A Treatise on Lucas Skywalker, Esq.
This writing assumes you are currently up-to-date on the life and times of Luke and all his pals. In other words, if you haven’t seen The Last Jedi, go watch all the movies and then come back to read this. It’s a lot of homework, I know, but trust me, it’s worth it.
Not Fade Away
When I left The Last Jedi, I had no problem with Luke’s character arc. When I got on Facebook, however, I realized I was in the minority. Apparently no one liked the fact that he just faded away instead of going out in a blaze of glory, or, they just didn’t like the fact that he died at all. And that’s really the big question, how should Luke Skywalker die?
After toppling the Empire, Luke apparently reached a mythic status, so much so that Rey & Finn didn’t even believe he had existed. From there, he began to restart the Jedi with what few he could find. This, of course, ended poorly. With the immense pressure of his status with the epic failure of his teaching venture, it’s really no wonder why he went into hiding. This is especially true considering who trained him.
Dual of the Fates
First there was Obi-Wan. A true man-of-action who was forced into hiding when the tides turned away from the Jedi. Many have called this a cowardly move, and hopefully in future movies, we’ll find out there is more to the story. Regardless, what Luke knew about Obi-Wan was he was a Jedi who failed his apprentice, and exiled himself.
Next he’s trained by Yoda, another Jedi who ended up with a Dark Side apprentice. He also ran and hid when the Jedi order imploded on itself. So basically, all Luke really knows about the Jedi are that they easily turn to the Dark Side and when things get tough, give up and hide. He’s probably heard heroic stories — though most of those may have been snuffed out by his Uncle—of the Jedi Order, but practically, he has three examples of Jedi: Obi-Wan, Yoda, and his father.
So Luke going into hiding and essentially erasing himself from the galaxy isn’t too surprising, it’s basically what he’s been taught. And I think that was pretty well accepted at the end of The Force Awakens. But then Rey comes and here’s where it gets murky. Fans were split, would Luke return to the fight and save the day or would he simply train Rey so she could return to become the next galactic hero? I think most of us assumed he would show up, be the Luke Skywalker we all knew from the OT and kick some Snoke butt.
But of course, he didn’t. Right or wrong, that was the choice he made. But here’s the thing: it’s still within Luke’s character.
Back to Obi-Wan and Yoda. While Luke was with both of them, there was a call to action. A chance for both of them to return to the forefront and change the tide of war. Obi-Wan, being the Jedi Warrior he is, answered that call and returned to fight Vader, even knowing he wasn’t strong enough to do so, or knowing he was strong enough, but sacrificing himself so Luke could escape, depending on how you interpret that scene. That’s Obi-Wan though, he was always first to jump into battle without a second thought. In Attack of the Clones he sees an assassin’s droid leaving Padme’s bedroom window. A bedroom window that is so far above the ground, there effectively is no ground. What does Obi-Wan do? Jumps out of the window on the off-chance that he can make it to the droid. In the world of Lethal Weapon, he’s Riggs (which leaves me with a vision of Qui-Gon always saying he’s getting too old for this…).
So when Leia asks for help, he drops everything, throws a lightsaber to a kid he’s sworn to protect, and hops on the first flight out. We’ll call this the Obi-Wan training method.
For his next lesson, Yoda trains Luke from isolation. Luke is faced with the Dark Side for the first time. He cuts a lightsaber through some rocks and knocks over a wheelbar — wait, sorry, got a little mixed up there. So Luke is training with Yoda and senses that his friends are in trouble. He wants to go save them, Yoda says he should stay. Luke goes anyway and loses a hand. This is the Yoda method.
Wars Not Make One Great
Jump to The Last Jedi, Luke is hiding, Rey shows up, says the galaxy needs him again. What does he do? He knows he’s not the same Luke that faced Vader. Does he follow the Obi-Wan method or the Yoda method? As fans, I think we all expected him to follow Obi-Wan. Jump back into the fight and it would be just like the good ol’ days. But, he doesn’t. He follows the Yoda method and stays behind. He even pulls a bit of a Yoda and tries to convince Rey he’s crazy to see if she’ll give up on him (if that’s not what he was doing, then I have zero excuse for that blue milk scene). He had two Masters constantly telling him he was rash and impulsive, it seems like he finally learned that lesson. Luke being Luke, he couldn’t help but get involved somehow. Maybe he felt guilty after Rey left, maybe it was the pep-talk from Yoda, but he decided to help out in a way only he could. And then, like both Masters before him, he became one with the Force.
None of these decisions are outside the scope of Luke’s character. If anything, I’d argue that he learned from his previous mistakes and made a wiser decision. Younger Luke, being more impulsive, would have hopped in the Falcon without thinking and probably got them all killed or at least lost another appendage. Older, wiser, and somewhat jaded Luke, further fulfilling his Yoda-esque role, stayed behind. While many complain this is outside his character, I say this is the completion of his character.
He started and ended this adventure by staring off into a dual sunset, the first set on the boy he was, the second on the man he became.
More of Me
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