NeverarGreat said:
I am genuinely confused as to why you would think that Ben’s presence near Luke is coincidence. BECAUSE Ben knew Luke’s dad, he has his lightsaber. BECAUSE Luke’s father wanted Luke to have it at a certain time…
It was a coincidence for which we were never given any real explanation. Ben saying he knew his father does not explain much beyond - he knew his father and for whatever reason, he now lives near Luke. It was glossed over quickly and discarded as the story continued within the film. Those slowly unfolding expositions you cite came many years later and in one instance from another writer in the 1980s. Knowing the prequel story decades later doesn’t mean it was well-written or explained back in 1977.
Ben lives near Luke to watch over him.
That was never even remotely suggested in 1977. Ben said he knew his dad, had his old weapon, and asked if he would help the princess. In 1977 the audience was left to infer who Ben was and why he was there. If they even chose to bother.
you seem very willing to accept that there is a reason that Tekka lives near Rey, despite there being far less to go on in this film than in Star Wars, yet you don’t accept that there was a reason Ben lived near Luke? My bafflement increases.
Let me help with your bafflement and address this one last time. I do accept it. In fact, I’m very willing to accept that both films give little or no explanation for the characters’ proximity to each other and the audience is left to draw their own conclusion, if they choose.
For the record; I very much enjoy that aspect of both films. I do not need a ham-fisted Lucastyle® explanation on every bit of minutia.
Now, with that in mind; Finding out decades later who Ben was and why he lived near Luke does not at all mean it was explained in 1977. It wasn’t. I was there.
I give the same pass to both films because I enjoy them both. That’s something the TFA haters are not willing to do. For them, what was once ok and mysterious is now somehow a sure sign that Abrams and Disney don’t know how to make a proper film. It’s a pre-hater’s argument and it’s weak.