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'Star Wars': Last Jedi fan theory gives light to Luke Skywalker's odd behaviour

We didn't think about this

Ilana Kaplan
New York
Wednesday 03 January 2018 20:25 GMT
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Back trailer

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In the latest Star Wars film, Luke Skywalker took on a different role in years past, going from the heroic saviour of the galaxy to a flawed, isolated man who watched his star student, Ben Solo, go to the dark side.

In The Last Jedi, Luke realises Solo is contemplating going towards the dark side and considers killing his pupil.

Luke’s intent seemed out of character, but a Reddit user seemed to have some insight on the plot point and defended the storyline:

In discussing the contemplated murder, the user explains that it's not too far off from Luke's intent to kill Darth Vader in order to seek justice for his aunt and uncle, Obi-Wan and his father.

Mark Hamill in The Last Jedi
Mark Hamill in The Last Jedi

The user says, "Even Obi-Wan and Yoda urged him to face and strike Vader down in order to become a Jedi Knight, but Luke's instincts told him different."

They purely see this as a pattern in Luke's character.

"Luke has always trusted his instincts," the Reddit user says. "He did so to destroy the Death Star, and does again to face Vader on Bespin rather than complete his training -- that one was a mistake in the short term, but it allowed him to realise the truth and ultimately redeem Vader."

It’s an interesting point considering Luke has always looked inward to make the most practical decisions.

It’s no different when it comes to Solo: Luke's instincts have been a constant in helping him to make major decisions over the years.

When it comes to killing his own nephew, Luke uses his "feelings" and "insight," but "he only sees darkness."

"Now, Luke's trusted instincts are telling him to strike Ben down for the good of the future, in the same way his damaging trip to Bespin was ultimately a good thing, and to ignore the advice of his Jedi Masters and reach out to Vader was a good thing," the Reddit commenter adds.

While his instincts were wrong, the Reddit user points out that Luke's retreat to self-exile was an emotional crisis where he couldn't trust his insight.

The Reddit user’s perspective is hard to argue with overall.

The reasoning is objective and dedicated fans might not be willing to see that any hero has flaws.

He redeems himself, though: Luke does eventually save the good guys in The Last Jedi.

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