The Importance of Luke Skywalker 

Luke is the kind of guy who when asked "Did you save the galaxy" would respond with "No. My father and my friends did"

Luke Skywalker doesn't destroy the bad guy, he saves him. He doesn't even destroy the bigger bad guy. He also doesn't get the girl as in most other stories. He doesn't defeat evil with violence, he defeats evil with love and compassion. And that is why Luke Skywalker is a true hero.

I can’t believe I never realised that the very first person to recognise Luke as a true Jedi Knight/Master was The Emperor himself

I’ve just realized something; Luke’s electrocution is eerily reminiscent of Mace Windu’s in ROTS, and as such, Vader’s sudden realization that he can finally reverse the mistake he made decades ago motivates him to save his son. He’d probably replayed that moment for years, and in an instant, is given a second opportunity to save a Jedi from a Sith Lord instead of compromising himself and the galaxy in the process. I’m guessing that Windu’s death was a deliberate reference from Lucas to that scene. Damn; like poetry, it rhymes.

"If he can become a Jedi like his father, his father can become a Jedi like him." I'm in awe. This was so beautifully written!!

George Lucas talking about joy vs pleasure overplayed with clips of Anakin and Luke perfectly captured the differences between them.

I remember walking out of "Return of the Jedi" in 1983 completely in awe. Luke had progressed from saving the princess, to saving his friends, to saving the villian. It doesn't matter that he's being tortured and slowly killed, he will not turn. I also remember the audience's reaction: cries of empathy, pain, and pleading that Vader help his son. Probably one of the most moving climaxes I've ever seen. I don't think the final trilogy understood that....

“Just accept the fact that it’s here, and it’s gone, and maybe again it’ll come back.” Exactly what Anakin couldn’t accept

"Lucas doesn't tell stories about good people and evil people, he's telling stories about people who can choose good or evil." Why do I like this line so much?

It's so refreshing to hear a Star Wars fan that actually respects George Lucas

I’ve always thought “Return of the Jedi” meant the Jedi Order coming back into existence (aka the sequels) but now it’s so much clearer that it refers to the Return of _the_ Jedi, none other than Anakin Skywalker

When I watch RTOJ, and it gets to Luke's triumphant declaration "...I am a Jedi, like my father before me..." I can see under Vader's mask in my mind. I see him shedding a tear. The love of Shimei, the love of Qui Gon, The love of Obi Wahn, most of all the love of Padme, finding him again, all embodied in the courageous love of his son. For the first time, he is a proud father, in awe that Luke could stand up to The Emperor. He loves again. In that moment he realizes he can be Anakin again. He owes it to all those who have ever loved him.

The George Lucas speech about happiness is the wisest thing i've ever heard.

“But you are not a Jedi yet.” “You must confront Vader again only then a Jedi will you be.” “A Jedi Knight?! Luke’s crazy!!” “So be it……Jedi” Thanks for the 2K guys 🙏🏾

Luke is such an amazing hero. What Disney did with him is unforgivable.

Lucas’s speech about pleasure vs joy is such a great description of Light vs Dark, or Jedi vs Sith. Anakin fell to the dark side because he couldn’t accept what was: that Padme would die. He needed to maintain the pleasure of his relationship, so he kept doubling down on the path to the dark side. Yoda tells Anakin, “Rejoice for those around you who transform into the force.” Yoda is mirroring George Lucas’s words from this speech. Anakin would lose Padme from the material, but she would be with the force, and Anakin would find joy again with Luke and Leia. Lucas frames joy in a very Stoic manner: acceptance that the world is, and happiness is an internal state that comes from focusing on the things we can control.

This is why I think Return of the Jedi might actually be my favorite out of the original 3. All the Ewoks and other stuff aside, the core conflict between Luke and Vader is so beautifully done.

The ending of “Return of the Jedi” left such an impact on me. I went in fully expecting Luke to kill Vader and save the day, but instead I got Luke INSISTING there was still good in Anakin, refusing to fight his father, and then throwing down his weapon. Luke didn’t fight to the death; he refused to give up hope on someone, and so his heart saved the galaxy. It‘s a masterpiece, and so profound. “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” One of my favorite lines in cinema besides “You bow to no one” from Lord of the Rings 🤧

George Lucas is one of those gems that no one will appreciate until he's gone. We as a whole will never realize how much Lucas gave us until he's not around to give us any more.

