While we're at it, let's admit something.
The whole proposition that Star Wars is really the story of the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker is kinda cute. But it doesn't matter, really.
What do we get out of Darth Vader throwing the Emperor into that shaft in the second Death Star? The Death Star was toast anyway. It's Han and Leia and R2D2 who get the shield generator down. It's Lando Calrissian and the great Nien Nunb who blow up the Death Star.
Luke won a lightsaber battle. So what? He gets zapped by the Emperor.
The only good thing I see coming out of this is that, unlike Luke, the Emperor is prevented from fleeing the Death Star before it fully combusted. Which is obviously a great thing, but hardly a climax of a six-film epic.
Hang on, though... Luke dies if Shmi's daughterclone doesn't throw the Emperor down the well. Isn't that the important result here? I always assumed so.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Death Star was toast, but maybe the Emperor would have gone away and built a DS Mark 3 that would ACTUALLY be fully armed and operational. And he could take his sweet time, because there were zero Jedi left to challenge him.
I don't think the Emperor would have gotten away. Luke barely makes it out, and that's because (I think) he is already trying to escape before Lando gets into the core. But I could have the chronology wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs the Face of Star Wars, it's important for Luke to survive. In the bigger picture, I don't think it matters. The Empire's dead...at best it would continue on as a collection of related or federated smaller states, like the remnants of Alexander's the Great's empire.
Luke is probably important overall given the title of the movie. He is the continuation and rebirth of the Jedi, having supplanted the Sith. So that's good, especially if you're going 7,8,9 or Zahn.
So I guess there are two parallel and interwoven stories: The fall of the Republic --> Death of the Empire, which is the story of the Emperor and the Rebellion against him. Teh political story. And then there is the story of the Fall of the Jedi and Their (His) Return, the personal conflict.
Certainly as a viewer, the emotional climax of the epic is the final lightsaber/lightning storm battle. But in terms of "faux history," it is the destruction of the Death Star that is most important. So you could say "oh look, Luke went into a room with Darth Vader and the Emperor and only Luke came out!" but you could also say "yeah, if he'd never even walked onto the Death Star, Vader and Palpatine would just have gotten blown up anyway."
Very speculative, of course. What if Vader had hopped into his black TIE Interceptor and gone chasing Lando through the core? Perhaps Luke's presence prevents that.
TANGETIALLY, Luke's death in the Death Star would have given some significance to Yoda's comment that "there is another" hope, and the revelation that Leia was a potential Jedi. With the epic ending at 6, there's absolutely no reason for Leia to be Luke's sister, other than cuteness and an elimination of Luke as a threat for Leia's royal hand. Further, the fact that there is a backup Jedi somewhat diminishes the drama of the last Jedi confronting the Sith.
I'm skeptical. If Luke had time to drag DV to his xwing and have a touching moment, then DV and the Emperor could have hauled ass to the Interceptor. And if that happens, I'm not sure the Empire is dead. Of course, it's also possible that the Emperor would have wasted all of his escapey time doing more unnecessary taunting. Or are you saying that they wouldn't have run away cause they didn't know they needed to?
ReplyDeleteIt's true that having ALL THREE of them die would shake up everything that happens after. Neither Sith nor Jedi - sort of like the end of LOTR. Yes, there's Leia, but there's nobody to train her, or even to test her blood for mitochondria.
You make an interesting point (which has occurred to me before) that there's really no reason for Luke to let himself get caught and confront the Sith. Why? Why not just blow them the fuck up?
1) Yes, I don't know that Vader and Palpatine would have realized the need for escape was emininent. Or Immanent. Or however you spell/use those words. But that's pure conjecture.
ReplyDelete2) Technically, Luke allows himself to get caught because Vader can "feel" Luke's presence, which endangered the Endor mission. It's all pretty contrived, though. Surely alarms should have gone off somewhere in the Rebel leadership at this stage:
a. Their Jedi just got caught. Abort?
b. Their Jedi just got caught, and the Empire is letting the others carry on the Forest Moon? Is this a trap?
c. Their Jedi just got himself caught on purpose. Did he just betray their entire cause? Is this a trap?
.....
As I've stated elsewhere, up through the Jabba sequence the Star Wars epic is fantastic. At worst you can fault acting/directing/dialogue, but no one faults the story. Return of the Jedi really falls apart at the end when you think about it, and I haven't even mentioned Ewoks.