Post by Aerandir Calmcacil on Jul 4, 2018 21:31:07 GMT -8
Shouldn't really needed to be said due to the title of the poll, but there will be spoilers for The Last Jedi within this thread. Should I even need a spoiler warning at this juncture? Eh, whatever.
Anyhow, I've had almost seven months to let Episode VIII fully sink in. I like many found it a bit of a shock the direction they took Luke's character in; I was almost certain he sought out the "First Jedi Temple" to seek some ancient knowledge in order to reform the Jedi Order. Get back to the roots, to the original vision that the Jedi of the Old Republic lost sight of. However, thinking on it a bit made me realize how completely understandable this whole turn of events was. He was always an idealist, yes, unable to give up on his father and pursued the good in him. It worked. It was a happy ending at the time. But he was still a young man with the huge weight of responsibility that was rebuilding the Jedi Order by himself. And when it all went up in smoke... well, I can't say I blame him for despairing. Shattering his own view of himself. Besides, don't we all get more cynical as we get older, regardless of how idealist we may have been in our youth?
One of the biggest points of contention with his portrayal in The Last Jedi was him drawing the lightsaber on Ben when he saw a vision of his dark future, despite relentlessly chasing the good in the heart of Darth Vader. But I didn't mind it. Luke called it impulse and said that he immediately regretted it, even before Ben woke up. Luke was very impulsive in the OT, and I don't begrudge him the fear of letting another Darth Vader loose on the galaxy;. Besides, Episode VI already proved he could be pushed over the edge, when Vader taunted him about turning Leia; and give him some credit, he managed to not let loose entirely this time.
The other biggest point of contention was the fact that he just left behind his family to hide away on a rock while they and the rest of the galaxy suffered a potential second Imperial reign. I admit I still have a few reservations about this angle as well, but I can at least understand where the writers are coming from. Luke touched on it as well: The pressure of being "Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master" just proved too much for him, especially after he failed his greatest responsibility of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Clearly felt inadequate afterwards. All in all The Last Jedi really humanized Luke and made him a very grounded and even relatable character.
Meanwhile, there's Legends...
It was cool watching Luke pick up the pieces and deal with the Imperial Remnant while also rebuilding the Jedi Order, I liked that. But after that... Luke's personality kind of went up in smoke. I feel like it was a side effect of them not being able to kill off Luke (or so I thought I'd heard), but he quickly became the rather bland paragon of the Jedi Order who just couldn't be defeated. Sometimes he still had moments that showed the man we grew to love in the OT underneath but ultimately to me he just became little more than the Big Good Guy. That's interesting to some people and I understand people's desire to have some sort of unbreakable figurehead, and even I like that concept when written well. But in retrospect... I think Luke in Legends eventually lost all trace of interesting personality.
So I guess it's time to throw out the fighting words early: I prefer The Last Jedi's Luke.
Oh, and I suppose I should make one minor clarification first in that this is only comparing to Legends Luke from material that takes place after Return of the Jedi. Should go without saying but I'll throw it up there just in case.
Anyhow, I've had almost seven months to let Episode VIII fully sink in. I like many found it a bit of a shock the direction they took Luke's character in; I was almost certain he sought out the "First Jedi Temple" to seek some ancient knowledge in order to reform the Jedi Order. Get back to the roots, to the original vision that the Jedi of the Old Republic lost sight of. However, thinking on it a bit made me realize how completely understandable this whole turn of events was. He was always an idealist, yes, unable to give up on his father and pursued the good in him. It worked. It was a happy ending at the time. But he was still a young man with the huge weight of responsibility that was rebuilding the Jedi Order by himself. And when it all went up in smoke... well, I can't say I blame him for despairing. Shattering his own view of himself. Besides, don't we all get more cynical as we get older, regardless of how idealist we may have been in our youth?
One of the biggest points of contention with his portrayal in The Last Jedi was him drawing the lightsaber on Ben when he saw a vision of his dark future, despite relentlessly chasing the good in the heart of Darth Vader. But I didn't mind it. Luke called it impulse and said that he immediately regretted it, even before Ben woke up. Luke was very impulsive in the OT, and I don't begrudge him the fear of letting another Darth Vader loose on the galaxy;. Besides, Episode VI already proved he could be pushed over the edge, when Vader taunted him about turning Leia; and give him some credit, he managed to not let loose entirely this time.
The other biggest point of contention was the fact that he just left behind his family to hide away on a rock while they and the rest of the galaxy suffered a potential second Imperial reign. I admit I still have a few reservations about this angle as well, but I can at least understand where the writers are coming from. Luke touched on it as well: The pressure of being "Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master" just proved too much for him, especially after he failed his greatest responsibility of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Clearly felt inadequate afterwards. All in all The Last Jedi really humanized Luke and made him a very grounded and even relatable character.
Meanwhile, there's Legends...
It was cool watching Luke pick up the pieces and deal with the Imperial Remnant while also rebuilding the Jedi Order, I liked that. But after that... Luke's personality kind of went up in smoke. I feel like it was a side effect of them not being able to kill off Luke (or so I thought I'd heard), but he quickly became the rather bland paragon of the Jedi Order who just couldn't be defeated. Sometimes he still had moments that showed the man we grew to love in the OT underneath but ultimately to me he just became little more than the Big Good Guy. That's interesting to some people and I understand people's desire to have some sort of unbreakable figurehead, and even I like that concept when written well. But in retrospect... I think Luke in Legends eventually lost all trace of interesting personality.
So I guess it's time to throw out the fighting words early: I prefer The Last Jedi's Luke.
Oh, and I suppose I should make one minor clarification first in that this is only comparing to Legends Luke from material that takes place after Return of the Jedi. Should go without saying but I'll throw it up there just in case.