What is the point of The Last Jedi?
This post spoils The Last Jedi and potentially spoils the future Episode 9. You’ve been warned.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been the topic of debate since its opening day, and while I actually loved it, I understand the criticism. The storytelling is chaotic and the tone is inconsistent at times. However, regardless of how you feel about the movie, there are a few points we need to discuss. There are multiple key scenes and themes viewers completely miss or misinterpret.
One of the reasons I love TLJ is that it’s one of the more intellectual episodes, however it is cryptic and slow to make its point. It attempts to set up a theme the Star Wars team has been trying to reveal for a long time.
So what is the point of The Last Jedi?
Threading and Seeding
The Star Wars story team uses a technique called “Threading and Seeding”, which means they plant little seeds of an idea in the subtext of the main story. This allows them to create the backbone for their finale when it comes to fruition.
Think of it like the notes and collectables you find in a video game like BioShock or Assassin’s Creed. They aren’t required to understand the story, but if you actually pay attention, they are packed with awesome backstory.
They do this to establish new canon to fit their narrative. So when you pick up a Star Wars visual guide, you will find tons of examples of this. If you watch the Star Wars animated TV shows like Clone Wars, you already know all about these new themes. However, the easiest example can be found in Rogue One.
The Guardians of the Whills
Rogue One introduces us to Chirrut and Baze, two Guardians of the Whills who no longer have anything to protect. Who are the Guardians of the Whills?
“Originally, I was trying to have the story be told by somebody else; there was somebody watching this whole story and recording it, somebody wiser than the mortal players in actual events. I eventually dropped this idea, and the concepts behind the Whills turned into the Force. But the Whills became part of this massive amount of notes, quotes, background information that I used for the scripts; the stories were actually taken from the ‘Journal of the Whills.’” — George Lucas
Rogue One changes everything. These Guardians of the Whills are basically the monks of the old ways. They are protectors of The Force, and do not differentiate between the Dark and the Light.
These guardians don’t have high regard for the Jedi however. The Jedi are considered unbalanced. They monopolize the Light and demonize the Dark. However, the only way you would know this info is if you read the visual guides, watched Clone Wars, or read the novelizations.
“Though Chirrut deeply believes in the reality of the Force and respects the former Jedi Oder, he knows no one could ever hold a monopoly on understanding the cosmic energy field. Unlike the late departed Jedi, the teachings of the Guardians of the Whills do NOT emphasize the discord between the lightness and the darkness, the Guardians believe their approach allows mortal minds to encompass the totality of the Force.” —Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
I’ll talk more about the Whills later, so just tuck that away for now.
Good vs Evil
The old movies were pretty straight forward as to who was good and who was evil. Light is always good and Dark is always bad. The only caveat being that sometimes people change sides or are secretly evil. What a twist. However, TLJ throws that whole idea into the proverbial trash compactor.
The new Star Wars movies actually eased us into this and TLJ shouldn’t be as much of a shock to us as it was. The Force Awakens was meant to feel exactly like the old ones to satisfy the fans stuck in the past. It’s a wonderful movie, but it’s basically a bunch of comfort food to prepare us for some major change.
Rogue one launched that change. (Actually Clone Wars and Rebels did, but we’re talking movies for now.) It’s different from the old Star Wars in many ways, but the main change is it broadens this boundary of good and evil. Some minor examples of this are Galen Erso, who creates the Death Star, and K-2SO who is a reprogrammed Imperial droid. Basically two good guys in bad guy colors.
But the two big ones are Cassian and Saw Gerrera. Cassian, on multiple occasions, considers actions that could peg him as a bad guy. When we first meet him, he kills a frightened source in an attempt to evade capture. The whole point of this is to show he has a bit of a dark past. General Draven gives him the order to assassinate Galen, illustrating how good ambitions sometimes require dirty deeds.
Saw Gerrera is short lived in Rogue One, but just look at how he is depicted. He’s supposed to be a good guy but his attire is frighteningly similar to that of Darth Vader. He even breathes like him. Why? Because he is an extremist. He has taken good ideals to such a point that they have become harmful.
The Last Jedi is the Plot Twist
“It’s time to let old things die.” — Kylo Ren
Kylo is misguided in many ways, but with one sentence he perfectly summarizes The Last Jedi and what Episode 9 will likely be about. It’s time to break the cycle and let the old ways die, even the good things like the Jedi order or Star Wars nostalgia, so they can be reborn into something new. TLJ is about change. It expands the Star Wars universe and signifies a shift in the story’s progression.
