Star Wars: The Last Jedi - 8 Major Plot Theories You Need To Know

4. Snoke Forced Luke To Try And Kill Ben

Luke Skywalker Return of the Jedi
Disney

Something that didn't sit right with a lot of fans was the fact that Luke tried to kill his own nephew, Kylo Ren - formerly Ben Solo. Luke is the guy who sees the light in dark people (like Vader), so why wouldn't he try and find the good in someone he's supposed to care for and train?

At the time, Luke saw that Ben's future was riddled with darkness, so for a fleeting moment, his instincts kicked in and he considered ending the threat before it could fully manifest. This is the explanation we're meant to take away from the movie, but there is another possibility on the table; Snoke got in Luke's head and made him act this way.

The movie shows us that Snoke has the ability to manipulate the minds of people who are literally planets away from him, so there's no question as to whether or not he'd be able to reach Luke from across the galaxy.

Plus, at the time of the Luke/Ben incident, Luke was still connected to the Force, ensuring Snoke had a way to reach him. Snoke had also been tempting Ben to the dark side long before Luke intervened - maybe Snoke knew this would be the act that fully pushed Ben out of the light, driving a divide between Luke and his nephew.

This theory does raise one question - if Snoke could access Luke's mind, why did he need the map to find him in The Force Awakens? Well, The Last Jedi has an answer. When Kylo Ren and Rey are Force-chatting, Kylo cannot see Rey's surroundings - so maybe Snoke couldn't see Luke's either.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.