I never thought the map leading to Luke was a plot hole. It’s only weird if Luke is indeed hiding (which I don’t think he is) AND he’s the one who made it. But if Luke’s in hiding and Lor San Tekka made the map based on things Luke told him and things he figured out himself, it works. Because that also explains why it took Tekka longer to find the Temple than Luke.
And if Luke’s not in hiding, but has a specific purpose on that island. Then it makes perfect sense that he made it and transmitted it, because he’s ready to be found. Luke’s a lot more patient than he used to be but.. exile? Really? Luke couldn’t handle 19 years on Tattoine without whining about boredom. Luke couldn’t stay on Dagobah more than a few months before leaving to help his friends. This guy is going to this island with a goal, and he is going to want a ride off the planet as soon as he’s done. It is perfectly in character for Luke Skywalker to run off and send a map back to his family.
And then people complain he sent it to Lor San Tekka instead of Leia, except… Tekka is shown in the movie giving the map to Leia’s favorite pilot, so that he can take it to Leia. The guy is obviously a go-between for Luke and whoever Luke really wants the map to go to. Either it wasn’t safe, or he didn’t know Leia’s (probably well-hidden) coordinates to send her a direct message.
And finally, Artoo. Artoo is obviously where Luke GOT the map from. Artoo is also clearly where Luke meant for the map receiver to get the rest of the map from. Because who did Luke leave Artoo with? His sister. The same person Luke’s go-between is sending the map to. What does BB-8 do when it gets to base with an incomplete map? Try to wake up Artoo. And in Rey’s vision, when we see Luke, what is he doing? Putting his hand on Artoo, like he’s telling her through the Force that this droid has the answer.
Honestly, it makes perfect sense. He WANTS someone to come find him. Just not in a way that will alert his telepathic enemies before he can finish whatever it is he’s doing.
Monomyth
Thing I saw on Tumblr recently, reacting to a great picture of Mark Hamill hugging Lupita Nyong’o: “I love that Mark Hamill has just unilaterally decided Luke is everybody’s father, and also gay. :D”
To which I can only say this…
It’s even better than that.
If you check out Hamill’s full quote, here’s what you’ll read:
“Fans are writing and ask all these questions, ‘I’m bullied in school…I’m afraid to come out. Could Luke be gay?’ I’d say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer. If you think Luke is gay, of course he is.”
And, of course, that works for more than just gay. Gay, straight, bi, pan, ace, demi, trans, cis…anything at all. If you think Luke is, of course Luke is.
Even things you might not be able to think Luke is, Star Wars finds a way. Is it possible for Luke Skywalker to be a cis woman? Sounds like a stretch, I have to imagine. But then…as many people have established, in early drafts of the screenplay, the character occupying Luke’s place was a woman. Who’s to say that isn’t as much “Luke” as anything else?
The one thing Luke always is, through everything, is the one we look up to. That’s why it’s so important to the people writing in to Hamill. “If Luke can be gay,” they are saying, “it can be OK. I can face my fear. I can see Luke as someone to emulate, to be like. Luke can give me strength.”
No matter what you are, Luke can be you.
And that’s when you realize what Luke really is. And of course it’s what Luke is. What Luke always was, from the beginning.
Luke Skywalker is the Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Including yours.
Luke Skywalker is the Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Including yours.
My heart did a little thing. YES THIS.
Behold. the slashiest six minutes ever recorded for National Public Radio. I have edited nothing save to just cut it down from the original.
Han and Luke, stranded in a tent on Hoth, trying to keep warm. The fic has written itself.
Bonus points: lots of panting, hurt/comfort, threats to gag someone. And groaning.
“I’ll figure something out, Luke.” “I bet you will.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.It’s not even just the dialogue! It’s the WAY he says “I bet you will,” it’s like, no way that doesn’t get followed up with some serious making out. I damn near fell out of my chair.
Today’s “background” while working is Return of the Jedi (where “background” means I stop everything I’m doing to watch certain scenes).
