okay, the thing about Luke not killing Vader or Palpatine, despite it being the easy way out, is the fact that it goes against every hero story we are ever given. Luke Skywalker is caring, he is kind, my god he is emotional. He’s probably one of the more emotional heroes we see in the media. This boy, this man, wears his heart on his sleeve, allowing people to see just how he feels. If he were to kill one or both of them, as pointed out in many other text posts, Luke would end up like the typical hero, which he is not. Luke is compassionate; he can feel his father’s conflict and allows him to make his own choices. He calls out for help when Palpatine tortures him, he doesn’t just allow it to happen. He calls forth the goodness in Vader, in Anakin, because he wants his father to be good. Luke knew that if he were to kill them, he would be just like them, that he would succumb to the Dark Side. Luke knew there were other ways to defeat darkness and evil than by just killing it, and that’s what he did.