Rotj - Tumblr Posts
so I was rewatching the OT earlier and I was wondering
WHERE DO ALL THE SABERS KEEP COMING FROM?
Every time Vaders saber is destroyed he shows up 20 mins later with another one ???
Did he just steal the sabers from the jedi he killed at o66? He seems to have a limitless supply.
Freaking ROTJ
Can I just say, Finn’s undying loyalty to Rey is just my favorite thing. Rey’s tormented “No” when he comes after her during the Death Star wreckage spar was heart wrenching.
And Poe’s jealously of their siblingship is adorable.
Gonna rewatch Return of the Jedi tonight and bawl my eyes out again.
Spoilers for TBB 1x05!! *Regarding Muchi the rancor*
Did y’all realize that Muchi was the rancor that Luke killed in ROTJ?💀
The Bad Batch basically took the opportunity to animate this I guess:
And what’s with Bib Fortuna having cameos recently?💀
So in the Rebels finale, Dave Filoni made it canon that Rex fought in the Battle of Endor and was in Return of the Jedi in the epilogue when Sabine said that “Hera fought in the Battle of Endor, as did Commander Rex.”
With this in mind, I just wanna walk through the “last” time we saw Rex in the timeline.
Han baits this scout trooper and corners him
Rex is around the corner in his rebel gear
Rex puts the scout trooper’s armor on (probably to be undercover if needed)
The imperials have the rebels surrounded and the rebels surrender (Rex is still wearing the scout trooper armor)
Then the Ewoks ambush the imperials and kill them
HOW DID THE EWOKS KNOW NOT TO HURT REX?? HE WAS WEARING THEIR ARMOR. SABINE SAID HE FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE OF ENDOR BUT SHE DIDNT SAY HE SURVIVED
WAS REX KILLED BY THE EWOK’S FRIENDLY FIRE?? I NEED ANSWERS DAVE/JON!!
Just thinking about how Maul’s last words before he died were “He will avenge us.”
On his deathbed, Maul finally gives up on trying to defeat Obiwan long enough to realize how similar they are and how wronged they were.
Now, whether the Chosen One is Luke or Anakin is debatable because of the context, but either way, they did both avenge Maul and Obiwan.
Luke was able to convince his father to help save him from Palpatine’s force lightning, throw Palpatine to what should have been his death, and damage his breathing system which is probably what caused his death.
If Palpatine had truly died, the prophecy would have been fulfilled. Maul, Obiwan, and countless others would have been avenged.
Palpatine was responsible for forcing Maul to be his apprentice, training him ruthlessly, sending him to the fight where he was cut in half, letting him rot in insanity, killing his brother and apprentice, literal torture, and probably more terrible things I don’t even know about.
Palpatine was responsible for sending Maul to kill Qui-gon (and Maul’s incessant obsession with hurting Obiwan afterwards including Satine’s death and all the Jedi he killed to get Obiwan’s attention), creating and playing both sides of the Clone War (resulting in the deaths of countless clones created only for this purpose and innocent civilians), grooming Anakin to be the next Sith Lord after Dooku and seducing him to the dark side, ordering Order 66 which almost killed Obiwan (and Maul), and forcing Obiwan to live in hiding under the cruelty of the Empire.
Palpatine used both of them and put them against one another. He was the one that ruined both of their lives, directly or otherwise.
When Anakin threw him down the reactor shaft in ROTJ, that should have been it. After Anakin died, there would be no Sith Lords left and the Sith Rule of Two would be forever ended, restoring peace to the galaxy.
This is one of the reasons why I dislike the sequel trilogy in general (for storyline purposes). By bringing Palpatine back in TROS, they broke the canon Sith Rule of Two, invalidated Dave Filoni’s meaningful end to the Obiwan vs Maul rivalry, disrespected George Lucas’ vision of his franchise, implied that Rey could not have been a powerful Jedi without being related to a strong force user, and made the story even more confusing and pitiful.
And J.J. Abrams had the nerve to admit there was no plan for the trilogy, like, yeah, it was obvious😐
Rex hadn’t connected the dots when he had learned of the infamous Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader, serving the Emperor. He hadn’t connected the dots when Ezra returned from Malachor without his blaster-saber, guiding his then blind master, with Ahsoka nowhere in sight. He hadn’t connected the dots upon seeing the blond haired, blue eyed Jedi named Skywalker wielding his former general’s blue-bladed lightsaber.
