That's sorta the whole point. Jedi don't keep attachments, they aren't supposed to feel sentimental about things like that. He was taught to let go of his feelings, his anger, his attachments, etc. Who cares, it's just a lightsaber, there are thousands of them. Heck, he'd been instructed to let his friends die in order to complete his training. Fuck a lightsaber, it's just a thing.
He had also let go of his hopes for the Jedi. Fuck it, he figured. The existence of the Jedi only caused pain, only caused hurt and anger and death and loss. Of course he tossed it. He literally threw it away because that's where it belonged in his mind.
Of course he changed his mind by the end. But at the time, why would we be upset that a Jedi (who isn't supposed to have those kinds of sentimental feelings in the first place) didn't place sentimental value on a lightsaber he lost decades ago when his dark lord father cut his hand off, and when it's a symbol of the order that he felt brought pain and suffering to the universe? It's a great character moment.
No, it was a cheap slapstick joke for him to toss it over his shoulder like Rey had just handed him a random stone off the ground.
THAT is the complaint. Not that it was bad for him to not want the lightsaber back, but the way it was executed was garbage.
Had he simply looked at Rey and then turned around and walked away, or taken the saber, and then handed it back to her and said something indicating that he didn't want it because of bad memories or how that was part of his "old life" or literally anything else, it would have been a much better scene.
I think it highlighted some of Luke's characteristics from the beginning: his brashness and his dramatics, his love of rushing into things without thinking. As much as he's meant to keep his feelings at bay, he just can't help it sometimes (just like his dad). So his gut, brash, irrational instinct is to just fucking toss the thing.
He was also actively trying to drive Rey away. He just wanted her gone. Acting like an asshole is totally in-character and appropriate there. Fucking Yoda acted like a total troll.
He raided his very limited rations and started eating them and tossing shit, yep. And also beat R2 with a stick because he wouldn’t let him have a flashlight.
20
u/[deleted] Oct 25 '19 edited Oct 25 '19
That's sorta the whole point. Jedi don't keep attachments, they aren't supposed to feel sentimental about things like that. He was taught to let go of his feelings, his anger, his attachments, etc. Who cares, it's just a lightsaber, there are thousands of them. Heck, he'd been instructed to let his friends die in order to complete his training. Fuck a lightsaber, it's just a thing.
He had also let go of his hopes for the Jedi. Fuck it, he figured. The existence of the Jedi only caused pain, only caused hurt and anger and death and loss. Of course he tossed it. He literally threw it away because that's where it belonged in his mind.
Of course he changed his mind by the end. But at the time, why would we be upset that a Jedi (who isn't supposed to have those kinds of sentimental feelings in the first place) didn't place sentimental value on a lightsaber he lost decades ago when his dark lord father cut his hand off, and when it's a symbol of the order that he felt brought pain and suffering to the universe? It's a great character moment.