This right here is what Disney fails to understand. Not just with Luke, but Star Wars in total. They just see spaceships and big glow sticks and think it’s all about action and seeing new random things on screen even if it breaks the lore. There’s more to Star Wars than just that. As Lucas has said, it’s a soap opera, not a space opera. There’s much more deeper themes and layers in the Star Wars universe such as referring back to stuff like greek and Roman mythology, the theme of not being consumed by darkness and the fear of letting go, the chances of redemption, etc. The fact that they didn’t want Lucas involved when they took over really speaks volume of how little they care about the true meaning of Star Wars.

I would disagree that Luke isn’t the hero of the story. He’s the one that inspires his father to seek redemption. He may not be the one to defeat the villain physically, but he does so in a metaphorical sense. His way of life is pitched against the Emperor’s, and Luke’s way wins. Vader is the judge.

11:12 "Destroying Vader, and _becoming_ Vader, are the same thing." "If Luke wants embrace his own destiny, it means he has to embrace the good still left in his father." To claim there is no redemption, to say that one is beyond saving, and to destroy on that basis- that is evil. That is not the Jedi way. Only a sith deals in absolutes.

I have always find it interesting that Yoda says confront Vader, never kill him. Seems Yoda realized that Luke had to face his destiny to be a Jedi. Everyone else always believe Luke had to kill Vader and the Emperor but that conflicts with Yoda's teach that a Jedi never attacks, only in defense.

It gives me chills that the first one to call Luke a Jedi is THE Sith-Lord. Edit/added: I mean the point where he acutally was a real Jedi knight after defeating Darth Vader. Yoda told him that he would only be a true Jedi if he confronted his father. Then Luke did so and won before realising that he had fulfilled his final test. He told it the emperor who then accepted the fact that he had failed to turn him to the dark side by saying: "So be it, Jedi."

As a recovering alcoholic I must say that Lucas' speech at the end is spot on. I drank to feel pleasure, and I sure did. But the next day I would regret it and drink even more, which turned into a spiral of suffering in the long run. But when I think back at the road trips I had with my friends years ago, I feel joy. How we laughed and had so fun together without alcohol, that gave me memories that will bring me happiness for the rest of my life just by thinking about it.

I gotta admit what called my attention most was the observation that Luke, in spite of being the hero, needed to be saved at the ending of each movie. That's really a great insight, while it helps him to resist hubris, it also shows how important it is that he's not alone. Luke has an underrated quality that is simplicity. Many consider it to be a writing flaw, but simplicity is present in a lot of heroes and this is what saves them from falling (like Frodo resisted the Ring for so long because of his hobbit simplicty and when he fell because the ring was just that unbearable, he was helped by his pity and Sam who's an even simpler character).

Hopefully not but am I the only one that every now and then I rewatch this beautiful video to remind myself what Star Wars actually used to be about?

Seeing what Lucas did in Revenge of the Sith just gives so much context to Palpatine in the Death Star there. And the way he just looks so.... puzzled and confused is fantastic. "It worked on the father, but not on the son?"

What I've noticed is that Lucas, consciously or otherwise, employs a dialectic method in each trilogy. The first movie in each trilogy says, "Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." The second movie in each trilogy says, "Patience! Think!" The third movie in each trilogy is about resolving these two imperatives, and finding the balance between them. In Episode III, Anakin fails to find this balance, succumbing completely to his emotions. In Episode VI, Luke succeeds in achieving a balance by finding a rational way to resolve the emotional conflict facing him, inspiring his father to then achieve the same balance.

The single best line of dialogue in any star wars movie: "I am a jedi, like my father before me."

A friend and I were once engaged in an incredible discussion about Luke's journey through the films, particularly regarding its culmination with his confrontation with Vader in RotJ. My friend expressed something very close to what you said about Luke's recognition of their intertwined destinies, as he battles his fate near the end of the duel. He said,: "To Luke's mind, it isn't just the acknowledgement that "_I am becoming like my father_" but the recognition that "_My father was once like me_"." This duality, this shared destiny, is part of what makes the story of Lucas' Star Wars so timelessly endearing.

The pleasure vs. joy speech given by Lucas is so overwhelmingly powerful how it perfectly depicts not only his saga of Star Wars, but also how society functions as a whole, forgetting that selflessness is the root cause of the progression of humanity. So eloquent, thanks for memories, George.

