Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Image result for return of the jediAs the epic conclusion to the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi seeks to wrap up the plot in an exciting and unpredictable way as well as settle the existing internal conflicts within the series’ main characters. The movie faces the daunting task of accomplishing a happy ending in a plausible sequence of events after Episode V leaves Han and the rest of the rebels in shambles.

Fittingly, the movie starts with the three core characters, Luke, Leia, and Han, achieving their daring escape from the hands of Jabba the Hut. In this sequence, we see that Luke has once again increased in his raw Jedi powers while also seemingly acting more under control, making calculated decisions rather than acting impulsively. Additionally, Carrie Fischer’s Princess Leia is epitomized by her scene strangling Jabba with her own chains while wearing her gold slave bikini. It symbolizes her, as a woman, breaking the chains of the oppressive patriarchy around her. It’s satisfying to see Leia be herself as the independent and wild woman she is.

Darth Vader still serves as the main antagonist of the film, but Lucas focuses more and more on the evil Emperor, giving him more dialogue with Vader and foreshadowing his future involvement with Luke himself. Now that Luke and the audience know that Vader is in fact his father, Vader now possesses and added complexity to his character, and it begins to feel that he may be losing his grip on the dark side of the Force. The audience wonders weather he has it in him to full embrace the dark side by destroying his son when the time comes.

Before this huge question is answered, however, the rebel alliance must face the threat of the construction of the second Death Star. They formulate a plan to scrap together the remaining rebel fleet, disable the shields on the planet Endor, then destroy the Empire and the still under construction Death Star in one final attack. However, Vader and the Emperor have used Luke, who is still mentally inferior to the stronger Force users, as a trap to lure the rebel fleet to its destruction, as the Death Star is in fact already fully operational.

Image result for luke torturedThe massive battle ensues but an even bigger individual battle occurs internally in Luke as he struggles to resist getting turned to the dark side by Vader and his Emperor. Luke realizes that this isn’t a physical battle, but rather a mental one. Physically, it is a lose-lose situation. The only way he would be able to overcome Darth Vader is to use the power of the dark side, but if he were to not give in, he would be destroyed by the Emperor. Script wise, this is a brilliant, as just a physical defeat of Vader and the Emperor would have been extremely problematic in terms of plot consistency, as Luke is clearly physically weaker than the two antagonists. Luke, while getting tortured by the Emperor, instead taps into a conflicted Darth Vader, pleading with his long lost father to return to the good. In this classic moment of Good vs. Evil, the former epitome of evil chooses to turn to the good at the power of fatherly love. Lucas proves that no power is stronger than love, and Vader sacrifices himself to kill the Emperor and save Luke.

The Emperor’s death turns the tide for the rebels fighting outside, exhibiting the parallel between the individual battle of Luke vs. Vader/Palpatine and the large scale actual war between a revolutionary rebel alliance and an oppressive empire. With such implicit parallels, the Lucas achieves a film that is pleasant to the eye and the mind.

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