Episode VIII

The Last Jedi.  It has been the topic of in-depth discussion on the internet over and over again since its release. Hell, we even did a full episode about it, and I was not shy about my feelings on the tone of the film. As time went on though, I was able to put most of my qualms to bed and look hopefully towards Episode IX.

Just so we’re clear, this won’t be one of those “10 Things Wrong With…” articles dedicated to tearing the film apart. In fact, before we dig in, let’s discuss something great this film achieved: It’s a beautiful film. Say what you want, but backdrops like the red salt planet blew me away visually. Rian Johnson understands how to make a frame beautiful. He knows composition and how to make something the likes of which I hadn’t seen since The Lord Of The Rings (NOT the Hobbit), and for that he deserves a round of applause.

But my issue isn’t with the aesthetics, it’s with story telling. Rather than a laundry list of complaints, I’d like to offer you some insight into how I perceive this story, and how some of TLJ could’ve been better served by following human behavior.

Don’t Lose Hope

There are a lot of things that could be changed; but I believe there’s only one that HAD to for the movie to be a success as it presently stands. So for now, forget that they overlooked Hux. Forget that somehow Chewy had no emotional baggage from losing his only friend in The Force Awakens. Put it out of your mind that they seemingly ripped away every preconceived notion about any of the new characters.

My issue lies with Luke, and the idea of hope.

Return of the Jedi

Young Luke, now a green-lightsaber-wielding Jedi, has willfully been captured, and is in the presence of one of the greatest threats in the galaxy: Darth Sidius. He is also with his corrupted father who is arguably one of, if not THE most powerful Sith in history. Unlike in TLJ, Luke didn’t enter this situation with the idea to strike before they did.

In fact, he watched them attack the rebels as he tried to use peaceful protest to sway his father. Even with the Emperor taunting him, he stays cool while a massive battle rages on outside. Why is he not fighting? Because Luke has hope. He believes in the resistance, and he believes there is still good in his father. Hope is one of his greatest strengths. But with his great strength comes a weakness; love for his friends and family.

Jedi are typically taken as toddlers and trained to let go of emotion, or anything that can be used to sway them. Remember Yoda saying “He is too old…”? Those may have been wise words. The issue Yoda saw with Luke starting his training as a young adult is that he had life experience which taught him to value things like friendship and family. It was ultimately the same reason why Anakin fell to the dark side. Being a slave as a child made him hungry for justice. So when the council sat idly by and treated Anakin like a child, he found other means to save the ones he loved. Yoda saw the same attachments in Luke.

Once the Emperor finds Luke’s weakness through taunting, he twists the metaphorical blade and Luke breaks. He grabs his saber and begins the fight with Vader, but immediately collects himself and lowers his weapon. He tries again to talk to his father. Not Vader, but the good in him. He’s trying to speak to Anakin; but he fails.

While hiding, Luke slips up and begins to think about his friends, and ultimately his sister. When Vader senses this and threatens Leia, young Luke can no longer sit idly by. Suddenly Luke’s mission changes from saving his father to saving his sister. Emotions running wild, he yells “NO!” and charges Vader. His strikes all come in a flurry of haymakers; all offense and no defense. Luke loses that hope in his father, and all he sees now is Lord Vader; the Sith who promised to kill his sister.

He overpowers Vader with ease. Falls to his knees, Vader is unable to fight back as Luke thrashes his opponent. Hitting the saber, chopping off Vader’s hand, and just before he goes in for the kill…he stops. Many see this moment as evidence of Luke’s battle prowess. Some say things like, “Wow! Luke knows when to stop! What a great Jedi warrior.”

Not quite.

This whole fight scene is essentially a moment of weakness and a huge lesson for Luke. This lesson has such an impact on him that he’s willing to die for it moments later. He’d rather lose by becoming a symbol of good than win by using the dark side which would rob the rebellion of hope.

In the end, this proved to be the stronger choice, saving both his father and the Galaxy. He walks away better and stronger for it.

The Last Jedi

Luke senses evil in his nephew. Probably the same pull to the dark side he felt in that moment when he fought his father. Does he pull on the largest lesson he’s learned in his life, which ultimately led him to SAVING THE GALAXY?! No. The writers and filmmaker put him in the same spot with a different result as if NONE of what happened in RoTJ had any impact on him.

Luke knows better than this. Anyone who saw RoTJ knows better than this because we saw that fight in the throne room. This is why people, like myself, were so disappointed to see Luke almost kill Ben Solo. Not because it was a moment of weakness, but because it was going back on character growth that we’ve already seen happen.

Not to mention the fact that it also goes against two of Luke’s biggest character traits: hope, and love for his friends and family.

Picture this…

Now, imagine that this all played out in a situation more akin to Obi-Wan and Anakin. A confrontation with Kylo, only to find he’s too far gone.

Luke is cleaning his temple at the end of a long day of training padiwans. He’s putting away books, scrolls and the like. Suddenly he senses a great loss. He drops his scrolls and falls to his knees. Images of his students being killed in their sleep flash on the screen. Luke begins to compose himself when we hear “You’ve failed them.” He doesn’t turn around but the camera slides to peer over his right shoulder to reveal Kylo and the Knights of Ren, who’ve shown up to exterminate his Jedi temple. Luke begins to reach for his saber when Kylo uses the term “Uncle.”

Ben then removes his mask to reveal himself, to Luke’s. He’s been shown the power of the Dark Side. Snoke filled his head with lies about his uncle. Luke tries to talk him out of it. He has hope that there is still good in Ben, and can sense it. But Luke is ultimately overpowered and, try as he might, is too late to save his students. Unwilling to fight his nephew, Luke topples the temple to make an escape and heads to his Isle of Porgs to reflect on his failures.

Why didn’t Luke sense the dark in Ben? Because while Luke learned his lesson about hope and giving into emotion, his love for his friends and family had never failed him before.

The Same Result

This confrontation could still leave Luke with the notion that the Jedi are dangerous and must end. If it weren’t for him and his teachings, none of this would’ve happened. But at least with this change, Luke would never lose his hope. Maybe instead of becoming some curmudgeon who’s now afraid of the force, he comes to believe it’s too powerful of a tool to be passed on.

This would mean he’s still sentimental when the lightsaber is returned to him, and perhaps we would get at least SOME reaction to Han’s death.

While I think the last fight with Kylo (peaceful protest through battle meditation) and Luke’s death are EXACTLY how I would’ve wanted them (Because it rubs how powerful the light is right in Kylo’s face), his character arc and actions with Kylo leading up to it are ridiculous, absurd, and woefully disappointing.

Moving Forward

What’s done is done. Do I wish the writers had honored the lessons from RoTJ? Yes. I admire someone taking risks in a franchise that is more than 30 years old, but those risks just seemed to be more extreme than most were ready for. All we can do now is, dare I say, hope for Episode IX to round out the story and justify some of the decisions made pertaining to Luke and franchise as a whole. 

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