It wasn’t until after the Battle of Endor, when the Darth Star II had been destroyed, fireworks lit the sky with resonating booms, the remaining Rebels cheered and celebrated with their Ewok allies, the Empire was as good as gone, and Skywalker had returned in an Imperial ship, carrying Darth Vader’s body with tears in his eyes, did Rex connect the dots.
Darth Vader was his beloved former Jedi General of the 501st Clone Battalion, Anakin Skywalker.
For 25 years, Rex had believed that Anakin had been killed by the blasters of his brothers upon the declaration of Order 66. Perhaps he had survived long enough to have been struck down by the Emperor or Inquisitors he had heard so much about from his newer Jedi leadership. He had never imagined that his general and friend was capable of such terrible things.
Despite his disbelief, nothing would change. His general was dead and Rex would never fight beside him again.
Remembering the countless battles and near-death experiences they had shared, Rex watched from afar as Anakin’s body burned on the pyre. Luke sensed his presence and caught the salute Rex threw his way, only to realize it wasn’t for him, but for his father.
After he had reunited with his friends and celebrated their victory, Luke still couldn’t shake the older clone trooper from his thoughts. Curiously, Luke had asked Obi-wan who the old clone trooper was and how he knew his father. His mentor’s brief explanation prompted him to greet the soldier and introduce himself.
They talked long into the night. Luke had asked Rex about what his father was like during the war. Rex had told him about the Battle of Christophsis and how Anakin became a master to Ahsoka Tano, the liberation of the Togruta from Zygerrian slavers, the countless planets spared from the cruelty of the Separatist’s droid army and influence, and how he would cover for Anakin’s comms to Padmé. He told Luke about his mother and his father, how much they had loved one another, and how far they went to protect one another.
Luke finally felt at peace upon hearing about his parents. He had been reassured that his father was a good person, beyond the expectations the Jedi order demanded from him. He had sensed the good in his father while he still held the name Vader, but hearing it from his father’s old friend was the proof he needed. Rex had told him the things Obi-wan wouldn’t, but it was exactly what he needed to hear, and for that he was grateful.
I am literally bawling my eyes out right now imagining Rex joining the rebellion before A New Hope.
Does he instantly see Padmé in Luke’s kind eyes? Or perhaps in Leia’s strength and leadership, Rex sees echos of Anakin.
Does he tell them who he is? Or was he too afraid? Afraid he’s wrong, afraid he’s just seeing ghosts. Or perhaps he’s afraid he’s right.
And Leia and Luke sit next to each other at briefings, and Rex swears he’s on Coruscant again, playing lookout for Padmé and Anakin. And maybe Leia laughs at one of Luke’s corny farm boy jokes, and she calls him Skyguy-
And suddenly the room is full of smoke and he’s on the battlefield for the Republic again, listening to Anakin and Ahsoka argue.
And he says nothing. He can’t. How would he even begin to explain? What words could even begin to describe how much it all hurts.
And he’s older now. And he’s tired.
But he swore to himself he would look after the 501st. But the boys are gone. And Ahsoka is gone. And Anakin is gone.
But his shadow remains. Two shadows.
And that’s enough to hold onto.
So quietly. He looks after the twins.
Every mission. He signs up first. Every briefing, he finds a seat somewhere behind the Twins. From Hoth to Endor he follows. Never accepting a mission too far away from wherever they are.
But he can never find the courage to talk to them.
Because Leias big brown eyes look a little too much like Padmé’s. And Luke has his fathers blue blade at his side, and he wears it with pride.
But I like to think, as the sun sets on Endor, and the Ewoks sing songs and dance,
Luke sits himself near the lonely soldier who lingers far from the crowd and says
“I’m Luke. Ben said you knew my father.”
