so don't ever let go of my hand

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT | "Detroit"

Dave Filoni has that whole monologue from a fan-panel where he explains that Darth Vader’s tragic issue is that he cannot look at the past, he is always considering it to be dead, and that part of himself, Anakin Skywalker, to be dead—so in that sense, you have to look at Darth Vader as a separate character from Anakin Skywalker, because Vader himself has detached from everything that Anakin was, intentionally.

And eeeeverybody loves Filoni and his takes.

But when Riann Johnson constructs a whole movie (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) around fleshing out the same concept, of two men who are trying to sever themselves from past mistakes because they can’t face them—

—That’s not allowed?

And then one of those men learns that you’re supposed to grow out of your mistakes and the other refuses to do that, creating a dichotomy that is so red-vs-blue, light-vs-dark, so Star Wars.

you're owen lars. the woman you call mom had another child once. it doesn't make her love you less, but she talks about him in a way that makes it clear that she loved him, too. he's off to be a jedi now and she's very proud.

you're owen lars. your mother's been kidnapped and you have to assume the worst. a man and a woman step into your home and the man announces himself to be that kid who went off to become a jedi. he knows you less than you know him and before anything else can happen, he takes off to bring back his mother, a feat you think is impossible.

you're owen lars. anakin skywalker brings your mom's corpse to your doorstep. her funeral is interrupted by a message of utmost galactic importance.

you're owen lars. your brother is dead. you never saw him again after that first time. there is another jedi on your doorstep, with a baby in his arm and you know what it means and you can't bring yourself to face him as he hands your nephew off to your wife.

you're owen lars. obi-wan ben kenobi is a pain in the ass. he was more your brother's brother than you ever were and he doesn't understand your particular kind of grief, is drowning in his own. you don't even know the full story and kenobi will never tell you all of it. but you have a child to care for so you tell him off and get back to work.

you're owen lars. you didn't know your brother, but you know your nephew and your nephew wants out of this place as soon as possible. you know he won't be safe out there but in the end you're helpless to stop him. and you know the stories, you remember the one time you met him, the days your mother died. and you do this for her and you do this for your father and you do this for your brother and you do this for your nephew.