CT Luke's fall in the ESB

A few things have always baffled me about the events that take place after the fight scene in Cloud City between Luke and Vader at the end of the ESB. When Luke chooses death over joining Vader, he lets go of the gantry and falls down into oblivion (the best option). Moments later we see him being, apparently, sucked into a pipe of some kind. Now there were many of these pipes scattered all over the chasm, all of which he could have been pulled into as he fell....why this particular one?

Also, as he was sliding down though the pipe he has a very hard time trying to stop himself seeing as he only had one hand, and also taking into account the speed in which he entered the pipe. How did he manage to stop himself so quickly or can we assume that the pipe was a lot longer than what we actually see, and that he managed to slow himself down over time?

Lastly, when he was hanging onto that weather vane, it looks like he tries to pull himself back up into the pipe, but he doesn't have much luck lol. I wonder why he tried to do that?

 

Well, it's just the one they happened to be over at the time or he was directed into using the Force/just the "will of the Force"

Enjoy this crudely drawn pic of how he entered the tube thingy safely and momentum slowed him down, L being Luke, of course

Would you rather figure a way out of the tube thingy or risk falling into the infinite abyss that is a gas giant's atmosphere?

 

I never thought of it like that, makes sense I guess seeing as he's falling down the centre of the chasm and the pipes are so far away that they'd have to have some very strong suction to pull him in.

Awesome drawing XD but yeah I see what you mean

Oh yeah I wouldn't want to hang around on that antenna I'd be crapping myself, but the last pipe that Luke slides out of is practically vertical, not to mention slippery as hell, so the chances of him climbing back up through the pipe system would have been nearly impossible I'd have thought...especially with just one hand lol

 

Um, because he didn't want to die? Is that really a question? He dropped down the shaft to get away from Vader. He used the force do slow his decent. He wasn't trying to kill himself.

 

It's just I've heard different stories like he chose death over joining Vader and that Vader used the force to guide him into the pipe and loads of other different theories.

 

Also in regards to him not having much luck holding onto the pipe, Luke does have only one hand at that point. Plus, c'mon it's a city in the clouds...that metal has to be cold.

 

I lol'd so hard when I clicked on the link. Awesome explanation, btw, but when it said "crudely drawn" I wasn't expecting it to be that crudely drawn.

 

Luke letting go was basically an admission that he would rather die than become a Sith Lord. But once he was temporarily safe, he realized that his faith in the will of the Force was correct and that he didn't need to die today. Hence his willingness to keep on surviving.

 

Coupled with the mental trauma of finding out Vader was his father.

 

I considered drawing a stick figure, but using a laptop's mousepad in MS Paint makes it impossible for even that to be close to anatomically accurate

 

Actually, Vader screwed up. Once he told Luke that the Emperor foresaw him defeating them, Luke knew his jump wouldn't necessarily be to his death. The look on Luke's face isn't one of fear or resignation. That said, he didn't know exactly what would happen next, but it became a leap of faith at that point....putting his faith into the Will of the Force.

 

Right, Luke definitely seems to become far more calm after Vader's words about destroying the emperor.

 

It wasn't mental trauma that caused him to drop. It was a sudden epiphany that he would rather die than compromise himself. The trauma was only a factor later.

Yeah, but Luke was also told that the future is always in motion. He knows that Leia is alive and so is Han. So, he can take solace that the future is not set.

 

Well Vader was also offering Luke the possibility of ending the conflict and bringing the Rebel Alliance into the centre ground and there being no need for an Empire or Storm Troopers or mass killings. Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker together could end all that suffering together. Luke was turning away from that future with what he did.

 

Luke knew who Vader was. A feared killer. He would never join someone with that reputation, family or not.

 

First Point- Because it was the closest one to him when he was falling.

Second Point- The Force.

Third Point- Because he doesn't want to die.

 

He did not know Anakin Skywalker his father. A pilot during the Clone Wars, a true friend of Obi-Wan, taken down by the evil Sith Vader. Yeah he knew Vader and it turned out he got it completely wrong.

 

Luke was in doubt over what Vader had told him about being his father. His feelings seemed to be correct, but it didn't make sense to him. It is only when he looked down that he trusted the one feeling that was correct, which was death over darkness. That's why his facial expression changed right before letting go. He was trusting the will of the Force.

 

He had two paths to choose first was to find out more about his father and consider seriously what Vader was telling him. His feelings and connection with the force told him that together Vader and Luke could end the conflict in the Galaxy. The other option was that set out by his mentor Obi-Wan who put faith in him that his destiny would lead to abolishing the Sith Lords.

Now i contend he would have found a way out of that dead end had he chosen option 1. A delaying tactic, try to hang on a little longer or change his fight. Instead he was so consumed by hate & uncertainly and conscious of Obi-Wan's self sacrifice he was not going to let himself become a instrument of the Emperor or Lord Vader so he broke with tradition by removing himself from Lord Vader's grasp. Get away from the Dark Side to regroup or perhaps to die not to be taken hostage.