#star wars episode viii: the last jedi | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dalekofchaos · 17 days ago

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Context

Rey and Ben switch sides

Throughout the movie, Ben demonstrated a more Jedi like stance, while Rey is prone to anger, takes the quick and easy path and fights like a Sith. So instead of truly doing something subversive, by making the heroine a villain and having someone we thought was the villain fight to bring her back to the light. DLF is once again too cowardly to take risks with this trilogy and sticks with the status quo by having Ben stay with the darkside and Rey as the Jedi, cause godforbid we try something different.

So what if instead of Ben revealing Rey's parents were "filthy junk traders" Snoke reveals she was Palpatine's labrat. "Tell me dear child. Did you know the Empire fell at the battle of Jakku? Of course you do. What's not common knowledge is Palpatine's secret laboratory on Jakku. Constantly trying to create the perfect apprentice to replace Lord Vader and his final experiment was deemed a failure. Kept in suspended animation...until pathetic junk traders thought they could make a quick buck. To their disappointment. They found a child. You. Palpatine's labrat."

And this revelation causes Rey to lose it. Ben helps by using Rey's lightsaber to kill Snoke, the throne room fight happens and that's when the turn happens.

Ben decides he wants to save his mother and the Resistance. Damn Snoke and The First Order. All the dark side brought him was misery. He should have left with Han when he had the chance.

And all Rey wants to do is burn it all down. "The Jedi. The Sith. The First Order and the Resistance. Like you said, it's time to let the past die." They fight for the lightsaber, the Holdo manuver happens and Ben leaves first.

Rey kills Hux.

Ben, Luke and Leia reunite and make up after so many years of hurt, betrayal and remorse.

Luke and Ben fight off The First Order.

But something is terribly wrong.

In the amidst of the battle, Rey returns and is enraged at the site of Luke Skywalker and unleashes the full power of the darkside on The First Order.

Luke tells Ben to protect his mother and the Resistance.

Luke sacrifices himself. Tells Rey he's failed her and he's sorry. Rey can only scorn Luke.

Rey goes in for the kill and that's when she realizes he was never there.

"I will always be there with you Rey, just as I should have been as your master. Don't be what he made you to be."

And all Rey can do is breakdown and cause a force scream strong enough to leave a crater.

Ben, Leia, Finn and Poe work together and plan to bring Rey back and save her from herself.

Rose and Poe switch roles

TLDR; version.

Finn is a child soldier who knows the horror of war. Poe is the one who needed to see that this war is not as black and white as he believes it to be and actually be confronted with Slip's death and in turn both Finn and Poe liberate a camp of freshly recruited child soldiers and the master codebreaker.

Rose actually has history with Holdo. If you read the novel TLJ:Cobalt Squadron. You will know it ends with Rose serving on Holdo’s ship the Ninka. Now imagine this. Rose just lost her sister and Holdo is withholding information that is vital to the Resistance’s survival. Rose is kept in the dark and believes this will be the end of everything and doesn’t want Paige’s sacrifice to be in vain. So Rose covers Finn and Poe’s escape to Canto Bight and works with Connix and those loyal to Poe and leads a mutiny against Holdo. Remember. Holdo didn’t just leave Poe in the dark, she left THE ENTIRE RESISTANCE in the dark. So Rose would lead the mutiny and Leia would awaken to stop her, only Leia would not stun her. Leia would talk Rose down, ya know, like Leia would actually do.

Kylo cuts Rey's hand off

After Rey refuses his hand, Kylo simply lets Rey get her lightsaber and uses Rey's feralness against her and cuts her hand off and severs her lightsaber. Kylo leaves Rey while he takes her hand. "I have everything I need."

In Episode IX from this scenario, we would find out Kylo Ren used dark side alchemy to clone a Dark side Rey from her severed hand.

Captain Phasma actually does something.

My better use for Phasma is basically making her obsessed with killing Finn.

Make Phasma a deranged individual obsessed with capturing and executing Finn. Phasma is basically Captain Ahab and Finn is her great white whale to chase. She flies her own personalized Chrome Tie Interceptor. She is hunting Finn to the ends of the galaxy. Each battle they face she is there ready for him, every time he isn’t there, she kills every Resistance soldier there. Phasma is losing it, Hux is worried, but both Snoke and Kylo believe this will be beneficial in destroying The Resistance. And finally she finds him on The Supremacy. Finn and Phasma go head to head. finally on equal levels and in this moment it happens. Finn’s old comrades come, Finn believes this is the end, but to his surprise they shoot Phasma down. Phasma is knocked down in the ruins of the Star Destroyer. But Phasma makes her escape with Hux.

