Lit SOS: Save Our Skywalker, Luke Skywalker (v4)

Yeah, I really cannot complain about how Luke was portrayed. And I was a Luke fan long before I was a Jacen fan.

But then I like Luke's portrayed in certain Legends stories which aren't the most popular.

 

My view of THE INCIDENT is that it was a thought and nothing more.

Just horrible bad luck.

 

I saw it. Um... what's the spoiler policy? I'm trying to be careful and vague as possible. ChildOfWinds, I'll put my vague reaction/opinion in spoilers. We usually have similar opinions. And I'm having a hard enough time posting to the boards as is. I'll discuss it more in depth in the main TLJ topic, to be safe.

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Luke-wise, I cannot recommend this movie.

 

I’m eager to read Ken Liu’s Legends of Luke Skywalker book now. It’s even more relevant considering the portrayal they went for in TLJ.

 

One thing this movie did really well in regards to the force:

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Was showing that the darkside is not simply death, but an abomination. Like, we know Darth Vader had fallen. But apparently what Luke saw in Kylo was an abyss. Like, Luke's reaction is essentially what one would do discovering a little kid was the anti-Christ.

He had a moment of weakness, and it passed. But Kylo was already so far gone, he used that moment as a justification for everything that came after.

Also, I think it's pretty unquestionable now Luke is one of the most powerful Jedi of all time.

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He stops an army dead, from half a galaxy away. Like, I'm trying to think of a similar lightside event in the EU and I can't. Maybe Nihilus killing all life on a world as a DS comparison. But Luke basically ended a decisive battle because he decided it would be so.

 

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The problem isn't only that Luke had a moment of weakness and that it passed. The real issue is, he then did nothing to fix the problem he helped create. He ran away and hid for years, leaving Kylo Ren to run amok in the galaxy. "I came here to die." - these are Luke's own words. Not just a moment of weakness, but a pathetic loss of all hope. It might work for some people, but I personally feel this is no longer the same character. He's changed completely.

I will say again that I did not hate the movie. It had some amazing things going on that I liked a lot. Luke was... not one of them.

 

Okay, so having seen TLJ last night, obviously heavy The Last Jedi spoilers below...

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First off, probably a lot of my opinions will be very different from what many in here will think. That's fine. However, I was not even remotely disappointed with Luke in this movie, and in fact I think it was completely right for his character given the direction they've gone so far. Is it what most Luke fans would've wanted? No, so I get that, but sometimes different is better. And boy, was it different.

First off, I feel I should comment on his too-casual tossing of the saber over his shoulder. One of my friends say, and I sort of agree, that it was disappointing after the anticipation of the cliffhanger in TFA. So if there's anything I'm a bit disappointed about, it's that. But seeing how he acted for the rest of the movie afterwards, it does make sense. I love his semi-humorous old man act; it was similar to Yoda in ESB, but also much different. And I love that he didn't agree to train Rey as a Jedi, but agreed to teach her why the Jedi should end. That's something very unique and different.

Luke's motivation for ending the Jedi, too, I was surprisingly okay with. I expected something big and epic, but simply "the Jedi are arrogant to think they have a monopoly on the Force" was...unexpected, and also surprisingly understandable. And since Luke clearly changes his tune by the end of the movie, again, I'm okay with it. And as for Luke "almost killing" Ben, I think the final flashback made it apparent that he didn't do that, so any complaints about that would be unwarranted, IMO. Yes, he ignited his saber, but he's only human, too. He knew he couldn't kill Ben, and if Ben hadn't awoken to see Luke there, saber ignited, Luke probably would've merely left his hut.

And the ending. Oh my word, the ending. I think this clearly shows Luke as the most powerful Jedi we've seen yet. I mean, projecting his physical image across the galaxy for that period of time? Even EU Luke had a hard time projecting images like that, and he never did it at that kind of a distance. So it's not surprising to me that the strain of that might be what ultimately caused Luke to become one with the Force. And his final conversations with Yoda, Leia, and Ben completely redeemed him. I loved it. Did I like that Luke died? No, but I have always wanted him to go out peacefully, staring at the twin suns and fading into nothingness. That he did it on Ach-To wasn't part of my vision, but that's still exactly how he died, so I'm content. I'm sure he'll still appear in IX, as a Force ghost. I wish he would've survived one more movie, but that's only a minor disappointment for how it happened.

So, in my opinion, TLJ completely honored the character of Luke Skywalker, certainly more than any of the late Legends EU ever did. This Luke was more epic than the Luke of DNT, LOTF, and FOTJ put together (not to mention his personality was better, and he was just better-written). As someone who holds Luke Skywalker as his favorite fictional character of all time, this was the perfect send-off for him.

 

My more detailed Luke reaction (and plenty of spoilers for TLJ of course)

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So after all these years of speculation, there's no grand plan, no wisdom,Luke just failed his nephew and went off to sulk for years. He could have just jumped out an airlock and it would have been faster. Even Luke asks how they found him, but no answer of course. Yoda has to show up to lecture him again on what he should do. So basically Luke never really trains one Jedi successfully (unless you count Rey, and even after she leaves he's still stuck in despair, so its more her training him), then dies.

