But he Force grabs the guard’s gun.
Does he? I’d forgotten that bit, though after just rewatching the scene on youtube it is very close already and could be mistaken for him simply grabbing it from the guards belt.
Anyway I do feel more like I’m making excuses now to support the point of view which is a bit of a stretch now for what is shown in the movie. It was something that sounded like it could be the case when reading about the scene in this thread but watching it again actually makes it not really a possibility.
Instead I think Luke is simply surprised and caught out when dropped into the pit which is what I always use to think anyway. It could be that it was meant as a bit of a message / lesson in being over confident in your control of a situation and your ability to handle whatever happens in it, a call back you might say to Han’s comment in ANH “Great kid. Don’t get cocky!”.
.Val