This has been on my mind for some time, ever since the saga was completed and it could be viewed and mused upon as a finally complete story, with all the puzzle pieces in place. Yet, I have been unable to put into words what I thought on this subject until now. There is strong evidence for either side, but in the end I must get off the fence and take a stand.

It was during last week's Star Wars episode of the Apprentice that finally rekindled my thoughts into an opinion. One of the contestants, Randal, turned out to be a Star Wars fan and so was put into explaining the story for the others. He began explaining the OT, and uttered the phrase "The central character is Luke Skywalker." Now, in many threads on this forum, while people were glad he was a fan, many denounced him as not a "true fan" because the central character is Anakin. And so I decided to address this at once. There is no doubt the PT is about the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. But there is debate: is the OT centrally focused on Anakin's redemption, or is it centrally focused on Luke as he follows the same path, and ultimately must make the same decision: remain true to the light and be willing to die to remain so; or make a Faustian pact with the devil like his father, and strike down his father, the source of his grief.

For Sidious knew the time had come for a younger and stronger apprentice, he would replace Vader with Luke just as he replaced Tyranus with Vader long ago. Sidious was indeed a great Sith, for by replacing his apprentices he was able to perpetuate his rule and break the circle of the Sith: normally, an apprentice grows in power and then challenges the master, and defeats him and then becomes master himself. But by having his apprentices replaced when they grew too independent or powerful, Sidious would be the perpetual Sith master.

No doubt that was a major thread of the OT: the rise of Luke into Jedi powers, just like his father; yet unlike his father he chose good when the devil offered him a deal. But another major thread was the fact that good resided still in Vader, and his love for his son overcame his loyalty to the dark side. In saving his son, he saved himself. But that begs a question? Which thread is more important? Is it more the rise of Luke, his decision to stay in the light, and his decision to try and redeem his father rather than strike him down? Or is it more the story of the evil of Vader, and how his inner conflict ultimately made him select the light in order to save his son?

It is a paradox: Vader turned back to the light because his son redeemed him, and Luke chose the light so that he could be able to redeem him.

But let us examine something else: the notion of the saga's division. Is it more accurate to say "OT" and "PT" or is it more like six episodes of one story? I think we can look to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for help. He viewed the three books (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, for those unfamiliar) as one complete story; indeed they were only split up because it would have been too costly to print them originally as one volume. No one would argue that it's one story. Yet, the way Tolkien divided them up, and the way the films are divided up, we can see the logical points of division between the three films. One complete saga, yes, but not to the point where they blend seamlessly. One can watch a single part of the films, or read one of the books, and enjoy it as an adventure within itself.

The same can be said for Star Wars, where we don't have to watch all the films, it is quite possible to watch a single film in its own right, and enjoy it. So while it is one saga, there are two trilogies separated by twenty years: a large saga divided into two great story arcs, with each arc itself divided into three distinct parts.

It is in this division that the centrality of Luke emerges: the OT is about his adventures, not Anakin's. And I say this by looking at OT and PT parallels:

In both TPM and ANH: We don't meet Anakin/Luke at the beginning of the film, and they don't set the events of the film in motion; they are swept up into them. At the end of the film their mentor dies, Anakin takes new mentor, Obi-Wan, while Luke finds his new mentor in the next film. At the end, they begin to shed their Tatooine boyhood image for a gradually more mature persona.

In both AOTC and TESB: They both are more mature, but still impatient and young with their Jedi mentors. They both make rash mistakes, whether it's falling in love, or running off to Bespin. They both rush into a duel with a vastly superior opponent, both lose their arm. The only difference here is that Luke is offered the deal to join the dark side for the first of two times: he rejects it from Vader, though he learns Vader is his father.

In both ROTJ and ROTS: Anakin and Luke are mature Jedi Knights, and in the end both face a choice: Anakin believes the dark side is the only way, Luke rejects the offer and is prepared to die for it. The difference is that in ROTS Anakin completes his fall, and in ROTJ he is redeemed, and does bring balance to the force, when he destroys the Emperor. Though the slaughter of the Jedi was horrible, in the end, the only way to destroy the Sith was to become all-powerful: Vader took Sidious' power and used it against him. Only by joining him could he have gotten close enough to kill him.

While this lends strong credence to Anakin being the main character, let us not forget: Only because of Luke did Vader have an inner conflict, only through Luke did Vader see a chance for redemption. And only because Luke chose good, and refused to destroy his father, was Vader put in a position to save him.

As a tangent, this complexity, and the amazingly surprising (at the first viewing) redemption of Vader leads me to think of ROTJ as the most-underrated SW film. That film is far more than Jabba and Ewoks and a great space battle (far better than Coruscant IMHO).

Back to topic, the OT is about the choices of LUKE. The PT is about the choices of ANAKIN. Both are two parts of one saga, each with a different focus. Through Luke's actions the OT unfolds, through his choices he becomes a Jedi and saves his father.

The OT is about Luke.

The Infinite Force
Thursday, November 14, 12:34 PM

Note: I will address counterpoints, agreements, and the forthcoming deluge of hate mail in a follow-up entry.