I've always loved that final duel between Luke and Vader. The music and the cinematography when Luke lets loose on Vader just feels like "this is where it all ends," and it looks like, in that moment. Luke is headed down the dark path

“If he can become a Jedi like his father, his father can become a Jedi like him” If that’s not a quote to summarize that final confrontation I don’t know what is. Very well crafted video.

“I am a Jedi like my father before me” brings me to tears every time

I think what's most important about Luke is that he doesn't achieve victory through righteously punishing evil. He achieves his victory through compassion and understanding towards someone consumed by evil.

I always loved how Luke becomes the ideal Jedi Knight by listening to the teachings of his mentors, but ultimately rejecting their guidance as being in direct violation of those lessons. He's taught "trust your feelings" and "do what you feel is right" but also that he should sacrifice his friends, and ultimately that "a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack" but then they insist he has to go kill his father.

One of my favorite lines from Star Wars is at the end of Return of the Jedi when Luke is trying to get Anakin off the Death Star and he tells him, “I’ll not leave you here I’ve got to save you!” (Therein we see again Luke’s character of always trying to rescue.) and his father replies, “you already have, Luke”. Gets me right in the feels every time.

Luke has always been, and will forever be- my favorite character. He felt human in his experiences and growth rather than scripted to be a heroic archetype for "character development".

That speech at the end really hits, but it hits 1000x hard with this masterful edit, showing Anakin whenever pleasure is mentioned, and Luke whenever it is Joy, like showing that what they were chasing is why they turned out differently. The part at the end where he said just accept that its gone and maybe it will come back then shows Anakin as a ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi is genuinely one of the greatest subtle editing moments I have ever seen that has such a massive effect

Luke Skywalker goes from whingebag to a badass with compassion. He's a perfect character for people to imitate.

Finally someone who respects George. My entire life I've witnessed people bitch about Lucas. It's nice to see someone recognize him for his gift to us. Star Wars quite literally saved my life, and for that I will always be grateful to George! Great video btw.

For me, that scene, where Darth Vader chooses his son, is one of the most poignant and meaningful scene in all of cinema

Luke Skywalker meant such to me as a child. I loved his journey and growth. So you can imagine how I felt when Disney took that all and threw it out the window

That juxtaposition of Luke in the Death Star II throne room standing over a disarmed and helpless Vader to Anakin on the Invisible Hand standing over a disarmed and helpless Tyranus was so impactful, especially the way you edited it.

Vader didn't save Luke. Luke saved Anakin and set him free. Luke was Anakin's final teacher.

The fact this video does not show any of the sequels scenes, makes it totally relatable to the original idea Lucas had for Luke; The Classic Hero Archetype with all its trials and tribulations. And not the sad excuse of an hermit Disney sold to us. Kudos for the video

It’s interesting how Luke was told so many times he had to follow his destiny but he kinda didn’t. I mean he defeated the empire but he just was himself till the end. He was suppose to kill Vader and the Emperor but he did neither. He wasn’t suppose to save his friends and take Vaders place but Instead he forged his own path. He was the opposite of Anakin.

The thing I love is luke goes against both ways. He chooses to to try and save his evil father instead of destroying him like the jedi and palpatine have been telling him to do. He chooses his own path. That allows vader to know he himself does still have a choice, he chooses to save his son.

With your Star Wars in the Upside Down video I realized that Revenge of the Sith is Return of the Jedi in the upside down. An inversion of the ending. So it makes for a spectacular ending/beginning sequence for the point where Luke enters the scene. It's a foreshadowing of Luke's possible future if he fails, just as he saw his own face in Vaders helmet on Dagobah. George Lucas' saga is such a brilliantly constructed and thought out series, I can't believe how much more I appreciate it over time. I wonder if you will bring that perspective into this video.

This. This is why I'm a fan of Star Wars. Thank you for the reminder. After all the tripe we've had to endure from Disney, I'd basically gotten to a point of not caring about Star Wars. But this video, this has reminded me why I'm a fan. Why I love this saga (1-6). And why passion and creativity is important in telling a story.

Him saving darth vader to me impacted me deeply. I was evil. My son melted me and changed me. I would not be the man i am if my son werent who he was. When luke says i wanna save you and darth says... you already have.. that to me so fitting. Ive lived that. You have no idea how much impact you have just by being you. By being good.

