The characters of Zahn's original Thrawn Trilogy
Oct 25, 2020 8:15:44 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2020 8:15:44 GMT -6
I've recently re-read these books for the first time since the nineties, and as I've become an adult and accrued a few decades of experience and perspective between readings I feel I can appreciate certain aspects of them far better, specifically the characterizations of the cast. Not only are the original trilogy characters given opportunities to grow and express their maturity and character arcs, but new characters appear to both oppose and complement them.
The obvious starting point is the face of the OT: Luke Skywalker. I'll be giving some of my thoughts on how he was handled here in the first post of the thread.
At this point in time, some years have passed between Luke as I last saw him in ROTJ and the beginning of the narrative of Heir to the Empire. (I acknowledge that other EU/Legends material featuring Luke exists to bridge this gap, but I am not familiar enough with them yet to comment, and it's a popular suggestion online to treat Heir to the Empire as an episode 7 of sorts, so that's what I've done)
When we first meet Luke in this narrative, he's several things. He's an ace pilot and famous Jedi Knight, and thus a very popular public face for the New Republic. In addition to this, he's an orphaned son, a bachelor, a brother and soon to be an uncle. We initially meet him contemplating his past, present and future on a balcony of the Imperial City of Coruscant after dreaming of Ben Kenobi's final farewell, naming him "not the last of the old Jedi, Luke, the first of the new."
This series of three books gives Luke the opportunity to explore more of what it means to be a Jedi Knight specifically, quickly figuring out he still has a lot to learn about the Jedi's role as a diplomat and adjudicator of galactic disputes large and small. He's given several opportunities in these three books to demonstrate his wisdom and his growing connection to the Force. He's able to pull some impressive tricks and maneuvers in his X-Wing during dogfights, including clouding the minds of some Imperial starfighter pilots, though his wisdom suggests this type of trick skirts close to the Dark Side so he's reluctant to over-rely on it when he has opportunities later.
His relationship as a mentor to his Sister and potentially not only to her unborn twins but future generations of Jedi is something that daunts our protagonist and has him questioning his self-worth. This is further complicated by conflicting feelings he has from meeting former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade and the insane Jedi Master clone Joruus C'Baoth, whom I will discuss my thoughts on later. Through all these conflicted feelings and doubts, Luke hews close to the Light Side and trusts his intuition and his connection and learning from former mentors Ben Kenobi and Yoda. He manages to maintain his focus and compassion, choosing to try to understand and help Mara and Joruus. He succeeds with Mara, encouraging her to become an ally and potential Jedi by the end of the story arc, but ultimately fails to pull Master C'Baoth back to the Light, which I assume will flavor his persona and mood moving farther into the New Jedi Order period. A particularly harrowing and confusing moment is having to confront his insane clone Luuke Skywalker in the Emperor's Throne Room, in a dark mirror of scenes from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
What are my thoughts on how Luke was handled here? Very solid. He feels like the Luke we know and love from the OT. Zahn did a fine job of maintaining the spirit and essence of this particular character while giving him a chance to expand his boundaries and further develop. I'm a big fan of this Luke and would compare him very favorably to the current Canon view of Luke post-ROTJ.
The obvious starting point is the face of the OT: Luke Skywalker. I'll be giving some of my thoughts on how he was handled here in the first post of the thread.
At this point in time, some years have passed between Luke as I last saw him in ROTJ and the beginning of the narrative of Heir to the Empire. (I acknowledge that other EU/Legends material featuring Luke exists to bridge this gap, but I am not familiar enough with them yet to comment, and it's a popular suggestion online to treat Heir to the Empire as an episode 7 of sorts, so that's what I've done)
When we first meet Luke in this narrative, he's several things. He's an ace pilot and famous Jedi Knight, and thus a very popular public face for the New Republic. In addition to this, he's an orphaned son, a bachelor, a brother and soon to be an uncle. We initially meet him contemplating his past, present and future on a balcony of the Imperial City of Coruscant after dreaming of Ben Kenobi's final farewell, naming him "not the last of the old Jedi, Luke, the first of the new."
This series of three books gives Luke the opportunity to explore more of what it means to be a Jedi Knight specifically, quickly figuring out he still has a lot to learn about the Jedi's role as a diplomat and adjudicator of galactic disputes large and small. He's given several opportunities in these three books to demonstrate his wisdom and his growing connection to the Force. He's able to pull some impressive tricks and maneuvers in his X-Wing during dogfights, including clouding the minds of some Imperial starfighter pilots, though his wisdom suggests this type of trick skirts close to the Dark Side so he's reluctant to over-rely on it when he has opportunities later.
His relationship as a mentor to his Sister and potentially not only to her unborn twins but future generations of Jedi is something that daunts our protagonist and has him questioning his self-worth. This is further complicated by conflicting feelings he has from meeting former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade and the insane Jedi Master clone Joruus C'Baoth, whom I will discuss my thoughts on later. Through all these conflicted feelings and doubts, Luke hews close to the Light Side and trusts his intuition and his connection and learning from former mentors Ben Kenobi and Yoda. He manages to maintain his focus and compassion, choosing to try to understand and help Mara and Joruus. He succeeds with Mara, encouraging her to become an ally and potential Jedi by the end of the story arc, but ultimately fails to pull Master C'Baoth back to the Light, which I assume will flavor his persona and mood moving farther into the New Jedi Order period. A particularly harrowing and confusing moment is having to confront his insane clone Luuke Skywalker in the Emperor's Throne Room, in a dark mirror of scenes from Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
What are my thoughts on how Luke was handled here? Very solid. He feels like the Luke we know and love from the OT. Zahn did a fine job of maintaining the spirit and essence of this particular character while giving him a chance to expand his boundaries and further develop. I'm a big fan of this Luke and would compare him very favorably to the current Canon view of Luke post-ROTJ.
