Readers talk ‘Star Wars’ plot holes

Well, Jon Bonné gave his take on the inconsistencies in the “Star Wars” saga and you had some answers for him and a few of your own questions. Many of you point to the books, video games and even the cartoon series for more answers on the series. Many of you believe that we've been thinking about this way too much. In any case, here are some of your thoughts.

Those pesky droids
Why do C-3PO and R2-D2 have no memory whatsoever in Episode IV of their original master - Anakin Skywalker? If they have been around since the beginning, wouldn't they know Darth Vader, wouldn't they know that Luke is his son (or at least recognize the name Skywalker), wouldn't they know who Obi-Wan Kenobi is? Did their memory get erased at some point? By who? Why? — Matt Cornell, Dallas, Texas

The story behind the Sith
First of all the Sith is an ancient offshoot of the Jedi order, which was made of young knights who felt anger, fear and other emotions were only the path to strength and power, while the Jedi council felt inner peace and compassion were the way of the Jedi, not strong emotion. Seeing that these knights and their Padawans could prove to be dangerous, and could not be persuaded from darkness, the Jedi exiled them to unknown space. So the Dark Force users traveled through the galaxy searching for some place to call home. They found a desolate planet which held a dark secret, this planet was called Korriban, whose natives where tall, dark skinned, vamparic, horned beings who were naturally cruel and wicked and they called themselves Sith. Now at this point the dark Jedi show give a vulgar display of power and are accepted by the Sith and over a few thousand years the two cultures became one and the Sith were born, but true Sith (as in the natives of Korriban) are extinct. —Alex

Jedi visions
The visions of deceased Jedi are just that: visions experience by a Jedi linked to them. Leia and Han (and the Ewoks) didn't see Yoda, Anakin and Obi-Wan at the end of Jedi, Luke did. Luke was trained by Yoda, by Obi-Wan, and linked genetically to Anakin. I would assume a Jedi's powers diminish in death (contrary to Obi-Wan's pre-death warning to Vader — I never got how he became more powerful) and thus can reach only to other's in possession of The Force. —Name withheld

Yoda's hideout
Regarding the reason why Yoda went to Dagobah. In one of the games created by LucasArts, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, the reason is given. I don't know if it is the right one, but it is a reason nonetheless. The reason given was that Yoda went to Dagobah because he hoped that the planet's strong dark side aura would be able to hide him. —Lily Lorkowski, El Paso, Texas

The politics of Naboo
Upon politics: Lots of countries elect/used to elect their monarchs. Not a lot of countries use universal suffrage to do so, but universal suffrage is not the only form of democracy. Actually, the ancient Greeks feared universal suffrage, calling it Mob Rule, but that's a whole nother story. Technically, the Pope is elected, Scandinavian royalty is elected, the Anglo-Saxon kings were elected, the Holy Roman Emperor was elected. For all we know, Naboo is an absolute elected monarchy — we don't know, and we don't really need to. But senators don't directly influence policy on Naboo; they represent Naboo in the Galactic senate. So the monarch may appoint a senator much as a Prime Minister might appoint an ambassador, or a rep to the U.N. The real dichotomy, to me anyhow, lies in the contrasts between institutional and charismatic power Lucas tantalizingly fiddles with, and then drops. —Vian Lawson, Melbourne, Australia

Shmi's unfortunate outcome
No, the most important question is why neither the Jedi nor Padme ever made arrangements to free Anakin’s mother. Why was she left for 10 years? Why wasn't Anakin allowed to attempt to contact her when his nightmares started. Also, when Qui-Gon was attacked on Tatooine, why wasn't the first Sith sighting in 1000 years and an attempt to run down the chosen one with a speeder seen as something to take note of?  —Edward Charboneau, Marquette, Mich.

The mysterious Ben Kenobi
Ben Kenobi states to Luke in Ep IV that his father wanted him to have his lightsaber when he was older. How would Anakin know about Luke being alive? Also Ben's ghost states after Luke leaves Dagobah that " that boy was our last hope" and Yoda says, "No there is another." (Leia) Ben should have known that too. Ben also says to Luke in Empire he should go to Dagobah and seek Yoda the Jedi Master who instructed him. Yoda did not instruct Obi-Wan, Qui Gon was his master. Ben does not even seem recognize R2-D2 and C-3PO. —Michael, Mesa, Ariz.

Luke by any other name
I disagree with your point regarding Jedi training. While ideally one would go through a full training program, it seems fairly obvious that corners are cut out of necessity: 1) Yoda is old, and knows that his time is nearly up, 2) there's a war on, that isn't going well for the rebellion, so getting Luke back into the fray as quickly as possible is warranted. Yoda probably told him that he didn't need any more training as a confidence booster (since he wasn't going to be getting off of his deathbed to continue the training).

I disagree with a certain extent to a number of the points that you hope to see resolved, but primarily because my "knowledge" is augmented through reading much of the original fiction based on the movies. Lucas gave a lot of insight and guidance to these writers, who fleshed out much of the “Star Wars” universe. One thing I'd like to know, but don't expect to be revealed — what was the point of "hiding" Luke under his real last name? —Ed March, Princeton Junction, N.J.

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