Luke Skywalker has pretty much always been at the center of the Star Wars stories.
He was the hero whose journey the entire original trilogy centered on.
His birth was the endgame of the prequels.
And the new film series seems to focus first on finding him, and then building his relationship
with Rey.
But in footage for The Last Jedi, he looks much more troubled than usual.
So, what does it mean that Luke's demeanor seems so much darker than what we've seen
in the past?
Let's explore some of the possible consequences for Luke's new outlook...
Who's the last Jedi?
Writer-director Rian Johnson said point-blank on Twitter that Luke is the "last Jedi" mentioned
in the title to Episode VIII.
But filmmakers lie to their audiences all the time, so until the movie hits theaters,
it's fair game to speculate.
If Luke has begun to journey down a path of darkness, he'd no longer be a Jedi and the
Order would be done.
But perhaps what Johnson meant is not that Luke is the last Jedi ever, but that he's
the last of the Jedi as we've come to know them throughout the franchise.
The Jedi we've seen so far in the Star Wars movies have been plagued by politics and war
and have strayed from the Jedi Code while claiming to follow it.
Their arrogance and blindness led to their virtual decimation.
And even Luke's path to becoming a Jedi in the original trilogy didn't seem to introduce
a true new Jedi Order.
So, if by Episode VIII, Luke is turning away from the teachings of the Jedi himself, then
the Jedi as we've come to know them could be over, leaving Luke as the last Jedi of
his kind.
The question is this: will the decline of that particular type of Jedi happen while
a new and improved Order is formed by, say, Rey?
It's a nice idea at the very least.
Is it even a dark turn?
The teachings of the Jedi Order adhere to a strict set of philosophies that form a stark
contrast with those of the Sith.
The Jedi believe emotions dictating actions can lead to the dark side.
Meanwhile, the Sith embrace the full spectrum of emotion, good and bad.
And as we've seen, characters like Ahsoka in the TV shows Clone Wars and Rebels, have
rejected the Jedi philosophy without actually going to the dark side.
The Last Jedi heavily teases a darker turn for Luke Skywalker, but maybe he's not actually
going to the dark side.
He could certainly reject the Sith's teachings, too.
Either way, the Rogue One debut of the Guardians of the Whills proves that the Force will still
live on, because it's not always defined by Jedi Knights and Sith Lords.
The Force will find other guardians, even if the Skywalker family is finished.
The family name
The Skywalker saga has been a devastating one.
Anakin became Darth Vader.
His grandson, Ben Solo, became Kylo Ren.
And now Luke has apparently failed at passing the way of the Jedi on to the next generation.
For a family with not one but two potential Chosen Ones, meant to bring balance to the
Force, that seems like a pretty lousy track record.
At some point we've got to ask ourselves: are the Skywalkers doomed?
Yes, the Force and those who use it are always in a state of flux, in balance one minute
and out of it the next.
But the Skywalkers in particular seem to have a more tumultuous relationship with it.
And each Skywalker actually seems to ultimately doom the next.
Anakin may have saved Luke, but his time as Darth Vader is what ultimately inspired Ben
Solo's turn to darkness.
And Luke himself failed to teach Ben the ways of the Jedi, allowing him to be seduced by
Snoke and the dark side.
If Luke is not, in fact, the Chosen One, and he has turned away from the light side, the
Skywalker family may not receive another chance.
Their story, at least as it relates to being guardians of the Force, may well be over.
Unless...
The future of Rey
Rey is a tremendously powerful Force user and certainly seems to be on the side of good…
but she still might not take up the traditional mantle of the Jedi.
While we're being led to believe that Rey will be a Jedi Master's student, it's becoming
more clear that may not be the case.
Luke is shown teaching Rey how to command her powers and how to become more in touch
with the Force, but that isn't the same thing as a Jedi Master training a padawan.
Learning to better command the Force won't automatically make her a Jedi.
With Luke seeming to stray further away from the traditional teachings of the Jedi, Rey
could be exposed to elements of the dark side during her training.
Her journey through the Force will be shaped by her teacher, and her teacher definitely
seems to be in a grim place.
That's not to say that Rey will be evil, or even that her learning more about the dark
side is a bad thing.
Strictly adhering to a philosophy of pure good and evil is what led to the fall of the
Jedi to begin with.
Rather, it seems likely Rey is going to be taught not to suppress and control her emotions,
but to let them guide her when the time is right.
And they might even guide her to rescuing Luke himself.
Luke, from the moment he steps on-screen in The Force Awakens, is clearly in need of help.
With Rey's arrival, he's suddenly face-to-face with a pure-hearted young Force user who could
restore his faith.
Rey thinks she's here to bring Luke back to save the galaxy, but the truth may be that
she's here to save him.
Could she be the key to restoring the Skywalker legacy for good?
And the Jedi, too?
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