Blood of a Jedi

"Blood of a Jedi" is the sixth and final episode of the Return of the Jedi radio drama. It first aired on National Public Radio on December 10, 1996. The episode covers the Battle of Endor, the climax of both the radio drama and the film .
==Opening crawl==
==Plot summary==
The Rebel commandos burst through the backdoor of the Endor shield generator bunker. Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia disarm the troops inside while Major Darlin begins planting demolition charges to destroy the generator, which will clear the way for the incoming Alliance Fleet to attack the Death Star. But outside the bunker, See-Threepio, Artoo-Detoo, and Wicket witness a large reinforcement, complete with scout walkers, approaching. To Threepio's dismay, both Wicket and Artoo disappear, leaving him alone and unsure how to help his friends.
The Alliance Fleet emerges from hyperspace. In the Millennium Falcon, General Lando Calrissian and his copilot check their sensors for the Death Star's deflector shield and realize that they are being jammed—suggesting that the Empire knew they were coming. Almost immediately ships of the imperial starfleet appear, closing the trap. The Death Star itself fires on a Rebel cruiser, showing its weapons to be fully operational. Admiral Ackbar orders a retreat, but Lando insists that the Rebels stay longer to wait for Han's team to deactivate the shield. 
In the Emperor's Throne Room, Palpatine taunts Luke Skywalker as they watch the unfolding battle. He urges Luke to embrace the Dark Side of the Force because only then will he be able to defeat him. 
Back on the moon's surface, the captive Rebels are escorted out of the bunker. From atop a small hill, Threepio and Artoo call out to the troopers. When a few go up to apprehend them, the Ewok warriors stage an ambush, allowing the Rebels to evade capture and fight back. Han and Leia set about getting the bunker door back open. They call Threepio and Artoo to help. Out in space, Lando orders his fighters to counterattack the Imperial star destroyers; he still holds out hope that the commandos will manage to take down the Death Star's shield.
In the throne room, Luke, overwhelmed by Palpatine and Vader's words, ignites his lightsaber. Vader follows suit, and the two begin to duel. Palpatine cheers on Luke's aggression, prompting him to slow down and adopt an evasive strategy. But Vader's attack is relentless. Father and son fight furiously to the Emperor's perverse delight.
The droids come to the bunker door, but before Artoo can hack into it, he is shot. Han's attempt to hotwire it open fails as well. Han and Leia surrender to an approaching scout walker that turns out to be piloted by Chewbacca. Major Derlin now also approaches with a large force of Ewoks. Han boards the walker and impersonates an imperial officer in a message to the bunker control room, hoping to draw out the remaining Imperials. The commander obligingly opens the door; the Rebels and Ewoks then surround and capture the imperial troops. Derlin again leads the team to place demolition charges.
Vader continues pursuing Luke. He now senses that Luke's thoughts dwell on his sister, so he threatens Leia. This again provokes Luke to attack furiously and cut off his father's hand. Palpatine approaches, demanding that Luke slay his father and thereby embrace the Dark Side. Aboard the Headquarters Frigate, Ackbar sees that the shield is down and orders the fighters to begin their attack on the Death Star's reactor. Lando speeds the Falcon into the station's interior, followed by all surviving Rebel fighters. 
Luke sees the battle turning and tells Palpatine that he and his empire are doomed. Palpatine unleashes "the lightning of pure will" against Luke, torturing him with the full strength of the Dark Side of the Force. He orders Vader to dispose of Luke's body once Palpatine is finished with him. Luke begs his father instead to save him. Vader suddenly turns on his master, asserting his freedom from Palpatine and from the Dark Side. He throws Palpatine, not Luke, down a nearby core shaft, meanwhile taking the brunt of his lightning attack.
Deep inside the Death Star, Lando and Wedge approach the main reactor and destroy it. They have to dash out the way that they came to escape the station before the its systems overload completely. Back in the throne room, a dying Anakin Skywalker asks Luke to remove his mask for him so that they can see one another face to face. He tells Luke that he is proud of him, then breathes his last.
The Rebels on Endor cheer as they see the Death Star explode in the sky. Leia assures Han that Luke escaped it alive. Han offers to step aside when Luke arrives, but Leia tells him that Luke is her brother. Leia tells Han to be honest about his feelings and kiss her. That night, Luke is back on Endor. As Ewoks and Rebels celebrate all around, Luke, accompanied only by See-Threepio, lights a funeral pyre to burn Anakin's armor and mourn his father. The Ewok music begins as all the friends reunite. Luke tells Threepio about the vision that he is experiencing: the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin, three comrades in arms reunited after death.
==Continuity==
Most Star Wars radio episodes simplify the films' structure, avoiding rapid cuts and changes of point of view. "Blood of a Jedi," by contrast, rapidly cycles between the action on Endor, inside the Death Star throne room, and in the space battle. A few elements from the film are simplified: most of the Ewok counterattack, including Chewbacca's capture of a walker, happens off-mic and is explained through the dialogue of other characters. So is Luke's escape from the Death Star with Vader's armor. The destruction of the Executor, a dramatic moment in the film, is omitted entirely.
In the film, a Rebel starfighter designated Red Three is shown being shot down, and just after this, Green Leader says the line, "Three of them coming in, twenty degrees." In the radio episode, a similar line is given instead to Red Three: "Three eyeballs, twenty degrees high." In 1997, Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays also attributed the line to Red Three.Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays The two film actors resemble one another. The radio episode also has Red Three fly inside the Death Star with the other Rebel fighters, again contradicting the film.Return of the Jedi: The National Public Radio Dramatization
Luke mentions escaping in the Emperor's personal shuttle; this contradicts other sources which say that he used Vader's shuttle instead.The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader The episode, produced in 1996, features the song "Ewok Celebration," which was replaced in 1997 by "Victory Celebration" for the film's Special Edition.
==Credits==
==Appearances==
==Sources==
*Return of the Jedi: The National Public Radio Dramatization
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi Radio Drama on the Internet Archive
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