Lit SOS: Save Our Skywalker, Luke Skywalker (v3)

I think there's a strong parallel between the Doctor and Luke (or at least how I imagine Luke should be) in that neither so much actively seeks out evil to destroy, rather they seek out innocent people in danger and simply stand between them and whoever is threatening to harm them. If they must then defend themselves, so be it, but they won't give up protecting the people who need them.
As Yoda says; "A Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."
In a way, this also describes the confrontation above Endor. Luke doesn't go up there to kill Vader or the Emperor. He surrenders himself in order to protect his father from both the man who's abused him for so long, and from his own darker nature.

 

There is one problem with Luke going to his own private sanctuary to meditate for years.

It is selfish.

While he is away searching his personal enlightenment, his friends are working their asses off in trying to fight the First Order. "Apathy is death" as Kreia said.

Luke is too compassionate to sit around and twiddle his thumbs while a war is waging on around him.

 

I think the world where soldiers aren't allowed to retire from combat because of an arbitrary idea they owe the galaxy more than however long their war allowed is a horrific idea.

Luke deserves peace and he's not Judge Dredd or the Punisher, continuing to fight until he bleeds out one day or some punk gets lucky.

That's just my .02, though.

 

You mean he is in retirement?

It feels weird if Han and Leia fight on and the big great Jedi master with almost unending stamina and strength sits on the sidelines watching from afar.

As for myself, I don't even want to retire, I want to work as long as I can, my life was far worse when I didn't work. So maybe I don't see "retirement" as this big reward for a lifetime of service.

It's not peace if he goes to his refuge while the galaxy is torn by a grand war. It is flight. There is no peace to be had if you can feel the violence and suffering that is going on.

 

I think of it more like Luke is in study. In martial arts movies, a Old Master retires to the top of a mountain or a secluded temple to continue to refine his skills and increase his understanding of the universe. It is a religious observance and Luke Skywalker has more reason than most to want to do this as so much Jedi lore has been lost with the death of Yoda and the destruction of their legacy. Working on increasing his wisdom and knowledge of the Force is something which will benefit the Jedi more than fighting by leaps and bounds, especially if he can impart it to others.

That would assume they're soldiers and Han isn't merely there to the Falcon back. Leia is also not on the frontlines but explicitly gives orders to the Rogue Squadron equivalent we see.

I consider the opportunity to raise the next generation, teach them, and enjoy life to be superior. Of course, I consider war to be the most horrific thing any person can engage in and still be "good" because it is often a necessary evil.

Then again, I'm hoping this isn't like Warhammer and it's been 30 years of continuous war.

I think that Luke would be the worst Jedi Master ever if he didn't find a better way to deal with the First Order than swinging a lightsaber on the front lines.

Of course, in sheer practical terms, during WW2 the United States Air Force said that a flying ace was x100 times more valuable being recalled to teach recruits how to shoot down planes than actually shooting down planes themselves.

It's why Americans had lesser "kill counts" than other nations but it paid vast dividends.

 

In NJO: Destiny's Way, Councillor Rodan is extremely critical of Luke for "resigning your military commission - during wartime, to devote yourself to "spiritual matters"".

But it was pretty obvious at the time why - so he could hunt down Jedi-related info, find candidates, and reestablish the Jedi Order.

 

Yeah,

On a more specific note, I do think the Sequel Trilogy is going to have an effect on the way we perceive Han, Luke, and Leia. On a very real level, they always were portrayed as people who were immune to the war, death, and destruction about them. They were superheroes going from one gigantic crisis to the next and that was fine in a literary or comic book medium but I think the Sequel Trilogy will play up the idea that, for all of their greatness, the heroes are people who have gotten old or weary.

I'm inclined to think of the movies as doing a better job at "passing the torch" than the movies because we can see the original heroes being people who simply DON'T want to be in the thick of things until the end of their days.

My ideal hope for The Force Awakens is that the First Order and the Resistance are at war but it's not a situation which the galaxy at large is at war over. I'd like to see a more Cold War-esque conflict between the two sides which may have sprung up into full-scale war a number of times in the past. I could see Leia continuing to work to free lands from the First Order/Empire forever because that's her goal but I could see Luke thinking rebuilding the Jedi Order as taking precedent over destroying the Empire/First Order.

Han, I imagine, is probably going to be at Leia's side no matter what but I doubt his Generaliship lasted longer than a few months after Endor at best. Really, I guess what I want is the belief the galaxy was mostly liberated by the Rebellion and a situation similar to the Bantam EU in the Empire is a remnant. Obviously, I think the First Order is larger than the Imperial Remnant as early as the Thrawn Trilogy (which controlled only 10% of the galaxy) let alone what they ended up in Visions of the Past (8 sectors). I do think this movie will emphasize that the First Order's soldiers are HUMANS rather than VILLAINS.

This is a war I think we might see peace established after, like in the books.

(I think the First Order may be about as large as the Rebellion/Republic/Resistance i.e. 1/2 of the galaxy or control a third of the galaxy--a power not to be trifled with)

I don't think we will be able to cheer the deaths of Stormtroopers and so on once we start realizing they're people like this.

 

In real life, when has withdrawing to meditate ever helped anyone? It is a simple fact of life that actions define us, not inactions. All the years spent in seclusion could be used to teach new apprentices and make the galaxy a better place. I feel like this is also more of a "Jedi" thing to do. The Jedi in the prequels had their faults, but remaining passive isn't one of them. Even the Jedi in the OT only hid because they were forced to do, not out of free choice.

I don't think that lonely meditating on a spire in search of spiritual enlightenment is a good way of life, but then I am not a religious person. Let me ask you a question: For all the decades that Yoda has probably spent meditating, did he come closer to becoming a savior? No, it only happened when Qui-Gon appeared before him and showed him the way. It seems like in Star Wars, the force grants knowledge to the worthy and the Jedi must prove themselves to become worthy. This, of course, is only possible through interaction.

