Who Is/Are The Last Jedi?
Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
With the release of the title of the latest Star Wars film comes an apparent mystery as to the meaning of the name. How anyone came to arrive at the conclusion that the title was some sort of mercurial conundrum that needed to be figured out is a mystery to us. Clearly, we’re just too simple in our needs to think that, “The Last Jedi” means anything special. None the less, the title has stirred up much debate. Is the word Jedi singular or plural? Who does the title refer to? Why didn’t Luke have even a single line of dialog after the story of Episode VII was about finding him? On and on, the questions abound. Today, our Theory Thinker Uppers tackle these ideas to reveal our theory about who is or are the last Jedi.
Yoda Told Us
“When gone am I, the last of the Jedi, you will be.” These words were spoken by Yoda during a heartfelt chat with Luke Skywalker. It seems pretty clear that the last Jedi is going to be Luke. Ok, everyone. That’s it. Mystery solved. Next week we’ll ask…wait, huh? What’s that? More, you say… Alrighty then. More it is. You see, the title of the last Jedi isn’t meant to highlight Luke as the last in a long line of magical space knights, armed with glorious laser swords. Rather, the title tells us that the old guard is passing and a new order of mystical warriors are shouldering the mantle of defending the galaxy. Remember, Luke barely got trained. He started to study under Yoda, but left to try to save his friends in the cloud city of Bespin. So, yeah, Luke got whatever training he got in bits and pieces. It doesn’t stand to reason that he learned enough to properly pass that training on to the next generation of force sensitive kiddies.
So Much for, “There Is No Try”
All Luke could do is try. Being that Yoda is gone, Ben Kenobi is gone, Anakin Skywalker is gone…well, anyone with use of the force other than Luke or his sister Leia is dead and gone. The only person left to try to pass on the ways of the Jedi order is Luke Skywalker. He certainly had to try, but he wouldn’t be as successful as one would hope. After all, Luke was impatient and caught up in his own values and ideas about what was important. By the time he had students of his own, certainly his notion of what is important was bound to change what he decided to teach.
Luke Was A Jedi, Like His Father Before Him
Part of what colored Luke’s teaching method would have to be the experience of his father. Luke saw, firsthand, that a person could learn all the ways of the dark side of the force, and still be redeemed in the end. Therefore, training in the Sith wasn’t a one way ticket to evil. Furthermore, everything Anakin did was motivated by love for his family. The Jedi, on the other hand, don’t allow attachments like family and are generally stronger when they fight from a position of anger. There is a strong theory that the Jedi and the Rebels are actually the villains of Star Wars. But, I digress…
Luke’s Graduating Class
It makes sense that Luke would share what he learned with his sister Leia. As she and Han had little Ben, who showed promise as a force user, Uncle Luke would’ve taught him too. It could be how Kylo Ren learned about Darth Vader, in the first place. Maybe Luke taught others, too. The point is that he would be a sub par teacher with a bias. His students wouldn’t be full on Jedi. They would be a new breed. Whatever title they take, it won’t be Jedi and that would make Luke the last of his kind. He would be, as Yoda said, the last of the Jedi. They say, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” That could very well be the case with the students of Luke. In an effort to better the Jedi, He would’ve taught some tenets of the Sith as well. His intentions would likely be that if these new students had an understanding of the dark side, they would be less likely to be swayed by it’s lure. Without temptation, his students could then focus on balance between the light and the dark. With this new sense of balance could come the ability to have a family or any other ties that the Jedi wouldn’t allow. Luke was a product of a broken home. His parents hid the truth of who they were because of the Jedi rules. On top of that, this very structure forced the existence of him and his sibling to be a guarded secret. If the Jedi had embraced some of the Sith principles, the fall of Anakin Skywalker could have been avoided. This would be the fate of the new brand of Jedi. They would embody the best parts of two conflicting schools of thought.
Final Words
The long and short of this whole thing is that Luke is the last Jedi, but there are others with access to the ways of the force. They just won’t get the name of Jedi attached to them. Hey, that’s the claim we made up front, right? Hopefully, you agree with everything here. If not, get at us in the comments, below. Do all the other internet things, too. There’s a Facebook, a Twitter, and an Instagram you could hook up with. Throw us a “like” and a “follow.” From all of us here in the Reel Theories lair, burrowed deep within an active volcano, Thanks for reading! And how about trying these affiliate links to Amazon? They have eleventy billion great things. You’re bound to find something you like, like these great Star Wars items, and so much more.