Star Words: Episode V, Part 6
Jan. 30th, 2020 04:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilIn an earlier scene, we were treated with a tantalizing hint of how Luke's powers have grown. From the first film we learned that the Force was something that could guide your actions as well as heed your commands; something that offered extrasensory perception and an influence on weak minds; even something that could extend a person's influence past death in the form of a mysterious disembodied voice.
But as Luke hangs upside-down in the wampa's cave, on the verge of being devoured for dinner, he shows us a heretofore unknown Jedi ability -- telekinesis. Calming his panic, letting the Force flow through him, exerting every last bit of his strength, he summons his lightsaber to his hand just in time to fend off the wampa. I'd very much like to know if this astonished audiences in 1980. We all talk about the big reveal from Vader, but there are plenty of other surprises before then, and I'm curious what the original viewers thought.
In any case, Luke has gained power, but his progress will be hampered without a teacher. So Ben, from beyond the grave (not that he needed one) has made arrangements. Why has he waited till now to send Luke to Yoda? I'm of the opinion that in his neophyte state, Luke still struggles to commune fully with the Force and hear Obi-Wan's voice -- much less experience a full vision of him. But in his very vulnerable, almost dream-like state after wandering through the frozen waste, he is far more receptive. It's here at last that Ben is able to reach him.
"You will go to the Dagobah system."
This is the first appearance of a "Force ghost," and of course it raises a hundred questions. Can Ben appear at will or only when the Force wills it? Does he exist elsewhere, when not manifesting himself to Jedi? And so on and so on. It's fun to speculate. What we do know is this: this line should be quoted as often as possible, in the spookiest of tones. Go ahead and add the remainder of the speech. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me. This is Star Wars at its Star-Warsiest. Bizarre names like Dagobah and Yoda. Ethereal instructions from a bluish visage that could very well be a hallucination. Luke, groaning and muttering and passing out just as Han's tauntaun replaces the vanishing figure of Obi-Wan. What a gloriously weird moment. I love it.
Also, this gives us a peek at Obi-Wan's past; the notion that he too was once a young apprentice with a teacher. It's expanded and clarified in the prequels (not contradicted; Yoda taught all the younglings) but this glimpse is quite intriguing. Then we wait. Luke makes no mention of the vision to anyone after the rescue, so we have to wonder if he remembers it or believes it was more than his hypothermic imagination.
Next, a perfect line from Han...
But as Luke hangs upside-down in the wampa's cave, on the verge of being devoured for dinner, he shows us a heretofore unknown Jedi ability -- telekinesis. Calming his panic, letting the Force flow through him, exerting every last bit of his strength, he summons his lightsaber to his hand just in time to fend off the wampa. I'd very much like to know if this astonished audiences in 1980. We all talk about the big reveal from Vader, but there are plenty of other surprises before then, and I'm curious what the original viewers thought.
In any case, Luke has gained power, but his progress will be hampered without a teacher. So Ben, from beyond the grave (not that he needed one) has made arrangements. Why has he waited till now to send Luke to Yoda? I'm of the opinion that in his neophyte state, Luke still struggles to commune fully with the Force and hear Obi-Wan's voice -- much less experience a full vision of him. But in his very vulnerable, almost dream-like state after wandering through the frozen waste, he is far more receptive. It's here at last that Ben is able to reach him.
"You will go to the Dagobah system."
This is the first appearance of a "Force ghost," and of course it raises a hundred questions. Can Ben appear at will or only when the Force wills it? Does he exist elsewhere, when not manifesting himself to Jedi? And so on and so on. It's fun to speculate. What we do know is this: this line should be quoted as often as possible, in the spookiest of tones. Go ahead and add the remainder of the speech. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me. This is Star Wars at its Star-Warsiest. Bizarre names like Dagobah and Yoda. Ethereal instructions from a bluish visage that could very well be a hallucination. Luke, groaning and muttering and passing out just as Han's tauntaun replaces the vanishing figure of Obi-Wan. What a gloriously weird moment. I love it.
Also, this gives us a peek at Obi-Wan's past; the notion that he too was once a young apprentice with a teacher. It's expanded and clarified in the prequels (not contradicted; Yoda taught all the younglings) but this glimpse is quite intriguing. Then we wait. Luke makes no mention of the vision to anyone after the rescue, so we have to wonder if he remembers it or believes it was more than his hypothermic imagination.
Next, a perfect line from Han...
no subject
Date: 2020-01-31 01:56 am (UTC)In reflecting on Obi-Wan being able to speak after death to Luke in the previous movie, I've found some slight amusement in pondering whether he'd intended to tell him to head to Dagobah right away, only to somehow "fade out" before he could manage it... although contact depending on Luke's own connection to the Force is a good way to head off rejoinders along the line of "because the second teacher was thought up afterwards." I hadn't really speculated about your other questions, though.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-01 02:47 pm (UTC)