As for her role in TROS, I would have Finn reveal the truth to everyone that she disabled the Starkiller shields and after Finn convinces the Stromtroopers to rebel.

Finn and Phasma fights. Finn wielding a Lightsaber, while Phasma wields a Darksaber. Finn's brother in arms helps him and as Finn has her at his mercy. "You were always scum."

"I'm a Jedi" and then Finn decapitates Phasma, ending her reign of terror.

Rose Tico the spy.

There are two ways we can play this. The sympathetic way and the evil way.

The sympathetic path.

Many people thought Rose was going to be a Lando type figure right? Well let's remember, Rose was heartbroken about Paige and what happened to her world. So let's say Hux made a deal. Put the tracker on the Raddus and deliver FN-2187 to the Supremacy for execution in exchange for The First Order to end the occupation of her homeworld of Hays Minor. Only, The First Order is not the Empire, it's worse. So when Rose asks if he'll end the occupation, what Hux does is give her one tiny rock. "A deal is a deal" Rose looks horrified…"what have you done" "that's all that's left of Hays Minor, The First Order does not deal with Resistance scum" Rose is horrified and broken, whatever hurt Finn felt from Rose's betrayal, she is now his only hope off the Supremacy. So Finn and Rose help each other because they now both know what it's like to lose everything to The First Order.

The villain path

First of all. Rose Tico was Paige’s sister. The real Rose Tico died prior to the battle of Starkiller Base and was replaced by the changeling(like Zam Wessell) known as Rosita Thorn. Her mission? Infiltrate The Resistance, place the hyperspace tracker on board The Raddus and bring the traitorous FN-2187 to either be reconditioned or executed for treachery.

Meanwhile, Holdo tells Poe while they are isolated. "There is a spy on board. It is a changeling, who can turn into anyone. I kept you out of the dark because I didn't know if I could trust you. But now I do and our plan is to escape." Meanwhile Holdo's people finds a dead body. The real Rose Tico and then Poe realizes Finn is alone at the spy's mercy.

Upon arriving on The Supremacy, Rose signaled Hux and Phasma, which causes their capture. As they get captured. While Finn and DJ are forced on their knees, Rosita shows her true colors as she shoots DJ and salutes to Hux. “Just as planned, my general”

Her mission was a success. Finn only managed to escape due to the Holdo maneuver.

She becomes the right hand and lover of General Hux

Rosita would keep the appearance of Rose Tico because she’s grown “accustomed” to Rose’s face. Only looking more regal, wearing her hair down and wearing First Order uniforms.

Next Hux and Rosita plan to kill Pryde and after Kylo Ren and Rey kill The Emperor. Hux and Rosita will kill the traitorous Kylo Ren, Rey and then FN-2187, thus securing their and The First Order’s dominance over the galaxy. Long live the Supreme Leader and his Empress!

Grand Master Luke,

I feel like you can have the great character arc of TLJ, while also being badass like he was in The Mandalorian.

First have it be ANAKIN, not Yoda who helps Luke out of his slump.

Have Luke lift the X-Wing from the water.

When Finn about to make his sacrifice, and suddenly, we hear the blast of an old X-Wing destroying the siege cannon. Thus saving Finn, Rose and The Resistance. Finally we see Luke and Leia’s moment. This time it actually holds meaning because Luke is actually there. And then we would see the bulkhead open and Luke enters.

Kylo Ren orders every ship to fire on Luke AT-M6’s all firing but to everyone’s surprise, all blasts stop frozen in midair. Luke wipes the salt off his robes and sends the turbolasers right back at the AT-M6s and TIE-Fighters. Brings down the transports and Kylo’s shuttle. Kylo descends from his crushed shuttle, throwing a tantrum and preparing preparing to kill his uncle. We have a real lightsaber battle between Luke and Kylo. Luke has his green lightsaber. Their blades clash. Their dialogue remains the same, but Luke is there. Luke is toying with Kylo, similar to how Vader toyed with him on Bespin. Luke and Kylo’s exchange remains the same. “I failed you Ben, I’m sorry.” “I’m sure you are! The Resistance is dead. The war is over, and when I kill you, I will have killed the last Jedi.” “Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong. The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi.” ”I’ll destroy her, and you, and all of it.” “No. Strike me down in anger and I’ll always be with you. Just like your father.” Kylo then shouts “NOOOOOO” but more dramatic When Kylo makes his dramatic slut ™ lunge at Luke, but Luke embraces it like Obi-Wan did and becomes one with the force.

