*Luke-related spoilers.*
I’ve talked about Leia, and I’ve talked about Han, now it’s time for the last member of the trio. Luke can get a bad rap, and he has a fair amount of protagonist baggage working against him, but I do like him, and he’s a big part of what makes Star Wars what it is.
We’ll start with the demerits, just to get them out of the way. All of the trio are our heroes, but Luke is The Hero, which gives some extra weight to his storyline. He’s our eyes into the series, which means he’s just some farm kid on his first adventure. He’s never done anything like this before, and his everyman status can make him feel a little bland beside the rebel princess and the roguish smuggler. He’s earnest and emphatic, and yes, he spends the first part of A New Hope whining about his boring life on Tatooine. He’s also something of a Chosen One, meaning there are all these special things he can do Because Plot. He’s simultaneously “just like us” and “the most special person of all,” which can feel like a played-out combo.
But a lot of that is external stuff placed on Luke by the narrative, hero’s journey trappings that he can’t control. Who is Luke within the story? Again, he’s a bored, earnest farm kid who’s longing for a bit of adventure. He’s antsy on his aunt and uncle’s moisture farm and is itching to join the Imperial Academy (yikes!) to bring some excitement to his life. When he catches a glimpse of Leia’s message hidden in R2, he wants to help her, not just because she’s in trouble, but because he’s taken with her and likes the idea of being her hero.
That’s not the best setup, but Luke manages to make the most of it. He’s tenacious in his efforts to rescue Leia, alternately wheedling Han, showing he knows his way around a laser cannon, and improvising in dangerous situations. And when they do find Leia, even though she’s spiky and sarcastic and doesn’t match the fantasy he’d built up in his head, he goes back to the Rebel base with her and gets involved in her fight, landing a decisive blow against the Empire in the critical Battle of Yavin.
While Luke is a bit self-centered to start with, one of his best qualities is how he cares for those around him. Han is more than just a convenient pilot for hire to Luke—yes, he wants his help to rescue Leia, but after that, he wants Han to stick around because 1) he likes him, and 2) he wants to believe that Han too will fight for something bigger than himself. Luke quickly develops a strong bond with Leia, and even though there’s a romantic tinge to it at the start, he doesn’t get surly about her and Han making eyes at each other. By the time he learns that they’re actually brother and sister, he accepts that as an undisputed good thing in his life. He’s devastated when Obi-Wan is killed by Vader, and going forward, when he’s confused and in doubt, he looks to Obi-Wan’s Force ghost for guidance. He’s fond of the droids, especially R2, and he treats them with consideration.
In fact, Luke’s devotion to his friends gets in the way of the sort of hero he’s told he’s “supposed” to be. While training on Dagobah with Yoda, he discovers that Han and Leia are in danger, and his first instinct is to rush off to help him. Yoda insists that he needs to stay, arguing that it’s paramount to finish his training rather than get caught up in his personal attachments, but Luke refuses. It’s true that things go badly, and he fears that his presence has endangered his friends further, since Vader’s obsession with him puts them in the Sith lord’s crosshairs. But that instinct, that choice to help even when his teacher was telling him to harden himself and focus on what was asked of him, is such an important part of Luke.
Whether he’s joyously celebrating with Leia and Han after the Battle of Yavin, racing off to Bespin to try and help them, or using his Force abilities to rescue Han from Jabba’s palace, Luke is all about the connections in his life. It’s why he beats himself up so thoroughly in the sequel trilogy, after a dark moment of fear causes a break between him and Ben Solo, leading to the destruction of his Jedi academy and the deaths of his students. He blames himself for his students getting killed, and he blames himself for his brief hand in Ben’s downward spiral to becoming Kylo Ren. Like his mentors Obi-Wan and Yoda before him, Luke exiles himself, living alone with his guilt until Rey comes along to pull him out of the mire of his regrets. He tries to push her away, repeatedly, but maybe her tenacity resonates with the memories of his younger, idealistic self. And in the end, he realizes he can’t stand by when Leia and the Resistance are in trouble, using the last of his power to confront Kylo Ren, drawing the First Order’s fire to help the Resistance escape. Even though Luke begins the franchise complaining about his dull lot in life, his journey throughout is marked by fighting for the people who matter most to him.
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