OneLuke Skywalkerplot hole inStar Wars: The Last Jedistill frustrates me, especially because it involves a decades-old concept fromStar Warsmovies and TV shows. It’s true that thesequel trilogy didn’t perform all that well, with many still considering themStar Wars’worst movies, but I generally enjoyedThe Last Jediand the risks it took.
In fact, concepts introduced in that movie, such asthe Force Dyad(although it wasn’t named untilStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), were some of the best parts of the sequels. Yet,even I can’t ignore how obvious and frustrating one significant Luke Skywalker plot hole is inThe Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi Revealed That Luke Went Into Exile Because Of Ben Solo’s Fall
Luke Felt Like A Failure Because Ben Solo Turned To The Dark Side (And He Contributed)
Many viewers were disappointed (to say the least) that Luke was only inStar Wars: The Force Awakensfor a few seconds at the end of the movie and had no lines, butThe Last Jediwasted little time explaining his absence. Specifically,The Last Jedirevealed that,after Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side, Luke went into exile.
There was more to it than just Ben’s turn to the dark side, though. For one, Ben was Luke’s biological nephew and the son of Leia and Han, so it felt like a very personal failing for Luke. Moreover, Ben/Kylo Ren didn’t exactly go quietly and instead took Luke’s entire Jedi Temple down with him.
Further intoThe Last Jedi, we learned thatLuke wasn’t exactly blameless in Ben’s fall. On the contrary, Ben was evidently conflicted, already being tempted by Snoke, but he hadn’t yet made his choice. However, when Luke looked into his mind, he saw darkness. Because of that, Luke briefly considered killing Ben, which Ben woke up and saw.
It was that moment of betrayal from his own uncle that evidently pushed Ben over the edge and fully into the dark side of the Force. Given all that context, it makes a bit more sense that even one ofStar Wars’most powerful Jedi(and arguably the best Jedi in the whole franchise) would lose faith at that point.
Despite the logic of Luke’s self-exile more or less checking out, though,I couldn’t help but notice one very obvious plot hole in this storyline that neitherThe Last JedinorThe Rise of Skywalkerworked at all to explain.
Obi-Wan Was The Best Person To Understand That Guilt And Grief
If there is any oneStar Warscharacter who would completely understand what Luke was going through at that moment, it’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. As the prequel trilogy andObi-Wan Kenobiboth made abundantly clear,Obi-Wan felt a huge sense of responsibility for Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark sideand transformation into Darth Vader.
If there is any oneStar Warscharacter who would completely understand what Luke was going through at that moment, it’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Anakin Skywalker’sStar Warstimelinereveals that this fall to the dark side was actually much more complicated than any single person or factor, even including Anakin himself, as there were manydefining moments in Anakin’s fall to the dark side. Yet, Obi-Wan continued to blame himself, even 10 years later.
Obi-Wan was also one of theJedi survivors of Order 66, so he could likewise understand how Luke felt about the loss of his Temple, especially so many young Padawans.This makes Obi-Wan the perfect person to guide Luke through this guilt and grief at that point in time, yet Obi-Wan evidently didn’t connect with Luke at all.
Why Didn’t Obi-Wan Appear As A Force Ghost?
We Already Know Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost Was Watching Over Luke
Yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead when Ben Solo destroyed Luke’s Temple and fell to the dark side, but that wouldn’t prevent Obi-Wan from reaching out to Luke after that happened. At multiple points intheStar Warstimeline, it’s been proven thatForce Ghosts can appear when they are needed. Luke himself even does so inThe Rise of Skywalker.
So, the question remains, why would Obi-Wan Kenobi not appear to Luke Skywalker as a Force Ghost to help him through this terrible loss? After all,Obi-Wan’s insights and guidance could have helped Luke navigate this incredibly difficult time and perhaps even prevented his losing hope and going into exile.
Why would Obi-Wan Kenobi not appear to Luke Skywalker as a Force Ghost to help him through this terrible loss?
Even assuming Luke went into exile rather quickly after Ben Solo fell to the dark side (at which point he cut himself off from the Force), there was surely time for Obi-Wan to go to Luke. At least from what’s been shown on screen, though, neither Obi-Wan nor Master Yoda appeared to Luke at that time.
It’s also worth noting, while Yoda does appear to Luke inThe Last Jedi(after he’d long been exiled, rather than intervening beforehand),it would have made much more sense for Obi-Wan to be the one to go to him then as well. Again, it was Obi-Wan who would understand this situation best of all.
Star Wars Has A Larger Logic Issue With Force Ghosts
The Ability Of Force Ghosts Has Created A Real Narrative Problem
Obi-Wan not appearing to Luke after Ben fell is a frustrating plot hole in and of itself, butit also reflects a larger issue with Force Ghosts inStar Wars. Because Force Ghosts can be just about anywhere and speak, manipulate objects in the physical world, and still use the Force in conventional ways, their abilities feel nearly limitless.
That isn’t exactly good news, though. On the contrary, this very nature of Force Ghosts makes them particularly prone to causing plot holes. In fact, that was already evident inThe Force Awakens. In that movie, Kylo effectively prays to Darth Vader’s helmet, promising to finish what he started.
This very nature of Force Ghosts makes them particularly prone to causing plot holes.
This plot has never really made sense, as we know Anakin was redeemed at the end ofReturn of the Jediand had become a Force Ghost.Why, then, would he not visit Kylo Ren as a Force Ghost and tell him he was on the wrong path?
While I think Force Ghosts are among the most compelling parts ofStar Wars, and I was thrilled to see Anakin return as a Force Ghost inAhsoka, I worry about what this could mean forStar Wars’future. ThisLuke Skywalkerplot hole inStar Wars: The Last Jediis just one example of how this could go wrong.
