But why not place a metal slab with slits over it? Or raise the metal slab so the vents are on the sides? Or make the ventilation pipe more crooked inside so it's not a straight shot to the reactor core? What if? What if? What if? There are so many painfully simple solutions to the problem. I can forgive the idea of the second Death Star being blown up because it was still under construction, although - I'll say again - if the exhaust system leading to the reactor core isn't made in a stupid straight line then a ship isn't going to be able to pass through it.

Make Thrawn the commanding officer on Endor. I know what you must be thinking, Thrawn was sent away via Rebels finale. Let’s just say this is a scenario where Thrawn was successful on Lothal. Thrawn would have shown up weeks before the battle, taken one look at the "primitive natives" on Endor, and figured out a way to stop them from beating up AT-STs with giant wooden logs or killing stormtroopers with rocks. The Death Star lives, the Rebel fleet gets completely wiped out. Mobilizes the fleet comprised of Interdictor-class cruisers and Tie-Defenders. Thrawn would be smart enough not to allow Luke anywhere near The Emperor. Thrawn would successfully either destroy the shuttle or capture the landing party. Thrawn would convince Palpatine it is safer to execute the Jedi and Palpatine agrees and if Vader objects, Palpatine would just unleash a storm of force lightning killing Vader and securing victory for the Empire once and for all.