I so wish I saw the Return of the Jedi that Kurtz wanted. It would have made so much more sense. Empire built on the mythological core of Star Wars and worked on the natural tension that exists in the way we perceive good and evil. Luke thought he was doing good by racing to rescue his friends. Anakin thought he was doing good by confronting the Jedi Council and destroying the Order itself. A very blurred matter of perspective: trying to do good can be incredibly destructive.

Mark Hamill himself thought that Luke as a dark jedi was the natural turn of events:

As an actor that would be more fun to play. I just thought that’s the way it was going from when we finished [Empire]. I figured that’s what will be the pivotal moment. I’ll have to come back, but it will be I have Han Solo in my crosshairs and I’ll be about to kill him or about to kill the Princess or about to kill somebody that we care about. It’s an old cornball movie, like World War II movies.

Again: solid plot juice. One has to wonder if Hamill played Luke this way despite what Lucas wanted, recognizing the need for Luke to have a clearer bit of motivation. I think he did just that.

Indeed, there is a clear change of character as we move from Empire to Return of the Jedi. Luke becomes more serious, a little more sinister, and rocks the uniform pretty well:

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Nevertheless, I’m taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this or be destroyed. It’s your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power.

Was that a threat? A touch of arrogance perhaps? No — Luke would never!

As a token of my gratitude, I present to you these two droids. Both are hard working, and will serve you well…

One second. Hold on here — was that a lie? Why yes, it was. Luke is giving in, he’s drawn to the dark side. Wow… Luke lies. Keep that in mind.

You might be thinking nah, no way. Why would he do that? The answer is that he is destructively trying to do good and his training is not enough to allow him to see this. As Yoda warned, he is becoming an agent of evil.

Which actually comes in handy later on, because the only way he could beat his dad in a fight is …

Luke Turned, We All Watched It

The emperor was working Luke pretty hard, and croaked in his guttural monotone

Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete.

And guess what? Luke tried.

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Later in the sequence Luke loses it completely when Vader finds his soft spot (caring about his friends) and squeezes hard…

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Saving friends, and now family. Vader has just threatened his sister and Luke gives in. This doesn’t make sense if Luke has been a good guy the whole time. It makes perfect sense if he has indeed failed his training (which he did) and doesn’t have the ability to withstand his dad. Whom he idolized and wanted to be just like, all of his life.

Easy to see. Easy to believe.

When I first saw this scene as a kid I remember being completely confused. I thought that of course Luke turned — but only a little bit. After all, he needed the power from the dark side to beat his dad… right? And he acted like a complete maniac but it was only temporary and phew! he came back from the edge!

This, people, is a plot hole. It doesn’t make any sense in terms of the story and also Luke’s character. It doesn’t follow Luke’s motivation at all because he quite clearly doesn’t have any motivation to stay a good guy. He’s just seen what he could do with his dark powers (defeat the bad guys, save people).

“Your Hate Has Made You Powerful”

Luke confronted and defeated his father only by giving in to his fear and hatred — driven by a desire to protect his sister, whom he loved dearly and who (basically) set him on this whole damn deal to begin with (help me Obi Wan Kenobi…). You can see this clearly as he swings away at Vader violently, beating on him with all the fear and rage that is swelling up in him… fired by a desire to protect his sister and friends.

This next scene is one of the most telling. When I first saw it I thought that Luke was realizing that he gave in and that’s bad. What I think really happened was that Luke was filled with blood lust and a surge of satisfaction at his victory. Staring at his fist… marveling at his power. And why wouldn’t he be? He just kicked Vader’s ass. Come on, tell me you wouldn’t feel that too!

The emperor sees this as well. He thinks he has won Luke over — he even gloats a bit:

Good…. Now, fulfill your destiny… and take your father’s place at my side.

From the emperor’s perspective it seems like this is all wrapped up, no? Vader is lying there on the floor, Luke just turned, let’s close the deal! But…

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You can watch what happens next in two very different ways. The first, most obvious, is that Luke looks at his mechanical fist and then at his dad’s severed hand and realizes what could happen — oh no! Let’s make sure we come back from this ledge and stay on the Good side. This makes no sense in terms of Luke’s motivations.

Or, what I think, is that Luke looked at his fist and realized the effectiveness of his new power. Soaked in the revenge (the movie was entitled Revenge of the Jedioriginally, I think this is why) and let the hatred indeed fill him… indeed make him powerful.

Now, watch as he turns, rises, and faces the emperor full of arrogance and brimming with dark power. I think Hamill played this scene brilliantly:

Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side. You’ve failed your highness, I am a Jedi, like my father before me…

This would seemingly blow a hole in my story. Luke just flatly said he would never turn. He monologs for a bit about why he’ll be a Good Guy, always. He’s also lying through his teeth (like he did to Jabba, above). But why would he lie? Because he has to take out the emperor, and he knows his dad (Vader) is weak and vulnerable.

What happens next is a bit of deja vu. The emperor has realized that he has created just a little bit more than an apprentice — he’s created a rival. Why else would the emperor stop with the taunts right then? The emperor has Luke exactly where he wants him —  it doesn’t make any sense to stop now!

Unless the emperor fears Luke. As he should — he just took Vader out of the equation.
The emperor tries to destroy him with the old shock treatment in the same way we saw in Revenge of the Sith (facing off against Mace Windu). In that scene, Palpatine played on the sympathies of Anakin to cut Windu’s hands off so he could toss Windu out the window.

In this scene, Luke plays his dad in the exact same way to toss the emperor into the abyss. Ahh symbolism.

That shock treatment? He basically brushed it off. Luke is a badass. It’s the only way this whole scene makes any sense at all.

Watch Those Scenes Again

Watch Luke’s eyes as he watches Vader die. Now, rather than the obvious thing (that Luke is thinking about a lost relationship with his dad) — consider that Luke is upset about not being able to rule the galaxy as father and son.

It might not seem plausible, but it’s the only thing that ties up this gaping plot hole.

Consider Luke’s primary motivation at the very beginning: to find out more about his father, and to be a great pilot and jedi just like him. Is it so unreasonable to think he did just that? He was betrayed by the person he trusted most (Obiwan not telling him about his dad) and Yoda warned him about his failure. The motivation is clear.

Watch Return of the Jedi again, but this time with the idea that Luke is actually drawn to his dad’s power and doesn’t have the ability/training to resist using it to destructively do Good. His demeanor is a little more serious throughout and he has a very palpable dark edge.

Jabba the Hutt found out what happens when you cross Luke… which reminds me of something…

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I…I killed them. I killed them all. They’re dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too.

Wow. I mean that guy really knows his Star Wars huh, and every single thing about that makes sense. He even accounted for some of the criticisms he was going to get for it before they even came about. What an absolute badass.

Considering last time we ran a fan theory for a TV Show on here (True Detective season 2) it turned out to be exactly right, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one turned out that way too. I mean it makes perfect sense right? If i were you I would go put a bet on down the bookies on this before it gets suspended.