Page 120 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)

THE WIZARD’S JOURNEY
Yoda set for him: to pass on what he has learned, and
rebuild the Jedi to once again serve the cause of peace
and justice in the galaxy. He searches far and wide
for information about the nature of the Force and
the Jedi Order of old, seeking whatever knowledge
the Empire has not erased or destroyed. Later, he
establishes a training temple and takes on a dozen
students as Jedi apprentices, including his nephew,
Ben Solo. Over time, this heroic cycle takes Luke
from being a Jedi Knight to a Jedi Master.
Luke continues to travel in search of knowledge,
training Ben at his side. This means the young man is
“It is Yoda who guides Luke to see
the one Ånal lesson he must learn:
that failure is not a reason to quit...”
120 / STAR WARS INSIDER
05 Luke risks far away from his parents when the galaxy learns the
everything
truth that his mother, Leia, is the daughter of Darth
to confront
Darth Vader Vader (as detailed in the novel Bloodline). Along
and the with Supreme Leader Snoke’s manipulation, this
Emperor in
revelation plays a large part in Ben’s turn to the dark
Return of
the Jedi. side, which finds its full expression one fateful night
at the training temple. When Luke senses the extent
of the darkness already within Ben, his instincts urge
him to prioritize his compassion for others over his
compassion for one young man capable of inflicting
so much suffering. In the instant it takes for Luke to
pull back, recognizing his own mistake in thinking
that carrying out one horrific deed would prevent
many more, it is too late. Ben has already seen the
05
ignited lightsaber in Luke’s hand, and unleashes a
heinous vengeance.
Everything You Just Said is Wrong
Luke is not the first Jedi Master to face terrible
tragedy at the hands of a fallen apprentice, of course.
At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan and
Yoda go into exile having seen their greatest protégé
turn to evil. They hide the newborn Skywalker twins
and commit to wait, biding their time on the fringes
of the galaxy, until the moment is right to finally
make a move against the Sith. After the destruction
of his training temple, and the massacre of most of
his students, Luke too goes into exile. Unlike his
teachers, though, Luke is not hiding with a plan to
re-emerge. Instead, Luke has chosen to live out his
final years on Ahch-To alone, so that—when the
time comes—the Jedi way will die with him.
While some fans struggle with where Luke starts
his Wizard’s Journey, his backstory suggests he was
less prepared to face the emotional toll of being
a Jedi Knight compared to Obi-Wan and Yoda,
who received a sophisticated education in the Jedi
Temple and were taught from their youngling days
of their value in the galactic balance. Similarly, his
sister, Leia—who throughout the novel Leia: Princess
of Alderaan is shown failing but persisting—has
learned from a young age to accept failures while
continuing to fight on.
When Rey arrives to break Luke’s seclusion, he
explains his refusal to take up his old lightsaber in
simple terms. The galaxy, he says, does not need
Luke Skywalker. The idea that he could stand alone
against the First Order armed only with a laser sword
is a fantasy, he scoffs. There is no “One.” It is time,
he insists, for the Jedi to end.