ROTJ

Sometimes our writer’s Discord discussions are too fun to keep to ourselves. Here’s one where I talk far too much about Star Wars ROTJ:

Tiffani: I watched the Star Wars original trilogy over the last couple of days while working on some Lego projects. I haven't seen them since I was a kid. And maybe I'm being hypercritical or missing the point but I don't think Luke is that great of a protagonist. He shows up in Return of the Jedi and gets baited into fighting with Vader and then keeps being like "No I won't fight you" while all his buddies are out there doing the hard work and then he's like "Fine kill me" and then VADER actually throws the emperor over the edge and saves the day. And everyone is like "Luke, you're a hero!"

...

He just felt like a passive hero there at the end.

All he had to do was show up and be weak so his dad would feel sorry for him and kill the bad guy.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the heck outta Star Wars, but I'm struggling to figure out why that was the best way to go unless you’re trying to promote pacifism. I get that you can't give into the hate and the dark side and all that... but like... my brain is having trouble feeling pleased with Luke as a protagonist.

Dustin: First - Luke doesn’t have a plan for Act III. Yoda tells him he must confront Vader. Luke thinks he can be saved. This is Luke’s dilemma: He must defeat Vader and destroy the Emperor to save his friends. But he can’t bring himself to kill the father he never knew. The Emperor is actually driving much of the Act III confrontation with Luke. He does have a plan. And it is to turn Luke to the dark side. Everything that’s going on in the background - the fleet battle, the commando team - Palpatine set it all up to draw Luke to him, and to place him in so much emotional conflict that Luke gives in to rage and falls. Palpatine is completely confident he can handle any threat and his plan will work. So things keep getting worse for Luke. He meets his dad, and confronts him with his true identity, but he won’t turn from the dark. Luke is in trouble. The Emperor is using his immense force powers to try and push him into making a mistake. Maybe the fleet will save him? No, it’s a trap. Han and Leia? That’s a trap too. Luke finally decides his only choice is to kill the Emperor … but Vader stops him. They fight. Luke realizes that he can’t win like this. He can’t bring himself to kill Vader (even if he can, which is doubtful).

So he tried to follow his teaching and to not give in to hate or anger. To be one with the force and find a way. During the fight, Vader keeps saying things that I always thought were standard villain lines. But I’ve listened really close over the years and … I think he’s really conflicted. Maybe playing both sides against the middle. “It is useless to resist, my son.” Or, a hint “It is useless to resist my son.” “I won’t fight you.” “If you will not fight, then you will face your destiny.” Not ‘die’ , not turn, but destiny.

Vader is conflicted. Luke says he can feel it. Fighting isn’t working. But not fighting also isn’t working. Luke is losing. He’s going to lose everything - friends, rebellion, life. Then Vader senses Leia.

This is actually the turn Luke needs. This is his third path through the dilemma. Jedi are not to fight through anger. The force is for knowledge. And defense.
(There is also an argument to be made that Luke is provoked for fear of Leia and is falling to the dark as he beats Vader, and only stops at the last second. But I like my version better.)
Defending his untrained, helpless sister, who the Emperor will turn if he fails. Now, Luke has a pure connection to the force as a Jedi, like his father before him. Through defending Leia, he draws the power to defeat Vader - but stops before killing him, realizing at the last how close he is to being him. Luke spares Vader. He knows the Emperor is wrong - he isn’t angry, he’s not full of hate, he’s won. Vader is beaten and Palpatine is a helpless old man.

Because that’s what the audience knows about the Emperor. Before Luke tosses away his saber, we have never seen Palp do anything but talk and cackle. Luke screws up at the moment of victory. Palpatine is more powerful than Vader and more than capable of killing him. Luke has almost won, but Palp’s plan is still going to win - oh, with Luke dead and Vader crippled, but the rebellion crushed …

Palpatine then makes his only mistake. He believes that Vader is still on his side, or at least helpless and unarmed. (Same mistake as Luke). Vader decides at the last second that every evil thing he’s done no longer matters - he can’t watch his son die. Luke was right about him. So he grabs Palpatine, who turns the lightning up to 11 because this isn’t toying with Luke anymore - but Vader kills him so hard he’ll never be able to return even in the most poorly-written sequel you can imagine.

Tiffani: Leonardo DiCaprio clapping gif

***

(Also, it might seem dumb for Luke to have such a weak plan. However, one of the underlying Star Wars OT themes is natural+emotion versus dispassionate machines. So Luke is repeating the decision to turn off the targeting computer and use the Force from the first movie, following the theme.)
And that’s the end of the ROTJ discussion … thank you for coming to my TED Talk.