Shouta
Member
This is what people who defend the film have been saying for the past 10 months....
I get what lessons and Rian Johnson was trying to preach, and I AGREE WITH THEM, but it's just so odd that it was in this movie. Becoming stronger from failure is the main theme of this movie....uh, Rian....this is a universally undertood concept..."What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"
I've got no problem with not enjoying it on a storytelling level even though I personally did. I only really take issue with the idea that this couldn't be Luke in the film which is what I see most in respect to this topic. I think it makes sense for him and the arc he goes through is pretty great.
I definitely agree with you that it's weird to see it in this film. I would have preferred to see this in like the last film of the trilogy especially with a lot of the shots in there. That last shot of Luke on the cliff hit hard but it would have been even more impactful as the ending of Ep 9.
Oh people don't talk about this enough but:
Snoke implies that the dark side and the light have some symbiotic relationship where when one side grows stronger..the other side grows equally strong....uh...what?
That makes everything seem so pointless.
It's used as the explanation of why Rey is so strong in the force (still doesn't explain her skill set).
So no matter what happens.....both the light and the dark will be equal.
Oookkaaaay...so why should we care now?
Hasn't that always been the case with the Force though? They talked a lot about balance in the previous movies and to provide that equilibrium, each side would need to continue to grow stronger as the other does.
The thing is Luke realizes that his anger was getting to him and he pulls himself back. He ignores Yoda, Palpatine's, and Ben's commands and chooses his own path. It's the last step in him becoming the Jedi he wants to be and his entire character arc. Luke in TLJ is entirely contingent on ignoring that and having Luke consider the one thing he would never do as shown on screen previously. Could events spiral out of control to where Luke has that moment of weakness? Maybe, but there needs to be some development in Luke's history and character to support getting from end of RotJ Luke to TLJ flashback Luke. Instead, we get the flimsiest of setups because Johnson doesnt put character first.
I agree that that moment in ROTJ was the last step in Luke becoming his own Jedi but I don't agree that TLJ Luke is contingent on ignoring that. I think it's consistent for Luke. You have to remember that Luke had that moment that he wanted to kill Kylo Ren in the hut but it subsided and he wasn't going to do anything. That's exactly what he did with Vader when he got angry. He pulled back and continued the confrontation properly. I think Luke was consistent in his actions in both cases. Where it differs is the consequences that.
I agree with you that I would like more events to explore Luke's history and character but not so much for that night with Kylo but for his thinking process after what occurred or additional events. For example, if he had gone after Kylo right away and failed to bring him back. Not only that but it only increased Kylo's rampaging with Snoke thus weighing even more on Luke. I could see that an extra kick to make him exile himself. Maybe something like along those lines.