I'm not suggesting that Luke needs to be on the frontlines forever. There are many things he can do to aid his friends!

Yes, yes, I too think Luke would be a great teacher. I think he would do everything he can to help the people.

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I think we are having a misunderstanding. I don't think Luke needs to fight on the frontlines forever, even though I am cool if he does so. But I also don't think that detaching himself from life, from the universe, to basically do "nothing" is a good path either. He is not for himself. He is a human being and a valuable part of his community. If he leaves, they will miss him.

 

Well, if you think of religious retreat or monasticism as "doing nothing" then yes you're going to see it as not doing much. However, in secular professions, people often spend years if not decades refining their craft. I will say, though, that if Luke Skywalker simply wanted to not kill anyone anymore or remove himself from the conflicts of the galaxy for his own peace of mind then I wouldn't blame him either.

I can't imagine who, exactly, can judge him selfish who hasn't walked a mile in his shoes.

"You can say he's not allowed to retire after you blow up your own Death Star."

I do think, though, that a life of peaceful contemplation is not wasted as many monks and hippies seem to believe in RL.



Edit:

What do I PREDICT the movie does? I think Luke lives in the middle of nowhere enjoying his "retirement" away from politics and the galaxy and the Jedi probably send him the occasional student--either very problematic or VERY powerful. Whoever Luke's student is in this movie will show us what Luke does now. He's still a Jedi Master but he only does the occasional specialist one-on-one training now.

It's also possible Luke went into seclusion because of Kylo Ren.

"I really screwed up with this guy and needed to contemplate what I did wrong and what I should do. Do I go after him myself? Wait for the right person to do it? Try to redeem him? What?" It's possible Luke hasn't been on the swamp world for more than a few months or weeks trying to get some insight from the Force.

 

I'm not convinced there is a grand 30 year war, not least as I think there could be a significant backlash to the idea.

If the two trilogies demonstrate anything it is that they keep their stories to themselves while leaving points to be pursued by other stories.

PT: The Empire is established, Vader and Sidious rule, Obiwan, Yoda and the kids in hiding. THE END.

OT: Vader and Palpatine dead, the Death Star 2 destroyed, the Empire's galactic grip shattered. THE END.

I'm sceptical that anyone can look at the teaser #2 trailer and think they can back track 30 years of events from it.

 

To be fair, they only have to say, "The Republic and Empire have been fighting this entire time."

Then open up to the Battle of Jaaku.

 

Yeah but I wonder about that:

As a one-off, as a decisive battle that settled the future direction of the galaxy, Jakku could work.

As a prelude to bigger, messier battles as part of a massive 3-decade war, nope - think people like the big 3 too much to like that as their post-ROTJ future.

 

To be fair, that WAS the EU up until VOTF.

 

Except I don't think it was.

Up to VOTF there were the major points of the war but it basically goes:

Isard
Zsinj
Thrawn
Emperor
er.... Daala
Pellaeon

That's not a lot across 15 years, they mixed in other threats and ideas too plus lightening it up by having Han and Leia marry, have the kids, Luke revived the Jedi, the Republic was restored mostly, despite massive dysfunction due to the Imperial legacy.

If anything it used the idea of an ongoing galactic civil war as setting, rather than story determinant. DR then reversed that, preferring to have stories about big wars, lots of big wars and people just fell away. It didn't work.

 

Well, that's not really a fair comparison to make, now is it? All the pilots engaged in the Death Star battle were as brave as Luke, they were just missing the crucial superpower of the force. Luke had a huge (unfair?) advantage over them. And the Jedi are aware of that. They know that their powers are a gift and to be worthy of that gift, they serve the force and the galaxy. It is part of the deal. "With great power comes great responsibility". It is the Sith who use their power for personal glory.

Many hippies had jobs and worked as hard as the rest of us. I also wouldn't say that the hippies did nothing, they did a lot, they changed society.

Monks have also done valuable things in past times, like translating old roman literature or brewing beer for the surrounding village. They didn't just sit there contemplating all the time.

Total isolation hardly ever accomplishes anything and does a number on your own psyche, it even makes you dumber, they have done experiments about it.

 

That's why I'd like the First Order and Resistance to have had a series of wars, truces, and conflicts over the past 30 years.

Not a continuous long one.

Something which emphasizes the First Order isn't pure evil but a definite threat.

 

See, I also think people are falling into the same mistake that was made when the Legacy comics started. They looked at the situation then and tracked back and could see nothing except potential lead-ups to it! Across 8 decades!

The last 3 decades of real life should tell us that far more can go in than could ever be expected, but no, it all narrows to trying to work out some chronological progression, followed by the statement that there's no story left to tell.

 

By contrast, I didn't feel "Star Wars" in the Prequels until the Third movie. Everything felt disconnected.

Also, CHEWIE LIVES.



That is all.

 

I felt plenty of Star Wars in Ep 1, it is a fun pulp space adventure and at least has a story that works on its own.

 

are you for real?? i dont get it. i dont see what you see.

 

If you don't like the Obi-Wan / Qui-Gon / Maul duel, then you're a walking corpse JM!

 

Many people don't. For me Ep 1 is by no means perfect, but I can still really enjoy it for what actually happens in it, what it is about and how it comes together, unlike Ep 2 and 3.

 

ROTS was better, but it didn't feel like Star Wars imo.

 

thats all that was good in that movie, and even that was better than aotc.

 

While AOTC criminally wasted him, it still had Sir Christopher Lee - kicking arse all over the place until.... Attack of the Muppet!