Star Words: Episode V, Part 46

[matril]

Whew. This installment has gone on for quite a while, hasn't it? Longer than the previously reigning champion, Episode III. It could be that there are a lot of great lines in this film, but more likely it's just that I tend to get more long-winded the longer I write about something. (Also, my favorite scene in this film is very dialogue-heavy, so it took up five whole entries on its own...) Anyway, we're finally winding down. I'm planning on just two more entries after this to finish Episode V.

The duel with Vader culminates with a fascinating twist -- and I'm not just talking about the reveal of Vader's true identity. That line is pretty simple, though oft misquoted (It doesn't start with Luke; it's No. I am your father) but it leads into the deeper implications of Luke's parentage. It's not just that Luke's father is the bad guy. With this ominous birthright, Luke possesses the capacity to follow in his dark footsteps and become like him. And there's a particularly tantalizing claim amid Vader's call for Luke to join him.

"You can destroy the Emperor; he has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way."

Quite a mouthful, and Luke is done interrupting. After his initial anguished outburst, he has withdrawn into his own thoughts, silently working through these shocking revelations. He may deny them all he wants, but his feelings are telling him otherwise.

And that claim about destroying the Emperor. Who wouldn't be tempted by that? To be told that destroying the leader of the Empire is nothing less than his destiny -- well, didn't Luke already destroy the Death Star and lead the Rebels to their first great victory? Isn't he the last Jedi apprentice for a reason?

We know about Vader's ploy to turn Luke from his earlier communication with the Emperor, but until the end of the duel Luke probably still assumed that Vader just wanted to kill him. That's what he did to Obi-Wan; that's what he supposedly did to Luke's father. Instead, Vader offers him victory, power, the chance to build the galaxy anew. As father and son. I already addressed the parallels with Episode III in that installment's 34th entry, the heartbreaking moment when Anakin makes a similar offer to Padmé.

Both of them reject it. The price is too high.

It is the only way. It says so much about Anakin/Vader that he believes this. That he sees nothing but the narrow, shadowed path of the Dark Side. That he cannot conceive how anyone could choose differently. When Padmé chooses differently, his frenetic mind casts the blame upon Obi-Wan. When Luke lets himself fall into the void, there is no one else to blame. He chose, of his own volition, to reject power and embrace passivity -- even a possible death. Though Vader's thoughts remain unexpressed, I imagine this marks the beginning of a change in his perspective, a broadening of possibilities that will draw him gradually back to the light.

Next, Threepio is dependably hilarious in the face of peril....

Comments

[krpalmer]

So far as "the number of entries per episode" goes, I've noticed the count seems a little off in your Dreamwidth tag sidebar; I did some checking and saw the tag was missing for Episode V, Part 11. On a more significant note, I can ponder how I'm just old enough to have been taken to an early-1980s re-release of the original Star Wars, but The Empire Strikes Back must have seemed too much for me to my parents (and going to see Return of the Jedi at the movies never seemed to come to anyone's mind, but that's perhaps something to be left for later...) As a result, I first experienced the continuing story via storybooks and comic book adaptations, and that can have me thinking "Vader's shocking revelation" doesn't weigh quite as much on me as it may for others (even those a bit younger than me who might have seen all three movies on TV or videotape to begin with). Even now I'm wondering about your "deeper implications" and thinking the possibility of "Luke turning evil" had been worried about earlier in the movie.

As for "Vader's offer," though, I remember seeing some discussions (perhaps even preceding Episode III and its own "rhyme" on the subject) proposing "I don't see Vader as intent on 'supreme power'; he wants to raise Luke to the highest point," even if that doesn't ring quite true to me thinking of "ruling fathers and sons." It's something to now be able to project whatever reaction we want to on to Vader seeing Luke drop into the abyss. I did wind up a bit annoyed at "The Making of Return of the Jedi" repeatedly editorializing about Vader not making his offer again to Luke in the next movie, but can imagine this moment (and another narrow escape to come) having some bearing on that.

[matril]

Thanks for the catch on the missing tag; I'll fix that.

I have no memory of seeing any Star Wars films in the theater until the Special Edition re-releases, so most of my impressions of the movies similarly came from the children's storybooks, at least until I started watching our VHS recordings of the trilogy on an endless loop at some point in junior high. Oddly, we only had books for the first and third films, not the middle, so I always had a vague impression that Empire Strikes Back was a less vital part of the story. That may be why I've never jumped on the "ESB is the best SW film" bandwagon, even though I obviously value it a lot more now.

I feel like it makes sense that Vader would have a different approach to Luke after the space between Episodes V and VI. He's no longer so confident about his offer's appeal to Luke -- the kid jumped apparently to his death rather than agree to it, after all. And his own inner conflict has been growing, strong enough for Luke to sense it.