Our son was asking that just now, and my husband and I had different takes on it. I thought it meant that if Luke continued down this path that he would become like Vader. My husband thought it meant Luke was related to Vader. What's your take on it?
shareIt doesn't mean anything. Well, maybe it meant something to whoever wrote the scene, but they didn't manage to effectively convey their intended meaning to the audience. Yoda says to him later, "Remember your failure in the cave." Well, "failure" is a meaningless concept unless success has been defined. In this case we don't know what Luke should have done in the cave in order to have been successful.
shareI'm afraid I agree. I've seen that scene about fifty million times and it still doesn't make sense, particularly since it's followed by a false warning that leaving now would mean Luke turning to the Dark Side.
Well he left right then and he didn't turn.
It was clear as day to me, even as an eight year-old. He embraced anger, fear and aggression and was shown the result of that choice.
"What will I find in there?"
"Only what you take with you."
*goes to grab belt with blaster and saber*
"Your weapons -- you will not need them."
*takes them anyway*
Well said, Jack.
shareyeah , thats what i got from it too
shareI think there are actually many, many meanings you can find in that scene, which is why I asked the question. I don't think it's necessarily meant to be obvious or meant to only convey the first meaning anyone notices. I think it is a scene that is meant to convey new meanings the more you watch it.
shareHe came very close to being tempted to the dark side. The visions the force can give of the future are not 100 percnet accurate.
And like TexasJack said, the meaning of the cave encounter wasn't very hard to figure out.
I think it means that to give in to his anger, impulses, and aggression might bring him victory, but will destroy himself in the process - turning to the Dark Side.
shareYep. The cave is essentially a mirror of what Luke could become, AKA everything he's fighting against, personified by Vader, if he doesn't follow the right path. The fact that Vader ends up being his dad: you get the extra sub-text of son struggling not to be like their father, but becoming them anyhow, and also the son murdering the father; is all just juicy a psychoanalytic bonus.
shareWhoooaa, hold on a minute. Vader is Luke’s dad ??? Seriously. Well thanks for spoiling it for me, geez.
Only kidding lol
Ooooh! Well said!
shareHe is showing Luke his destiny , "Whats down there" "Only what you take with you " its a challange set by Yoda, it showed Yoda that Luke had a lust for Revenge, Anger and also Hate, the things that leads someone to the dark side
shareI agree with your husband's opinion
shareIt has several layers of interpretation:
- If Luke tries to kill Darth Vader, he will only kill himself
- Luke seeing his face behind the mask foreshadows the reveal of Vader being his father
- Luke giving in to fear and anger will turn him into Darth Vader
The magic tree (cave) scene is basically a breakdown of the theme throughout the movie that the Dark Side is more seductive than the Good Side of the Force. The desire to control and manipulate others and all things is what drives those to the Dark Side as the Good Side of the Force is about allowing the natural of order of things to progress without any disturbance. Luke seeing Vader and in his duel defeating him also shows his own face behind Vader's mask. It's telling us that even in the quest to defeat the Dark Side you can end up being a part of it.
share