Disney Plus made a cute Star Wars show about Jedi younglings, but not the murdered ones
In the past decade and a half, there may not be another Star Wars moment that fans love to hate, or simply just hate, more than when Anakin Skywalker slaughtered an entire room full of younglings in Revenge of the Sith. It was a dark, disturbing scene that haunted even the most passionate fans of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy.
The “Stupendous Wave” Star Wars YouTube channel said in 2019 that John Boyega’s people said that an official trailer for Rise of Skywalker would air at halftime during Monday Night Football, and go to YouTube at the same time. This sounded like bullshit to me, and as troubles continued after the backlash given what Rian Johnson did to the story arc directing The Last Jedi, I was mostly aware that I should try to get a night’s sleep that Monday and get the same scoop of trash that had been grabbed several times too many already the next morning.
Or whenever. They’re not the worst movies in the world, but they’re not really good, either.
Luke Skywalker wanted there to be more Jedi Masters, heroes of The Force, who help police their galaxy.
The word disciple is a personal follower of Jesus during his life. The Last Jedi retells how Jesus could do only so much, as when Luke is unseated by Ben Solo, son of Han Solo with Leia Organa. Ben has betrayed Luke and murdered the other disciples, becoming Kylo Ren.
This is not that different than the Apostle Judas betraying Jesus to Pontius Pilate for thirty pieces of silver. Unlike Jesus, crucified by the Romans, Luke enjoyed the freedom to retreat to Ahch-To. He is done with enlisting Jedi, at least until Rey seeks him out, and tells him what she knows is happening in the First Order across the galaxy.
Luke had known when teaching Ben that the young man could be trouble for the galaxy.
Some of the tragedy of The Last Jedi, tragic in the sense that the events of the story are irreversible, and of an ill nature, is that what Luke could teach caused the apprentices’ demise. Heady stuff. The Jedi dedication to The Force could not combat the voice of the darkness in Ben’s mind (Snoke’s voice, I believe).
Young Ben Solo is seduced by the Dark Side, as the transformation into Kylo Ren begins (with, I think, the interrogation of Rey).
Luke Skywalker is my favourite character in The Last Jedi because of the reminders Mark Hamill creates of the original Star Wars movie trilogy. Luke`s abilities in The Force, begun in Star Wars in 1977, and explored in the two sequels, are what fans usually like about him. For Luke to teach the ways of a Jedi Warrior is great because Luke learned from Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back, the ways of The Force.
“Pass on what you have learned,” Yoda finally tells Luke in Return of the Jedi.
The Star Wars audience knows of events in the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens because they have been told to Rey by Han Solo when the two are aboard the Millennium Falcon after Rey leaves home. If Luke`s other disciples had anticipated Ben’s seduction by the Dark Side, and his protégés, they would have become afraid, as this is Anakin Skywalker’s grandson and potentially very powerful. No one facing death would fail when a pressing objective very much requires the opposite: the objective to become Jedi and to defeat the First Order.
Luke`s remorse is evident.
Recollections of the murders are present in The Last Jedi, but that movie would have been better if it were more clear what Luke searched for in his years of travel before the events of The Force Awakens. Luke is a Jedi Master who can deter the First Order if only he can teach Ben Solo the treachery of The Dark Side of The Force. That can`t be done, not even by Luke Skywalker.
How is it that Luke, with everything he knows about The Force, can make such a dangerous error? Luke has decided, I think, in The Last Jedi, that to wield The Force, with as much ferocity as he has, is hubris. If Luke had reached Ben Solo on any other level than training Ben to be a Jedi Warrior, the sway of The Dark Side on Ben might have been dispelled, with Ben never joining the First Order.
Although the conflict in Ben has made unrest in the galaxy that Luke, Leia, Poe, Finn, 3P0, R2, and Rose together begin to combat in The Force Awakens, Ben`s path could have taken him elsewhere instead of to the very center of the battle against the tyranny of the First Order anew in the galaxy.
Reasonable fear is usually an emotion evoked by The Dark Side of the Force on one full of vulnerability. That same emotion could have prevented the tragedy and kept both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker alive. Remember that Luke`s powers mostly fail him in The Empire Strikes Back when Darth Vader pursues him to Cloud City on Bespin after Yoda has told Luke that he isn`t ready for the encounter.
In The Last Jedi, Leia has told Luke that she desires him to teach The Force. If Luke could have drawn insight from what Yoda at the last had to say about teaching, with wisdom, The Force, a generation before Ben murdered Luke’s apprentices, the drawback of overconfidence in Luke Skywalker could have meant a saner outcome.
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The Skywalker Saga drew to a close beginning December 20, 2019.
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