Great article about Luke

Good article! Thanks!

 

Well, you got me there... I can't say I hated everything about Luke in TLJ

 

ROFL'd at this thread. if you liked this movie why do ya'll feel such a powerful need to defend it 24/7?

The Threads Point?
"Dudes like umm like can't you see that the only possible story arc for Luke was like this and stuff, duh he supposed to be like crappy an all."

Great argument , ya'll converted me, I now love TLJ because there is no other way Luke could be. No other fictional possibilities. The only possibility was for Luke to be completely changed because there were no other story and plot lines possible. Thanks for the lesson.

 

Keep Preaching. Maybe ya'll can convince enough people to get Rotten Tomatoes back to 51% Like I said you convinced me

 

You make some good points, I'm not trying to sit on a high horse or judge the film by my personal moral code, what bothers me is I think it's inconsistent.
Maybe I am biased by my personal moral code but for me the problem is Luke's actions in ROTJ go far beyond my personal moral code, I would have probably not bothered in trying to redeem Vader, I would have probably not been able to refrain myself from killing him in the heat of battle, and yet I would have never considered killing Ben.
So I guess what I'm trying to say based on my subjective experience is that this film diminishes the ability of the audience to relate with Luke. Some of you seem ok with his behavior and some of us believe a line was crossed that doesn't allow us to empathize with the character anymore.

 

I think we need to remember that in this fantasy universe, there is this thing called the dark side of the force. For people powerful with the force, the constant pull has to be resisted. Luke didn’t get inoculated from dark side temptation just because he resisted it in the past. It’s like battling addiction in our world, it’s always possible that you can fall. It’s a constant battle. I think the great thing about Luke is he’s never fallen. He’s stumbled, he’s gotten to the brink of the act, but always found a way to resist.

 

Yes I've heard that argument but I never shared that interpretation of the dark side, I don't see it as an addiction or an outside entity trying to corrupt you, to me it's just a reflection of our own psychological demons or flaws.
For example I don't agree with this interpretation from Yoda since he was proven wrong:

If once you
start down the dark path, forever
will it dominate your destiny,

My view is more according to what he says about the cave:

That place... is strong with the
dark side of the Force. A domain
of evil it is. In you must go.

LUKE
What's in there?

YODA
Only what you take with you.


Edit: I would have been perfectly ok with that scene if it was Snoke who briefly managed to influence Luke with those thoughts, making him the catalyst for Ben's fall as part of an elaborate plan.

 

It’s not an addition, it’s a pull. Similar to someone having to use will power, you have to resist the temptation. I believe the dark side is magnified in the Skywalker Bloodline. Luke was the only one to resist it after embracing his powers. Leia chose to keep her powers dormant. We all have the ability to do bad things. Think of the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other.

 

Agreed. Conversely, could Rey be the opposite? We saw hints of anger in her, but man she pulls back easily. If the Skywalker bloodline is cursed, could Rey’s be “blessed” so to speak? Just a thought.

 

People love the film and want to discuss it. Odd that this offends your sensibilities. Perhaps signing up for this forum last month was a bad idea. You'll find most of us love these films warts and all.

 

We'll probably never agree on that particular scene but I do like how Luke was handled beyond that point.

 

Like @clustercosmos and others, I too left the theater bothered by Luke's behavior when I first saw the movie. I liked the movie, and a love it now after my third viewing, and I understand and accept what they did with Luke. But, I too felt sad, if not betrayed, by the characterization the filmmakers did for Luke. At least for a fleeting moment

I also felt it was out of character for the Luke we know, who managed to turn his father, the Dark Lord of the Sith to the good side, to consider killing his nephew, even if it was just for a split second, whatever the horrible things he had sensed in him, which had not happened yet. Rationalizing it after seeing the movie more than once, of course it all makes sense. Luke is a Jedi, but he's also human, and humans fail. Even heroes fail. Luke failed. He failed Ben, his mother, and us all, ultimately.

