Avian Gamers Network

The other night Danyale and I could not sleep. It was the eve of the biginning of my final semester, and we could not sleep. So I put in the Original ESB DVD that Cetera made for me. I know the movies so well that I can close my eyes and still see everything. Works just like a sleeping pill.

Anyway, Danyale asked me a few question that I have always wondered about.

1) After Luke and Wedge trip the first ATAT, why does it explode with a pair of snow speeder shots to the neck? It had been adsorbing the same caliber fire before the fall, but afterwards it blows up.

I told Danyale that maybe the thing had some kind of shield, and the shields may have been damaged when it fell. But really, all this time I assumed the ATAT had good armor and no shields... but the Armor would not be weakened in a fall, so it should not blow up so easily with the snow speeder shoots it.

2) What is going on in the Cave on Degobah? What was GLs reason of that part of the movie. I know about the EU and how Yoda hid there close to where a Sith Lord fell so that the Emperor could not feel his presence. There are a few other versions that attempt to explain that part of the movie. But I want to know what GL was thinking… then I want to know what you think.

I have always assumed it was a kind of vision, one that ended up showing what would come of Luke if he continued his bad attitude. That reason kind of fits because Luke was being a spoiled ass during his training, not listening to Yoda very much, and then later in the movie we learn that Vader is Luke’s father, and that the Emperor and Vader want to turn Luke to the dark side. So Luke in Vader’s Sith Armor fits that explanation.

But what do you think?

Well I'm not the Star Wars fanatic some of you guys are, but:

1. I think this is just a case of GL needing to blow up the ATAT for gratification purposes. I'm sure someone somewhere has thought up a reason why the ATAT should be vulnerable after being brought down, but I don't know the answer.

2. To be truthful it's been a while since I saw ESB. I beleive GL needed a plot device to suggest that Luke, although lazy in his training to that point, had the potential to face his demons and resist the dark side. As well the cave gave a foreboding feeling to the latter part of the training, as you realize he has to face his fears.

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I suppose the fall cracked some of the armor in the neck area (it falls forwards on its head, after all), making it vulnerable to the fire of the snow speeders.


Foreboding. Luke needs to confront himself, show him that he has a personal connection to the Dark Side as incarnated by Vader.
Every Jedi needs to confront his own Dark Side. This vision was triggered by his refusal to leave his weapon behind (among other things). If you think you can solve everything by violence, you end up like Vader.

In RotJ Luke beats Vader not by force of arms, but by not fighting him.

A least that's how I read that scene.

Edward

Those DVDs aren't too bad, are they?

1. I can't find a good pic, but I believe that the walker "necks" had some kind of accordian-esque design that wasn't as heavily armored as the rest of them. They probably all would have been vulnerable to direct shots to the neck region, but how vulnerable is hard to say. The walker that explodes does get hit right in that neck/joint area, and combined with the fall and landing on its head, yanking stuff up and out of place was always enough of a cause for me to believe the explosion.

2. I agree with previous answers here. Strength in arms is not a Jedi's most powerful weapon, something that Luke did not understand at this point. Also, I think that it was a skewed vision/warning of the future. Luke still has the possibility to become an agent of evil and be corrupted by the dark side. And again, with what ME said, rushing in to attack Vader with fear and anger is not going to work for Luke. It very nearly proved disasterous when Luke went up against him in Cloud City.

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1. I have to agree with Cetera, that the "neck" and the wall behind the neck isn't so heavely armed. In the matter of fact I think I read in the book "Star Wars - X-wing: Isard's revenge" that Wegde shot an ATAT right behind the neck and the ATAT exploded.

2. The cave itself because of Luke's trial (a) or the reason that Dagobah is the place Yoda choose to hid there?(b)

A) Well in the clone war catoon by Cartoon network, ep. 21
(for quicktime users here is an url to make it easy: http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/movief ... 320_dl.mov place that string in the open URL in new player)
You see Yoda have a vision of Qui-gon taking Anakin in there, but also the counsil discussing if Anakn should be a Jedi or not. Facing the mirror they said, look inside yourself.

B) The reason has been explained so much by EU but also in the Thrawn Duology by Tmothy Zahn in "Vision of the Future" were the predesessor for Talon Karrde told his sory of being overwelmed by Yoda.

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1st Feb 2008

1. Azz is correct as I just finished reading that book last week. Wedge does go at an AT-AT in hiw X-Wing and blows it up with a shot to the neck. Granted speeders would likely have weaker blasters but in the weakened state of the AT-AT in ESB (falling on it), it makes sense to me that it would go boom.

2. Agree with ME and his assessment above. Warning/insight into the future is how I always took it.

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Hey angelus, don't say anything about it. Still reading. Good book though.

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1st Feb 2008

For both questions I have to agree with Azz and Cetera. They hit the nail on the head or the photon torpedo in the thermal exhaust port

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I have answers for the second one, but only from EU...

My thought is GL needed some nice explosions, and since the ATAT fell down, a boom at that point would be 'cool'...

The Cave.... it was a "Test" of some type. Yoda knew Luke needed to be exposed to that temptation, that darkness, in a controlled atmosphere.

That got Luke to thinking about the Dark Side, and his anger and immaturity....

We see him in RoTJ as a much more composed, more focused Jedi, able to resist the Dark Side. I see that as all growing out of the encounter in the cave.

Wise is Yoda, yes.....

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Don't worry Azz. Not another peep outta me bout it.


(peep)

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YOU PEEPED!!!! /point accusing at angelus.

What I didn't finish about 2(B) was that it hid the precense of Yoda's light side.

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1st Feb 2008

Probably this biggest way to make the impact wihtout a lecture...wise is yoda indeed.

Also, do you guys remember the old atari 2600 star wars game (made by activision?) where you had to take out the ATATs by hitting them 3 times in the neck area?

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That was a agreat game!! Only one I liked better was Mouse Trap.

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