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Lit Should Leia have been a Jedi? Potential still?

Discussion in 'Literature' started by StarWarsFan91, Jun 22, 2017.

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Should Leia have been a Jedi in Nu Canon?

  1. yes

    24 vote(s)
    63.2%
  2. no

    6 vote(s)
    15.8%
  3. maybe

    8 vote(s)
    21.1%
  1. StarWarsFan91

    StarWarsFan91 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2008
    I disliked the path of her never improving on her force sensitive nature in Disney canon. If they didn't want her to be an active Jedi by TFA, they could have had stopping her training for reasons. Imagine if she attended Lukes Academy with her son.

    Political Leia is fine, but I wanted her to branch out more in Disneys world.

    It feels like wasted potential in not having her get any training from her brother.

    Since that never happened pre-TFA, I would enjoy it if she not only survives the ST, but takes the highway of learning more about the force at her old age. Helping the post ST generation of Jedi.

    Just because the Carrie has passed, doesn't mean Leia should get killed off in Episode 9.

    Seeing more of her character in an animated series post ST would be fantastic, especially if she begins to walk the jedi road.

    What are your thoughts on the points I brought up?
     
  2. LelalMekha

    LelalMekha Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2012
    I used to think Leia would develop psychometry (based on a few hints here and there in the Princess Leia miniseries), which was a rather rare power IIRC. Had she been given the opportunity to develop that gift, it would've come in real handy. I also think she would've become a superior telepath.
     
  3. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
    Yes, because that's what RotJ set up.

    Is it realistic that she wouldn't have become a Jedi, given everything? Yes, absolutely. But that's not what RotJ set up.

    Having her transition NOW, post-ST, however, seems entirely pointless. It's too little, too late. Introducing Jedi Leia (or even just "Jedi trained but not actually a Jedi" Leia) was TFA's responsibility.
     
  4. LelalMekha

    LelalMekha Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2012
    Unfortunately, I think you're right. It's not very likely to happen post-ST. :(
     
  5. Jester J Binks

    Jester J Binks Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2016
    But did RotJ definitively set that up? It could be that Yoda and Ben were playing both angles. A Jedi warrior in Luke and a political/military leader in Leia. They were already playing the Leia hand. Through Bail Organa, they'd been playing it for years prior to ANH.

    I think it might have actually been disrespectful to Leia to assume she can now "be as important to Luke" with his training. She was already important, before Luke even left his first atmosphere. And when Han and Luke essentially left the fight, she carried on. Luke might be ready to pick the torch back up. Leia never dropped it.
     
  6. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
    It's not anything to do with Yoda and Ben, really.

    Leia: You have a power I don't understand and could never have.

    Luke: You're wrong, Leia. You have that power, too. In time you'll learn to use it, as I have.

    And she doesn't. Again, it's perfectly realistic -- and I don't think out of character -- that she wouldn't (and Luke's not omniscient) but that's not really relevant to what I'm on about. Which is to do with RotJ establishing certain expectations.

    That being said, it's not the end of my world or anything. I'm more or less over it.
     
    Revanfan1 likes this.
  7. SpecForce Trooper

    SpecForce Trooper Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2016
  8. Talos of Atmora

    Talos of Atmora Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2016
    I think that Legends had a far better foundation for her becoming a Jedi than canon, honestly. Like Ulicus said, it would be utterly pointless having that be implemented into the sequel trilogy and in my opinion, they shouldn't have that be the case in the canonical materials preceding the ST either. It just seems totally superfluous and it's a refreshing (for once) decision to make her not be a Jedi here.
     
    SpecForce Trooper likes this.
  9. comradepitrovsky

    comradepitrovsky Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2017
    There's nothing in TFA that suggest she can't use the Force. If anything, the Old Ben thing she does after Hosnian suggest she can.
     
  10. LelalMekha

    LelalMekha Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2012
    No one contests the fact that Canon!Leia can use the Force. It's just that she looks more like a Squib* than a proper Wizard.

    *And I don't mean Squib as in "rabbit bit overly long names."
     
  11. Vialco

    Vialco Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2007

    She was no match for the Dark Apprentice.
     
  12. Havoc123

    Havoc123 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 26, 2013
    Would be interesting if she's sort of a mirror Palpatine, as in that she IS actually a very formidable Force User and lightsaber duelist, but doesn't really show it off unless the situation calls for it.
     
  13. SpecForce Trooper

    SpecForce Trooper Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2016
    TFU casually spat on beloved characters.
     
    vncredleader likes this.
  14. Vialco

    Vialco Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2007

    Eh blame Vader for training Starkiller and his subsequent clones too well.
     
  15. sidv88

    sidv88 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 22, 2005
    Every time there's talk about super-powered Starkiller, I wonder if the ones discussing him played the same games I played. I quit TFU 2 out of frustration from getting killed by (I think, it's been a while) AT-ST's and other Imperials, and almost quit TFU 1 after repeatedly failing that ridiculous Star Destroyer pull-down sequence (ironically this is the very same sequence that people often use as proof of Starkiller being over-powered).

