What Would've Happened If Luke Skywalker Defeated Kylo Ren In 'The Last Jedi'?
Image Source: SWSC
The Last Jedi is among the most divisive entries in The Skywalker Saga, not least of all because of how director Rian Johnson frequently chose to subvert the viewer’s expectations. This means that there are inevitably any number of ready-to-serve alternate outcomes for major plot points. Here we’ll explore a particular moment that could hardly have been predicted on initial viewing, and how it could have predicated a different outcome for the saga as a whole.
Whatever one’s feelings about The Last Jedi’s climactic final showdown between the legendary Luke Skywalker and his nephew Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, it stands out for its cinematic style and willingness to take the road less travelled in its approach to storytelling. The distinct visuals in this scene are used to great effect, hiding in plain sight the twist that Luke was never physically there, and the outcome is unconventional in that there is no winner or loser. While Luke gives his life to project himself to Crait, his goal was never to subdue his nephew, so his own death isn’t a defeat.
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So in asking how events might have played out differently had Luke won his duel with Ben, we have to return to the Jedi in his self-imposed exile once Rey has left him on Ahch-To. If we imagine that the elder Skywalker experienced a change of heart about his role in the Resistance and how best to help Rey, he may have rushed to recover his long-submerged X-Wing fighter from the surf, restoring it to service, and rallying across hyperspace to join Leia’s beleaguered troops in their moment of need. Then, facing the enraged Kylo Ren in a battle with life and death stakes, Luke delivers a killing blow, ending the threat from his one-time padawan.
While Luke joins the ranks of the Resistance, among the First Order, the Knights of Ren fill the void left by their namesake. After finding the Emperor alive, they vow to serve him and kill the remaining Jedi: Luke, Leia, and Rey. The events of The Rise of Skywalker play out much as we’re already familiar with them, but with a significant difference: Rey, now trained by the Skywalker twins, seems to be free of any doubt regarding herself or her purpose. She is never confronted with, and subsequently never understands her connection to the dark side. She adopts light side dogma, studies the Jedi texts, and constructs a new lightsaber for herself in the first act, unaware of what is lurking in her own nature.
While the First Order continues to be a nuisance to the heroes, Rey’s training and her quest for the Sith Wayfinder both progress without suffering from Ben Solo’s constant prodding. Without any way of tracking Rey to Pasaana, the Knights of Ren never appear to capture Chewie, and Rey never suffers that moment of supreme shock and self-doubt in the wake of unexpectedly producing force lightning and believing she’s killed a valued friend. Once the Sith from the dagger has been translated, Luke & Leia, who remained on Ajan Kloss, meet her and the others on the moon, Kef Bir. There, they face the Knights of Ren together on the Death Star’s ruins, defeating them handily and moving staunchly towards their destination of Exogol.
Image Source: Time
As a result of this less conflicted path, when the three Jedi face off against the resurrected Emperor in the final act, having been allowed to ignore rather than grapple with the question of her place in her own story, Rey is shocked when Sheev reveals her heritage as a Palpatine. Without Ben to reveal to her the full truth about her parent’s fate, she turns to the dark side in a moment, and Leia and Luke are tragically forced to destroy her along with her grandfather. The Resistance wins the day, but Rey and Ben are both utterly lost, and the Skywalker legacy along with them.
This minor key finale would necessarily be tempered with the hopeful note that the force-sensitive Finn will begin to train under Luke and Leia, with the end in view that the way of the Jedi can still be preserved. The takeaway from this exercise is that a true hero isn’t forged without pressure and conflict. Rey’s journey would have been incomplete without Ben’s insidious needling that forced her to confront her insecurities and her doubts, her power, and her pain so that none of it was a surprise when she came to the ultimate test. The crucible of questioning oneself produces temperance and steadfastness that remains resolute when faced with the challenge.
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