As expected, the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuted yesterday at Celebration, and, as always, it’s glorious…
There’s an awful lot to digest and comb through, and I was fully expecting to do a bit of a breakdown of the major shots and reveals, but the trailer’s ending raises a ton of questions that I’d like to give a shot at answering. And by “answering,” I mean “wildly speculating about.” Business as usual.
So, after the trailer is said and done, after those beauty shots of the island, Poe and BB-8 running down corridors, and what looks like speeder versions of B-Wings flying across a white desert towards a line of walkers while kicking up blood-red dust (Shout out to contrast for always making things look pretty), we’re left with a surprising statement from Luke Skywalker:
“I only know one truth. It’s time for the Jedi…to end.”
It’s a great play on expectations. Surely, Luke Skywalker, once the galaxy’s New Hope, wants the Jedi Order to return, right? Well, Return of the Jedi was two movies ago. This one’s called The Last Jedi, and Luke’s declaration sheds some light on the meaning of the title. Not only are he and Rey currently, as far as they know, the last Jedi, but Luke could be pretty adamant that they remain the last Jedi.
And…frankly…it’s not the worst idea.
In the Star Wars universe, light is always followed by darkness. The Sith could not exist without the Jedi. When someone learns the ways of the Force, the temptation is always there to dip into the Dark Side. Just look at Count Dooku, Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. The galaxy has had to endure the wrath of three fallen Jedi over the course of 60 years or so, and two generations of Jedi have been exterminated by both Vader and Ren. The more Jedi that are trained, the bigger the chances of one of them going rogue.
At this point in his life, Luke’s probably fed up with everything Jedi-related. He spent most of his adult life training to become a Jedi, overcoming the pull to the Dark Side, and attempting to usher in a new era of light, only for it to be snuffed out so quickly by a bad egg, his nephew no less. He’s depressed, angry and distraught. Does that mean I think he’s turned to the Dark Side? Heck, no. That would effectively cheapen the entire original trilogy.
Instead, I think that his belief that the Jedi should end means that he will set out to do the thing his father was chosen to do: bring balance to the Force.
Alright, this is the part where I get into non-movie related content, so bear with me here…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Haven’t seen it? Fantastic series, though I could have a slight bias since I basically grew up with it.
One of the series’ best stories sees Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka summoned to a mysterious, Force-sensitive world. There, they meet three beings, Force-wielders, which are embodiments of the Force. The Daughter is the manifestation of the Light Side, the Son is the Dark Side, the Father is the mediator between the two. Granted, explaining it makes it sound dumb, but the episodes that deal with it all are actually really profound and stuff.
To sum it up, Daughter is killed by Son, Father sacrifices himself, Son is killed by Anakin. Before he dies, Father tells Anakin that he has finally brought balance to their world and warns him not to fall to the Dark Side, yadda yadda yadda. We all know Anakin takes that last part with a grain of salt.
Here’s that scene if you’re interested:
So maybe bringing “balance to the Force,” doesn’t necessarily mean “wipe out the the Dark Side.” After all, the scales still tip towards one side. Perhaps it means doing away with both sides all together?
Either that, or Luke wants to end the animosity between the two sides and have students learn to use both sides in harmony. Those are what we like to call “Grey Jedi.”
Rey certainly showed off an affinity for the Dark Side in her duel with Kylo in The Force Awakens, so maybe Luke will train her to find balance between the light and the dark. Heck, the three lines of dialogue Rey has in the trailer are “Light,” “Darkness” and “A balance.”
Either way, Luke’s out to end both factions of Force-users. He could be trying to protect the galaxy from further harm, or just trying to revamp the old Jedi way of teaching things. If I had to guess, hit’s probably the former. The weight with which Luke says “it’s time for the Jedi to end,” doesn’t really make it sound like “it’s time for a change in curriculum.”
Regardless, it’s a bold direction to take the saga. The struggle between the light and the dark has been what’s driven the franchise for the past 40 years, and to have its first hero be the one to put a stop to it all could bring the entire story full circle…
…or it could be Luke’s arc for the film, and by the end of it he’s all gung-ho about the Jedi way again.
We won’t know for sure for another 8 months. Stay on target!
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Noah
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