“That old legend of Luke Skywalker that you hate so much, I believed in it.”
It’s fair to say that the world-famous Jedi Master failed to live up to Rey’s expectations. Having trawled the known universe in search of Mark Hamill’s wayward legend, our Jakku scavenger winds up on Ahch-To, the “most unfindable place in the galaxy.”
Lightsaber in hand, she attempts to broach Skywalker about the vulnerable Resistance, who are now under serious threat from the First Order. Frankly, Luke couldn’t care less, and tosses his father’s lightsaber off a cliff in what is arguably one of the most jaw-dropping scenes of the entire sequel. After much deliberation, though, Hamill’s hermit agrees to give Rey three fundamental lessons about the nature of the Force.
And that’s where Star Wars: The Last Jedi begins. But there’s a twist; Luke only relays two lessons in the movie’s final cut, and we now have our first peek at the third.
Based on /Film‘s findings from late last year, Luke’s third and final lesson was initially designed to teach Rey about how to pick her battles.
As she approaches the end of her training, Hamill’s Jedi Master points to the horizon to reveal a group of boats headed for Ahch-To. Luke then warns Rey to proceed with caution, as a group of bandits regularly visits the island for the sole reason of terrorizing the Caretakers and, should she engage, they’ll return stronger than ever. Aghast, Ridley’s protagonist then sees plumes of smoke rising from a nearby village, and rushes to their aid, only to realize that it’s an innocent party of Caretakers, Chewie, Artoo and the porgs.
It certainly explains that slow-mo shot of Rey running along a beach at dusk (see above), while The Star Wars Show has also provided a closer look at our heroine tearing through a wooden gate on Ahch-To. Betrayed, she then confronts Luke, and utters that aforementioned line: “That old legend of Luke Skywalker that you hate so much, I believed in it.”
In hindsight, it’s probably best that Rian Johnson decided to cut the third lesson, as it would’ve made Luke more unlikeable than he already is. But that’s just our opinion.
Expect all of this and more to be included on The Last Jedi‘s Blu-ray, which will likely arrive just in time for Solo: A Star Wars Story.
