ST Lightsaber Toss?

I want to discuss Luke's first physical action in The Last Jedi. RJ's explanation for Luke tossing the saber that Rey gives him, was I think a bit narrow minded. Even if Luke wanted nothing to do with the Jedi or the Force, it isn't just any saber but his fathers, impossible for him to forget what THAT saber looked like. Assuming he hadn't seen it for 31 years and he would've assumed it was lost for good on Bespin, it just doesn't fit his reaction. Unless......he had seen it since Episode V?


Entertain this idea, would you? The EU can actually fill in the void for us. Shortly after the events of ESB, Vader went back to Cloud City and retrieved his old saber and his son's hand from the Ugnaughts (this is in the ESB sourcebook) he was going to take them to Bast Castle on Vjun but the Emperor misdirected him and had both items put in Mt. Tantiss on Wayland. Which if you remember, the clone of Jorus C'boath gave the saber to Skywalker's clone Luuke. After the clone was killed, Luke gave his father's lightsaber to Mara Jade whom he married and now.........finally it makes sense.

Mara Jade Skywalker was killed in Kylo Ren's attack on the Jedi Academy. This saber now had a sad association for Luke (and because of his psychometric ability any time he touched it he would see her last moments) and so he gave it to Maz Kanata hoping to never see it again.

 

Maybe it's narrow minded, but it's no mystery. Luke clearly recognized the saber. He tossed it over his shoulder because it reminded him of the Jedi's failures and his own failure.

this meme sums it up well:

 

I think him tossing the lightsaber was just for a cheap laugh. It would have been more emotional if looked at it and just dropped it at his feet.

 

I... actually like this idea. Maybe not specifically the psychometric association, but a neat way of tying Mara Jade into new continuity and explaining why he wasn't weirded out at seeing the lightsaber that he supposedly lost forever.

I really don't think it was supposed to be funny. It was supposed to be more shocking than anything.

 

I loved it. It was both funny and brilliant. This moment was built up for two years, and no one expected him to just throw it away.

 

Yep, like I said the EU can be used to fill in the gaps, since movie directors don't seem to want to.

 

I agree. I didn't expect him to like start mourning the past with the lightsaber in hand, but the way it was shown? It felt like something from a gag reel.

 

Right, like an SNL skit!

 

Amazing swerve. And the punchline is the next time you see it a Porg is stomping madly on the ignition switch.

 

If you look at his face when he does it, it really drives home the fact that it's not supposed to be a joke. He looks pissed off.

 

This was, ironically, perfect symbolism for Rian Johnson's take on Star Wars as a whole.

 

it was unexpected, shocking and kicked whiners right in their fanboys. perfect.

 

It was nothing but a cheap joke, and Johnson’s explanation made no sense.

 

Prior to TLJ, the last thing we saw Luke do with a lightsaber was toss it away on the second death star. The toss in TLJ was a perfect response that not only fit historically with his character but also reflected what he has been through in the intervening years.

 

Completely cheap. Tried for a stupid laugh.. Failed miserably... no one laughed on opening night... one of many attempts at bad jokes that flopped

 

Isn't the fact that nobody laughed a clue that you weren't supposed to laugh?

 

Luke wants a life of non-violence and was shattered by the Dark Side calling out to him briefly for violence.

 

And yet he has his saber back on his belt on Endor. He took the time to retrieve it despite trying to escape the Death Star with his dying father.

IMO, Luke saber toss in TLJ was the first of a series of middle fingers to SW fans. That’s just my opinion.

 

There were several obvious jokes that didn’t get laughs. Tried too hard, they did. A couple of the gags were funny. Just as many fell flat.

 

I think that the lightsaber toss comes off worse simply because that scene was the cliffhanger for the next movie. This image is what many thought about for 2 years, and then you give us that? It just felt RJ wanted to shock fans by giving them the opposite of what they were expecting, and I just don't know if that was the right tactic.

 

I thought it was the perfect response for somebody that had chosen to exile himself and was purposefully avoiding conflict. Imagine you've done this and then some random girl shows up on your island like "umm excuse me sir, you forgot your lightsaber." I actually wish he would have chucked it into the water.

 

RJ wanting to shock fans was the whole problem from the jump, IMO.

 

I've only seen the movie once, but does Luke toss it before he says anything to Rey? Cause if he tosses it before he even asks who she is, then to me it comes off even more out of context. If someone shows up to your door with a family heirloom, then the first thing I'm asking is, "Where did find this?" and "Who are you?" By tossing it makes it seem like he was expecting her to come and knew he didn't want to be bothered by her.

 

When someone shows up at my door, I know I don't want to be bothered by whatever they're selling. Them bringing a gun that one of my ancestors used to kill children with is not going to make me any more likely to want to chat.

 

He looks at the lightsaber for a moment...pondering different things. Then looks angrily at her as he tosses it over his shoulder and storms past her. As he storms past her she says "Master Skywalker!". Then she bangs on his door saying she's from the resistance and just before Chewie busts down the door, Luke finally says "Go away!"