I liked the idea that Luke had surpassed his teachers by keeping faith in his father, but instead its partially a retread of Obi-wan ("I thought I could train him"), and Luke just gives up after his failure with Ben. And he never even tells Han and Leia about, basically fleeing in shame. That last moment with Leia was wonderful, but even that was just a ghost really. I like Yoda and all but wish he hadn't had to show up to kick Luke into action.

I blame Ben Solo more than Luke for that, and while I had hoped for some big gesture, cross galactic Force apparition was basically it. It was a really cool scene, but when it turns out to just be a hologram, its a bit of a downer. Its kind of contradictory how pathetic Kylo Ren still is (he's clearly still desperately afraid of Luke and mostly just angry about everything), yet he's also so powerful that years ago, he reacted to Luke's moment of weakness and burned down everything, and there's not really much Luke can do about it. Ben dropped the roof on him and that was it basically.

Throwing away the saber didn't surprise me, not with how... irreverent the movie was. The first ten minutes had a "Your mother" joke, so I expected they would go with the grumpy old man thing for Luke.

Excellent acting from Hamill, the look on his face when he realizes Han is dead, when he's on the Falcon, etc. And too bad the only time we see his green lightsaber is during the flashback to that horrible night.

 

I'm fairly certain 8 spoilers are only allowed on the 8 thread, so I'll focus on what we got from 7. Luke ran away when things got bad. If he made mistakes, he should have stayed to face them. The Luke many of us cherish, who was a man and a Jedi, is in the following passage from 'Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor':

"I want you to build a case. Talk to people. Everyone who survived Mindor. Get the facts, and make sense of them, and make a case."

"What sort of case?"

"War crimes," Skywalker said grimly. "Crimes against civilization, dereliction of duty, desertion. That kind of thing. Anything you can find out."

Geptun angled his head. "About whom? Who is the war criminal you wish to indict?"

"I thought that was obvious." The shadows in Skywalker's eyes swelled as though they might swallow his whole life. "It's me."

When Legends Luke even thinks he messed up, he faces his consequences like a man. We didn't see this in 7. And people who have seen 8 now, they can make their own judgments on how well canon Luke in 8 matches with just this snapshot of Legends Luke from 'Shadows of Mindor'.

 

double post, sorry, the boards here are still shaky while the new movie is out.

 

My current outlook on SW:

 

So what is everyone's favorite Luke Skywalker moment? OT, EU, NEU, ST?

The Chair scenes with Jacen in Inferno.
Or saving Jacen in the Dark Tide books.

 

You have to ask?

• Beheading Shimraa with a pair of sabers
• Cutting off the Emperor from his Force Storm
• His entrance in DE

All make my list.

 

Thought it was appropriate question given the release of TLJ.

 

Enjoyed the movie, but still dissatisfied with what happened at the end.

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Im not ok with Luke force ghosting at the end. He will return in ghost form in Episode 9, but I wish we got to see more of alive Luke. I would be ok with him passing on at the end of Episode 9. Give a few year gap between movies, and we can see more of the relationship between alive Luke and Rey (good idea for an animated series, rebuilding of the resistance, and Luke training Rey as a jedi). Once again getting to see a Jedi master with apprentice.

 

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The line is: "I will teach you the ways of the Jedi... and why they must end"

 

Return of the lag, episode 6.

 

Sigh, the lag menace strikes again.

 

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I want JJ to do something *really* off the wall about that, like revive GL's early ROTJ draft idea that Yoda would rematerialize and help Luke fight the Emperor. I cant say I think the mystery box crap that JJ did in TFA was awesome, but TLJ just kind craps all over it. Why not go tit for tat and undo some of the crap Johnson did? Rematerializing Luke. Clone Snoke. Screw it. They are already mining some of the more outlandish stuff of the EU, may as well keep going.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

A lot of the ST is drawing from concepts from the earliest days of Star Wars.

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Things like Han dying since his job in the story was done, and Luke going off to be a hermit. I don't disagree it's a sadder ending.

I know some people just flat aren't going to like what's in the film, and that's ok. But I don't feel it ruins any character, or that their struggles were pointless. If anything, the role of legacy and inspiration is a big one in TLJ.

 

Feels like LOTF but on screen.

 

Beg to differ. The ST might have some of the same concepts and plot points as LOTF, but I feel like it's being handled far better. But that's just my opinion and if I'm being perfectly honest, I can understand why some might dislike TLJ. I just disagree and find it superior to LOTF in virtually every way.

 

And there is the problem for me.

 

Like I said: I can understand why some might dislike it. I just disagree.

 

How can I put it? Ah yes, I bailed at LOTF Betrayal thus, on a new version, I'm hardly likely to respond better second time around, am I?

Whatever else may happen I still got Rouge One out of it all.

 

Marks performance in this is so great, I understand some people will not like the direction they took the character, but it mostly works for me, and Mark really did a fantastic job.

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the scene with yoda and his epic showdown with Kylo and the entire FO force were my favorite with Luke

 

I remember that comic series. The actions of those five Jedi Masters disgusted me. The Jedi Covenant were monsters. Striking down their own apprentices in cold blood just because they foresaw a vague vision that one of them would bring destruction in the future. That is not the Jedi Way.

"Jedi try to spare everyone."