He dies with peace and purpose and most importantly refuses to give Ben the victory he craved for and mocks him by saying he will always be with him.

Luke spreads Leia's message.

Towards the end of the film, two of the Resistance members tells Leia, “Our distress signal’s been received at multiple points, but no response. They’ve heard us, but no one’s coming.”

After waiting two films to see what any of this means to the galaxy, the only response we get is literally nothing. Nobody cares, nobody’s coming. For all we know, this planet could explode right now, wiping out the Resistance and the First Order, and the entire galaxy would be better off. They have no impact on anything of actual importance, like children fighting in a sandbox.

In my mind, much of the bitterness in my mouth by the time the finale came up could have been washed away with one simple change (technically two but who cares):

Luke does his “See ya around, kid,” line and vanishes, followed immediately by a massive fleet appearing in the planet’s orbit. Ships of all different sizes and shapes, from countless planets throughout the galaxy, uniting and standing up to the First Order for once. They don’t even have to attack, just show up and fire a few shots to blow up a few walkers or something as the First Order retreats in a panic. Luke also isn’t dead. Instead of just buying 3 seconds to retreat deeper into a cave, we find out that he appeared as a “force hologram” to several major leaders in the galaxy, calling them to arms. He then bought the Resistance time to hold out until help arrived.

This gives SEVERAL intriguing leads for the next film.

We see the galaxy fully united against this threat. To see a legitimate fleet and to see that the galaxy really does give a shit about what’s happening, would literally be the first hopeful thing we see in this entire goddamn trilogy that’s supposedly all about “hope.” Think something on the level of the Rohirrim and Gandalf riding in at the end of Helm’s Deep.

Luke is alive and now rallying people to stand up to the First Order. His meager prank is supposed to inspire the galaxy? If you want to inspire them, you NEED to put in more leg work than that. We need to see that Luke gives a shit and has truly accepted the mantle he’s been rejecting the entire trilogy. His final act in this film could be EVERY BIT AS MEANINGFUL without him just giving up and dying afterwards, if not far more so.

We can see how desperate the First Order gets in the third movie. After taking so many beatings, this militant faction seems to suffer no actual losses. To see them reduced to guerrillas in need of a last resort - to see how dangerous they can be at their most desperate - would be a refreshing and interesting twist on something that has now been done to death.

Lando the Master Codebreaker

Let’s look at Maz’s description for the Master Codebreaker “He’s a master codebreaker, an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster.” That sure does sound like fucking Lando to me. It still baffles me that they gave us a casino planet in TLJ but then chose to not include Lando in that setting although he was introduced as a gambler back in TESB. Lando is the person Finn and Rose are meant to meet, the one in the Indiana Jones type tuxedo and has the a red plom bloom. Only, Finn and Rose actually parks legally and doesn’t get stupidly arrested. Lando is on Canto Bight to grieve in his own way for Han, but also because he’s doing a stakeout on Crime Lord King Prana(played by Benico del Toro and King Prana was set up by being the guy Han was gonna sell Raftars to) Finn and Rose help Lando out and in exchange, Lando helps Finn and Rose in their quest to disable the Hyperspace Tracker. We also get to see Lando and FInn both grieve for Han. So yes, Lando would be able to disable the Hyperspace tracker, but Phasma would catch them on their way to the escape pods.

Or my other use of Lando.

Lando brings the remnants of the New Republic after hearing Leia’s message. After Leia’s signal and Luke’s sacrifice, Hux informs Kylo Ren that they have the Falcon in their sights(keep in mind they have their fleet in orbit) a massive fleet appearing in the planet’s orbit. Ships of all different sizes and shapes, from countless planets throughout the galaxy, lead by Lando Calrissian flying his flagship the Lady Luck! Uniting and standing up to the First Order for once. They don’t even have to attack, just show up and fire a few shots to blow up a few walkers or something as the First Order retreats in a panic. Prior to Luke’s sacrifice. we find out that he appeared as a hologram to several major New Republic leaders in the galaxy, calling them to arms. He then bought the Resistance time to hold out until help arrived. Together with Leia’s signal and Luke’s message. New The Republic is united in facing The First Order.

Rey and Luke vs Kylo and Knights of Ren.

The rumored scene we all wanted. Kylo uses his newfound connection to Rey to find her and summons the Knights. She will not escape this time.

Rey in the meantime helps Luke to reestablish his connection to the force, alongside the force ghosts.

And then they arrive.

Rey fights the Knights, while Luke fights Kylo.

The fight is raw and full of emotion, but it ends with Kylo wounding Luke and abducting Rey. Meanwhile The Resistance has a space battle above led by Leia and Snoke via Battle meditation. Leia's will vs Snoke's might. The fight for her brother and Snoke's fight to snuff out the light. It ends with the Twins reunited by the vow to save Rey via training Finn.

Leia sacrifices herself

We had no way of knowing of Carrie's unfortunate passing. But I feel like it should have been Leia.

Leia should have been the one to destroy Snoke's ship with a final sacrifice. It would have closed her story on both a badass and meaningful note, dying to save her rebellion.

They should have done it so that she didn't have long to live anyway due to her injuries from the bridge explosion and exposure to space. With all that, she decides to give her friends a final escape. Before doing so, she could have reached out to Luke with the force for a final goodbye, the same way they communicated on Bespin in the Empire Strikes Back. This would have reminded people that communicating via the Force over long distances has precedent.

This act would have inspired Luke to actually come out of hiding, raising his X-Wing from the sea and coming to help the new characters.

It would have also made the Mary Poppins scene at least a little more worth it, seeing as she flies through the hologram of Snoke's ship, setting up the sacrifice.

As for how Holdo fits into things? Both Poe and Holdo get their heads out their asses and learn to work together for the Resistance, the Republic and for Leia!

Finn is never in a coma and goes with Rey to Ach-To

Rey and Finn travel to Ach-To together. Finn is never placed in a coma. Shocker, they are in a futuristic setting and give Finn a cybernetic spine and Finn makes a full recovery! Finn goes with Rey...like he should've in the first place!

Luke trains Rey and Finn to become a Jedi. Rey and FInn’s optimism and dedication reminds him of himself. Finn is proven to have what it takes to be on the path of a Jedi, meanwhile Rey is struggling and is giving in to her rage and passions. This leads to the force bond between Rey and Kylo Ren and leads Kylo and the Knights Of Ren to Ach-To. Rey, Finn and Luke face Kylo and the Knights Of Ren. Rey willingly goes with Kylo to save Finn and Luke and the rest of the story is about Finn saving Rey no matter what the cost

Anakin, not Yoda greets Luke

Yoda appearing to Luke in TLJ to tell him “failure, the greatest teacher is,” is bullshit. Yoda never learned this lesson to begin with. Yoda is the last person who should be saying anything like this to Luke.

Let’s see

Treated Anakin like a burden ever since Anakin entered the Council chambers as a child

Refusal to trust Anakin. As a child, he was told he would be a problem and Yoda and the Jedi’s refusal to nurture Anakin because he was “too old” to be indoctrinated by their code was their undoing. There is a quote that sums up the Jedi’s cold reception to Anakin perfectly. “The Child Who is Not Embraced by the Village Will Burn it Down to Feel its Warmth”

Refused to let Anakin to free his mother, one of the things that played into Anakin’s fall(Isn’t it weird and by weird I mean hypocritical that the Jedi found value in saving Clones, who were made to be disposable, but they couldn’t be bothered to save Shmi, Anakin’s actual mother?)

Is perfectly fine helping Ahsoka with her vision of a loved one dying, but suddenly Anakin needs to let go

Dude was okay befriending the most evil guy ever but he had no compassion or even a kind word for a 9 years boy who was about to be returned to slavery? Fuck him! For that and for allowing the Order to remain subservient to a known corrupt Senate that allowed slavery and organized crime to grown unrestrained.

Raising students who capable of only blindly following him (“One did not argue with Master Yoda; in the Jedi Temple, this was learned in infancy. No Jedi ever forgot it.”) and for creating a community that ostracized anyone who didn’t perfectly fit in.

