Star Words: Episode VI, Part 16

[matril]

This scene, though quite exposition-heavy, is really economical in telling us just enough backstory without dragging. We move swiftly from Obi-Wan's regret over failing as Anakin's teacher, on to the first surprising intimation that Luke has sensed good in Vader. Whether this is wishful thinking or something deeper will be explored later, as we then segue to Luke balking at the thought of killing his father, while Obi-Wan's You were our last hope provides a reason to address the 'other' Yoda mentioned.

Of course it's Leia, because we haven't been introduced to any other significant female characters around Luke's age. But within the story, imagine Luke's astonishment. That connection he's always felt with her -- on some level, he's always known. This revelation does lead to a lot of quibbling about their previous interactions, particularly the infamous kiss, but whatever. I feel like, for all that their sibling relationship wasn't planned until this film, it still works. It helps a lot that Mark and Carrie had a very brother-sister dynamic throughout the filming, while there was always far more romantic tension between Leia and Han. Or, er, Carrie and Harrison, but we'll leave it at that.

Luke has been alone, family-wise, ever since his uncle and aunt were killed. Finding out his true parentage wasn't exactly an improvement. But now, at last, he learns that he has a sister, already beloved to him, all the more precious with this newfound connection. He doesn't even need Ben to tell him explicitly. As soon as he searches his feelings, the truth becomes clear. But Obi-Wan has a warning about that.

"Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor."

Seems a bit harsh. Like the Jedi Council condemning Anakin for missing his mother. Come on, let Luke feel a little softness at this life-changing discovery. But once again the concern proves to be prophetic. It will be Luke's connection with Leia that most imperils his soul during the showdown with Vader and the Emperor.

So...bury your feelings deep down? Suppress them? Or does it have a more metaphysical meaning, in terms of hiding their existence from the psychic intrusion of the Sith? I hope Obi-Wan has learned to take the old Council's teachings with a little grain of salt. Anakin tried to suppress his feelings, and it didn't go well. Maybe Obi-Wan figures he just didn't suppress them enough, I don't know. We can speculate all day about this. In any case, I find it deeply intriguing that Luke's feelings are both his greatest weakness and, ultimately, his greatness strength. As paradoxical as it might seem, there is power in vulnerability. The Sith seek dominance, control, compulsion. The true Jedi way is passive, meek and yielding. To overcome not by force (with a lowercase f) but by unconditional love and compassion.

Next, a new dynamic between old friends....

Comments

[krpalmer]

There is a lot to chew over here, I'll agree. I did admit last year to pondering a specific alternative for "the other" (that would seem to require stretching out the saga, though), but it is interesting how an idea introduced to "raise uncertainty over whether 'the lone hero' will really make it out of the crisis all right" (as I believe George Lucas once said in a commentary) gets tied in to that hero.

You touched briefly on Luke's reluctance to kill his own father. I'm conscious a different story might make a big deal of "the only thing I can do to honour the memory of the good man you were is destroy the monster you've become," but acknowledge and accept Lucas was going for a feel-good ending in the face of disdain from certain others (although he did, in a sense, later get to a "downbeat ending," but one with an automatic escape already built in). However, I also have to admit to thinking "if you considered yourself constrained by the previous director's lazy invocation of what he thinks Star Wars is to suppose yourself searching for a tragic flaw in Luke Skywalker, maybe treating this moment as 'he thinks too well of his family' ought to be it."

Speculation about just what Obi-Wan means does lead me to recalling certain comments that "Yoda only said 'confront Vader'; maybe they were just nudging Luke into a position where he'd win through to redemption without having to be told what to do and emerge with the maturity to accept the nudging with a smile." That, though, leaves me with the same sort of "I can't articulate a lot of evidence against it, but I just don't like the idea of 'intricate clockwork schemes'" objection I deploy against the more extreme interpretations of "Palpatine the plotter."

[matril]

I just get so tired of "dark and gritty" stories being touted as inherently superior to happy endings. I love the idea that Luke's optimism and faith in his friends winning out over the Emperor's worldview. (And good grief, if Obi-Wan and Yoda were trying to covertly direct Luke to not kill Vader, they were certainly taking a huge risk! I'd rather believe that even the old wise ones have something to learn.)

[krpalmer]

I suppose everyone has their own taste in story endings; the problem is when "I've invested years in taking this story in" turns into "therefore, it should finally end the way I want it" rather than "looking around for something else." So far as "overelaborate plans" go, I've been pondering how "the Force lets you read minds and glimpse the future" might tie into "an awareness of stories as constructed starts to overpower idle, amusing thoughts of how things might have turned out differently." Otherwise, I have to admit to being pleased to see a response to my response, although nowadays I'm not getting "here's the response to your response" emails from Dreamwidth, just "replies to initial posts."

[matril]

Interesting -- I've still been getting emails for all replies to my posts.

It's inevitable that we create expectations about how stories should go, and they're always colored by our personal perspectives and experience. I've started to become very dubious that anyone could ever view a work of art with objective criticism -- a critic's review is, by definition, their opinion. And art isn't a mathematical equation or scientific theorem that can be proved or disproven. It's all about an engagement between the artist and the audience. So I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter whether the original Lucas saga is "objectively" good or not. I enjoy it; that's the only pertinent thing for me.

[krpalmer]

As it turned out I did get an email notification of this response; maybe the problem's with my own ISP. Anyway, I can understand your point about "all responses being personal." It did get me considering what added together beforehand so that I responded to the saga the way I did (and then to the Disney movies the way I did), even as I might have to face what would have made others react in different ways (although I can at least try and offer bits of evidence against certain initial accusations perhaps a little lost in the uproar now). Given suspicions a certain amount of criticism (particularly "amateur online criticism") has "trying to convince others" in it, though, I can imagine why some try to brush aside "personal and subjective," though.