Star Wars: The Last Jedi: An explanation of Luke Skywalker that makes sense
Leave it to Star Wars enthusiasts to come up with a take that unifies the different experiences we’ve had with Luke Skywalker over the films.
Full disclosure here: This writer did not have any problems with Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Not the trolling of Kylo Ren and Rey both, not the self-imposed exile … okay, maybe the milking scene, although the milk looked blue instead of green to me and frankly, I thought it was somewhat hilarious if also very gross. While I haven’t gone so far as deciding that Luke Skywalker is a space virgin, as has Rachel Leishman, I didn’t come out of The Last Jedi feeling Luke’s entire character arc had been ruined.
All of this is a precursor to saying that a nice Redditor going by the name of TLM86 (via Esquire) has effectively put this into actual words instead of general feelings, and that those words should be looked at by fans who aren’t so sure they liked the person Luke has become in The Last Jedi.
"I’d argue that Luke in the flashback does what Luke has always done as a hero of the Rebellion and a Jedi Knight: he trusts his instincts. And they led him wrong, hence retreating into exile unable to trust his insight any more and in an emotional crisis."
As I’ve talked about myself, a big theme of The Last Jedi is knowledge — and when that knowledge is wrong, how you react to it. With the above insight in hand, Luke is in a position to tell Kylo and Rey that they’re doing it wrong because he’s done it wrong himself, and would rather not put them through the agony of doing something so significantly wrong when they’re so young.
He hasn’t entirely worked through what TLM86 calls his “emotional crisis” by the time we see him again in The Last Jedi, and it leads to, among other things, why he’s a total troll. Should he probably have done and been better, considering how long he’s apparently been gone? Yes, but he’s a Skywalker. Drama is genetic. He went into isolation, too — eschewing connections and people who probably would have helped him through it. (Don’t tell me General Leia Organa could not have found time to help her brother out, even though he also nearly killed her son.)
At some point, the drama over The Last Jedi feels, at least at some level, fans responding to their being told they were wrong by Luke. But sitting back and thinking about it, the more I enjoy what the film at least tried to do.
Next: 5 things we want to be erased from Star Wars canon instead of The Last Jedi
Whether or not it succeeded is another matter entirely.