“I’m looking for a great warrior,” says Luke Skywalker on
the swampy, dark-infested world of Dagobah. The old goblin hermit who has
surprised him hops off a tree root giggling, “Ohhh, great warrior! Wars not
make one great…”
Just a few short scenes later in The Empire Strikes Back, we
realize that this little green man is actually Yoda, the Jedi Grand-Master who
has trained force-users for nearly a millennium. Thus Luke’s expectations, as
well as those of the audience, are nicely subverted.
But Yoda, it turns out, was far from done subverting
people’s expectations. After 22 years as an old, shambling puppet (expertly
controlled and voiced by founding Muppeteer Frank Oz), Attack of the Clones
introduced a CGI Yoda. Still, he was true to the original puppet, still Frank
Oz, and despite Obi-Wan quipping with Anakin about “rivaling Master Yoda as a
swordsman,” we never thought our 900-year-old friend would see battle.
But battle he did, and if anyone tries to tell you that on
first viewing they didn’t cheer like a maniac the second Yoda Force-pulls a
lightsaber into his hand at Dooku’s challenge, they are lying through their
teeth. Even though it’s loses some luster for me the more I watch it, due to
the fact that they seem evenly matched, I still get a little chill when Yoda
appears for that final duel.
It turns out that our Yoda really IS a good swordsman. Using
the Force to compensate for his height and age, Yoda becomes a manic whirlwind
of wild slashes and superhuman jumps while wielding a Shoto-Saber. Though that
wildness does potentially pose a bit of a weakness, it certainly makes up for
it by maintaining the element of surprise. I mean, we all know Yoda is perhaps
the most powerful being in the galaxy when it comes to wielding the Force (with
the possible exception of Anakin in his prime), but to see him in the thick of
things actually physically defending his title of Grand-Master is…impressive.
Most impressive. And it only gets better in Revenge of the Sith
Of course, some people don’t see it that way. Some have gone
as far as to say that it’s a defamation of Yoda’s character, citing the opening
quote. Well, truth be told, these people actually do have a reason to feel
uncomfortable with this display, though not the reason they think.
The most important thing to remember is that the Yoda who
said “Wars not make one great” is a good 20-30 years older than the one who
pulls out his lightsaber and smacks Christopher Lee around. While physically
Yoda wouldn’t look that much different, it’s still long enough to learn a new
lesson, even for someone as wise as Yoda.
Now, while Yoda does seem to only use the saber as a last
resort, he’s still caught up in the violence enough to have his own Clone
regiment to order around and sometimes lead into battle. Though he is the
wisest Jedi on the Council during the Clone Wars, he is still caught up in the
arrogance and Dogma that crippled the order enough for Palpatine’s scheme to
work. What makes it uncomfortable is that Yoda is now fallible enough for that.
This isn’t a flaw in the Saga, but good character development. So how do we get
from Clones to Empire? Naturally, seeing everyone he knows and has taught be
cut down by the machinations of the Sith and nearly succumbing as well is a
harsh lesson. When he says the line in Empire, he’s speaking from personal
experience.
Of course, this doesn’t stop him from urging Luke to destroy
Vader and Sidious, indicating that perhaps he wouldn’t be averse to taking up
the blade again if given the chance. Yoda is not a perfect being, there’s
really no such thing. All we can do is keep trying to learn as long as we live,
and try to be the best role models we can to those who come after us. Part of
that is knowing when to pick up the lightsaber…and when to throw it away.
I don't necessarily *mind* him lightsaber-dueling his way through the films, but I think people have raised a fairly valid point that it kinda undoes his "luminous beings are we" speech in ESB...because the whole point of Yoda as a character is that the Force is so great and powerful that who you are and what you look like doesn't matter in the face of what you're capable of inside. And lightsabers kinda negate that, in that they very much rely on physical effort and what you're capable of physically. I mean, in the films Yoda has to apply a lot more energy than Dooku just to compensate for his shorter stature, and it really is a serious disadvantage in his fights.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I think it's a good point though I can see the counter-arguments for it and don't necessarily mind it one way or the other. I will say, though, I was always much more intrigued by his Force battles with Dooku and Palpatine than anything to do with a saber.
I kind of get where you're coming from, but it's still Yoda doing what should be impossible for him because his ally is the Force.
DeleteFor the record, I also grow fonder of the "Wizard's Duel" parts.
One of the many things I love about the Prequels is how it fleshes out characters that we only see once or twice in the Original Films, like Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi.
ReplyDeleteLike we saw Luke, Han and Leia grow and mature as people throughout the OT, likewise we see Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin do the same in the PT but the resolution of their characters happens in the OT.
And I feel the character of Yoda, while shown to be a very powerful warrior in the PT doesn't really come into his own as the Wise Old Wizard that he's shown to be in the OT until he get's his butt handed to him by Sidious.
Yoda was always a great Jedi but his failing was that he got too wrapped up in the dogma of being a Jedi (which to be fair ALL the Jedi did) and as a result he lost track of what it truly means to be a Jedi.
Most often it is only when we fail miserably that we re-discover ourselves and that is what happened to Yoda (and Obi-Wan). In many ways the destruction of the Jedi Order was inadvertently a good thing because it helped the Order let go of the dogma and remember what the Jedi Order was suppose to stand for.
Luke was the reminder of what the Jedi were suppose to be and what they lost because of Palpatine's machination and their own arrogance. And as much as Yoda taught Luke how to be a Jedi, Luke also re-taught Yoda at the same time. Yoda and Obi-Wan both wanted Luke to kill his father, but when Luke throws down his lightsaber and refuses to kill his father he is standing for everything that the Jedi Order was suppose to be...which is peacekeepers.
The Jedi are suppose to defend not attack.
And when you watch the Prequels or the Clone Wars and see how they Jedi became embroiled in war and corruption it makes that scene in ROTJ shine even more in the end when we see Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda's force ghosts smiling at Luke.
You really get the feeling that they learned as much from him about what it means to be a Jedi as he did from them. So yeah I love Yoda's character arch, and we see him grown, and fail, and in the end truly earn the title of Wise Jedi Master as much as Luke earns the title of Jedi Knight.
Totally. 'Nuff said.
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