AliasMan02 said:
Render said:
And it was not in Luke's intrinsic character to teeter on the edge of the Dark side. Luke was never in any real danger of sliding to the Dark side via his own free will. He didn't have the luxury of moral ambiguity, because of his upbringing and his experiences. He knew who the bad guys were, and wasn't swayed by what they were offering. (Unlike Mr. I-Don't-Like-Sand-It's-Coarse-And-Rough-And-Irritating-And-It-Gets-Everywhere.)
The only instances where he was legitimately tempted were when Luke's buttons were relentlessly pushed by the Emperor and Vader in the throne room. In other words, other characters had to deeply manipulate Luke to get him to even waver, because he wasn't naturally susceptible to the seductions of the Dark side.
So people aren't projecting a "heroic vision" on Luke, they're simply following the organic development of his character.
I'll just address this last point because it sums up exactly what I'm saying. This view of Luke, that he was never in serious danger or genuinely tempted of his own will to cross over to the Dark Side, is completely incorrect. His path to the Dark Side is the entire theme of his training with Yoda. By the time we rejoin him in RotJ, he is Force choking Gamorreans and is literally becoming his father with his mechanical hand.
His tapping into the Dark Side in the throne room is no small thing. You can't dismiss it as "his buttons are being pushed." His struggle is shown on the screen as we see him hiding from Vader, face half in light and half in dark, just before Vader's goading pushes him over the edge.
While Luke didn't fall, it was close. When he later looks into Ben and sees a future that is Kylo Ren murdering all of Luke's loved ones and bringing darkness to the galaxy, he considers FOR AN INSTANT putting a stop to it. Knowing what Luke knows and having seen what Luke has seen, what about that is out of his character?
ROTJ completed Luke's character arc in the OT. He makes the decision not to kill his father, finally deciding to reject the Dark side completely. It was the climatic, emotional center of the entire trilogy.
"No. I'll never turn to the Dark side. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."
So it makes no sense from a storytelling/character POV to have him regress in his development to the point where he'd seriously consider killing a person in their sleep, no matter how "warranted" it may be. He's already conquered that test. Add to that it's 30 years after ROTJ, so Luke has more than likely gained more wisdom, insight, and self-control. For Luke to have grave doubts is one thing, but to have him covertly go into Ben's tent and activate his lightsaber is quite another. For comparison, Yoda and Obi-Wan counseled Luke about his tendencies, they never considered killing him because of them. Wouldn't Luke do the same with Ben?
Your analysis of Luke's struggle with the Dark side is more accurate than mine was. I was unconsciously comparing Luke to Anakin, since the OT was more nuanced than the prequels (subduing some Gamorreans guards vs slaughtering an entire village of sand people) so I underestimated Luke's struggle.
However, I stand by my point that to have Luke essentially re-do the scene where he rejects killing his father undercuts the character growth that has already happened, as well as the central thematic scene in the OT.
