“I write this as someone who’s been a Star Wars fan since 1977, and who long viewed I-III as imperial propaganda. YMMV.

These last three films have worked hard to recover from the damage Lucas did with I-III. The Force Awakens recovered the look and feel of Star Wars, and arguably went overboard trying to make an original-trilogy-style story. Rogue One fixed Vader; instead of a pathetically gullible whiner he’s a terrifying bad ass again.

But The Last Jedi made me accept at least one aspect of Episodes I-III.

I-III’s biggest problem was what they did to the Jedi. Instead of being about peace and compassion and love, a Jedi’s primary value was to avoid getting “attached.” They spent their time running the galaxy and violently enforcing trade regulations, and couldn’t be bothered to buy their golden boy’s mother out of slavery. They were assholes who deserved what they got. It was hard to accept this take on the Jedi as canon.

But now in Episode VIII, Luke fucking Skywalker says you know what, you’re right. The old Jedi were assholes. I don’t like them either.

But there’s a flip side to that, because what we saw in the Original Ttrilogy wasn’t the old Jedi. Old Ben Kenobi was wiser after spending decades in the desert, reflecting on the error of his ways. Yoda figured shit out during his decades in the swamp. They passed on that wisdom to Luke, who wasn’t part of that old elitist crap in the first place and then had his own decades of hermitage to sit and think.

And what he figured out was that the galaxy was better off without the old Jedi, and the Force didn’t belong to the Jedi anyway. They tried to monopolize it, and that just didn’t work out. Luke says, feel that? It’s right there, it’s part of everything. It’s not yours to control, and it’s not mine.

It’s no accident that Rey doesn’t have special parents. It’s significant that some random servant kid force-grabs a broom. The Force is awakening. It’s making itself known to people without any special training or heritage. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next.”