Luke Skywalker - a criminal?

2010-09-15, 18:48 w Articles > Columns

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Luke Skywalker is certainly one of the most well-known characters of Star Wars universe. Luke Skywalker is certainly one of the most well-known characters of Star Wars universe. The hero of the Rebellion, the general of the New Republic and, finally, the Jedi Grand Master - a man, who almost single-handedly rebuilt the Jedi Order. A criminal?

I’m aware that this word, used as a description of Anakin Skywalker’s son, may seem shocking to some of you. It may seem shocking and may cast suspicion on the author as the one trying to instigate some kind of cheap provocation. This is, however, not the case as I will try to prove that calling the apprentice of Obi-Wan and Yoda a criminal is highly justified.

First of all, I would like to emphasize the fact that I do not consider the destruction of the first Death Star to be a war crime. All arguments implying that it is a crime, because the crew of the battle station consisted of thousands of innocent people (e.g. technicians or even cooks) are completely pointless. The Death Star was a military target, therefore every being stationed there automatically became the target itself - these are the realities of war. But what, if not the annihilation of millions of imperial soldiers aboard the mighty superweapon, was Skywalker’s crime?

Forgiving Kyp Durron, the man, who destroyed Carida. Forgiving the murderer of billions of humans, whose only crime was that they had been living on an Imperial training planet. Such a “glorious” endeavor, right? Luke forgave Kyp, solely because the boy had committed his crimes under the influence of the Dark Lord Exar Kun. Moreover, according to Luke, Durron redeemed himself by destroying the Sun Crusher. In the eyes of the other Jedi (like Corran Horn), the New Republic officials, and many other people in the galaxy, Skywalker made a terrible mistake.

BBy forgiving Kyp, the criminal, Luke became one himself. He also showed the rest of the galaxy the Jedi’s view of “justice”. The Jedi’s and the New Republic’s, sinee it was Chief-of-State Mon Mothma who gave Luke a free hand concerning Kyp’s fate. Had Grand Moff Tarkin survived the destruction of the Death Star, he would certainly have been sentenced to death - and with good reason. But when a similar crime is committed by Luke’s protégé, everything seems to be fine and the ordinary rules of justice fade away. Is it not a crime itself?

Another of Luke’s sins is the sin of negligence. Can negligence be called a crime? Yes, if one has the means to stop another’s suffering and does not use them. What was the issue in Luke’s case? He had the opportunity to bring his nephew’s, Darth Caedus’, bloody actions to an end. For a very long time Skywalker did not react to Jacen’s wrongdoings. Why? Because young Solo was his sister’s and best friend’s son, and also a Jedi Knight, of whom Luke had great expectations - and A strange confidence that he will soon get back on the “right path”. How many people died because of his “tolerant” attitude?

Moreover, after Mara’s death, how many times had he the chance to put an end to Caedus’ rule of fear? At least a few. Why didn’t he do anything? Besides the obvious fact, that he did not want to kill his own relative (and we all know that Skywalkers are no regular citizens of the galaxy - ordinary standards do not apply to them...), he also wanted to “turn him back from the Dark Side”. Interesting, isn’t it? Millions can die, butchered by Jacen, but Luke’s priority isn’t to neutralize him, but to “redeem” him. This is Jedi justice, Skywalker justice. And that’s why Grand Master is responsible for Jacen’s crimes and the sufferings of millions. They are, in fact, Luke Skywalker’s crime.

There is yet another thing, which could be compared to these two crimes mentioned above: forgiving Darth Vader. Fortunately for the justice, however, the Dark Lord of the Sith met his end onboard the second Death Star. Why fortunately? I can easily imagine Luke who, in case his father had survived, would try to defend Anakin Skywalker from the wrath of the rest of the galaxy, and convince others to forgive Vader, because he was simply seduced by the Emperor and was merely his tool. Am I exaggerating? Considering everything Skywalker did later, I can’t be sure of that.

The list of Luke’s faults could go on and on. How costly was his hesitant attitude towards the Killiks and Raynar Thul, the other fellow Jedi “gone bad”? How many lives were lost due to his overly careful approach in the first several months of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion? Luke Skywalker proved to be both a hero and a villain. What is even worse is the fact that he could not comprehend how many crimes he had committed, until Chief-of-State Natasi Daala, herself a war criminal, did not tell him that with her usual bluntness. Only then, albeit with a knife on his throat, did he decide to take responsibility. A little bit too late for all he had done.

Translation by: Jedi Nadiru Radena; proof-read by: Michał Wyszyński