You’ve got to give it to luke and Ben tho. They’re truly Anakin’s own flesh and blood. Only two skywalkers could have had their family confrontation full of dramatics and emotion and ridiculousness on planet made of salt.
Carrie Fisher wrote the entire scene for Leia and Luke’s reunion in The Last Jedi and that makes the words Luke said, ‘No one’s ever really gone’ resonate even deeper with me
Listen, if I have to sit through a Kylo redemption (I’m not opposed, but I don’t know that I’m in favor, either, just… it’s Star Wars….) I WILL TAKE SOLACE IN THAT HE WILL BE STUCK WITH THE OBIKIN OLD MARRIED COUPLE ROUTINE FOREVER.
He will be stuck with being so disillusioned about WHO IS GRANDFATHER REALLY IS, because, oh, sure, most powerful Force user ever and actually really brilliant and so talented but also WHAT A NERD and he just LAYS OVER OBI-WAN’S LAP and complains that he’s tired, THEY DON’T EVEN NEED SLEEP, THEY’RE GHOSTS, and Rey never really does come around to more than tolerating him, Uncle Luke forgives him he can see it on Luke’s face every time he looks at him, and also Yoda keeps poking him in the face WITH THE POINTY END OF HIS STICK he only uses the rounded end for the others’ faces!!!
One of the things I really liked about The Last Jedi is something that @forcearama really helped put into clearly for me, that the movie shows pretty clearly how Yoda continues to be one of the strongest voices for how the Jedi have never been perfect. Even as far back as Attack of the Clones, Yoda was like WE BETTER KEEP AN EYE ON OURSELVES (”His abilities have made him, well, arrogant.” “Yes, yes. A flaw more and more common among Jedi. Hmm. Too sure of themselves they are. Even the older, more experienced ones.” Yoda says while looking RIGHT STRAIGHT AT OBI-WAN.) and repeats this in Rebels as well. Along with Ahsoka and Obi-Wan both reflecting in various bits of canon (whether Rebels or the canon novels) about where their failure does or doesn’t lie.
That is right in line with his conversation with Luke in TLJ
So it is time for the Jedi Order to end.
Time it is. Hmm. For you to look past a pile of old books, hmm? Oh. Read them, have you?
Well, I…
Page-turners they were not. Yes, yes, yes. Wisdom they held, but that library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess. Skywalker,
still looking to the horizon. Never here, now, hmm? The need in front of your nose. Hmm?
I was weak. Unwise.
Lost Ben Solo, you did. Lose Rey, we must not.
I can’t be what she needs me to be.
Heeded my words not, did you? Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.
But contrast that with how Snoke is written:
You think you can turn him? Pathetic child. I cannot be betrayed, I cannot be beaten.
I see his mind,
I see his every intent.
Zero room for even the idea of that he could fail or be less than perfect.
That is what a villain looks like, so sure of themselves that they cannot possibly see the truth, there is no room for compassion or care or even growth.
Yeah, Luke does some shit talking about failure of the Jedi, but the whole point Yoda’s making is YOU DON’T GIVE UP AFTER ONE FAILURE, YOU GET BACK IN THE GAME and he’s right about that. He’s right that sometimes people–people who are good, who are compassionate, who never strop growing and striving and seeking the good–fail and you don’t give up forever and ever because of it. You put on your big kid undies and GET BACK OUT THERE.
This is why I love the Jedi so much. Luke’s speaking out from a really bad place and he’s wrong. It’s understandable why he’s there, the restoration of the Jedi Order (and, let’s be clear, Luke gave them, what? 25 years of peace and balance, THAT’S NOT NOTHING, LUKE, even more the previous Jedi gave the galaxy A THOUSAND YEARS OF PEACE, that’s really not nothing! THAT IS WORTH WHATEVER FIGHT RIGHT THERE) was something that he poured everything of himself into, he defined himself through it, he funneled so much of his life and identity into this role. And it crashed and burned around him.
The longer I sit with this version of Luke, the more I can salvage something of my dashed expectations and have it make sense to me. Luke’s in a bad place, he’s lashing out from his own guilt, saying everything is terrible, nothing is worth anything, etc. I’ve been there, that kind of headspace is horrible, you get all turned around and can’t see anything clearly.
And ultimately the point is that the Jedi keep growing, that’s always been how they are. They’ve never set themselves apart from failure sometimes, they’ve never thought themselves so perfect that they could not possibly fail, and Yoda’s been saying that all along. We have a direct contrast against that, we have what actual bad people look like–Snoke. Who is so arrogant that he thinks he cannot possibly be betrayed and then IMMEDIATELY IS. He’s dead, while the Jedi continue forward.
That doesn’t mean you don’t get back up and keep going. THAT IS WHAT THE JEDI DO and, if nothing else, this movie is giving me that and I’m just really, really into that.
Okay all my immediate thoughts on The Last Jedi under the cut
Okay my childhood hero just died I’m FINE
Yeah I know he joined the Force and all that jedi bullshit but STILL
NO ONE CAN KILL THE SKYWALKER TWINS except themselves I guess
I was REALLY happy with the way Ren’s story went. I was happy that he didn’t turn for Rey. I’m glad that they were able to surprise me with that and I’m guessing they’re going to continue to parallel Anakin and Ren will turn right before dying
I think the kid next to me was getting tired of me heavily sighing at Luke every time he opened his mouth but come ON boy you keep talking about how the jedi need to end while dOING NOTHING DIFFERENT FROM THE PREVIOUS GENERATION OF JEDI YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THIS INSTEAD OF SULKING FOR 20 YEARS
I’m FINE
MOTHERFUCKING FORCE GHOSTS THEY ARE STILL AROUND
I may have screed. A little. I was not the only one
Still holding out for Anakin and Obi-Wan’s ghosts
“I’ll be with him every step of the way” WELP LUKE WAS STILL TAKING STEPS UP UNTIL THE END OF THIS ONE AND HES PRESUMABLY NOW PRANCING AROUND AS A FORCE GHOST SO WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU KENOBI
I was VERY UPSET when they blew the bridge and it looked like Leia had died because I said I’d live as long as they gave her a good death and that was exactly the OPPOSITE OF WHAT I MEANT BY A GOOD DEATH
I had caffeine to stay awake and am now regretting
I saw Ahsoka’s Padawan beads in Obi-Wan’s Chest of Sadness that Maz had, so um I’m gonna need an update on her thanks star wars
Seeing that one pilot in the fight on the salt planet my immediate thought was MIARA but she was way too young to be Miara so I’m gonna go with Miara’s kid this is my headcanon no touch
WHERE ARE OBI-WAN AND ANAKINS FORCE GHOSTS the only acceptable explanation is that they are FINALLY having a vacation. Somewhere tropical. With no pirates or smugglers or sith
Who am I kidding Obi-Wan is a trouble magnet they’ll never get peace
LET THEM COME BACK TO TEACH REY DISNEY IM BEGGING U
Well I said if the Skywalker twins talked to each other I’d be fine so I guess I’m fine.
konekorambles 