#star wars ot

jedi-order-apologist:

leia-organaa:

I mean, the “no attachments” thing has been there since the original trilogy:

“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

And was continued in the prequels:

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

“Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.”

(Yes, I know it’s all Yoda but you get my point.)

Attachment is the root of suffering (see: Buddhism). It is very difficult for people to accept that loss is inevitable, since we are afraid of losing. It’s also very difficult to not feel anger when someone you love is wronged.

It is acceptance of that inevitability and learning to let go that the Jedi are espousing, not the denial of love, because attachment is not the same as love. The Jedi love, too. Whether you’re more familiar with Western or Eastern philosophy, there’s a fundamental truth to love that we can all agree on — love is selfless, love is kind. What the Jedi are against is love turning into something else, something selfish and ugly, without so much thought as to its consequences.

I agree with this, and I’d add that it’s been present in the films as more than just “this is a rule the Jedi have”, and more that non-attachment is a philosophy that’s been informing the story from the very beginning (or, you can think of it as “Jedi teachings reflect the worldbuilding’s underlying philosophy” if you prefer).

For instance, in ANH we have Leia rebuking Tarkin: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” And the victory later in the film is achieved by Luke following Obi-Wan’s directive to “let go”.

These examples aren’t about letting go of other people, but they’re coming from the same place - non-attachment is much broader than accepting personal loss. It’s also about giving up attachment to things and outcomes and such. It’s accepting that there are things outside of your control. Death is the big one, of course, so it gets a lot of attention in the story (and also because it’s a more sympathetic and dramatic struggle, than, say, getting upset because your plans for the day got changed on you without warning…a form of attachment I personally struggle with and was especially bad with when I was younger), but the broader concept has been present in, even fundamental to, the story from the very first film. So, yes, OP is entirely correct - this is not something that was introduced by the prequels just because the exact word “attachment” wasn’t used until then (and really it was only directly used twice there, at that).

Even Han and Leia don’t get to have a happy relationship until Han learns to let Leia go. He’s hounding her, dragging her with him on the Falcon, forcing intimacy when she says no, he’s pressuring her to talk when she’s not ready, losing his temper because he’s jealous of her and Luke… but it’s not until he completes his character growth, lets her go, and lets her be a free person who makes her own decisions that they truly get their happily ever after (shut up).

Han: I’m sure Luke wasn’t on that thing when it blew.

Leia: He wasn’t. I can feel it.

Han: You love him, don’t you?

Leia: Yes.

Han: All right. I understand. Fine. When he comes back, I won’t get in the way.

And THAT’S when they get together.

This stuff is. all. over. OT.

“Hey Princess,” Han said into the comm. “I gotta tell you something, but only if you promise not to freak out.”

A sharp bark of laughter turned into static. Han could hear the steady bustle of the senate building behind her. “What have you done now, Solo?”

“Hey now, I’m innocent,” said Han with a lightheartedness he didn’t truly feel. “I’m with the kid at the medcenter. He had a seizure last night, so we’re just getting him checked out. Sure it’s nothin’, but we thought you should know.”

“What? What kind of seizure?” Leia asked.

“I don’t know! It was maybe 30 seconds and he was up and talkin’ right after. Didn’t even want to go to medical, but I convinced him to play it safe.”

Leia inhaled slowly. “That was a very responsible decision, Han.”

“Don’t have to act so surprised,” he said. “I’ll comm you again when I hear more, okay?”

Leia agreed, and Han signed off. He paced back down the hallway bustling with gurneys and droids. He rubbed his eyes. Luke had gone back to sleep after the seizure, but Han had stayed up to keep an eye on him.

The kid really had seemed fine, though. Even this morning, he’d acted alright and complained the whole way about not needing the medcenter. Han hadn’t heard any news since a few minutes after Luke was checked in and a privacy curtain had been pulled in his face.

It seemed to take forever. Han had been waiting for hours and was starting to feel a little fidgety by the time a droid came to fetch him, saying that Luke had asked for him.

Another droid was removing an IV line from Luke’s flesh arm when they arrived. The prosthetic arm offered Han an awkward little wave.

“Hey Junior, what’d the doc say?” said Han.

“Hey,” Luke whispered. “Boy am I ready to get home.”

“Do they know what happened?”

“Not really. I gotta go see a neurologist in a week or two. But it also might heal with…well, it might go away, whatever it is. And I’ve got meds until then.”

That didn’t sound too bad, all things considered. With an inward grimace, Han wished Leia were around. She would’ve known what to say.

“I will remove the EKG leads now,” the droid announced. This required Luke to undo the top of his medical gown. He fumbled with the hem of one sleeve, glancing sideways as if he wanted Han to look away, but didn’t want to ask.

Han cleared his throat awkwardly. He wasn’t sure what was making the kid self-conscious, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t changed into their flight gear in the same locker room a thousand times. But either way, Han tried to avert his eyes without being too obvious about it. He leaned down to retrieve the plastic bag with Luke’s clothes in it, but when he turned to hand it over he nearly dropped it in shock.

Luke had shrugged his shoulders out of the gown, exposing the top half of his chest. It was scored with deep purple burns, jagged lines like lightning-shaped veins zig-zagging across his skin. The long, thin burns extended across his back as well, smaller red welts branching off the main scar in every direction.

“Shit,” Han said before he could stop himself, and Luke visibly cringed.

“It’s nothing,” he said, pulling the last EKG sticker off and hastily pulling the fabric over his back again.

“That ain’t nothing,” said Han. Nausea roiled in his stomach. “When’d all that happen, huh?”

Han had been tortured. Leia had been tortured. But Luke…well, he hadn’t saidanything.

“Hey?” said Han, pushing Luke to look him in the eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“Han,” Luke huffed, turning away.

“Vader?” Han guessed, and Luke flinched again.

“The Emperor,” Luke corrected him firmly. “I just want to go home and sleep. Can we do that?” His voice slipped into an almost-whining note at the end, and Han took pity.

“Don’t think this conversation is over,” he warned with a wave of his finger as he handed over the dropped bag of clothes. “And don’t think you can hide this from your sister, either.”

“She’s had worse,” Luke mourned.

Han fumbled for a moment for the words. “I’m not sure ‘worse’ really applies here, kid,” he finally said. “Alright, though, let’s get you home.”

…

Feel free to send me a character + whumptober prompt if you want to!

Space Princess

“Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”

The scoundrel himself

“Yes… a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force.”