Why The Original Trilogy Trio Did Not Fail
Star Wars is no stranger to fan discourse. As a matter of fact, it practically invents fan discourse. The newest cause of argument among fans seemed to be the sequel trilogy. Now that The Rise of Skywalker has been released, fans are quick to point out what they believe to be flaws and continuity issues that sequels create for the larger Star Wars series and universe. One of the big issues that fans often bring up is how the rise of the First Order and the Emperor's return show that Luke, Leia, and Han had failed in the original trilogy. However, I do not think that was necessarily the case.
First of all, I do not really think anything in the sequel trilogy implies that Luke, Leia, or Han failed in the original trilogy. They led the Rebellion to countless victories, blew up two Death Stars, and defeated the Emperor. Luke on his own, learned how to use the Force, learned the ways of the Jedi, converted Darth Vader back to Light Side, and arguably brought balance to the Force. There was also the fact that he surpassed the Jedi who came before by being able to accept the darkness that is in everyone without giving in to it, but that is a thought for another day. Regardless, none of this immediately says failure to me. It all sounds like a pretty resounding victory for the Rebellion, the Jedi, and the galaxy at large. To give credit where credit is due, a lot of problems that plagued the heroes in the original trilogy return in the sequel trilogy. The Emperor is resurrected somehow. They basically create a larger Death Star. The Sith return. The First Order is basically the next Empire. However, all of the problems that arise do not mean that the original trio failed.
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Star Wars has always been a series that tried to go beyond just being a typical sci-fi story with laser swords, and that is why it has been so prolific. If anything, it shows that the heroes beating one major villain does not magically solve all the problems in the world, and banish evil forever. It shows that problems, evil, and villains can all return, and the same heroes cannot always stop them. Heroes are just people, and people age. That is the key to the sequel trilogy. The responsibility of helping people and standing up to evil passes on to a new generation. As much as we would love to see Luke, Leia, and Han fight the bad guys forever, that is not how the world works. Yoda tells us this in The Last Jedi.
“Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.”
Yoda is not saying they failed in the original trilogy. He is talking specifically about how Luke felt like a failure in The Last Jedi. There were threats that returned from the trio’s past, but if they had failed originally, there would not have been years of relative peace for the galaxy. Yes, the galaxy still had problems, but it was nothing like the tyranny of the Empire.
As much as we would love to see Luke, Leia, and Han fight the bad guys forever, they will not always be around. On the other hand, evil will always be around. Evil will return, and someone will have to fight back against it. That is what the sequel trilogy is about. It is about the original trio passing the torch. They did not fail the galaxy. By never surrendering to the relentless forces of evil, they are setting an example that despite all odds, good can win against evil. This legacy ensures the success of the new heroes and the galaxy as a whole.