So I was thinking… If Rogue one it’s supposed to be set shortly before the original star wars that means that while Jyn Erso is kicking ass and being generally awesome, and Leia is busy leading a rebellion, Luke Skywalker is somewhere in Tatooine whining about power generators
Time to do this again I guess; Luke would be WORKING.
You know. On the farm.
And wishing (”whining”) he could spend more times with his friends (who are very questionably friends, but what are you gonna do when there’s no one else your age to hang out with and Biggs is gone) because while he knows he needs to help Owen and Beru with the farm, he has other desires, and even if hanging with his friends aren’t exactly that (like leaving Tatooine), it’s the next best thing.
I mean, aside from flying the skyhopper but I imagine it doesn’t hold quite the same charm without Biggs, as much as he loves flying and probably does it as much as he can.
But you know.
Working. Because he has to for their livelihood. But I guess making “jokes” about Luke being “whiny” is funny.
(And once again, it was never about the power generators. Owen literally says right after it “you can waste time with your friends when your chores are done”.)
Seriously.
I wish folks would take note of Luke’s dialogue with Owen at the beginning of A New Hope. He suggests that now that Owen has the two droids, he can hire a couple of farmhands and Luke can finally get off planet like he’s wanted to.
It would take Owen multiple people and two droids to replace the work that Luke does on the farm. That is pretty clear indication that Luke is working a fairly grueling, punishing schedule.
This is not a knock on Owen, because it certainly seems like Owen and Beru work as hard as Luke does. But they are poor. They live on a planet where their source of income is pulling moisture out of the sky, while raiders, slavers, and Jabba the Hutt are all within spitting distance.
And the poor kid gets perpetually knocked for the fact that he wants to take a break and hang out with his friends a bit. Or the fact that he’s disappointed he can’t get off this hellhole planet.
I haven’t been keeping up with Rogue One spoilers, so I can’t talk about Jyn, but Leia is another story.
Leia’s accomplishments are impressive, and this is not intended to dismiss that. But Leia had time and opportunity to accomplish those things. She can afford to focus on politics and intrigue because as a Princess, she doesn’t need to worry about food, water, or shelter. She has access to educational materials that Luke can’t even dream of. She knows influential people and can make social connections. The only powerful social connection Luke could possibly make is a creepy Hutt with a dancer fetish.
It’s a funny juxtaposition that the ladies are out accomplishing more things, earlier, than Luke is, but we shouldn’t diminish the role poverty plays in Luke’s lack of opportunity, since that kind of thing exists in real life too.
THIS. All of this.
And, on the flip side: Luke is the single solitary hero in any generation of Star Wars canon whom we ever see doing teenager-appropriate things as a teenager.
Padmé, Anakin, Ahsoka, Kanan, Leia, Ezra, Finn, Rey… Only a couple of them even had normal early childhoods. Every single one of them was shouldering adult responsibilities and/or being shaped for a purpose they didn’t choose as an adolescent.
Owen and Beru may not have had much to give Luke, but they made damn sure to spare him that. That is something to celebrate. Why the hell do people insist on mocking him for it??
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Goldnwulf 