When I first watched A New Hope, way back when it was just called "Star Wars," I thought Luke was a whiny little brat. In The Empire Strikes Back, I saw him go from whiny to cocky and rude. Yes, I'm well aware that it's probably an intentional character development arc, and I understand the progression of the protagonist from immature and (somewhat) self-centered to over-confident and then finally to the mystic hero and leader we saw in Return of the Jedi. That doesn't mean I have any reason to like Luke. I'm definitely sorry for him. I sympathize with his feelings of being trapped on Tatooine. I know he feels guilty and never had a real chance to grieve for Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. I cheered when I decided to go after Han and Leia because they were his friends and it was the right thing to do no matter what Yoda or Ben had to say. He was put in a really awful position in Return of the Jedi. None of those things make him interesting or likable. They just make him a classic hero.
I always thought Star Wars would have been a much better series if the story had been told from Princess Leia's point of view, and if she had been allowed to explore her heritage as a Jedi along with her brother. I don't like very much of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (that's a whole other post) but one of the things I like least was the utter failure of its writers to do justice to Leia Organa's character, especially when it came to her development as a Jedi.
That really has nothing to do with my dislike of Luke, but I wanted to say it and I figured this was as good a place as any.
Tune in next week to hear why I don't like Anakin either.
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