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Post #1152399

Author
Shopping Maul
Parent topic
The Last Jedi: Official Review and Opinions Thread ** SPOILERS **
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1152399/action/topic#1152399
Date created
2-Jan-2018, 1:30 AM

NFBisms said:

I don’t even think you have to assume Luke changed all that much within the 30+ years, tbh.

The Luke I know coming out of ROTJ would absolutely hold himself accountable for failing himself and his ideals in the way he did that night. He wouldn’t just brush off messing up like that with Ben and continue pretending to be so self-righteous.

I can understand his reaction to keep himself away from the galaxy because of his arc in 4-6 teaching him that action doesn’t always mean heroism. In his mind, his presence and the spread of the teachings that turned Vader and Kylo, endangered the galaxy and only doomed it to more of the same darkness. A cycle that would only continue repeating itself.

You see this kind of thinking with “I shouldn’t have come I’m jeopardizing the mission” when he senses Vader is on Endor with them. And you see an extension of it when he assures Leia that she is the next hope if he doesn’t make it back from the Death Star II. If he feels he can only make something worse, he feels it best to stay away, and he knows that even when he’s gone, there is still light in the galaxy - heroes that will fight for good.

“To say that because the Jedi die the light dies, is vanity.”

I’m not saying he was right to stay away. The whole idea is that he’s wrong, and that he can still be a hero. But it fits with the character for me. I don’t think he changed drastically in those 30 years.

A huge thing just put him in a drastically different place.

I’m still on the fence with TLJ and I’m probably due another viewing, however…

I think my problem with nu-Luke is this - TFA presented a Luke in exile. That’s fine and doesn’t negate the OT in any way. It even hearkens back to the alleged ‘Kurtz version’ of ROTJ, which I really like the sound of. Luke in exile would be (and I think this was JJ’s intention) looking for knowledge, a new way to counter the new threat.

However TLJ presents a Luke who has just plain quit. Given up. This just doesn’t seem to be his style. It seems to detract from the OT rather than just adding to it.