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When Luke tosses his lightsaber....

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by Faux-Jedi, Aug 8, 2004.

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  1. Faux-Jedi

    Faux-Jedi Jedi Youngling star 1

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    May 19, 2002
    Okay, maybe I?m just slow on the uptake, but last night I was watching ROTJ and something occurred to me that made me look at the ending in a whole new way. Since we now know (thanks to AOTC) that force lightning can be deflected by a lightsaber, It changes the underlining action when Luke tosses aside his weapon after defeating Vader. Let?s assume two things... 1. That Luke "was indeed powerful", even more so than Vader or Palpatine, and was able to see the outcome of things more clearly than either of them. So perhaps the casting aside of his lightsaber was more than just a dramatic punctuation of his statement..."I am a Jedi." Which leads me to assumption 2. That Luke knew exactly what he was doing and intentionally left himself defenseless and open to the Emperor?s attack in order to force Ankakin to come to his aid. Maybe, maybe not, but I enjoy the movie a lot more when I view it this way.
     
  2. clone3131

    clone3131 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2004
    Ummm, luke threw his lightsaber away because he was proving the Emperor wrong. Palpatine wanted him to kill Vader. Luke, by injuring him and making Vader lose his lightsaber- made him a non threat. So, Luke, after coming to his senses, realized he didnt need to kill vader and he defeated Vader.

    I doubt Luke knew about force lightning, because I dont think Yoda ever told him about it.
     
  3. Diogonese

    Diogonese Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Jul 6, 2002
    ...yeah well, Yoda was a vindictive little creep. He didn't tell Luke about a whole LOT of things. YODA: "...strong is Vader, mind what you have learned, save you it can!" LUKE: "I will, and I'll return, I promise" Yoda and Obi Wan look sullen, as Luke's X-wing lifts off, and rockets away from Dagobah. YODA: (yelling sarcastically up at the sky) "Oh, and keep your hands off the princess, she's your sister!" Yoda and Obi Wan look at each other, then burst out in uncontrolled laughter.
     
  4. origjedi

    origjedi Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Aug 27, 2001
    Good one, Diogenese, I like that!


    Interesting point Faux-Jedi. I hadn't thought about that. Maybe he DID leave himself defenseless so that Vader would utlimately have to help him (hopefully at the time). I don't know if he knew about the Force lightning, but who knows for sure? He may have left himself defenseless for an attack of some kind, but may have not have known about the Force lightning attack. I mean, we never hear Yoda tell OB1 about it in AOTC, but he defended himself against it nonetheless. We never hear Yoda tell Luke either, but maybe it did happen.
     
  5. RathCycle

    RathCycle Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2001
    Luke poured his anger, aggression, and hatred into the battle earlier on; which were emotions that as a Jedi, he needed to avoid at all costs. He realized this after he attacked his father, and quite obviously decided that throwing aside his weapon would greatly reduce his likelihood of falling to the dark side.

    Additionally, he realized that he had already defeated his father, and his father had defeated himself. Luke could not personally destroy the Emperor, his father had to do so for the ?circle to be complete.? Luke?s refusal to give in to his hatred again was another spark in bringing Anakin back from the darkness. Once Luke was unarmed, any attack by the Emperor would henceforth be unjustifiable: attacking an unarmed opponent.

    Luke also knew that if he were to use his weapon against the Emperor in any way, the Emperor would win. Palpatine was attempting to bait Luke into battle; a battle that the Emperor wanted. Had Luke engaged the Emperor in battle, the Emperor would have essentially won. The Emperor was much stronger than Luke, and he knew it. Luke knew it too, obviously?and of course there was the dark side aversion thing again. Had Luke fought such a strong opponent, it is highly likely that he would have given in to the dark side of the Force.

    When the Emperor employed his Force lightning upon an unarmed Luke, Anakin realized just how far to the dark side he had fallen. It was at that point that he realized murder of such a variety was completely unjustifiable, and completely wrong. He remembered the love he shared with Pamdè, and realized that Luke is what that love produced. His love for Padmè and his son (and daughter, for that matter) returned at that moment, fully bringing Anakin back to the light side and giving him the strength to destroy the dark side and bring balance to the Force.

