Is Luke Frodo?

Dave Filoni once compared Luke’s mental state at the end of RotJ to Frodo’s mental state at the end of LOTR. Frodo was deeply scarred by his experiences and was never able to readjust to normal life. He grew distant from his fellow hobbits and was haunted by his trauma until he left Middle-earth altogether.

I’ve personally never interpreted Luke’s character in the same way. If there’s one trait Luke was shown to have in the OT, it was a remarkable ability to bounce back from trauma. He lost his aunt and uncle, and then his father figure, and then his best friend, and then found out his father was the 2nd most evil man in the galaxy. And he still made it through all that with his friends’ help, and ended the trilogy with a smile on his face.

I think the disagreement over Luke’s character stems from differing interpretations of Luke’s emotional state at the end of RotJ. Is he weary of the world and just putting on a happy face for his friends, or is he looking forward to the future, with the best part of his life still in front of him?

I always believed that, having confronted and reconciled with his father, and having faced the darkness within himself, Luke was finally free to look forward to the future and have a fresh start along with the rest of the galaxy. He’d still struggle with the Dark Side, but he’d be less haunted than before, rather than more haunted.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with Filoni’s comparison?

I don’t see Luke and Frodo as particularly similar. I agree this take seems like a stretch.

When Frodo settles back into the Shire, he is panged by guilt at his failure to fulfill the quest and faltering at the end. The jewel Arwen gave him becomes a substitute for the Ring, and he is disconnected from his peers. He’s a veteran, and suffers from spiritual wounds that can’t be undone.

At the end of Jedi, Luke appears to be and feel vindicated in his initiative to appeal to his father’s better nature and recall him from the Dark Side. “You were right, you were right about me.” He has his father’s blessing, and a sister to go on with. He has faced his trial and persevered, ready to proceed to the task of applying this elixir to a new generation of Jedi who will benefit from his growth.

I just don’t see much resemblance between these two, at least not at these points in their stories.