From: nnhill@david.wheaton.edu (Nathan N Hill)
Subject: Re: The other Yoda spoke of
Organization: Wheaton College, IL
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 19:32:45 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.154134.16110@njitgw.njit.edu> bxp1628@hertz.njit.edu (Brian Perler) writes:
>In article <16B5CCE27.MHART00@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU> mason writes:
>>ESB:     Ben:     That boy is our last hope.
>>         Yoda:    No.  There is another ...
>> 
>>Jedi:    Yoda:    There - is - another - Sky - walker - *
>>         Luke:    (to Ben)  Yoda spoke of another ...
>>         Ben:     The other Yoda spoke of was your twin sister.
>> 
>>These two exchanges are not necessarily about the same person.  The
>>Jedi dialog concerns Leia.  Anyone who wants to argue this should
>>collect his ego at the desk on his way out.  The Empire dialog is
>>much more ambiguous.  It is generally accepted that Yoda was thinking
>>of Leia here, too.  It has been suggested, however, that Yoda may
>>have been referring to someone else -- Wedge, or even Han Solo.
>> 
>>I don't think so.  Yoda and Ben were concerned with more than reuniting
>>long-lost siblings.  They were working to bring about the fall of the
>>Empire, and of the Emperor in particular.  They were also working to
>>restore the Jedi Knights to their former glory.  Luke needed to know
>>who the original "other" was to accomplish these goals -- the identity
>>of his sister, although important, was incidental to the greater
>>purpose.
>
>While I still agree that the "other" in TESB is Leia, there is still one
>thing that bothers me about this:  If Ben was the one who hid Luke and
>Leia, why did Ben say that Luke was their last hope?  Why didn't he
>consider Leia?  Did Yoda realize that Leia could help them if Luke
>failed, while Ben didn't?  If so, why didn't Ben think this?
>
>(Okay, I know the real reason is that Lucas hadn't decided that Leia
>would be Luke's sister until they were making RotJ, but I'm looking
>for a good reason that fits in with the movies.)

I think you're right about the real reason. As for the "imaginary story
reason," there are a few ideas. My personal favorite is the idea that, for
some reason, Ben didn't think Leia should be trained. Perhaps he thought she
couldn't be trained, too set in her ways, or destined to be killed, or
untrainable without Luke's help. Perhaps Ben doesn't like the idea of a female
Jedi, or something. I once had a fun idea: Maybe Ben had a Jedi wife and Vader
killed he in battle. That could have made him uneasy about the idea of women
Jedi and also hardened him permanently against the idea of turning Vader away
from the dark side.

For now, we might as well believe whatever we want. Here are some facts to
help you imagine, though: 

1. Leia seems to have more psychological strength and willpower than Luke.
   Perhaps Yoda always thought that she was a better bet, but settled for Luke
   after arguing with Ben. (seen in ESB) 

2. Even in RotJ, Ben still calls Luke "the last hope." Apparently he still
   doesn't put much stock in the Leia plan, although he is well aware of it.   

Incidentally, I'm not sure how Leia was supposed to be trained after Ben and
Yoda were dead, if Luke never came back from his attempt to turn Darth. I like
to think that before Luke left the Ewok village, he gave her a data disk of
his Jedi knowledge or something. 

					local Star Wars guru
______________________________________________________________________________
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is thje little-death that
brings total obliteration..." --from the Litany against Fear

		Nathan Hill (nnhill@david.wheaton.edu)
______________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars