Why Luke Skywalker Did NOT Commit a War Crime on Endor

If you listen to the Binge Mode Star Wars podcast episode where they break-down Return of the Jedi, Jason Conception delivers a passionate speech about why Luke committed a war crime on Endor when he manipulated the Ewoks into battle with the Empire. Luke forced C3P0 to impersonate a God and brainwash innocent creatures into a fight that wasn't theirs, possibly resulting in countless deaths.

It's an entertaining concept, looking back through the lens of modern day wokeness, but I need to strongly disagree. Luke and his rebel team had been captured by the Ewoks, who brought them back home to cook them alive and eat them for dinner. Luke devised a non-violent way to save their lives. This deception was done in self-defence and clearly better than all the alternatives. The Ewoks were strongly committed to eating the team, even after being threatened with a show of force. It's only once they go to light the fire that Luke levitates the chair, and they're all free to go. Clever, right?

This notion that the Ewoks were manipulated into a war is also false. The rebel team didn't know that they were heading into an ambush, all we ever see them ask for is help finding the base. Nobody was recruiting Ewok soldiers for a military style assault against an entire legion of the Empire's best troops. They thought they were on a covert mission to plant a few bombs and blow up the shield generator. Events unfolded in a way that was never intended.

None of them knew that they were walking into a trap. How could they manipulate the Ewoks into a military engagement if they didn't even know there would be one? That's the biggest flaw in Jason's argument that Luke is a war criminal. All he ever did was find a non-violent to save his friends lives, and recruit some guides to lead them to their target. At one point Han asks for some fresh supplies. We never actually see a request for military engagement.

Once the trap was sprung on the rebel team, the Ewoks voluntarily entered the engagement with the Empire. I'm also going to reject this idea that the little bears were victims who were innocently drawn into a bloody battle. If you watch the fight, most of the Ewoks tactical success comes from booby traps that couldn't possibly all have been built on short notice. There is evidence that they had been preparing to fight the Empire long before the rebellion's arrival.

The Ewok Generals may have even seen this rebel mission as an opportunity to inflict damage on the Imperial facility, and mobilized their forces accordingly. The Empire had been building that death star for over a decade, so presumably that base had been there for a long time. It's safe to assume that the storm troopers did not have a peaceful co-existence with the local wildlife, which they probably hunted for food. It's a certainty that the Ewoks and storm troopers had clashed on multiple occasions, with the bears being hunters themselves who are more than happy to feed on humanoids.

It's very likely that Imperial forces had already killed dozens, if not hundreds of Ewoks since that base was built (possibly on Ewok land). I'm convinced that the Ewoks were eager to join the fight, a fight they had been preparing years to launch, and didn't need orders from a God to do so. Look at how happy they were when the base was destroyed. That's the celebration of an oppressed civilization who has overthrown their oppressor. 

It is insulting to the Ewoks to label them as victims after one of the greatest victories in their history. I'm sure if you ask any Ewok about the great moments in their culture, most would put the victory against the Empire at the top of the list. And I choose to believe that they had already been preparing to launch their own attack against the base prior to the rebel team's arrival, and that their plan was executed flawlessly after the rebels were captured. Let's give the Ewoks full credit for what they accomplished on the ground; and the rebels credit for the victory in the upper atmosphere.

It's a win-win for everyone invloved. No war crimes to see here...