And this is what I think bothers people, like me and clustercosmos and possibly Mark Hamill as well. We have to accept that Luke failed spectacularly, and is somewhat responsible for a good share of all the horrible things that happened since then related to Ben's behavior. In a way, Luke is responsible for the death of Han Solo, for example.

Luke is a hero for many of us. He was a hero for Rey as well. We felt disappointed with him together, we and Rey. Of course, he then saved the day. So, Luke's story arc in TLJ is one about failure, shame, learning from the mistakes and redemption. People fail, but we can do something about it, to correct that mistake. That's a great message.

This works for the film and as a continuity from TFA, however this was not, like clustercosmos has said, what some would have wanted to see, and therefore the film ended up being a let down for them. We need to respect and accept that those people have the right to be disappointed. RJ risked a lot by doing this. The end result is a surprising and shocking revelation, but due to the magnitude of such revelation, it also has the power to disappoint. In a way, it's like the film cashes in at the expense of the people who saw a perfect hero in Luke, one that does not make mistakes of this magnitude. And this is the power of the movie, and also one of its weaknesses at the same time.

I too was bothered by this for a while. Luke was a hero to me growing up. Witnissing our heroes fail spectacularly is not something one likes to see. It's a bit like seeing your father fail. We need heroes because of that very reason, because they do the right thing, and because they never run from the fight and will never rest until the right thing is done.

 

This is very well said. I can’t say I feel the same, but I understand completely. Do you find the more you discuss Luke and see others opinions or perspectives it helps you accept the Luke we got in TLJ?

 

This is what i call, defending the undefundefedable.

THAT was not my Luke. Maybe it was Luuke. But i know that was not my Luke.

They couldn't have that scene when Luke was taining Ben while awake, how Luke told Rey? He had 2 do it while he slept standing over him like a pyscho?

Not my Luke.

 

Then I guess you don't trust your Luke because "standing over him like a pyscho", that's Kylo's view of what happened. If we take Kylo's view as the truth then I totally agree with you, THAT was not my Luke either.
After my first viewing this is what stuck with me (the image of psycho Luke), but like with other questions I had TLJ rewarded me with the answer when I saw the film again.

Because from Luke's point of view he did not look like a psycho, he did not strike first. He just looked frightened, chocked AND gave a description of what he saw in Ben's mind. THAT is my Luke, and I trust Luke over Kylo Ren any day of the week, that's not even a question for me. It is not conflicting with the Luke I grew up with.

I'm not saying that you HAVE to agree with me, I just want to point out that we (who like Luke in the film) don't take "psycho Luke" as the truth and are just fine with it. We stick with Luke's view of what went down, we trust him.

 

To an extent, yes, I do feel it helps to discuss the subject, because rationally I think the plot works. Personaly, I totally accepted what happened to Luke after my second viewing, but I did struggle with it the first time I saw the movie. That said, I totally accept and respect the ones who didn't, and probably will have a hard time accepting it, if ever.

I think the hardest part is the fact Luke had given up, leaving all their friends at the mercy of what the FO and Ben could do. Or at least, that's what we're meant to believe by the TLJ events. We also don't know exactly what he was trying to reach Ahch-to so desperately for ("Did you think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all?" - Luke). So, was it to burn it all (Jedi books and first temple) and die? Or, were his motivations more on trying to find answers by going to the Jedi source, so he could get back to the fight with new knowledge and powers?

I thought TLJ would go more the "seek knowledge and answers" route to be honest, but ended up going more the "felt ashamed and despaired" one instead. I feel more people would be on board for the first alternative, but I totally see the "ashamed and despaired" route (TLJ's one) working great, as well, because if you take all the Jedi events starting in the PT till TLJ, it does make sense how Luke feels about them, and especially about his bloodline.

Personally, I would love if the reasons why Luke went to Ahch-to were the combination of the two possibilities. So, a) because he felt ashamed and despaired, plus b) because he went to seek knowledge and answers. That's what I chose to believe by the way.