Is Luke a Jedi?

Well, now you're probably figuring, "What's the debate? Yoda said he'd be a Jedi when he killed Vader, so he's a Jedi. Case closed." Not so fast, young Padawan. Sorry, I've just always wanted to say that. But anyway, the debate is not as black-and-white as you might think.

The History Lesson

The way I understand it, a potential Jedi is whisked away from his family at an early age to begin studying the ways of the Force. That was exactly what happened to farmboy, although circumstances helped that step along. Now, why Luke was given to Owen and Beru Lars, I'm not certain. Nobody is, but I won't waste your time speculating. That's for another day.

Still, with not too much suitable genetic stock in the galaxy and perhaps because they fell victim to sexism, Ben and Yoda decided to keep trying with Luke instead of Leia. But Owen and Beru were very protective about the young lad, and Obi-Wan couldn't get enough time with the kid to let him know what he could do (which we all picked up from A New Hope).

Skip ahead 18 years. Ben is training Luke on the Millennium Falcon, meaning that Luke has just become a Padawan and has finally gotten to the second stage of training. Or has he? Padawans are trained from the time they are apprenticed to a Master, and Obi-Wan is never said to be a Master. Besides, Luke should've been trained since childhood, not just when it suited old Ben. Not to mention there seems to be no Council approval. But let's assume that Luke's now in the second stage of training for the time being. It's an abbreviated training as Obi-Wan becomes a shishkabob on Vader's lightsaber. This leads Luke to try and train himself for about three years. Apparently, he has some success with Telekinesis and Lightsaber Combat, but after that it's unknown. Obi-Wan shows up in Blue Aura Club form and tells Luke to go to Dagobah and Yoda. Now, Luke is at the point where he would be hallucinating and delirious, so why boy blunder would trust a possible hallucination is beyond me.

Then again, the Force is able to influence the weak-minded.

So Luke goes to Dagobah and begins training under Yoda, his (for lack of a better term) finishing master. Yoda is supposed to reverse all the mistakes Obi-Wan made (fat chance) and make Luke ready for his trial to become a Jedi Knight: to confront/kill Darth Vader. So begins the third stage of training. Problem is, Luke is about as attentive as a cat preening. Thinking he's powerful enough to save his friends without any
type of back-up or plan, he runs off and nearly is taken over to the Dark Side, not to mention getting his hand cut off. (For the record though, I have to admit that in the same situation, I would have run off to save my friends at any cost, although I would have tried to come up with a plan. Not saying it's the right decision, just saying it's the one I would have taken.)

Well, after that debacle, Luke runs off to Tatooine instead of Dagobah, because he knows that's where Han will eventually show up, and starts training himself again. Silly boy, he still hasn't learned from his past mistakes. Anyway, after constructing a new lightsaber, he saves Han (with what looks to be something of a plan, no less), and goes back to Dagobah.

The Controversy

Here's where it really gets sticky. When Luke returns to Dagobah, he finds Yoda dying. Well, the Jedi Master decides to go with no secrets on his lips. He confirms to Luke that Vader is his father and says, "You must confront Vader. Only then, a Jedi will you be." Yoda then fades to nothingness. Notice he said confront. Not kill, confront. But when Luke starts talking to old Obi-Wan, he's made the leap to kill. And of course, Ben doesn't try to correct him at all, since he wants to see Vader dead.

But Luke doesn't want to kill or confront his father. Perhaps because he wants to have a daddy around, perhaps because he had his behind handed to him on a silver platter the last time, I can't say. Instead, he runs to the Alliance and tries to avoid the issue by taking place in the run on the new Death Star. Oh yeah, that's much safer. Anyway, Luke starts to realize that he can't avoid this confrontation and abandons his friends (apparently, Yoda's teachings got through) to get captured by the Imperials, who bring him to Vader. One untouching attempt to return Anakin Skywalker to the galaxy later, Luke stands before the Emperor (who bears absolutely no resemblance to Darth Sidious whatsoever) and proceeds to start his fall towards the Dark Side. He battles Vader once again, which by Yoda's definition means he is a Jedi. By Obi-Wan's, he's still a farmboy with delusions of grandeur. Wait, that's mine. Either way, though, he's no Jedi.

Messier and Messier

At the end of the battle, Luke is using the Dark Side of the Force. I already said that he was a Jedi according to Yoda, so now he would be a fallen Jedi. But before he can strike Vader dead, which would make him a Jedi according to Obi-Wan, he turns off his lightsaber, unwisely tosses it away, and tells the Emperor he is a Jedi, before being bar-b-qued like an Ewok. Is he? Well, it all depends on whom you trust more: Obi-Wan, already dead and one with the Force, but whose perceptions on Vader are understandably skewed; or Yoda, the last remaining Jedi Master who has set the final trials for many Padawans to become a Jedi.

I'm inclined to side with Yoda on this matter, meaning Luke is a Jedi Knight at the end of Return of the Jedi. At that point, he is the only one in the galaxy, and he must decide on how to proceed. To make a long story short (too late), he goes off in search of any materials relating to the Jedi. After about five years and one very dangerous (yet cool) Imperial Grand Admiral later, a reborn Emperor turns Luke over to the Dark Side. Eventually, Luke is returned to the Jedi path by Leia -- which is when he starts calling himself a Jedi Master. Uh…'kay? Thank you, Mr. Anderson. A brick will be dropping by shortly.

Final Analysis

In this writer's not-so-humble opinion, Luke Skywalker is a Jedi Knight. Nothing more, nothing less. He successfully passed his trial set by Yoda, whose job it actually was. He also set in motion events that led to the termination of the first Emperor and Darth Vader, which earned him points towards Master status, but has acquired more negative points for falling to the Dark Side and errantly calling himself a Jedi Master. Heck, he said so himself at the end of "Visions of the Future". Worse yet, he's unleashed upon the galaxy a bunch of half-assedly trained
Jedi Knights, such as Kyp Durron.

Still, he has learned much through his trials and errors (and errors, and errors, and errors). But, as Lord Vader might say, "He is not a Jedi Master…yet."

(George Hatch assumes the guise of Skylar Raeseti on the Echostation message boards and fights a never-ending battle for truth, enlightenment, and sarcasm. This mild-mannered vigilante poses as a ticket seller at Space Center Houston during the day. He's easy to find, he'll be the one reading the Wraith Squadron books while he's supposed to be working.)