Six Years After The Last Jedi, I Finally Figured Out Why His Luke Skywalker Story Was Really So Controversial

Undoubtedly the biggest talking point of Star Wars: The Last Jedi was Luke Skywalker’s storyline, but I could have figured out why it didn’t sit well with all fans. Not only was Luke Skywalker’s death in The Last Jedi Poorly received by many, but the way his character was handled before, also received criticism. As someone who loves The Last Jedi And thinks that Luke’s character arc in the movie is one of the more in-depth star wars, I have spent the last six years listening to opinions on this matter that are very different from my own.

While many will continue to tell me that The Last Jedi is one of the worst-ranked Star Wars movies and that the Luke Skywalker in the film is actually an imposter named Jake Skywalker, my opinion has never changed on the matter. I just came to love The Last Jedi More over the years, and I’m hoping upcoming Star Wars Movies take risks like Rian Johnson did. That said, I have always been intrigued by the intense reaction to Luke’s character arc and why it was so disliked, intrigued enough to try to uncover its source.

George Lucas intended Star Wars to be a modern fairy tale… & Luke was the OT fairy tale hero

Luke was a vehicle for audiences to experience the Star Wars galaxy

The reason I found that could explain the strong dislike of Luke’s The Last Jedi Journey actually stems from an earlier part of the Star Wars Timeline as the sequel trilogy. It stretches back to the beloved original trilogy, specifically a novel centered around the movies released in 2015. The book, written by Adam Gowitz, was titled The Empire Strikes Back – So You Want to Be a Jedi? In this novel, Govitz explores the character archetypes of the three main original trilogy heroes at this point in the timeline, and Luke’s portrayal is one that I found very interesting.

Gowitz explains that some of Star Wars Best characters like Han Solo or Leia Organa are full of personalities, but Luke is not. Although I admit that Luke is a fantastic character in the original Star Wars trilogy, rewatches of the film make this clear. Little is known of Luke outside of his desire to leave Tatooine A new hopeWhile Han’s backstory with the criminal underworld and Chewbacca is outlined, so is Leia’s fight against the Empire while acting as a diplomatic princess. The reason for this is that Luke is the typical fairy tale hero of Star Wars:

“People sometimes complain that Luke Skywalker isn’t much of a character… He’s a bit bland. A bit bland. Which is just as it should be. The hero of a fairy tale must be bland. What do we know from Cinderella, except that she has to work in the Ashes and her family is mean to her. Because the point of Cinderella is that we can put ourselves in her shoes… We all feel like Cinderella sometimes – mistreated, unappreciated, with great potential. What has yet to be recognized Her story has endured for so long … Because it is so universally empty … The heroes are empty, so they are empty, so we can do their deeds, and learn their lessons Luke is an empty Like a pair of shoes.

As Govitz points out, Luke isn’t meant to be a character that takes on much depth or history or personality. Instead, Luke is the vehicle through which the audience will experience the story. Much like the avatars of a video game that players control to experience worlds, stories and relationships, Luke is the same for the original Star Wars Trilogy. I’m not saying that Luke doesn’t have his own character in UT, but compared to the charismatic ones like Lando, Han or Leah, Gavitch’s writing becomes somewhat true.

Fans of the OT identified with Luke … who made his fate their own

Luke became a mirror for viewers of the original trilogy

With this view in mind, I think it’s worth exploring the potential psychological connection formed between fans of the original trilogy and Luke Skywalker. When we as audiences read fairy tales or sprawling epics or watch long-running TV shows and movie franchises about heroes bridging empires, confronting evil and saving the day, we often long to see the good guys succeed.. In a way, it’s about escapism as much as it is fantasy. In many ways, the audience watching the stories imagine themselves in the shoes of the heroes, as Govitz points out.

Since they were children, we always liked to imagine ourselves as the Luke Skywalker many – Rey and the resistance included in the Star Wars Sequels – hoped he would be: the hero straddling countless enemies with a laser sword. But, as we all know, The Last Jedi subject to this expectation. Luke said that he would not face the entire First Order with a lightsaber, and instead wanted to be left alone on Ahch-tsu so that he would die and the Jedi could be with him.

Immediately, this rubbed some audience members the wrong way. After all, this is not the hero we saw ourselves as. This isn’t the hero we’ve followed for decades who we’re sure would never turn away from a fight, is it? As it turns out, Luke’s story in The Last Jedi was much more human. Rather than a vehicle for audiences to see themselves fighting the Sith and saving the galaxy, The Last JediHis look was a reflection of the darker parts of people’s lives.

Luke was no longer a heroic archetype, but a despondent, depressed, guilty, old man, whose image attacked what had been a reflection of the world for decades. It may be the case that, psychologically, Luke’s depiction in The Last Jedi Cut too close to home for many who would rather see themselves reflected as a brave action hero. As a result, criticism of this new version of Luke that felt all too human and not enough Jedi followed.

There is a fundamental error in this view of The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi is not about typical legendary heroes, but making way for future ones

However, if indeed my – and by extension Govitz’s – theory is to be believed and those who did not respond to The Last Jedi Don’t like how Luke’s character reflects their flawed aspects, that’s the wrong way to see the film. As I have long made private to those who do not like The Last JediOften times the culmination of Luke’s arc is ignored. Of course, I will note that this is not a reflection of every single person who did not like The Last JediAnd many of the film’s criticisms are certainly valid.

That said, some pinpoint the first half of The Last Jedi As the part they keep issues with, so ignore the resolution of Luke’s arc. Luke’s journey is about accepting that human flaws are present in everyone and that they can be overcome. Luke’s heroic arc is, instead, given to Rey, Finn, Poe and everyone else his legendary feats from the original trilogy inspired. As such, viewing Luke’s arc in Star Wars: The Last Jedi How the passing of the torch from one group of archetypal heroes to the next might be the best way to see it yet.