He failed generations of students, he failed the Order, he failed the Council, the Senate and the galaxy. Yoda can be traced as the source of everything that went wrong (internally) with the Order: their coldness, their false detachment, their corruption, etc. He was the common denominator in 900 years worth of religious, political and educational stagnation. Yoda’s inability to change and question himself doomed the Order (and the galaxy with it)

Even worse, Yoda intended to die without explaining that Vader was his father to Luke. In a deleted scene Yoda says “Obi-Wan would have told you long ago had I let him…..” Basically, Yoda had forbidden Obi-Wan from telling Luke that Darth Vader was his father. Luke was then trained in the Jedi arts to eventually face and kill Vader with the intention of never disclosing the important detail of Luke’s paternity despite Obi-Wan’s apparent objection to the idea. This revelation reveals Yoda is actually a self-serving dick who puts the means to an end above morality while redeeming Obi-Wan for the reasoning of why he lied to Luke about his father.

Yoda did not learn this lesson. Yoda refused to see his own faults or the faults of the Jedi of old. Yoda did not earn this moment.

You know who would have been the perfect person to tell Luke that failure is the greatest teacher? His father, Anakin Skywalker. If anyone deserved that moment, it was Anakin Skywalker. Both because this should have been his chance to speak with his son AND because when someone is the embodiment of the failures of the Jedi Order, they’re really the one best qualified to call out the bullshit of that organization. Anakin would’ve been the best person to tell Luke to confront Kylo, his grandson. He knows failure more than anyone. Failing to save his mother, failing to save Padme, his failure into giving into the dark side and his fall. Anakin would’ve told him. “It wasn’t your fault what happened to Ben, I’m asking you to come back and save your sister, my daughter. Leia needs you. You never gave up on me. Don’t give up on your friends, your sister or even yourself. You saved me when I thought all was lost, there is still time to make things right. Remember you are a Jedi, like me. Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new.“

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david-talks-sw · 2 years ago

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Luke Skywalker in 'The Last Jedi' (1/2)

Luke in The Last Jedi... love it or hate it, it's a difficult subject.

I personally stand somewhere in the middle. I don't think Luke was "ruined"... I'd argue that, from a purely in-universe perspective, his subplot actually tracks with what was previously established in the original films.

There are issues, but I think they are mainly found on an out-of-universe/structural level (which I'll get into in post 2/2). For now, let's take a deep dive and unpack why this portrayal isn't all that problematic.

The most commonly-heard argument is that:

"They ruined Luke's character! He would never go into exile or abandon his sister and friends!"

Simply put, Luke used to be:

an optimist

so brave he'd risk his life to save his friends,

aspired to become a Jedi.

Whereas, in The Last Jedi, he's:

jaded and depressed,

hides/abandons his sister and friends, like a coward,

says the Jedi need to die?!

Now the fact is... Luke is 24 years older when he goes into exile, 30 years older in The Last Jedi. People change, with age.

In Luke's case, he matured from an impatient kid who'd rashly run to save his friends, like in Empire Strikes Back, to a grown-up who makes hard choices and restrains himself from doing that, even though he desperately wants to.

Luke tells himself this is a self-sacrifice, this is for the greater good.

"Because he’s the last Jedi and a symbol of that it then becomes this self-sacrifice, he has take himself out of it, when he knows his friends are dying, when the thing he’d most like to do is get back in the fight." - Rian Johnson, The Empire Film Podcast, 2018

And Rian Johnson didn't want Luke to come across as a coward, so he also gave Luke an argument that initially seems to make sense:

The Jedi way is flawed and inevitably leads to arrogance. Proof: the Sith originally came from Jedi. His own new order is no exception to that rule, even if he thought it was (in his arrogance, he believed his own legend).

So if he leaves and stays in exile? No more Jedi, no more Jedi-turned-darksiders that can mess up the galaxy.

The Force will keep trying to balance itself and a new, worthier source will appear (in the form of Rey).

But while his reasoning that "the Jedi are inevitably arrogant" seems sound and reasonable... it's wrong.

Just like Dooku's reasoning that "the Jedi are corrupt" seems sound, but is ultimately wrong.

Just like Anakin's rationalization that "the Jedi are evil" seems sound nope, that one doesn't even seem sound, it's just plain wrong.

Where is it wrong, in Luke's case?

Well, he's rationalizing his actions by blaming the Jedi religion, instead of admitting his own failure.

