Luke Skywalker is only alive thanks to an Imperial misconception

According to Chris Snellgrove
| Published 14 seconds ago

Luke Skywalker performs many amazing feats in Star Wars thanks to his mystical powers, but his most impressive achievement had nothing to do with the Force. We’re talking, of course, about his ability to escape the second Death Star even though it was still swarming with Stormtroopers who could have easily killed him as he carried Darth Vader’s body to the nearest shuttle dock. However, one fan theory may explain how Luke survived: simply put, all the Imperials would have left Luke alive because they assumed he had just murdered both Vader and Emperor Palpatine.

Luke Skywalker is terrifying

As viewers, we know what happened at the end Return of the Jedi: after nearly succumbing to his rage and destroying Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker throws away his lightsaber and surrenders. In return, Palpatine begins battering the young Jedi with force lightning and he is only stopped Darth Vader threw his boss down the shaft. Vader subsequently dies from lightning that passes through his body, but since none of the Imperials witnessed either the throne room confrontation or Vader’s redemption from his deathbed, they would conclude that Luke Skywalker is the most terrifying enemy in the galaxy.

Think about it: to the Imperials aboard the Death Star, Luke entered the throne room of Emperor Palpatine, their biggest boss and the scariest guy they knew. The film opens by showing us how the very thought of Palpatine coming to the space station reduced Moff Jerjerrod to a quivering mess of anxiety and fear. The Imperials saw Luke walk into Palpatine’s throne room in chains and emerge alive and free… the only reasonable conclusion is that he somehow managed to kill or overpower Palpatine, and no rank and file Stormtrooper is going to want to fight a guy who successfully took on the Emperor .

At this point, skeptics will point out that not everyone aboard the Death Star was aware of Luke Skywalker’s presence; it was actually a closely guarded secret. Therefore, very few Imperials could have guessed that the young warrior had accomplished the impossible and escaped the clutches of the most powerful man in the galaxy. That would be it impossible however, one more important detail is missed: that Luke Skywalker is dragging what appears to be the dead body of Darth Vader.

Darth Vader’s body

Palpatine was a very abstract threat to most Imperials, but Vader was quite tangible. This is a guy who commands Star Destroyers and visits military bases and promptly kills even the most senior officers who annoy him. He was the scourge of the entire Imperial service, the kind that anyone aboard the Death Star would dread to see. Yet some young cub comes along and drags the Sith Lord’s body into the shuttle as if he were simply taking a large garbage bag to the garbage compactor.

None of this is to demean Luke Skywalker’s abilities or his many accomplishments, but the enduring lesson of the Star Wars prequels is that all it takes is enough people firing blasters at once to kill even the most powerful Jedi. Luke could easily he was killed on the Death Star at any time but survived because everyone thought he had just murdered the most powerful people in the galaxy. He’s alive thanks to a simple misconception, though some would say it’s merely proof that the Force works in mysterious ways.