    If Starkiller struggled as much in those battles as I did in controlling him, I doubt he's as powerful as he looks.

    Back to Leia, yeah I think she should have been a Jedi completely. I don't know if Bloodline touches on this--perhaps she made a purposeful choice to not be a Jedi for the sake of her political career? Leia was a Jedi and a politician in the EU, which had its groundwork laid out in the Thrawn Trilogy and Dark Empire, before the prequels came out. Now that we know the prequels, it's not clear that the galaxy would accept a Force-using politician after Dooku and Palpatine, and Leia may have made a choice to stay in politics if she had to choose between it or being a Jedi.

    And Kylo may totally have resented Leia if she did choose that.
     
  16. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    Leia not being a Jedi is still one of my biggest disappointments and I can’t help but feel that this was a deliberate choice by the writers because they didn’t know what to do with an additional Jedi in the rehashed ANH setup they wanted to have. They made her just a General, but they didn’t even do anything interesting with that to compensate, instead she was just there for exposition and background decoration.

    Well, I hope her role in TLJ is really good. But still, not being a Jedi/Force user somehow makes her feel even more removed than the main drama in the ST, which seems to be all about Luke, Rey and Kylo.
     
  17. Jedi Jessy

    Jedi Jessy Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2016
    Pablo Hidalgo once talked on twitter as if Leia using a lightsaber or being a jedi could make her less badass and I was "?????". She didn't not need to be a jedi but Leia using the Force frequently could be amazing, Pablo even said there's new types of Force User (like Ahsoka) so why they didn't give attention enough to Leia using the Force?

    Also Carrie Fisher said she could like to use a lightsaber :(
     
    wobbits and La Calavera like this.
  18. Jester J Binks

    Jester J Binks Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2016
    That would be VERY interesting. How did she hide it from young Ben though?
     
  19. DARTH_MU

    DARTH_MU Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2005
    I'm almost sure her family and/or estate would allow CGI construction for the Princess. However, is there enough footage?
     
  20. BobaMatt

    BobaMatt TFN EU Staff star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2002
    I'm into the idea of her beginning training and stopping.
     
  21. Charlemagne19

    Charlemagne19 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2000
    I think there is some merit to the argument General Organa moves Leia a bit from the Princess stereotype (despite being the 1st and original badass Princess of the 20th century) which she's been sometimes criticized as embodying into a role which is distinctly one of merit and distinguished service. Making her a Jedi is awesome and wouldn't have diminished her, IMHO, but it also was very much Luke's thing she'd be intruding on while leading Rebellions is Leia's thing.

     
    La Calavera and Force Smuggler like this.
  22. Jedi Jessy

    Jedi Jessy Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2016
    Princess stereotype exist because media use princess = someone weak. Princes never need to be like "I'm GENERAL now, not prince ;)" they can be both, why princess can't be both too? Leia was princess, senator etc. She being general isn't different of any Leia's titles
    [​IMG]
     
  23. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    ^ Still dislike TFA but that video was cute. Damn I'm miss Carrie so much. :(

    On your point about the Rebellion being Leia's thing: I agree, and I wouldn’t want that to be taken away from her. BUT... she could’ve have been more than just a Rebel fighter. ROTJ implied that Leia could have been more than just one thing. She was a character full of surprises, not a character defined by just one or two traits.

    She could’ve been a Jedi General. Like her father before her.

    Even Luke was more than just a Jedi. He was also an X-wing pilot for the Rebellion, and before that a farm boy. Han Solo was a smuggler, and a Millennium Falcon pilot, and a General for the Rebellion. Anakin was a podracer, and a mechanic, and a Jedi, and a General. Padme was a politician on screen, a Queen not just by name but by actions (she actually defended her people against invaders like Kings do in fairytales!), and also Republic fighter. Rey is a bunch of things at the same time.

    Leia… well, she was also a bit of a politician in Bloodline, but in the movies and in the TV show, it seems that she is forever stuck in the same inflexible role. She is a Rebel leader and that’s it. Sure she is also a Princess, but that's only by name (and considering that princess' stories often carry a lot of sexist connotations, perhaps that's for the best). But it's like, she only has one thing going on with her, as if she can’s possibly have achievements in other areas, like the other characters.

    Even Finn, who is not even a Force user in TFA, fought with a lightsaber in the movies. Twice. Why can't Leia rock a lightsaber too?
     
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  24. DARTH_MU

    DARTH_MU Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2005
    I don't get why Princesses automatically equals weak.

    Although the ideal general in my mind need to lead in the front lines like Napoleon and Bagration, not others who sit in the command center while ordering others to death.
     
  25. Charlemagne19

    Charlemagne19 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2000
    Almost like her position is important to the survival of the Rebellion.

    :)

    Of course, no one would sanely believe she wasn't at the front of the battles for galactic freedom.