For fans, it’s about letting old fantasies go and making room for new stories for new fans (symbolized by the kid at the end).
For the story, TLJ marks the end of Star Wars’ biggest cliche.
Breaking the cycle
All of the Star Wars movies go like this: The Jedi are destroyed by the Empire. The Jedi destroy the Empire. The Jedi are destroyed by Empire 2.0. The Jedi destroy the Empire 2.0. The Jedi are destroyed by Empire 3.0… on and on the cycle goes.
It’s a constant battle between the Light and the Dark, yet they all preach the force must be balanced. Luke was supposed to bring balance to the force right? Well by the end of Episode 6, the Sith are destroyed and only the Jedi remain. That doesn’t seem very balanced to me. So if our new heroes were to prevail in the same way as all the previous movies, the cycle of war is doomed to repeat itself.
“You blow them up today, they blow you up tomorrow.” — DJ
So what happens? Luke breaks the cycle. He refuses to teach another Jedi his ways. His ways only keep the cycle going. Luke lived his whole life as a Jedi who practiced the Light and feared the Dark. Thus, he is afraid to pass on that flawed logic to another.
That’s when Yoda intervenes.
“Heeded my words not, did you? Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is.”
So no, Luke didn’t become the cliche wise old master everyone expected. Instead, Luke stands alone before an army. He knows just killing Kylo will not end this war. Rather, he makes the ultimate sacrifice to fill Kylo with more doubt and inspire hope across the galaxy.
The Prophecy
We all know the infamous prophecy of the chosen one, who will bring balance to the force. However, that prophecy is written from a Jedi’s one-sided perspective. Remember those Guardians of the Whills I mentioned earlier? They have a prophecy too. You can find it in the novelization of The Force Awakens.
“First comes the day
Then comes the night.
After the darkness
Shines through the light.
The difference, they say,
Is only made right
By the resolving of gray
Through refined Jedi sight.”
The Gray
The Force is no longer composed of only the Light and the Dark. Rather, true power comes from the ability to find balance in both. We see this theme in The Force Awakens.
Snoke is not a Sith nor a Jedi. The reason he chose Kylo is because he has both the Light and the Dark in his blood. Snoke sees the potential of harnessing balance in both.
And no, the gray is not just some theory super fans have. It’s canon and reiterated over and over in all of the new works. By the end of Episode 9, the Gray prophecy will be fulfilled.
The Last Jedi is packed with characters of varying shades of gray, and illustrates the failure to realize it.
What’s up with Canto Bight?
Canto Bight gets a lot of heat from people claiming that it was just thrown in for marketing and toy sales. I can’t speak to that, but it actually does have a purpose that I should explain.
How do the civilians feel?
One thing many of the Star Wars films fail to show is how the war has effected civilian life. Most civilians we see in all of the movies are either on a scavenger planet or look perfectly happy to their own devices. Thus, you begin to wonder, is the rest of the galaxy just laughing as these two groups fighting for no reason? Is the Empire even that bad?
Rogue one is the first film to begin to show this. Canto Bight gives us an even deeper look at the truth. After all these years, new audiences need a little more incentive to root for the good guys, other than the guys dressed in black are evil.
Even Finn has no idea what he’s fighting for. Canto Bight gives him a reason to truly join the rebellion. Before he only cared for Rey, now he actually has a banner to carry.
There’s hope in Rose’s face when she reaches out to that stable boy, Resistance ring in hand. And there’s a huge reason it’s Rose who does this: she understands. — Molly Templeton
Canto Bight shows us how not only the 1st Order supports the oppression of the weak, but how the Star War has only encouraged it. It shows how these grand acts of our heroes might not be so grand after all without the help of smaller voices.
But then we see the small efforts of Finn and Rose to spark hope. In the end, we don’t need heroes as much as we need hope.
Canto Bight illustrates how we need feet on the ground doing small acts of good to keep hope alive. The new series is all about showing how the efforts of ordinary people are just as vital as these grand heroes we celebrate. Else, it’s just a battle between the elite.
No Good vs Evil
“Neither rebels nor imperialists, the Canto Bight residents lend shades of gray to the universe in a way that’s explored in every corner of The Last Jedi,” — Joanna Robinson
I told you the Star Wars team was Gray crazy right now. What was once a two-sided coin isn’t so simple anymore. We see that bad people fund both the rebellion and the 1st Order.