"The notion of, 'Nope, toss this all away and find something new,' is not really a valid choice, I think. Ultimately, Luke's exile and his justifications for it are all covering over his guilt over Kylo." - Rian Johnson, The Art of The Last Jedi, 2017

"In his own way, [Luke is] trying to disconnect, he’s trying to throw away the past, he’s saying 'Let’s kill [the Jedi] religion. It’s the thing that’s messing us up, thins thing right here, let’s kill it.’ And the truth is, it’s a personal failure. It’s not religion, it’s his own human nature that’s betrayed him." - Rian Johnson, The Empire Film Podcast, 2018

He fucked up, plain and simple.

But it's not because “he’s a Jedi and that made him arrogant and the Jedi mentality is flawed”, as he claims early on in the movie.

He failed because he's flawed. Luke is human and had a moment of weakness where he was scared shitless and acted on instinct.

Yoda's spirit helps him realize this, and he fixes his mistake by allowing Leia and the resistance to save themselves. And as he does it, he acknowledges the importance of the Jedi and their teachings.

And it's also why, in The Rise of Skywalker, he has the maturity to admit that he wasn't staying on the island out of some self-sacrificial gesture, as he kept telling himself. Truth is, he was afraid. Afraid he'd screw up again.

Do the movies go about this in an emotionally-satisfying way? That's debatable. But, on paper, I don't think Luke's behavior in The Last Jedi is too much of a shark-jump considering how

THE ORIGINAL IDEA CAME FROM GEORGE LUCAS!

In the couple of months after the Disney sale, Lucas developed the Sequels with Michael Arndt in late 2012/early 2013, and concept art was made by artists like Christian Alzmann.

Note: the image on the left got a “Fabouloso” stamp of approval from Lucas!

Lucas’ sequels would feature a Luke Skywalker who was a figure like the jaded, reclusive Colonel Kurtz in the movie Apocalypse Now (which, fun fact, Lucas helped write and was originally set to direct).

The reason why Luke was in self-imposed exile wasn’t specified, all we know is that he was:

hiding from the world in a cave,

haunted by the betrayal of one of his students,

and spiritually in a dark place.

Other concept artists, like James Clyne, tried to illustrate the First Jedi Temple and some of the designs were approved by Lucas, such as the one below.

Eventually, Kira the female Jedi-wannabe protagonist (who eventually became Rey) would seek him out so he can train her.

This Luke would be a much more prominent part of Episode VII (instead of only appearing at the end) but still died at the end of Episode VIII.

For sources and more information about George Lucas’ plans for the Sequel Trilogy, read this post.

The only part that wasn't detailed by Lucas were the specifics of why he went into exile. But all in all, this sounds pretty similar to what we got in The Last Jedi.

"Luke would never try to kill Ben!”

I agree. And he didn’t try to kill Ben. He stopped himself.

And this version of the event?

This didn’t happen.

What Kylo tells Rey is his version of the story. And he thinks he’s telling the truth... but his recollection of the event is warped as this was obviously a very traumatic event for him.

"I don't think he's lying actually. In my mind, that was his experience. [...] I think that it's probably twisted a little bit by Kylo's own anger and his own prejudices against Luke, but I feel like he's actually telling her the truth of his experience." - Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi commentary, 2017

The narrative frames the third version of the story as the one that’s objectively how events went down. Because Rey believes him, and Rey is both the protagonist and a stand-in for the audience.

Now, if you think Luke’s word is unreliable and you have an easier time trusting Kylo’s version of the story, go to town.

But I think that if you actually believe would Luke would never try to kill Ben, you’d take Luke's second retelling of the story at face value.

I know I do.

“Okay, but he would never consider killing a child, like Ben. He saw the good in Darth Vader!”

First off, Luke refers to Ben as "a scared boy" because, he's a middle-aged man. But objectively, Ben was 23 years old.

But also, I mean... with Vader, Luke actually had the luxury ignorance.

Do you think would have truly gone on that Second Death Star if he had actually witnessed Vader:

choke his Padmé,

kill Obi-Wan,

actively try to kill Ahsoka,

murder Jedi younglings,

betray and hunt down his other Jedi brothers and sisters,

and cold-bloodedly kill countless innocents, one by one?

