There’s no denying that George Lucas’s Star Wars saga is a space opera of epic proportions and a leviathan in the genre of science fiction. Following the fate of the Skywalker family amidst the Galactic Civil War has captured the imagination of fans for decades. With the Star Wars Universe, Lucas gave us planets, characters, and technology that has not only shaped our childhoods, but shaped pop culture mythology all over the world.
That being said, the Star Wars saga has always had its problems. Plagued with plot holes (Anakin’s “immaculate conception”), there is an inherent flawed logic that has developed over the years that fans can’t help but point out.
From Padme dying suddenly in Revenge of the Sith for reasons no one can explain (but Vader getting almost every limb cut off and surviving), to stormtroopers wearing full body armor but inevitably always dying from one blaster wound to literally anywhere, the bad writing often has no way to explain its issues other than, “Well, that’s just Star Wars Logic.”. Here are 10 memes to demonstrate it in action.
THIS ISN’T THE SKYWALKER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Every Star Wars fan knows that it would have been problematic if Darth Vader—the newly turned Anakin Skywalker—had found out that his wife Padme had successfully given birth to twins before her death. He would have sought them out immediately and tried to turn them to the Dark Side.
Since it was too dangerous to leave them in close proximity to where he and the Emperor could find them, they were split up; Leia went to Alderaan and Luke was sent to the remote planet of Tatooine. Leia got a different surname but Luke was left with the Skywalker name, which seemed pretty absentminded considering he could have at least adopted the last name “Lars.”
SURVIVAL OF THE SITHEST
The Star Wars Universe can be a pretty rough place. Full of bounty hunters, smugglers, warrior monks, and military factions, it can be difficult to just eke out a living. You have to pledge your allegiance to a crime syndicate, an Empire, a Republic, or a religious order just to survive. This ideology makes for some pretty tough characters, especially the Sith.
In The Phantom Menace, the Sith warrior Darth Maul was killed in a duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi and flung down a shaft but managed to survive. Anakin Skywalker survives having all but one limb removed and most of his body burned but survived to become Darth Vader. His wife Padme, however, didn’t die giving birth to her twins, but instead simply “lost the will to live.”
STOP HITTING YOURSELF
When Sheev Palpatine was done concealing his true identity as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, he unleashed Force Lightning on Jedi Master Mace Windu, who had come to his Senate chambers to confront him for his treachery. Windu deflected the bolts of energy with his lightsaber, redirecting them back at Palpatine and ultimately turning the devastating power back on him.
When Anakin Skywalker arrived to witness the pair dueling, Palpatine turned to him and stated pitifully, “Don’t let him kill me.” If Palpatine had simply stopped using the Force lightning, its effects would be over. Some will contest he was simply goading Anakin and could have stopped at any time, but this scene revealed the flawed logic of many Force maneuvers.
THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS LITTLE GREEN DUDE
Everyone in the Jedi Order knows that Master Yoda is extremely powerful. With over 900 years of experience, he has the recollection to learn from his mistakes, and the wisdom to implement this sort of sagacity. For all the time we see Master Yoda on the screen (the prequels and the original trilogy), he walks with a limp, assisted by a cane.
Whenever he participates in battle in the prequels, he has enhanced speed and agility that doesn’t match this decrepit presentation. While some will argue it’s the Force that gives him these “Chuck Norris” type abilities, why doesn’t he just use the Force to help him walk better all the time? Surely the only reason can’t be so that everyone will underestimate him constantly.
FULL BODY ARMOR, EMPTY LOGIC
Stormtroopers are some of the most iconic characters in the entire Star Wars saga. With their white and black full body armor and helmet, they’re the instantly recognizable military hand of the Empire, placed on planets to enforce the will of Emperor Palpatine. Yet for all of their undeniable strength in numbers, their armor and their helmets remain a weak point.
For one thing, it seems that though they wear full body armor when in uniform, one shot seems to be able to take them down. The T-shaped visor of their helmets also doesn’t help them be aware of enemy position or fire, meaning they more often than not miss their mark or simply crash into each other.
GOOD THING HE’S CUTE CUZ HE AIN’T TOO BRIGHT
Luke Skywalker was not the brightest star in the galaxy when it came to things beyond his homeworld of Tatooine. By the age of 19, his father had been on his way to becoming one of the most powerful Jedi ever known, and his mother had already served her term as the queen of an entire planet and was a Senator afterward.
Luke’s life consisted of moisture vaporators, flying in his T-16 Skyhopper shooting womp rats, and picking up mechanical equipment from Tashii Station. When he got his hands on his father’s lightsaber, one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy in the hands of a Jedi Knight, it would almost seem odd if he didn’t stab his eye out with it.
BRIGHT, YOUR FLASHLIGHT IS
When Luke first lands on Dagobah in search of Jedi Master Yoda, he runs into another peculiar creature instead. Because he’s seemingly shocked and amazed at everything about Luke, his starfighter, and R2-D2, it comes as a big surprise when the odd little green gremlin turns out to be none other than Yoda himself.
Now, some would say that Yoda was just putting on a big farce, pretending to be amazed by something as simple as a flashlight. But audiences seeing The Empire Strikes Back had no idea George Lucas would make the prequel trilogy, and reveal Yoda to be some insane Chuck Norris badass who commanded clone armies.
FOREST TROOPER PROBLEMS
By the time Return of the Jedi came out, a few different designations of the Imperial Stormtrooper had been seen on screen. Regular infantry, as well as snowtroopers on Hoth had been revealed, conveying to fans that the Empire did indeed have stormtrooper armor for different environments and missions.
When the forest trooper appeared, riding on super fast speeder bikes through the maze of trees on Endor, their helmets immediately stood out from their regular stormtrooper counterparts. Whereas the forest troopers had more visibility in that they didn’t have the T-shaped visors of regular helmets, they had wind catchers on either side that blocked their peripheral vision when going at blinding speed.
BOBA FETT DONE DIRTY
Boba Fett has become an insanely popular character in the Star Wars franchise, which is fascinating given that he was a minor antagonist in the original trilogy. Tasked with initially hunting down Han Solo, he helped Vader orchestrate a trap for Luke Skywalker on Cloud City, for which he got Han Solo frozen in carbonite as an added bonus.
Fett was known as one of the most fearsome bounty hunters in all the galaxy, which makes sense considering the title previously belonged to his father, Jango Fett, who was so badass he was used as genetic material for the Jedi’s Clone Army. Yet despite this, Boba Fett becomes a victim of slapstick by being knocked into the Sarlacc Pit by a blind and disoriented Han Solo wielding a paddle.
DEATH STAR PROBLEMS
The Star Wars Universe is known to be packed full of a lot of irony, so much so that it’s almost a defining characteristic. In A New Hope, Imperial officers aboard Vader’s Star Destroyer lose the Death Star plans hidden in R2-D2 because he’s in an escape pod that displays no “life signs.”
Which ultimately would have been fine, had R2-D2 not been selected by Luke Skywalker for purchase from a Jawa trader. But again, the irony. So R2 reveals the message from Princess Leia, who Luke helps rescue with Ben Kenobi, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. Three humans and a Wookie smuggle their way onto the dreaded Death Star, which would ultimately lead to its destruction when they rendezvous at the Rebel Base and organize an attack on it.