DJ has grown indifferent to the opposing ideals and considers both the rebellion and the imperialists evil. Good guys… bad guys… Whats the difference, right?
DJ may actually be the most unique and evil character we’ve encountered. He has no moral compass and lets the moral ambiguity of the world around him dictate his actions. This allows him to commit horrible deeds that get people killed without any remorse.
We begin to see a theme that considering the world black or white can be dangerous and short sighted. Rey and Kylo may need to set aside their obsession with dark and light and focus on real evil, such as characters like DJ.
Luke, Luke, Luke…
The Last Jedi adds depth to all of our old heroes. Luke particularly takes a dark turn. Now, I’m not incredibly fond of how they treated Luke, but I get it. Perfect and infallible characters are cheesy and cliche, and its time for Star Wars to grow up. However, I’m not here to justify it, I’m here to explain it.
TLJ is all about learning from our failures and how failure can be the greatest teacher. But I want to clear up exactly how Luke failed.
A fleeting moment
Everyone sees Luke’s betrayal of Kylo as the big failure and some see it as Luke turning to the Dark side. Outcry!! Luke would never do this!! Well you’re right, he wouldn’t, and he didn’t.
When we finally learn the truth of his betrayal, he explains that it was a fleeting idea that passed as quickly as it appeared. Luke was tempted, but he didn’t go through with it. Can you blame him? He has seen the dark deeds that even a good Jedi can do.
But he’s too late. Kylo has seen him with his green saber ignited.
Side note: Star Wars is full of visual symbolism. Luke first dawns his green lightsaber after he first confronts his father. He loses his hand and has seen a little bit of darkness. His clothing is now black and he crafts a sword of his own. Funny how we only see this green saber in TLJ when Luke is committing a dark deed.
Luke’s actual failure
While teaching Rey about the force, he comes so close to a major realization.
Luke Skywalker: What do you see?
Rey: The island. Life. Death and decay, that feeds new life. Warmth. Cold. Peace. Violence.
Luke Skywalker: And between it all?
Rey: Balance and energy. A force.
Sounds a lot like that Gray we discussed earlier. But before he can make that realization, he jumps to the conclusion that there is no hope. You see, Luke, like old fans, is still caught up in old beliefs and it’s near impossible for him to accept new ones.
There is literally a giant mosaic explaining everything right in front of him! Rian Johnson goes on to call it a “long process” to get it just right. Why would they go through so much effort for simple decoration?
It represents Luke’s naiveté to the truth. His true failure is his inability to accept the reality right in front of him just because it goes against what he previously understood. Kind of like hanging on to Star Wars nostalgia huh?
Why Luke had to die
Yes, he had to die, and he had every intention of doing it. He purposely destroyed his X-Wing, drown it and used a piece of it for a door. Luke planned on dying on that island from the start.
Let me preface by saying this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Luke. You can be damn sure he’s coming back as a force ghost.
After becoming a Jedi master, he searched the galaxy for wisdom. His search ended on an ancient Jedi temple where he planned to take the next step. As Ben said “Strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
However, if you stopped there you didn’t go far enough. Yeah he will become more powerful, but look at the way Luke actually dies. He isn’t killed in anger like Ben, he dies by choice.
Rian actually knows Star Wars better than you think. Luke didn’t defeat Vader with an awesome laser sword fight. That would have been too easy and a boring climax. No, after all his training he tosses away his light saber.
What does he do this time? He stops being a hero and a legend and becomes a living symbol of hope. Luke never strikes Kylo. He knows just a flashy sword battle wont solve everything, especially in anger.
Luke is the spark that light the fire.
Final Thoughts
There’s so so so much I didn’t cover, but this is getting long and I’m tired of writing.
I truly believe The Last Jedi might be one of the most critical chapters in the saga. Without it, any further storytelling is predictable and gets old quickly. For the first time, Star Wars fans en masse are thinking about Star Wars in a deeper more philosophical way, for better or for worse.
Episode 9 is no longer as predictable as we thought it would be.
What do you think Episode 9 will be about?
I’d love to hear your theories!
❤ Thanks for reading! Check out my other stories at NickKidd.net. ❤
Be sure to share this one with your fellow Star Wars junkies!
