2023 has seen the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi and what a celebration it’s been. Hasbro have released some fantastic tie-in products to mark the occasion, we had some special panels at Celebration Europe in London and the film made a triumphant return to cinemas around the world for a limited release. A few short weeks ago saw the release of the new book; ‘Return of the Jedi – From a Certain Point of View‘ and with it the celebrations seem to now be in the rear-view mirror but we couldn’t let the occasion pass without commenting on the impact of the film on the story as a whole.
A defining moment of a film could differ wildly from audience’s favourite moments. A defining moment might not be the most spectacular or crowd-pleasing but is the moment that serves as the epicentre of the story and generally is the crux for the emotional core of the characters. A favourite moment from Jedi might be Wicket the Ewok cuddling up to Han’s leg as they listen to C-3PO’s stories of adventures past or it might be the battle on Jabba’s Sail Barge or perhaps it’s the space battle before the Death Star II. These are all brilliant, but not the moment the story ultimately boils down to.
Which brings us to the moment in question.
Vader lies on the floor, gasping for breath. Luke has felt a violent rage and in his moment of blind darkness has severed his father’s hand. The Emperor draws closer as he cackles with delight at the prospect of a new apprentice, one that Vader failed to be. The Emperor offers Luke a choice and he’s confident he knows which path Luke will take. Luke pauses. Retracts his lightsaber and turns to the Emperor.
“I’ll never turn the dark side. You have failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
And there it is. The moment the saga comes down to. Luke Skywalker, the hero we all strive to be, is offered an avalanche of power but instead he chooses not to fight. This moment had more depth added to it in 2005 with the release of Revenge of the Sith as Anakin, a generation before, was offered the same choice. To make a deal with the devil himself and Anakin does indeed give in and makes a choice based on selfishness. This is what George Lucas has constantly talked about. The Force comes down to two types of entities. Selfishness, the dark side, and compassion, the light side. The irony with Anakin’s pact with Palpatine is that Palpatine offered Anakin the chance to save his wife from death. Anakin pledges himself to the Dark Lord but Padme ends up dying anyway.
Luke is faced with the same choice. Why would Palpatine think that Luke would make any other decision than to follow him? What the Emperor didn’t factor in, of course, is Luke Skywalker is not his father. The sins of the father are not the sins of the son. (This has recently been analysed rather well in recent shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. They are not to blame for the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. Those faults lie squarely at the feet of the Chosen One himself, perhaps even the will of the cosmic Force or even destiny.) Luke chooses the light for no other reason than he can. And it’s the right thing to do. Because he loves people. He loves his friends. He loved his Aunt and Uncle. Do I dare say he loves Artoo and Threepio. Luke loved his mentors and most importantly, despite it all, he loves his father. This empathy, this compassion, this selflessness is something that the Emperor simply cannot understand.
In order to love someone is to be a part of something far greater than yourself. It’s this moment that teaches us as an audience what it means to try and be better. Now, Luke’s trial here is of course far grander than most of what we face in our everyday lives. He would rather sacrifice himself if it means his father might have a fighting chance.
And let’s examine what Luke is asked to do here as I’ve often heard this misinterpreted over the years. Yoda doesn’t say; “You must kill Vader.” He says; “You must confront Vader.” Here is the metaphor. Only by confronting Vader can Luke confront his inner self and the grapple with his destiny and legacy. Yoda, despite all his years of wisdom and strength, could not have truly known that Luke would make the right choice. He could only have faith. Faith in the Force and faith in the heart of Luke. If Luke would have chosen the path of evil then all that we had witnessed would have been for nothing.
Here is the lesson for us to learn also. Luke chooses to see his father, this tyrant before him, as a Jedi. He chooses to see the good in him and once again Star Wars is at it’s best when it’s a metaphor for how we can live our own lives. We, too, can choose to see people how we want too and try to save them and in doing so we could maybe even save ourselves.
Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary will be celebrated at Echo Base Live in Redditch on Saturday October 7th with a slew of guests from the court of Jabba the Hutt.