Back on my "Omega is Luke's Rebel pilot auntie" bs again and I'm just thinking of her telling him the story of how she released a kriffing Zillo Beast to wreak havoc on Mount Tantiss while Luke is staring at her wide-eyed and in total awe of his new mentor and thinking to himself how lucky he is to fly alongside someone just as unhinged as he is A few years later when he concocts his strategy to rescue Han from Jabba's, the thing that keeps him from second-guessing the absolute madness of his overdramatic 157-step plan is the thought of "well it's not that bad I mean Omega released the Zillo Beast lol" meanwhile everyone (except Leia, who is just as insane as he is) is looking on with increasing concern as he starts rambling about pretending to sell Artoo and Threepio and Leia and Lando sneaking into the palace while in cosplay and him Force-choking guards and threatening Jabba to his face and "in the event something goes wrong we'll just blow Jabba up lmao nbd"
i actually dont have strong feelings about the edits done to the OT but i will defend the hayden force ghost thing to the death purely because seeing grown men fail to comprehend the world's most heavy handed symbolism is entertainment you dont get anywhere else
Got to see this scene in theater today and I formed a core memory
Today I present to you an absolutely non-delusional analysis I’ve made for over a year now. The song “Man on the Moon” by Alan Walker and Benjamin Ingrosso reminds me of Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s story in the events of the Original Trilogy. The more I listened to this song, the more I felt it was made for them so I will proceed to explain:
“What happens in dreams where we fly?”
It’s the first line in the song, and casually one of the first introductions that is given to us about Luke’s character. He feels stuck, head full of dreams about flying away from the desert lands of Tatooine into the wonders of the galaxy
“Never been as high as tonight”
The battle of Yavin. Not only is Luke high up in the sky, but it’s a high point in his life. It’s the start of his long journey on a crucial mission which he succeeds, but that comes with pressure
“Staring through a window in time for someone to show me what I’m like”
The forever iconic horizon scene. The horizon acts as a window in time through which Luke stares into nothing and everything, thinking about the future that could await him. He hopes to find answers to all the questions he has about his past but everything just seems to make him more confused
“He said hello, it’s like a mirror in the sky”
The vision in the cave. When Darth Vader’s helmet falls to the ground and explodes, Luke sees his own face inside. That’s the mirror of his fear, the reflection of what he could become
“Oh boy, we looking good tonight and I just don’t understand”
Luke’s first duel with Darth Vader on Bespin in which he decides to tell him the truth, the big revelation. He is his father and this stuns him as well as his emotions. At that moment Luke is vulnerable physically and emotionally: defenseless, one hand and his weapon missing, clinging onto a bar to keep himself from falling and fighting to deny what has just been told to him. Vader tries to use this vulnerability as a way of turning Luke, but he can’t understand his restraint as if saying “Imagine how great it would be if we could rule the galaxy together as father and son, I don’t understand why you won’t cave into temptation and join the dark side”
“I met the man on the moon”
Initially Luke thought that the Death Star was a moon. That makes Vader, the man on the Death Star, the man on the moon
“I met the man on the moon, he wore his hat to the side”
When Vader asks Luke to remove his helmet so he can look at him with his own eyes for the first and last time
“I met the man on the moon, he asked if I had a light”
This part is difficult to explain, but it’s in Vader’s last moments that he understands Luke “gave him light” (made him understand that there was still good in him) but it was too late
“He told us to hold it together, we’re falling apart”
When Vader tells Luke that he was right. “You were right, you were right about me. Tell your sister you were right” acts as a sort of reassurance and a way of letting him know that nothing was in vain. Yes, his death couldn’t be prevented, but now he would die as a good man. They are both falling apart in different senses: Vader is literally falling apart, falling into his inevitable death. Luke is emotionally falling apart, grieving for the death of the man he saved but couldn’t save at the same time
“Lost, all my tears have turned to dust”
The Ewok celebration is seemingly a time to celebrate freedom, the threats of the Empire are finally gone. Happiness arises while Luke tries to process what he just lived, he feels lost. The dust can represent the ashes of the fire in which his father is being burned
“Maybe somebody is calling us, the man on the moon”
This can represent two scenes:
The one where Luke is talking to Leia about how he must face Vader and try to turn him back to the light. His instinct is calling for him to go and attempt to save their father, the man on the moon
And the one where Luke sees the force ghosts of his former mentors and his father. His father out of his suit, not as Darth Vader anymore, but as Anakin Skywalker
English is not my first language so there might be some mistakes, but I needed to share this and finally get it out of my system