The Emperor seriously is an idiot. I mean, he ALMOST has Luke. If he hadn’t started cackling every time Luke started to lose control and going “good, good!” he would’ve won. Hey dumbass, if you manipulate someone into doing something they don’t want to do, you don’t POINT OUT that they’re doing it.
Jeez.
It’s been so long since Palpatine had to manipulate someone like that he’s forgotten how. He’s also assuming Luke is like his father at that age: desperate for validation and stuck in a cycle of aggression, guilt, and repression. As this is totally not the case, he fails in his conversion effort big time.
Holy shit, you’re right. He’s doing exactly what he did with Anakin.
HOLY SHIT.
*skywalker feelings increase*
OH MY GOD!
This also gives me Uncle Owen and Obi Wan feelings because if Anakin was easily manipulated by Palpatine because it was the first time he truly received emotional validation from a father figure, that means that Luke had good emotional support from his father figures and ahshfkenf help
IT GOT
WORSEBETTER.*skywalker feelings in overload*
Really, it chaps my Cheerios when people forget the role Owen and Beru played in Luke’s life. Like, we only see them on-screen for a little while (and not in the most positive light, since Luke is being a rebellious teenager and they are being the mean parents), but they were the ones who raised Luke, who loved him, who watched him take his first steps and say his first words. Owen taught him to fly a Skyhopper and Beru taught him to fix vaporaters. You wouldn’t have Luke Skywalker, stand-up guy, without Owen and Beru Lars, adoptive parents.
I mean, the thing is, it’s clear when you watch ANH as an adult that Owen and Beru love Luke and want what is best for him, and that although they disagree about what is best for Luke, they are coming from a place of love and caring.
Luke is a huffy, unhappy teenager, chafing against restrictions, but no matter how “mean” Owen is, it’s perfectly obvious that Luke isn’t abused in any way. He feels free to complain and sulk and ostentatiously demonstrate about how UNFAIR it all is, without fear of reprisal. He has his own vehicle and considerable freedom as long as he finishes his chores. Owen and Beru have obvious affection for him and for each other.
And the way Luke’s face shutters and changes when he sees the homestead destroyed and their bodies, the way that devastation clearly strikes to the heart of him but produces a calm, determined grief? That prefigures his calm before his fall on Bespin, and it also ultimately stands in opposition to Anakin’s rageful, vicious, undisciplined response to grief.
Obi-Wan knows it, when Luke comes back to say he’ll go with him to Alderaan, that Luke is not his father.
And that’s down to Owen and Beru and how they raised Luke. They weren’t perfect – Owen is frustrated with Luke a bunch! – but unlike Anakin, raised a slave, made an orphan by violence, always susceptible to his own rage and loss, Luke had a bedrock.
How much must Luke Skywalker be freaking out right now?
Can you imagine?
You are moping on your island of self-imposed exile, and then this girl shows up.
- She’s flying your best friend’s ship. The ship that Han thought he lost for ever. The ship that was stolen and passed through so many hands that he was sure he’d never see it again. The same ship that took you away from home for the first time.
- She’s accompanied by your personal droid. The droid you left behind and abandoned. The droid that C-3PO was sure would never be the same again.
- She holds out her hand and she’s holding your father’s light saber. The sword you were sure was lost forever. The light saber that you dropped down a bottomless air shaft on a gas giant thirty years ago. The light saber you knew you would never see again.
- You look up and you see her eyes. Maz Kanata says that if you live long enough, you see the same eyes looking out of different faces. The girl’s face is different, but those eyes are the same. You know those eyes. They’re the eyes you thought you’d never see again.
And that’s when you know it.
You’re screwed.
They say sometimes the Force works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, the Force will send you little signs. Subtle clues.
Other times, the Force will just beat you repeatedly over the head with a gigantic neon sign that says: “You can’t run away from your past anymore, Luke. I won’t let you. Look, here is your past come back to haunt you. Now deal with it.”
