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Sorry if repost, my dad sent me (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by mecfs@lemmy.world to c/starwarsmemes@lemmy.world

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[–] wjrii@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

It’s not just “bad luck”, it’s bad writing. Luke didn’t just “wail on Vader” to get that “sweet hand vengeance”. He initially turned himself in believing he could convert his father back to the light. He only attacked after extreme emotional manipulation from one of the most powerful Sith Lords ever, during an active battle to determine the fate of all his friends, all they fought for, and the literal freedom of the Galaxy. That is a far reach from a moment of pure safety where he had a bad premonition and the “threat” was sleeping.

In both cases, Luke was doing his calm thing, acting how he thought a Jedi should, and trying to do everything the right way. In both cases, the forces of darkness were pushing at him, and in both cases he comes close to giving in to save lives but stops himself. With Ben, or really with Palpatine/Snoke (still hate that this was the direction JJ went in TROS) the fear part only lasts for a moment, but with terrible consequences. Luke had mostly learned. He wasn't the same person, but when confronted with the same pressures he'd struggled in the OT, he had a moment where it came close. I didn't find it out of character at all, just a case of not becoming a magical, perfect person after your period of most intense growth.

I think there's an argument that we simply shouldn't bring back iconic, archetypal heroes like that, but once the choice is made, it's deeply uninteresting to have to be saints. As a commentary on teaching and aging and how trying to live up to the legacy of the Jedi as he knew them, I thought TLJ Luke was solid.

The "sacred texts" showed us that he was never truly as disillusioned as he wanted to make out, and that there was still a kid somewhere inside that understood the power of legend and legacy, and it informed his decision to help how he did.

Different aspects of these movies hit people in different ways, and I'm not really thinking I'll convince many people either, but I'll push back on the notion that it was "just" bad writing. TLJ had a point of view and an agenda, and I came out of it refreshed and optimistic and was genuinely taken aback at the backlash.

[–] SquirtleHermit@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Far be it from me to denounce some joy you found in the movie. We both obviosuly like StarWars (fellow geeks!), and if you liked TLJ's take, you do you.

I agree whole heartedly that it would be uninteresting to make Luke "saint-like". My issue isn't with him having flaws and room for growth.

But I stand by the fact that his "mistake" in the ST runs directly contrary to the central theme of and lesson learned in his original arc. It may have been "in character" for ESB Luke, but by the end of RotJ, he had been shown that the goodness in a person can overcome the darkness, even in Vader.

And TLJ didn't spend any time developing his actions, it just kinda said "well, his central arc wasn't as impactful as it seemed". Which I do believe is lazy/bad writing.

To blatantly plagerize Wikipedia.

A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to changing developments in the story. Since the change is often substantive and leading from one personality trait to a diametrically opposite trait (for example, from greed to benevolence), the geometric term arc is often used to describe the sweeping change.

Luke's arc saw him learn to see and believe in the godness inside people, even when no one else could. Better writing would have pushed into his transformation, or found a previously unexplored flaw to examine. Having characters need to learn the same lessons over and over again is not only frustrating, it's lazy writing and poor character development.

To that point, I once heard a youtuber recommend an alternative reason for Luke's fall that would have leaned into this defining characteristic. They suggested that Luke still get the premonition regarding Ben, but believe the goodness in Ben could overcome the darkness. When Ben inevitably falls to the darkside, this could cause Luke to have a crisis of faith, fundamentally putting the plot in the same spot as the beginning of TLJ, but in a way that played off of Luke's defining moment, as opposed to grinding against it.

Now you would have had to explain Ben's turn to the darkside, but I think "my uncle attacked me" is also kind of a weak reason to betray his parents anyway (and kill his father, and attempt to kill his mother). And also fails to address his weird obsession with Vader, like that was just kind of glossed over.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk.