Who made the greatest sacrifice in Star Wars?

[WedgeX]

As the title asks, who made the greatest sacrifice? Most impactful? Most brave?
This list also made me realize how big a thing sacrifice was throughout the OT, and is dropped for the PT.

There are others, of course, aside from those lists in the poll. It is such a motif in the mythology that even random droids are posited to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Paige, some Padme decoy who is apparently not Keira Knightly, Hobbie (in some cannon), that A-Wing pilot, the entire crew of Rogue One (I limited the poll to just episodes), unnamed and unseen Bothan spies. And others.

 

[Nairume]

some Padme decoy who is apparently not Keira Knightly

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Based on current stuff going on in the canon involving Sabe, she may eventually end up being a contender.

But, really, it's Obi Wan

Spoiler

He could have been a hero in the moment and probably gained a short term win for the good guys, but he understood that there was more power in his sacrifice for a greater victory in the future, and he was right.

Luke is probably a very close second for the same reason.

 

[mbpm]

Kylo

jk

 

[RedVejigante]

Huh...Vader's sacrifice is the most iconic for me, without a doubt, but in terms of most practically impactful to the narrative? Luke used the last of his energy to sacrifice himself in order to ensure the survival of the last remnants of the resistance, so theres that.

Worst sacrifice has to go to Expanded Universe Chewbacca, who took a moon to the face in order to save Anakin Solo, the worst of the Solo children.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

Based on the criteria of "most impactful and most brave", I guess... Obi-Wan or Holdo?

 

[Solo]

JJ Abrams sacrificed the ST

 

[echoshifting]

It's Arvyl Krynyd for me. Just a normal dude dying for the cause who took out the Executor.

 

[MadLaughter]

legends chewbacca

 

[OtisPepperoni]

Holdo launched herself into certain death without the Force Ghost skill in her back pocket. She wins.

 

[Soupbones]

George. When he sold it to Disney.

 

[WedgeX]

Holdo launched herself into certain death without the Force Ghost skill in her back pocket. She wins.

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That's a good point. And, I think, why I chose Biggs. Sacrificed himself for the good of the Rebellion. And for the destruction of the Death Star.

 

[Zeliard]

George. When he sold it to Disney.

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"White slavers"

 

[Dreams-Visions]

the people of Alderaan.

Of the listed, I'll take Holdo. Luke maybe lives, maybe dies. Holdo absolutely knows she's going to die and is going to take some mothafuckas with her.

 

[loco]

Elan Sleazebaggano going home and rethinking his life.

 

[Violence Jack]

The Ewoks, and they get no respect for it.

 

[signal]

Darth Insanius

 

[Ferret]

Maybe not the most impactful in universe but personally

Spoiler: Rebels Spoilers

Kanan in the final season of Rebels. Especially with how Ezra later mirrors his master.

 

[RedVejigante]

The Ewoks, and they get no respect for it.

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Eh, they got plenty of fresh Stormtrooper meat to ravenously consume for their troubles.

 

[I am a Bird]

The Bothans.

 

[terminaljeremy]

The greatest sacrifice was two generations of men lost in a perpetual pre-teen nostalgic fugue

 

[Tavernade]

The Ewoks, and they get no respect for it.

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Honestly kinda think it might be them. They have no reason to trust the Rebels more than the Empire, could have been annihilated, and it doesn't seem like the Empire is actively hunting them, so they coulda just hung out and not put themselves in danger. Everyone else had a huge but clear risk/reward but for the Ewoks they might have been able to go neutral and instead chose to fight and die.

 

[Ambient]

Anakin's whole life was a sacrifice and in the end he brought balance to the force.

 

[boontobias]

Gotta hand the crown to Papa Palpatine. He died so the Force could be rebalanced, then got back up and did it again.

 

[Omanisat]

Holdo. Or that guy who kamikazis the super star destroyer. Or the bomber crews in last jedi.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Bor Gullet

 

[grand]

Chewbacca. Man fought a god damn moon to save a kid

 

[Sendero]

Holdo is not even the only kamikaze on TLJ, so for sure not her.


Kenobi was asked become a Knight very early in his life.
Forced to continue the training his master left unfinished, while still being really young.
Learned the youngling had sex and get married with a famous figure, while his loved one was murdered (and he never even got any).
Saw his disciple transition from the chosen one, into the the bane of everyone surrounding him.
Then, it dawned that he had to kill him.
Twice.

Spent his latest years, protecting the two offsprings while looking like a hobo, while still not getting any action himself.
Ultimately, had to actually give his life away, just so the twins could get the accumulated benefits of multiple sacrifices.

All of that, even though -- from the very beginning --, he didn't want any part of that.

 

[BossAttack]

Luke, he had a hard life thanks to the ST. And then Obi-Wan.

I feel like Luke gets ahead of Kenobi because he was trained since a little baby to be a Jedi and knew the sacrifices he had to make. He also learned how to detach himself emotionally.

Luke didn't get none of that, but was handed a shit sandwich and told to just figure it out. And just when he thought he did and was able to redeem his family name, it actually all turned out to be for nothing.

His school children murdered by his nephew. His family killed. The New Republic destroyed. The galaxy losing all hope. And this all orchestrated by the dude he thought he defeated alongside his father, but turns out NOPE.

His last act being to die alone on a isolated rock to try and stall his nephew from murdering his sister and the last vestige of rebels.

"White slavers"

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And he wasn't wrong.

 

[Zeliard]

And he wasn't wrong.

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Don't even get me started on George Lucas:

Also while I think the show is okay enough, all this tends to confirm for me is something I've always thought: Lucas got a bad rap.

Making these things is incredibly difficult. It's hard to write Star Wars dialogue that doesn't sound, frankly, goofy as hell and very cliched, with its combination of New Age spirituality and platitudes. It's hard to choreograph live-action lightsaber fights especially when you involve what are basically telekinetic powers along with it; forget the lightsabers and magic, Hollywood rarely ever gets even basic sword fighting right.

It's particularly hard to create memorable characters out of what are essentially two-dimensional ciphers who purposefully have either very basic or zero character arcs. Vader and Lando start good, turn for whatever reason, then redeem themselves; Solo is the devilish rogue with the heart of gold; Luke is on the hero's journey; Obi-Wan is Merlin or any of the million wise old sages; Palpatine is just straight up Satanic evil. All are very basic archetypes but memorably done due to a combination of great visual and audio design, in a couple cases good acting, and a generally evocative, believable universe.

You stumble on any of these things and you create a mess. The first two movies had plenty of awful dialogue which the cast famously called out and even Lucas himself admitted, but managed to overcome it to such an extent that some of the lines became iconic. That's hard to do and hardly a given. The original Star Wars could have just as easily ended up something like Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone and all those classic lines would have been laughed off into obscurity.

Anyway, point is, Lucas deserves more credit for what he created and envisioned. He assembled a talented crew, of course, but that's also half the point of being a director.

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Yeah Lucas just had an absolutely awesome vision. I mean he's the one who hand-picked Ralph McQuarrie. That alone gives him like 50 bonus points. He's also specifically the one who wanted the set design to have a "used future" look, which became highly influential and is so core to Star Wars we don't even think about it.

Also Lucas is sometimes mocked for "ripping off" Kurosawa but even that to me was inspired. I mean, how many people even think to combine something like Hidden Fortress with Flash Gordon? That isn't exactly the most obvious combination. To me that was always something hugely in his favor.

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He's somehow become hugely underappreciated, which is unfortunate. Very bright, imaginative, hugely influential guy who stumbled a bunch with the prequels but the reaction has gone way to the other extreme, and I've never liked it.

 

[Calamari41]

Vader without a doubt. He ended the Empire, from his point of view at least (its not like he knew that the Death Star was going to blow). He was faced with ultimate victory and kamikaze-threw Sheev down the reactor shaft because he loved his son.

 

[BossAttack]

Don't even get me started on George Lucas:





He's somehow become hugely underappreciated, which is unfortunate. Very bright, imaginative, hugely influential guy who stumbled a bunch with the prequels but the reaction has gone way to the other extreme, and I've never liked it.

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Me either. The dude was always pushing boundaries, he never wanted to repeat himself hence why folks got upset the prequels weren't just the OT, again.

It's why he was so uninterested in the "retro movie" that was TFA. One need only watch American Graffiti to understand that he's an indie filmmaker at heart that hates to stick with prevailing cinema conventions.

I so badly wish we could've gotten his ST.

 

[Zeliard]

Me either. The dude was always pushing boundaries, he never wanted to repeat himself hence why folks got upset the prequels weren't just the OT, again.

It's why he was so uninterested in the "retro movie" that was TFA. One need only watch American Graffiti to understand that he's an indie filmmaker at heart that hates to stick with prevailing cinema conventions.

I so badly wish we could've gotten his ST.

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I remember some interview with I think Coppola who, while a friend of Lucas and probably somewhat biased, lamented that Lucas ever made Star Wars at all due to its sheer popularity. He was glad for his huge success but wanted more of the American Graffiti version cause after that one he thought Lucas was a genius filmmaker.

And it really is too bad. I've actually always thought about that myself. Lucas only really kept focusing on Star Wars stuff after the first film, and as we stand right now, the rest of his life. He never really ventured into anything else. It's too bad.

Also THX 1138 was a trip.

 

[skeezx]

real talk i guess padme

 

[Deleted member 24052]

The Bothans.

Click to shrink...

Many Bothans.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

The Tauntaun that was used as a sleeping bag

 

[Volimar]

The Bothans.

Click to shrink...

 

[KushalaDaora]

Ryan Johnson

/s

 

[thediamondage]

WADE

 

[echoshifting]

WADE

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Oh it's actually this. Just close the thread

 

[DarthSpider]

It's Obi-Wan. He's just such a well-adjusted individual that the audience doesn't really feel it.

Also shout out to the crew of Rogue One.

 

[NHarmonic.]

i think it's Holdo. No jedi magic shit, just her going Kamikaze against the new order.

 

[BossAttack]

I remember some interview with I think Coppola who, while a friend of Lucas and probably somewhat biased, lamented that Lucas ever made Star Wars at all due to its sheer popularity. He was glad for his huge success but wanted more of the American Graffiti version cause after that one he thought Lucas was a genius filmmaker.

And it really is too bad. I've actually always thought about that myself. Lucas only really kept focusing on Star Wars stuff after the first film, and as we stand right now, the rest of his life. He never really ventured into anything else. It's too bad.

Also THX 1138 was a trip.

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Coppolla had the career Lucas always said he wanted. After he sold SW he said he was going to go back to making small films, just for his friends to see. And he just didn't. I think he's just done with filmmaking in general.

He has other interests now.

 

[take_marsh]

The womp rats Luke used to bull's eye in his T-16.

But really, Obi-wan sacrificed Alderaan so he probably wins. So brave.

 

[Surakian]

Jyn and the rest of Rogue One.

 

[Calvin Leonard]

Obi-Wan
Jyn and Rogue One
Luke

 

[WedgeX]

Luke, he had a hard life thanks to the ST. And then Obi-Wan.

I feel like Luke gets ahead of Kenobi because he was trained since a little baby to be a Jedi and knew the sacrifices he had to make. He also learned how to detach himself emotionally.

Luke didn't get none of that, but was handed a shit sandwich and told to just figure it out. And just when he thought he did and was able to redeem his family name, it actually all turned out to be for nothing.

His school children murdered by his nephew. His family killed. The New Republic destroyed. The galaxy losing all hope. And this all orchestrated by the dude he thought he defeated alongside his father, but turns out NOPE.

His last act being to die alone on a isolated rock to try and stall his nephew from murdering his sister and the last vestige of rebels.



And he wasn't wrong.

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Yeah Luke's a strong contender. He never got the life he wanted due to his father and apparently also his force grandfather. But he keeps trying to fight for a better life for everyone else, even after it feels like everything has been taken from him by what he feels are his own actions (which, really, it's the dark side again).

 

[The Unsent]

The guys in Rogue One I can't name

 

[Rahfiki]

legends chewbacca

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Chewbacca. Man fought a god damn moon to save a kid

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I think about this moment at least once a month and it's been god knows how many years since I read that book. Like damn Chewie a real one

 

[Deleted member 24052]

Luke, in A New Hope.

He never did get those power converters.

 

[Kevers]

Porkins