There’s a difference between watching him kill Ben Kenobi (who still ‘lived’ as a ghost and talked to him seconds later) and hearing a couple of rebel pilots get blasted in the trench run, and actually seeing all the horrors he’s committed.

Don't get me wrong, Luke knows Vader is evil, absolutely. But if he had seen this side of Vader, the needlessly cruel side...

... I'm not sure he'd have been as compassionate.

Proof: Obi-Wan, someone who deeply loved Anakin (to the point where he could never bring himself to kill him), someone that genuinely wishes that Luke can redeem him... also feels that, realistically, attempting to do so would be pointless.

And hell, even without really seeing all the massacres Vader committed, the second the latter threatened his sister, Luke went berserk and almost killed him!

So the question becomes:

“What could make Luke - trained Jedi Master, long-time optimist and overall compassionate to a fault - consider killing Ben?”

All we’re told is that he looked into Ben’s mind and saw darkness and the destruction, pain, death, and the end of everything he loves.

The specifics are left to our imagination. They could include:

the sight of Kylo slaughtering his parents and Chewie with a smile on his blood-smeared face,

the smell of Han's burning flesh in the air,

the wails of Chewbacca as he's run through by Kylo,

the faint sound of Leia's tears hitting the ground,

the destruction of the New Republic's citizens and planets.

Whatever it may have been, it was intense. Because Force-induced visions are vivid as hell, as has been shown throughout the franchise.

It's not like watching something on a TV, you're there, all your senses are affected in an extremely powerful way.

And the vision Luke experienced scared him so much that even shortly after it, when looking at a sleeping young man, all he sees is that evil monster from the vision. So he tremblingly draws his saber.

But it's evident that Luke wasn't thinking clearly or rationally.

His base emotions had taken the wheel, he was being tempted by the Dark Side.

"He doesn’t give in to the Dark Side, it’s a moment of temptation to the Dark Side. It reminds me very much of when Vader is tempting Luke, when Luke is underneath the stairs in [Return of the] Jedi, lit with that very beautiful half-and-half, the duality of these two sides of him being pulled. And that’s really what that moment is for me, it’s a moment of temptation to the Dark Side for Luke." - Rian Johnson, IGN, 2017

And yet despite seeing all that... Luke catches himself.

It's not the first time that Luke almost does something horrible to a family member and catches himself. Again, 24 years prior, he almost murdered his own father in a fit of rage.

The scene in Ben's hut intentionally parallels that outburst he has in Return of the Jedi.

A terrible future is presented before Luke.

He reacts instinctively, is tempted by the Dark Side.

He snaps out of it.

Even the angle and framing of the shot is designed to match:

tumblr_video

"Some of these parallels are just “it’s a close-up of the same character” but this one was very intentional. It’s why I had him look down at his mechanical hand holding the saber." - Rian Johnson, Twitter, 2019

The only real difference is that, in Return of the Jedi, Luke only comes to his senses after a frenzied onslaught during which he actively tried to kill his own Dad.

24 years later, despite having witnessed that terrible future even more vividly than he did on the Second Death Star, he catches himself merely seconds later. Instead of going on a whole rampage, he stops the moment the lightsaber turns on.

I'd call that "progress".

"But Luke should've learned his lesson and known better than to give in to the Dark Side!"

Resisting the temptation of the Dark Side is by no means a one-and-done thing. It's not a power-up that you get, it's a constant struggle.

"I think it disrespects the character of Luke by treating him not as a true mythic hero overcoming recurring wounds & flaws, but as a video game character who has achieved a binary, permanent power-up." - Rian Johnson, Twitter, 2019

Dave Filoni says so too.

"In the end, it’s about fundamentally becoming selfless, moreso than selfish. It seems so simple, but it’s so hard to do. And when you’re tempted by the dark side, you don’t overcome it once in life and then you’re good. It’s a constant." - Dave Filoni, Rebels Remembered, 2019

Hell, even George Lucas stated something along those lines:

"The Sith practice the dark side and are way out of balance. The Jedi aren’t as much out of balance because they’re the light side of the Force. They still have the bad side of the Force in them, but they keep it in check. It’s always there, so it can always erupt if you let your guard down." - George Lucas, The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020

Learning the lesson once doesn't mean you've learned it forever. Especially with the Dark Side, which poses a never-ending battle.

In-universe examples: Anakin learned to let go of his attachments during the “Padawan Lost” arc of TCW.

