I have one pressing question on Episode III and its connections to the OT. We've been spoiled into knowing that at the end of ROTS: Qui-Gon speaks to Yoda and tells him about the pivotal significance of the Living Force, emotions, dreams and that "love is the answer to darkness".

Up till that moment, Yoda and the old Jedi bunch dismissed the importance of the "moment" for some "higher purpose" such as unconditional love, eternal peace and so on. Obi-Wan and the Council dismissed Anakin's dreams about his mother and also about Padme, and they surely did not approve Anakin's secret marriage.

We also know that the Council used to criticise Qui-Gon for his rogue ways. And we all know what happened - Anakin listened to his dreams and wanted to save Padme and he turned the wrong way. The Jedi did not help Anakin while Palpatine seduced him to the dark side by promising that he would.

This is the big mistake the Council and Obi-Wan commit, and IMHO also the crux of the whole saga.

Jedi Council: bury your feelings and forget you are human, you are a Jedi.
Qui-Gon Jinn: face your feelings but remember that you are a Jedi, and choose the right path.

From the spoilers we know that at the end of ROTS Yoda and Obi-Wan realise their mistakes and they both go hiding on distant planets meditating on these truths until the twins grow up.

However, have they learn the lesson? In the end Luke does not "bury" his feelings: he has an outburst of emotion and defeats Vader in the process. Then he chooses the right way by rejecting the Emperor. When seeing this "love"here is our "answer to darkness" - Anakin returns to the Light and fulfils his destiny. Great.

Obi-Wan and Yoda do not seem to have learn this all-important lesson, or they are just hiding their true intentions and presenting everything from their point of view:


1. When Luke dreams about his friends dying, Yoda and Obi-Wan insist that he should not go. Yoda even says that his friends can be sacrificed if a "higher purpose" is reached in the end. Huh? Where is the change?

2. Yoda states that once you are on the dark path forever it will consume your destiny. Not very hopeful for an eventual Anakin redemption do they really think he can be redeemed at the end of EP3? Or not?

3. Obi-Wan hints that no there is no good in Vader at all: both during his duel in AHN and during his convo with Luke in RotJ. Does Obi-Wan believe in what Padme says on her deathbed or not? ("there is still good in him")

4. In RotJ Yoda states that Luke knowing that Vader is his father is "unfortunate". However, for the whole redemption thing to happen, Luke must know that Vader is his father. Yoda states that Luke was not "ready" for such revelation, but still, the question remains.

5. Obi-Wan categorically states that Luke must "bury his feelings deep down" when referring to Leia. Eventually, rising up to this very fear makes Luke defeat Vader. OK he might have "tapped" into the Dark Side in that moment, but afterwards he chose love over hatred.


These type of moral choices should be allowed, and Jedi should be trained to face their feelings of the moment and then channel them onto the right path, rather than trying to hide them behind the mask of a Jedi. This is Qui-Gon's lesson. We are told that in EP3 Yoda and Obi-Wan learn this lesson, but where is the hard evidence in the OT?

Sorry for the long post. I hope for opinions.

1. obi wan and yoda don't wan't him to go because they know he is not ready. and he WAS NOT. there were really 3 outcomes that they could have forseen. luke dead. luke frozen and taken to the emperor. or luke joining his father. but we also don't know if what they were saying was a test to see if luke would let his friends die or not. you can't prove either way.

2. they don't think anakin can be turned. a sith has never been turned to the lightside. remember, they are looking at luke to confront vader and kill him. "i can't kill my own father"-Luke "then the emperor has already won"-obi wan.

3. uh, vader just killed obi wan when he was standing DEFENSELESS!!! seems to me that obi wan was justified in his belief.

4. again, they are not looking to redeem vader. they didn't want to tell the kid he had to kill his father.

5. he defeated vader, but he would have died at the hands of the emperor and leia would have been the target of vader or palpatine to be the next sith apprentice.

The fact that they let Luke and Leia live with a family and not with any Jedi, goes to show that they did change some of their ways. Let the kids grow up in caring families and then let them be trained when they´ve matured, not force training and detachment on them from they are born.

But, even so, they still didn´t have faith in Vader´s ability to turn, the only one who truely believed was his son, who still cared for him. So some traits of the old way of thinking still remained.