Star Wars: The Galaxy is Actually Better Without the Skywalkers
From books to shows and all of the movies, it’s not Star Wars without a Skywalker. But the galaxy’s future will be better without them.
On a personal and emotional level, we all love the Skywalkers. We’ve been following the adventures and exploits of that space family since 1977, and it’s hard not to feel some attachment towards the characters we’ve traveled the galaxy with. But as Star Wars continues into the future and the galaxy keeps getting bigger, I think it’s time we all admit that the galaxy is actually better- and maybe better off- without the Skywalker family.
They Keep Messing It Up
We don’t know much about the Skywalkers prior to Shmi becoming impregnated through the force and giving birth to Anakin Skywalker. We know that she’s from an unknown planet and was sold into slavery by pirates as a very young girl and that everything before that is a mystery. So for our purposes, the Skywalker line starts with her and Anakin. And from then right up until Kylo Ren, this family can’t seem to stop ruining everything.
Anakin went from chosen one and Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s brother to the guy who killed a room full of children, force choked is pregnant wife, and then went on to become the Empire’s number two space fascist.
To their credit, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa try to do better. They manage to help topple the Empire, rebuild a new Republic, and even try to kickstart a new Jedi Order by founding a force school. But none of those really go to plan. Luke seems to be a terrible teacher with little ability to keep his students safe or reassured that he won’t kill them–never mind the fact that this happened to her own nephew.
For the most part, Leia is awesome. But personally, I think that’s a point in the nurture column over nature. Unfortunately, her son turned out to be Darth Vader 2.0. I have a hard time pinning this all on her and Han; sometimes your kid travels a bad path. But Bloodlines by Claudia Gray implies that he also didn’t have the best or most stable childhood, so this was likely a column A, column B sort of situation.
The Galaxy is Bigger Than Them
“Vroom vroom!”
Numerous screwups aside, it’s a big galaxy with hundreds if not thousands of years worth of republic to explore. Trying to see it all from the lens of one family isn’t just limited, it’s impossible.
That’s not to say that I never want to see a Skywalker. Leia’s cameo appearance on Rebels was delightful. And Anakin will always be perpetually tied to Ahsoka’s story, which is in turn part of a million other stories outside of her own. But if we’re being very honest, the best recent Star Wars content has either only involved one of these characters momentarily, or not at all.
Even the Fans Don’t Know What They Want
At this point, there is no way to make all–or even most–of the fans happy. When these characters do return to main character roles, people hate it. They don’t live up to our expectations, we argue whether or not they’re acting out of character, and we pick apart their every line for not lining up with what was previously said. And honestly, I can’t even say that all of that criticism is out of line or incorrect. The unhinged internet vitriol towards individual real-world people is never okay, but the fandom discussion and disagreement? Sometimes it really is on the nose.
Maybe some of these characters are better left in the past. There we can remember them fondly, and through nostalgia-tinted glasses.
What’s Actually Worked
So what in recent galactic history has actually worked? Andor and Rogue One immediately come to mind. Both of these were poignant, thoughtful, and interesting, and didn’t include more than a few minutes of Skywalker content. In fact, the idea that we got to see more realistic, gritty characters with no special powers made the whole story more compelling and real.
Another of my personal favorites, if you’re into animation are Rebels, Visions, and Tales of the Jedi. Sure, Visions isn’t strictly canonical, but seeing more of the galaxy and more variety in stories will always be some of the most compelling Star Wars content in my book. And while Tales of the Jedi focused on force users we already knew, seeing new chapters from new points of view made them feel fresh and new.
I love the Skywalkers, at their best and at their worst. And I will revisit the earlier movies over and over again in part because of them. But it’s a great big galaxy, and there are a lot of other families to spend time with.
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