    Had Luke either given in to the dark side or decided to duel Palpatine (how that would transpire is left up to the imagination) rather than leaving himself undefended, Anakin would have never turned back to the light side, and the galaxy would have (presumably) remained in darkness in the long years to come. Luke?s refusal to give in to the dark side is what allowed Anakin to gain the mental and physical strength to fulfill his destiny and bring balance to the Force. A very fitting ending to a wonderful saga.
     
  6. Jort

    Jort Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 2, 2004
    I think he underestimated Palpatine. Vader was defeated, and Palpatine encouraged him to kill Vader. Luke threw away his saber, stepping away from the dark path. Palpatine didn't have a lightsaber so he probably didn't expect that Palps could really hurt him.
     
  7. Helmet

    Helmet Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2001
    He told Luke he was defenseless. Thus after the duel Luke had no fear of him. Little did he know.......



     
  8. Steve1977

    Steve1977 Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Aug 27, 2000
    Perhaps Luke did it on purpose to get Anakin to turn to the lightside?
     
  9. Helmet

    Helmet Jedi Knight star 5

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    Nov 1, 2001
    Perhaps Luke did it on purpose to get Anakin to turn to the lightside?

    No, Luke wasn't going to give into his anger, thus threw away his weapon.


     
  10. DamonD

    DamonD Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 2002
    Luke did not underestimate the Emperor. I think he fully expected some kind of nasty retribution, although he didn't have a clue about the lightning.

    It was just at that point, Luke realised that he was being manipulated and refused to play Palpatine's little games anymore. No matter what happened to him, he could proverbially flick two fingers at the guy and tell him that, no matter what happens, he was unable to get the last Jedi to turn to the Dark Side.
     
  11. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    DamonD's got it. I agree with everything you said. :)


    "he could proverbially flick two fingers at the guy"

    Hee hee, you're British. ;)
     
  12. -SummerMendocino-

    -SummerMendocino- Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    May 24, 2004
    That was awesome, RathCycle. =D= =D= =D= I'd bet you $1,000 bucks Lucas couldn't have said it better himself. :(

    Way to go!!


    Summer :)



     
  13. DamonD

    DamonD Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Nov 22, 2002
    Hee hee, you're British.
    I am! :D
    Perhaps I should've said one finger...

    And to be fair, Rath covered it more eloquently than I did ;)
     
  14. Coligeon

    Coligeon Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Jan 20, 2002
    I like the idea that Luke possibly forsaw these events occuring, but I don't think he was that strong in the force yet. Like I've read here before, Luke probably just went with whatever his gut feeling was and the force assisted him along the way.

    One thing that always made me wonder is when the Emperor opens the locks on Luke's hands in the throne room. The look that Luke gives the Emperor is quite interesting. I'm not sure if it's a look of surprise or one of regret. I've read many times here that some feel that look is a surprise because Luke didn't think the Emperor was "that" powerful or even had force powers.
     
  15. Faux-Jedi

    Faux-Jedi Jedi Youngling star 1

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    May 19, 2002
    Some really excellent replies. And all are valid points. The case I was trying to make was that even though Luke wasn?t a "classically" trained Jedi and probably never had someone say to him "This weapon is your life!", I still don?t think he would have tossed his lightsaber aside so casually. In fact, it was important enough to him that he retrieved it before he left, as you can see it hanging from his belt in the last scene. I think you are all correct in saying it helped him in purging his anger, but I can?t help but think there was a greater plan behind it.
     
  16. MeBeJedi

    MeBeJedi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    "I still don?t think he would have tossed his lightsaber aside so casually."

    I seem to recall Luke making a definitive statement with that "casual" toss. YMMV.
     
  17. RathCycle

    RathCycle Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2001
    Thank you for the kind words, everyone. :)
     
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