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Star Words: Episode VI, Part 28
Jun. 3rd, 2021 09:45 amNow Leia understands why Luke must leave, but not why he's going to Vader instead of fleeing to the farthest edges of the galaxy. Well...the next exchange partly answers it. I wish I could go with you. To which Luke promptly responds No, you don't. What's keeping her from running away with Luke? Nothing external. Only her sense of duty and justice. Only the very core of her being. He knows she would never abandon the Rebel cause, the same that he could never run away from doing what's right.
As Leia knows what she must do, so Luke follows his own conscience. He has sensed the good in their father, and he intends to draw it out.
"I can save him. I can turn him back to the good side. I have to try."
Those first two lines are a beautiful expression of Luke's pure optimism and hope. Spoken with absolute assurance and determination.
Then a pause, and a wistful tone enters his voice. This third line is the absolute essence of his character. He believes wholeheartedly in Vader's ability to change, but even he has to acknowledge that his chances of turning him are slim. So? He's going to try anyway. Not because victory is certain -- it's anything but that. It's because if there's even the slightest chance -- the very tiniest particle of goodness still left in his father -- he has to try. That is who Luke is.
The chances of destroying the first Death Star were abysmally low. Multiple pilots with far more experience than Luke attempted the run and were defeated. But Luke had to try. As long as there was still life in him, he had to try. The possibility that a hardened mercenary like Han would change his ways? Every indication pointed otherwise. But Luke kept believing, kept pushing him to serve a higher calling. He had to try.
He keeps trying. He keeps hoping. He keeps fighting the darkness, against impossible odds, against every obstacle and setback. Luke is the spirit of a scrappy Rebellion, the lone survivor of a lost order, the voice of his long-lost mother. His very name means "Light." He shines in the darkness.
Next time, two words that mean everything....
As Leia knows what she must do, so Luke follows his own conscience. He has sensed the good in their father, and he intends to draw it out.
"I can save him. I can turn him back to the good side. I have to try."
Those first two lines are a beautiful expression of Luke's pure optimism and hope. Spoken with absolute assurance and determination.
Then a pause, and a wistful tone enters his voice. This third line is the absolute essence of his character. He believes wholeheartedly in Vader's ability to change, but even he has to acknowledge that his chances of turning him are slim. So? He's going to try anyway. Not because victory is certain -- it's anything but that. It's because if there's even the slightest chance -- the very tiniest particle of goodness still left in his father -- he has to try. That is who Luke is.
The chances of destroying the first Death Star were abysmally low. Multiple pilots with far more experience than Luke attempted the run and were defeated. But Luke had to try. As long as there was still life in him, he had to try. The possibility that a hardened mercenary like Han would change his ways? Every indication pointed otherwise. But Luke kept believing, kept pushing him to serve a higher calling. He had to try.
He keeps trying. He keeps hoping. He keeps fighting the darkness, against impossible odds, against every obstacle and setback. Luke is the spirit of a scrappy Rebellion, the lone survivor of a lost order, the voice of his long-lost mother. His very name means "Light." He shines in the darkness.
Next time, two words that mean everything....
