One of, if not the most divisiveStar Warsstories in recent years isEpisode VIII - The Last Jedi. As fans know, Rian Johnson’s middle chapter in the sequel trilogy brought on a huge debate over some of the decisions, which continues to this day. Countless decisions were beloved by some fans, and received negatively by others. The fact that Rey was deemed a nobody, for example, angered those who felt thatThe Force Awakenswas setting her up to be the daughter of Luke Skywalker. Snoke’s death without an explanation as to who he was or how he came to power also ruffled a few feathers.
But nothing outraged a certain sector of the fandom more than the arc of Luke Skywalker. The hero of the original trilogy is closed off from the force and bitter towards the Jedi, but has a change of heart and dies at the end. The fact that Luke had a brief moment where he wanted to kill Ben Solo because of the darkness within him also caused an outcry, and that event has become one of the most significant in the Skywalker Saga.The Last Jedisays that Ben Solo destroyed the Jedi Temple in the aftermath of Luke’s actions, butThe Rise of Kylo Rencomic series backtracked, crediting the Knights of Ren with its destruction. However, a new canon book calledStar WarsTimelinessheds more insight on this issue, saying that Kylo Ren indeed destroyed the temple.
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The flashbacks in Episode VIII were some of the most significant of the sequel trilogy, andof the Skywalker Saga overall. For some audiences, these flashbacks changed the character of Luke Skywalker completely, turning him from a selfless and hopeful Jedi Knight to a bitter, scared older man. However, defenders ofThe Last Jedihave stated that Luke’s moment of weakness and impulsivity is directly in line with his character. InThe Empire Strikes Back,he was the one who made the quick decision to leave his Jedi training on Dagobah to help his friends. And, for a few moments, the turned to fear when Darth Vader threatened his sister inReturn of the Jedi.
Regardless of that particular fan debate, the other core question surrounding this night at Luke’s Jedi Temple revolves around who was responsible for the fire and destruction. InThe Last Jedi,Kylo Ren tells Rey that he was the one who destroyed the temple,and the flashbacks showevidence that this was the case. An angry Ben Solo pulls out his lightsaber after seeing Luke with his green saber above him. Then the temple burning is shown soon after, implying that Adam Driver’s character did this.
However, it’s important to note that these flashbacks are told from different points of view over the course of the film. First, Luke fails to acknowledge his own mistakes, and then with Kylo Ren paints a biased portrayal of the events. Because Kylo Ren is an insecure villain who constantly feels the pull to the light, it’s possiblethat he took creditfor the destruction in order to paint himself as a stronger, more powerful adversary to Rey.
If the latter is true and Kylo Ren didn’t destroy the temple, that would be more in line with the version of events shown inThe Rise of Kylo Ren. Charles Soule’s comic book series says that, after being attacked by Luke, Ben Solo fled the planet to the only ally he knew: Snoke. This was not because he had fully turned to the dark side, but because he was genuinely confused by everything. According to this story, it was a genuine mystery to Ben Solo why Luke tried to attack him. Afterhe and Luke had exchanged a flew clashesof their blades, Solo saw a ship in the sky that shot down the temple and made it burst into flames, corroborating the narrative that he did not burn it down.
That doesn’t appear to be the version thatStar Wars Timelineshas gone with, however. Despite that, it’s possible that there is a more nuanced explanation that incorporates elements from both stories. Although Kylo Ren wasn’t the one directly responsible for destroying the temple, one could argue that he was at the root cause of the destruction because of his fight with Luke. Therefore,Ben Solo might be responsible, at least from a certain point of view. So much in this iconic franchise has been left to the point of view of the person delivering the information. It just goes to show that there is more than one side to every story, and the absolute truth of what happened to Luke’s temple may lie somewhere in between.