Luke looking at his own robotic hand after seeing Vader's robotic arm that he just cut is brilliant. It reinforces what was introduced in Empire in the dark Dagobah scene, that the more Luke gives in to darkness, the closer he will become to Vader. And what you said was also brilliant, that if Luke can be a jedi like his father, then his father could become a jedi like him.

13:14 I’m not afraid to say that Lucas’ speech made me cry. I actually have tears running down my face right now. Maybe it’s because I’m in a bad spot right now, but I think it is because I’ve needed to hear this for the longest time. Thank you George for Star Wars and thank you So Uncivilised for this excellent video.

Watched your Anti-Trilogy video quite awhile ago, but now I just returned to watch all the rest of your Star Wars content and, wow. You might have the best understanding of George's storytelling I've ever seen. I absolutely loved each of these videos and I hope you bring us more soon.

That "Father, please!" Behind screams of pain. You know that was the moment Vader was pushed over the edge. You could almost see his thoughts through his body language, "No! Not again, not my son!"

I've always loved how Episodes I-III and Episodes IV-VI contrast each other, with one being about dark overcoming the light, and the other of light overcoming the dark. They are one in the same, yet opposites of each other.

The great thing about Luke is that he subverts the son's destruction of the father theme present in literature throughout history. Much like Zeus destroyed Cronos and Cronos destroyed Uranus, Luke is expected to destroy his father. Luke, however, refuses to partake in this cycle and manages to break it be being a gentle man.

This is the best, most cogent, most efficient analysis of Luke's character arc. Applause.

George Lucas at the end talking about the differences between joy and pleasure should be taken as the ultimate description of the difference between the light side and the dark side of the force. I know of no other explanation that illustrates that difference so perfectly than what Lucas just said in that interview.

Ah, very good. George Lucas is certainly not without his flaws as a film maker. But he's certainly a deeper thinker and a more meaningful story-teller than most of his contemporaries, or anyone in the film business today that I'm aware of.

my monthly rewatch

Luke really is different from so many young-adult story protagonists. A lot of YA protagonists need to be reassured they're not descended from evil people, like it mattering so much that Harry wasn't the Heir of Slytherin, or Eragon finding out his dad wasn't the evil dad, but not Luke. Luke is forced not just to face his evil progenitor but redeem him. How many heroes of these stories do that?

Making Vader Luke's father was hands-down Lucas's best writing decision. The conflict and resolution of that plot device is what makes the story of Star Wars something truly special. I've talked to a lot of Star Wars "fans" who only like New Hope and Empire, except the ending of Empire. They claim that making Vader Luke's father was the ruin of the story. Those types of people are just action movie fans, not Star Wars fans.

Luke’s journey matters because all the things that were Anakin’s “shortcomings” were shown as strengths in Luke. His compassion and attachments to his friends and family didn’t make him weak. His desire to learn and be better didn’t make him reckless or weak. His faith did not make him weak. And it mattered to me. Luke’s never ending perseverance and faith and his love for his friends made him strong and he didn’t relinquish the darker parts of himself. He embraced them, and defined himself.

I love the bit on Luke being forced to surrender himself to be saved as a part of becoming a hero, you can really see this paralleled with Vader, who, in a way, in that same scene has unknowingly surrendered himself to Luke to rescue him from the evil prison he got caught up in from 3-6. Really shows off the connection between the two.

"if he can become a Jedi like his father, his father can become a Jedi like him" perfect culmination of the topic, absolutely fantastic video 👏👏

I am always irritated when people complain about the duel between Anakin & Dooku in ep3! It is meant to mirror the duel between Vader & Luke in ep6 - a choice made by the hero that truly defines them. Anakin cements his path towards the Dark Side as he kills Dooku, and Luke truly cements himself as a Jedi Knight by seeing the good in his father and by not giving into his emotions or “destiny”.

The Disney content sorely misses Lucas' philosophical points in knowing what ingredients to add in a story (that logically gels and emotionally resonates). We are now subject to watch a headless committee led effort to recreate his success

I never expected a video like this to make me cry. That speech at 13:14 hit me so powerfuly that I cannot even describe it.

