Second, before I get serious, I will open with two terrible jokes:
- What is the internal temperature of a TaunTaun? Luke Warm
- How Many Sandpeople does it take to change a light bulb? No one knows- they change it in single file, to hide their numbers.
Neither of those are original to me, but I like them. Sort of the Darth-Vader Dark-Side of Dad jokes. The Snark Side of the Force.
So the movie. I liked it. It was long, Some have described it as moving at an AT-AT like pace, but it did what it needed to do, to continue the themes established so long ago, in 1977.
- That a spark of hope is sometimes all the light has, or needs.
- That you can never unmake a mistake, but you can do better when you next face a choice.
- That the future you are fighting for is bigger than any one person, and if you need to sacrifice yourself to save it, walk in with style.
We know that Luke Skywalker have been gone for years in The Force Awakens. He's Studying the original Jedi temple, we have heard, looking for a way to defeat the first order. He's waiting for us to bring him back and bring hope and the Jedi with him.
Luke Skywalker made a terrible mistake. His mistake had huge consequences. He has found the original Jedi temple, but he he has blocked himself from the force, and is waiting to die. He is waiting to take the last vestige of the Jedi order with him. He has concluded that the Jedi failed.
Pause here to address this betrayal of Luke's character.
Luke is broken. He is broken by the mistake he made with Ben Solo, unleashing Kylo Ren. He is broken by years spent in isolation from both the Force and from those he loves. What he has now from his time away, is a better understanding of the force, and perhaps how the Jedi erred in their relationship with it.
When Rey comes to Ahch-to, She revives something in Luke, that has not been there for a long time. Not hope, but curiosity. That Nobody, from Nowhere, is so strong with the force is a mystery that intrigues him. That is not enough to dislodge him from his island exile, but like a pebble down a mountainside, it starts a few things rolling.
Rey: You didn't fail Kylo. Kylo failed you. I won't.
When she leaves to attempt to redeem Kylo Ren, Luke prepares to destroy the knowledge of the Jedi, and most likely himself as well.
Which is when Yoda takes him back to school. One with the force, he has "become more powerful than you can possible imagine" and he destroys the home of the Jedi teachings with a storm of lightning. And he drops this bit of wisdom on Luke- Failure is a great teacher.
Luke "returns" to save the resistance, giving his own life in the process.In A New Hope, Obi Wan gave his life to secure Luke and Leia's escape. In Return of the Jedi, Luke surrenders to Vader in order to redeem him. In Rogue One, the entire strike team gave their lives to deliver the information that would make the Empire's ultimate weapon vulnerable. The Force Awakens showed us that the light side was bigger than Han, and The Last Jedi shows that it is bigger even than the New Hope himself, as he becomes one with the force while gazing into the setting suns. Episode 9 will somehow write out the late Carrie Fisher, and the Original heroes will be only a memory of hope to the galaxy they fell to liberate.
Kylo Ren: Did you come back to say you forgive me? To save my soul?
Luke Skywalker: No.
[they draw their lightsabers and fight]
Luke Skywalker: I failed you, Ben. I'm sorry.
Kylo Ren: I'm sure you are! The Resistance is dead, the war is over, and when I kill you, I will have killed the last Jedi!
Luke Skywalker: Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong. The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi.
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