I just stumbled on an article that explains Luke drawing and igniting his saber with one word - instinct. Obi-wan’s first lesson come back to haunt him. Act on instinct. Well, maybe not always the best advice and it snowballs and actually causes the fall of Ben Solo to Kylo Ren and suddenly Luke is doubting what he was taught. Instinct was his friend in the OT and now it has ruined him. What Obi-wan taught him at the beginning ends of destroying his relationship with his nephew and destroying all his work. A Jedi’s instinct is to destroy evil. Obi-wan and Yoda wanted to see Vader and the Emperor die. They got their wish, but Luke didn’t kill either of them. His instinct was that there was good in Vader and he could be turned. He was right.
Everything about that tale and about the events the lead up to TFA for Luke and Kylo ring true for the Luke I grew up with. This new story really needed the old Luke, but Rey found a broken Luke and it took her leaving to wake him up. And my how he woke up. This parallel’s the OT. Bail Organa decided it was time for the Jedi to return and sent a message to Obi-wan. Obi-wan heeded his call but died before his existance could be revealed. The Rebellion needed a Jedi and only got Luke, who wasn’t a Jedi until ROTJ. Leia called Luke but he tried to refuse, but ended up coming anyway after seeing his error. He died, but he died after a legendary fight that is echoing across the galaxy. The First Order hasn’t solidified its hold over the beheaded Republic and Luke’s actions will make it harder.
I think everyone complaining about Luke between Kylo’s fall and TLJ is missing that the old Luke came back. Even Hamill recognized that RJ went in an unusual but interesting direction and when he saw where it was going he came to think that RJ was the right one to tell this story. I think if everyone really thinks honestly about Luke (whose hero’s journey ended in ROTJ) and digs into the OT and what is contained in the 2/3 of the ST we now have, that you’ll find his actions are consistent throughout and that Luke’s status as Legend in the Star Wars universe remains intact.