Luke’s sick troll (he really learned the proper Jedi way from Obi-Wan Kenobi) was meant to teach Rey that the Jedi were so strict in their old ways that they would rather let villagers get killed rather than upset some idea of balance. He then tries to dissuade Rey from wanting to be a Jedi, arguing that what the Resistance needs are Rebels who disobey doctrines, not an “old failed husk of a religion.”

Except, it is not the actual Jedi religion that either the Resistance or Rey are looking for, but the “legend” that is Luke Skywalker, the individual hero who helped defeat the Galactic Empire. This moment would’ve also pushed Luke to start reconsidering his longstanding position on his legacy in the Film, while at the same time showing us Rey’s struggles with her emotions and with violence.

Indeed, Rey follows the old Jedi traditions, albeit in her own way. Throughout “The Last Jedi,” she sees the Jedi the way the audience saw them in the first two “Star Wars” trilogies, as a police force and as warriors rather than monks. It’s telling that the scene pays so much attention to Rey’s lightsaber as her source of defense and as a tool for violence (not to mention, a party glow stick for the Caretakers). 

This is because, for years, the way lightsabers are used in the “Star Wars” films has created a big contradiction and fallacy for the Jedi, making them warriors of peace who nevertheless employ unstoppable laser swords that transform them into the most lethal force in the universe. As journalist James Whitbrook put it, “Lightsabers are to Jedi as re-purchased military gear is to local police forces.”