Anakin will always be my favorite character in this story because he has taken the ultimate journey. He has gone from ultimate innocence to ultimate evil to ultimate redemption. He followed his destiny down his true path and finally brought balance to the Force by destroying the Sith and giving the Jedi a fresh start with a new perspective. (No, I don't accept the sequels. Nice try Abrams). Anakin was flawed, but aren't we all? That is what makes him a TRUE hero. The idea that we can fall from Grace, but then rise up from the darkness and rejoin the Light is very appealing to me. It gives me Hope.

Holy shit, I've been thinking on how in "Attack of the clones" we see every single trait that made little Anakin a hero in "Phantom menace" (his ambition and his passion, his love for the women in his life, his strong sense of self and his drive to make his own decisions whenever possible, his resolve not to let his stifling environment tie him down and his aversion to letting any "Masters" hold his leash) make it hard for him to assume "the Jedi way". I haven't thought of Luke in "Empire" this way until you pointed this out. One more brilliant way "Clones" mirror "Empire".

I watch this video anytime I need a good cry. Real men cry over Star Wars video essays.

I've been thinking a lot lately about a theme you see throughout Star Wars (I-VI anyway). How dangerous love is. Anakin's love for Padme ultimately turns him into Vader, and plunges an entire galaxy into 30 years of pain, oppression, and darkness. Luke's love for his friends nearly turns him to the dark side, both in Empire and Jedi. Love itself isn't dangerous. It's a good thing. But misunderstanding, twisting, and perverting love leads inevitably to pain. Luke misunderstood love, until that final moment when he throws his lightsaber away. That's when he finally understood that being a Jedi, being a hero, wasn't about swinging a laser sword around and saving a princess. He did all that long before he became a Jedi. Being a Jedi, being a hero, and showing true love are all the same thing. They are selflessness in service to helping others. And that's what Anakin lacked. He selfishly held onto Padme so hard that he killed her. He selfishly held onto the image that the galaxy was putting on him as a hero so tight that it turned him into a monster. He selfishly held onto the idealized image in his head of his mother so hard that he slaughtered a tribe of sand people out of revenge. All in the name of love of these people and things. So what differed between the two men? A quality in Luke that I like to call, "Aggressive kindness." Being so dead set on doing the right thing that you can pull the good back out of even a monster like Vader. For this to work though, you have to be able to learn from your failures when they're small, so you don't make one so big that there's no coming back from it. I could talk about this for hours. And how messed up it is that The Last Jedi COMPLETELY undid all of that good in Luke, by making a man who saved a monster after finding a tiny bit of good in him nearly murder a teenager because of sensing a tiny bit of darkness in him. Even Anakin would say, "Whoa, dude, that's messed up. Sure, I slaughtered a village, but at least it wasn't completely unprompted..." UGH.

Wow you know I never even considered how "I want to become a Jedi, like my father" Is a conflicting sentence! The idea that even from the very beginning where it seems like a clear hero's journey in episode 4 is flipped on its head in episode 5, and episode 6 is the final decision moment of what this destiny will mean for him.

To me Mark Hamill's performance as Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi is his most beautiful work of art! His portrayal is a masterpiece! The way he conveys to Leia as to why he must face his father is soo heartfelt and engaging!

To me, Luke Skywalker is like a simple hero but in all the best ways, he's the prime example of "A heroes journey" when it comes to story telling but he also shares something I love in common with another hero that being Spiderman, Spiderman in Spiderman 2 when he fights Doc Ock tries to use words and compassion much like Luke did with Vader. Luke rises, falls and gets back up. Nearly everything that has helped me get through in life has been all life leassons I've taken by watching Star Wars.

Lucas is such a great philosopher. I need to watch more of his interviews 🤔

Luke Skywalker is my favorite character in George Lucas’s Star Wars. He’s the character who never gives up hope and is able to redeem his father, despite having gone to the dark side. He’s willing to die instead of killing his father and following in his fathers footsteps. The arc he has in the original trilogy is one of the greatest put to film, I mean just look at the change he goes through in Episode IV alone. He grew quite a bit in that film and he grew even more in the following two films. He succeeds where his father failed and became a true Jedi. It’s also cool you pointed out that Luke is named after George Lucas himself. He gave the character the nickname he had in high school. He’s also Lucas’s self insert, something that Harrison Ford mentioned in the Empire of Dreams documentary. Thank you for the video, I love what you do and I hope you continue with the great work!

