“luke skywalker is naive, silly, and a crybaby! He trusts everyone and is dumb as a rock... luke is a cinnamon roll, a ray of light, and—”
Luke “so much like his father” Skywalker is far from the characterization described above!
“Oh, how so? Luke is too dumb—”
Let’s start from the beginning:
Luke grew up on Tatooine, a place that the entire Star Wars fandom agrees is a nightmare to live in. Unlike Padmé and Anakin, who in their time were public figures and in the middle of a WAR, Luke growing up on Tatooine had one single purpose: protection. Protecting Luke from the Empire, and especially from Vader and Palpatine — keeping him hidden until the time came for him to face Vader and by extension destroy the Empire.
Luke spends 19 years hidden, living a relatively “normal” life. He is not trained in the Force, nor is he raised as a prince/politician like Leia. He was a moisture farmer, growing up with poor uncles in a hostile environment, yet protected and loved — Owen and Beru made sure to give Luke a good childhood, and Obi-Wan, even from a distance, protected him as best as he could.
But you might ask: why is this relevant to the topic I’m trying to dismantle? Simple: because due to this simple, quiet upbringing, Luke felt restless with his life — it is made explicitly clear, several times, that he wanted to leave Tatooine. In A New Hope, Luke had plans to join the Imperial Academy to become a pilot but had to give them up to help with the farm. Even after everything that happens in ANH, and the hesitation to leave his uncles — and then the trauma of finding his home and family murdered — Luke decides to join Obi-Wan. He even says: “I want to learn the ways of the Force and be a Jedi like my father.”
Luke, who leaves his life behind on Tatooine to help a princess in danger, to learn the ways of the Force and later (though it is already implied) avenge his father who was murdered by Darth Vader.
Throughout ANH, Luke doesn’t shed a single tear for the death of his uncles, even though it affected him deeply. In the cantina with Han and Obi-Wan he’s an arrogant little brat — saying he could fly the ship and later insulting the Falcon. Contrary to popular belief, the rescue on the Death Star goes wrong because of Han Solo’s mistake, and it is Luke (and also Leia) who rush to fix the situation. Even under the stress the three of them are under, Luke remains firm and determined, and he watches his newly found mentor murdered before his eyes. But Luke doesn’t cry — he screams out of rage and grief, which only fuels his resentment against Vader.
And so, there goes Luke Skywalker, blowing up the Death Star and becoming a hero of the Rebellion.
And then there is Luke Skywalker, squad leader and one of the commander of the Rebellion, on countless missions while also trying to learn more about the Force — going to Dagobah where, as Yoda points out SO MANY TIMES:
“Luke: [suspicious] Oh, come on! How can you know my father? You don’t even know who I am. Oh, I don’t even know what I’m doing here! We’re wasting our time!
Yoda: [looking away from Luke] I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.
Obi-Wan (voice-over): He will learn patience.
Yoda: Much anger in him… like his father.
Luke Skywalker, who is constantly compared to his father, who makes both Obi-Wan and Yoda fear that he will fall to the dark side, that he will fail: impatient, angry, arrogant — just like Anakin.
Luke, who already has a temptation toward the dark side, an inclination — who, when he discovers his friends are in danger, abandons his training and impatiently runs straight into a trap. Luke, who fights with all his grit and strength, Luke being the cheeky, petulant brat that he is (because Luke “then my father is truly dead” Clockwalker, the BRAT of the Rebellion and a smartass just like his master Obi-Wan Kenobi), has the courage to look Darth Vader in the face and say: “You’ll find I’m full of surprises.” Even while he’s being utterly beaten down, he still has the audacity to be a sassy little punk!
Luke, who in this exact scene just moments later has his bravery completely shattered when confronted with a horrifying truth: Darth Vader — the man who hurt so many, who killed Obi-Wan, who terrorized Leia and his friends and committed countless crimes — is his father, the father he always loved and admired, whose legacy he tried to honor and make proud… the father who has just cut off his hand, brutalized him — who now wants him to join him, to join the Empire — a means for his father to become Emperor.
Luke, who is broken in body and soul, wounded and deceived in so many ways, Luke Skywalker who at that moment does not feel at all courageous or feel like answering back, who instead chooses to throw himself — chooses death rather than join this man… his terrifying father.
Luke, whose world is completely destroyed and reset — who, although it isn’t fully shown in the films but appears often in other media — suffers dissociation, who is utterly lost and miserable with this devastating revelation… who, even though he has called Vader “father,” still denies and denies, because a part of him simply cannot believe it.
Luke, who becomes more reclusive and withdrawn, who worries his friends and grows unhappier each day — until one day he leaves, to learn more about the Force.
Luke, who undergoes a long and arduous journey, who is still traumatized but chooses, instead of anger and fear, patience and faith — faith that there is something good in his father. Luke, who dresses in black and demonstrates greater mastery of the Force, who, when in Jabba’s palace, uses the Force (just like Vader) and chokes the guards. Luke, who now carries himself so differently: calm yet confident, powerful yet not arrogant, bold yet discreet.
Luke, who later, upon discovering the truth, decides not to kill his father (even though he is afraid) and chooses instead to surrender willingly — Luke, who speaks painful truths to Anakin even as he refuses to listen.
Luke, who looks Palpatine in the eye and does not fear him, who answers and confronts him directly: “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”
Luke, who when battling his father and hearing his sister threatened, LOSES HIS SHIT (just as Anakin had done countless times), who attacks his father brutally, injures him and severs his hand, who taps into the dark side — unleashing all that anger he had kept leashed for months.
Luke, who — as tempting as it may be — chooses another way. He abandons his lightsaber and reaffirms himself as a Jedi.
Luke Skywalker, who makes a better choice than his father — even while carrying so much of Anakin within himself — walks a different path.
Luke, who becomes a Jedi Knight, stumbling and succeeding, but who loves his family, who has his fears and struggles, a trauma never fully explored, and a temptation toward the dark side, but who always chooses to do better. Who, instead of apologizing, chooses to be better — to do better.
So, look at this boy, this man, and tell me: do you see a cinnamon roll? Because the only thing I see is a traumatized kid who is always trying his best — even when he himself doesn’t feel like he’s giving his best!
Luke Skywalker, who grew up with a quiet childhood, who became a hero and later a commander in the middle of a war, a Jedi Knight and a phenomenal pilot — who can be a cheeky little brat, a bit traumatized and have his bad days, who carries the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders and who, even though he believes in second chances and redemption, does not blindly trust, nor is he lenient or naïve.
We need to learn and understand that naïveté and kindness are two completely opposite and different things — and Luke choosing kindness instead of anger is a hard choice, even in a fictional world, because it takes strength and courage to face such a cruel world and choose kindness.
We need to learn to separate headcanon from canon, fanon from canon — because Luke’s character was very well written and presented, and I can assure you that “ray of sunshine” or “cinnamon roll” were never in the scripts George Lucas wrote.
