I Love The Last Jedi - But One Lightsaber Mistake Still Bothers Me 7 Years Later

Summary Luke's use of the blue lightsaber in the final act of The Last Jedi works, but not as much as if his green lightsaber was used.

The decision to forego Luke's iconic green lightsaber could have alerted Kylo Ren to Luke's deception, as the blue lightsaber was destroyed earlier in the film.

The emotional impact of the film could have been just as strong, if not stronger, had Luke wielded his green lightsaber instead, due to Kylo's dark connection to it.

Despite my love for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the film admittedly makes one lightsaber mistake that I have not forgotten seven years later. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is an interesting case study regarding the divisiveness of film, something that Star Wars' upcoming movies will likely wish to avoid. After leaving the theater upon my first viewing of the eighth chronological Star Wars movie, I was convinced the reaction would reflect near-universal praise after Star Wars: The Force Awakens had some minor criticisms.

I was wrong. Star Wars: The Last Jedi immediately became one of the more divisive movies in the franchise. This divisiveness has continued to affect the franchise since, with the sequel trilogy often ranked as Star Wars' worst by critics of the three films, specifically The Last Jedi. Although I love Episode VIII, I can safely acknowledge some of its flaws. One such flaw belongs to the final act of Star Wars: The Last Jedi involving the iconic lightsabers of the franchise, and it is a mistake I have not forgotten almost a decade later.

Related Every Star Wars Movie, Ranked Worst To Best Looking at all nine Skywalker Saga entries and three spinoffs, we crown the best Star Wars movie in our full ranking of the galaxy far, far away.

There's One Obvious Problem With Luke's Duel With Kylo Ren

Luke's Lightsaber Reflects An Issue With The Last Jedi & The Sequels Overall

In the final act of The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker confronts Kylo Ren at the Battle of Crait. This plot point alone was enough to raise many criticisms of the film, from Luke appearing as a Force projection to his untimely death at the end of the sequence. I find Luke Skywalker's Last Jedi death to be perfect, and I believe the character exhibited the ideal traits of a Jedi by using the Force for defense over attack. That said, the color of Luke's lightsaber chosen for the scene is a personal issue I still harbor seven years later.

As Luke appears to Kylo, he draws the blue Skywalker saber that originally belonged to Anakin, Luke after him, and finally, Rey. I can understand the film's focus on the Skywalker lightsaber, as it remained a constant MacGuffing throughout the Star Wars sequels. However, the usage of this lightsaber in Luke's defining moment as a Jedi Master robs the scene of even more greatness by foregoing Luke's green lightsaber. The green lightsaber is synonymous with Luke's status as a Jedi, as evident by its utilization in Return of the Jedi and his fantastic cameo in The Mandalorian season 2.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Unfortunately, though, Luke's green lightsaber was not used. Overall, I feel that the sequel trilogy had somewhat of an obsession with the Skywalker saber, The Last Jedi even more so than the other two movies. This obsession is at its most obvious when Luke wields the saber in question over his green one, a plot point that I still find to be problematic for a variety of reasons.

Using The Skywalker Saber Risked Exposing Luke's Deception

Luke's Force Projection Could Have Been Shattered By The Blue Lightsaber

Perhaps the most obvious reason behind why I think the blue lightsaber does not work links to Luke's deception. The point of appearing as a Force projection was so that Luke could stall Kylo and his army, giving the Resistance members trapped in Crait's bunker time to escape. In using the blue Skywalker saber, Luke's deception could have been foiled as quickly as it began. Only moments earlier in the film, Kylo himself broke the Skywalker lightsaber in two during his Force struggle with Rey for the weapon, meaning he could have seen through Luke's plan with relative ease.

I cannot deny how risky Luke's plan was, a risk that would have been negated by the green lightsaber.

Despite common online discourse, this is less of a plot hole and more of an in-universe risk on Luke's part. When I first watched The Last Jedi, I - like many others - did not wonder why Luke had the blue lightsaber and was instead caught up in the epic nature of the scene, despite seeing the weapon break less than 30 minutes before. Similarly, Kylo being blinded by his hatred works to explain why he did not notice the saber. Still, I cannot deny how risky Luke's plan was, a risk that would have been negated by the green lightsaber.

Luke's Green Lightsaber Would've Been Just As Emotive

The Emotional Impact Of The Film Would Also Work With The Green Lightsaber

Close

With this criticism still fresh in my mind seven years later, I have since looked into why the blue lightsaber was used in this scene. Star Wars: The Last Jedi's writer-director Rian Johnson cited Kylo's desire as the reason behind the blue saber being used. Kylo states to Rey in The Force Awakens, "That lightsaber, it belongs to me." This is added to by his grapple with Rey over the saber in The Last Jedi and is evidently an object of Kylo's connection to the dark side. He sees himself as Anakin/Vader's successor, thus desiring his lightsaber.

Related The 10 Best Action Scenes In Star Wars History The Star Wars film franchise has included several fantastic action sequences over the decades, with 10 standing above the crowd as the very best.

Just as I feel is the case with many decisions in The Last Jedi, this reasoning works. That said, the possibility I raised about Luke's deception being broken makes the green saber a better choice, while still having an emotional impact on the film. Another of the divisive plot points of The Last Jedi involved Luke's creation of Kylo Ren which, naturally, I loved. The scene is told from multiple perspectives, with Kylo believing Luke tried to kill him; Kylo seeing the green saber that he believes almost ended his life in the film’s finale is just as powerful thematically.

The glow of Luke's green saber is all Kylo saw decades earlier when he thought his master had betrayed him. If the green saber had been used by Luke, I believe this would have been as impactful as the blue saber, as Kylo is fighting against the weapon that pushed him to the dark side. All of this just supports my point that - despite how much I love Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Luke's green saber was a much better choice for his final confrontation with Kylo from an emotional, thematic, and pure badass standpoint.