Interesting how when Obi-wan hands Luke his father's lightsaber, he calls it a Jedi's weapon, establishing it as a symbol of the Jedi in the audience's mind, yet when Luke announces himself a Jedi, he turns it off and tosses it aside. I think many of us, myself included, fell in love with the mystique of the lightsaber without stopping to take conscious note of this key thematic detail.

Excellent essay. Connecting Lucas and Luke was well demonstrated. Makes sense why Disney has gone out of their way to avoid Luke. They are avoiding Lucas. It would place him at the center of the story and not them.

I loved this whole video. I think there's additional irony in the fact that many "heroes" - such as Captain Kirk in that movie - actually start out much cockier, reckless, and more impatient than Luke ever was (which might make it a bit harder for modern audiences, including me, to see much lighter shades of those tendencies in Luke). And yet, those heroes are usually told to embrace themselves, while Luke must overcome himself.

There's a phenomenon called the Hero's Cross; where the hero and the villain share 1 unique thing in common: each thinks they're the other. The hero worries he is the villain, and the villain thinks he's the hero. It's not just a comic book cliche, but real life, for the term Superman didn't come from America but from Germany. By the same token, the term Man of Steel didn't come from America but from Russia. Luke is unique in this field because it's his naivety and impatience that worked as his dark side. It wasn't until he stared into the mirror that was his father and his dark fate that he finally faced his own evil. The weight of his potential evil was perfectly captured in his eyes during Return of the Jedi. How we reflect on stories like this, and how it builds our world view shows how powerful stories are. And why it's important to preserve the arts as they are.

A lot of fans I know refer to Luke as "the Catalyst," I think that's a pretty good descriptor of how he prevails the world around him. He gave the rebellion a chance for a future, and he gave his father a chance at redemption.

I am just now realizing, your first video was primarily about TPM. Your second AotC. Third RotS, and so on. Well played, and very civilized.

Watched your Anti-Trilogy video and then watched every single other video by you in less than a day. Incredible insights, Incredible editing, Incredible channel. And you've definitely helped me appreciate aspects of SW on a deeper level than I did before. Keep up the Incredible work!

That scene where Luke rejects killing his father is such a powerful moment.

8:38 "The conflict facing Luke is no longer out there, but in here." THAT. That right there is why Return of the Jedi is my favorite Star Wars. Sure, this internal conflict has galactic consequences, but strip all that way, and it's internal. It's simply one person trying to come to terms with who he and his father are. That's something we all go through.

The drama in a good story doesn't lie on the uncertainty between good or evil, which realistically isn't there. It lies on the character choosing between the two and the ultimate outcome of that.

The ending of this video brings me so much joy

Luke is pretty much Anakin in ROTS but with the good ending. As much as I love Anakin/Vader's story, Luke is also incredibly interesting.

Luke Skywalkwe is my favorite fictional hero ever. His story arch in the original trilogy was perfect. His character was flawed but genuine and his growth as a character was totally earned from film to film

It's interesting to consider that, had Luke been trained from birth as a Jedi he almost definitely would have become another Sith. Because he and Anakin share the same traits, and that's exactly what happened.

"If he can become a Jedi like his father, his father can become a Jedi like him." Damn, that line gave me goosebumps. This is why we love Star Wars and it means so much to us.

“Because If Luke can become a Jedi like his father; then his father, can become a jedi like him.” This is a very powerful remark 😢 especially that Vader’s force ghost at the end of Ep.6 is Anakin reborn into his young self, as a redeemed Jedi in master garbs 😢

So this is how So Uncivillized returns. With a thunderous applause!

The final got me im not gonna lie, the statement about the car makes so much sense to me that I got a little bit of water on the eyes. a statement to keep forever with me. Im a nostalgia merchant always trying to re live good moments, never happens idk why, now it all makes sense

That speech about pleasure and joy at the end nearly brought a tear to my eye.

So Uncivilized: *posts a new video* Everyone: *THE RETURN OF THE KING*

Great video! I've always loved Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader more,, but I don't think Luke's conflict between light and dark should be overshadowed. He's a great character too. Let's not forget that Vader killed Luke's mentor, best friend, tortured his other friends, cut off his hand, and you could even argue he's sort of at fault for the death of his aunt and uncle, and yet Luke still choose to love him. It's inspirational. That's why Return of the Jedi is really quite special to me. Luke's choice to love instead of hate, which Vader also makes once his son proves to him that its not too late, is powerful.