A year and a half later, he’s butchering kids because he can’t let go of his attachments.

And during wartime, Yoda found himself repressing his darker instincts and ignoring their existence. Thus, when he had to face them, he struggled to acknowledge and control them.

So considering Luke didn't go "rampage mode" with Ben, as he did when he tried to kill Vader, I think he deserves some credit.

Finally, I've heard this insane argument many times, as a response to the above points:

"Yeah but Luke wasn't actually trying to kill Vader! He was holding back, he was trying to keep him alive!"

And, uh... no. He wasn't.

He lost his shit, folks. And almost killed Vader.

Like, right here?

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t moved his saber to intercept Luke’s blade, Luke would’ve stabbed Vader in the face.

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t held his sword up in time, SWISH, there goes the top of his helmet AT LEAST, if not the rest of his head.

⬆️ If Vader hadn’t dodged he’d be chopped in two.

⬆️ If Vader’s arm gave out slightly sooner, if his blade faltered just a little lower, if he loosened his grip on his saber a bit, Vader would be cleaved in two.

My point is that if you swing at someone with a lightsaber? They’ll get chopped. And if you aim for the head or the chest? You’re trying to kill them.

Before Luke got a grip, throughout that whole rampage, the only thing that kept Vader alive was his own skill.

Otherwise, Luke would’ve murdered him in a fit of rage.

If Luke was holding back, then the theme of "resisting the Dark Side" completely falls apart.

There's no indication that he was restraining himself, in he script.

And just look at the imagery.

Luke is surrounded by darkness, symbolizing how he's being seduced by the Dark Side, he's being tempted to give in to his anger towards the man who hurt his friends and took his hand.

Then Vader threatens Leia.

And the next time we see Luke, he's silhouetted, his face is all black.

Luke was originally trying to hold back and talk Vader down, but fails to control his instincts and gives in to fear, to anger, to the Dark Side... and goes all out.

He swings at his father furiously and keeps swinging, until he cuts off Vader's hand... and he is about to deliver the final blow…

… when he sees Vader’s mechanical hand and realizes that by giving in to his anger, that path will inevitably lead him to become exactly like this half-machine half-man laying at his feet. That’s where the path to power leads.

And so he makes a decision:

He’s a Jedi. Like his father before him. His compassion for Anakin is stronger than his hate for Vader.

That's the narrative intent.

It has to be.

Because if he had been "holding back" throughout that entire bit, then the stakes are lowered immeasurably, John Williams' saddening score is misplaced, the lightsaber choreography is misleading, etc.

For the above-listed reasons, I think Luke's portrayal in The Last Jedi doesn't really contradict anything in the previously-established lore. It works, it's the typical "old cowboy needs to get back in the saddle" trope. Frankly, I can defend this subject all day long... so where's the problem?

The problem comes in at an out-of-universe level. While it's not inconsistent... it's also not satisfying.

The thing is, if you...

... take one of the most brave and optimistic characters in the franchise, then open the film saying "well, now he's jaded and in hiding", without giving us context on how he became that way...

... take a character whose arc was specifically about controlling his emotions, then show him be ruled by those emotions without providing context for what made him do that...

... then that kills the suspension of disbelief, for a lot of fans.

And, as such, they'll have a much harder time going along with what you're saying.

Because "show, don't tell" is one of the most basic principles in visual storytelling. And we weren't shown:

"Ben being increasingly violent during training",

"Luke sitting Ben down and having a talk with him, only to be ignored" or

"the horrors Luke saw in Ben's head".

I have no doubt that those things happened, in-universe.

But if we're talking about a movie-going experience, many were left emotionally-unsatisfied.

Because all that stuff was in there... but only subtextually. It was up to the fans to imagine on the details. Normally, I'd argue that's what Star Wars is all about: allowing fans to dream and think outside the box. But in this specific case, I think many fans would've rather had a more complete and explicit story. Because it's Luke Skywalker.

And yet... even these structural and writing issues had a logic behind them, and if you ask me... there was no other direction that this story could be taken in.

We'll explore this in more detail in part 2/2.

#Luke Skywalker #The Last Jedi #Rian Johnson #Star Wars episode VIII #star wars #jedi order #meta #long post #Ahch-To #in defense of the jedi #episode 8 #Ben Solo #Kylo Ren #Mark Hamill #star wars sequel trilogy

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