Unable to shake the vision of his friends in peril, Luke decided to cut his training short and rush to their aid. In doing so, he ignored Yoda’s grave warning that to do so would destroy all for which they’d fought and suffered. He promised to return, then flew away from Dagobah. A fateful encounter with Darth Vader awaited him.

Luke returned to Dagobah as promised, but found Yoda near death. The ancient Jedi said Luke no longer required training – but warned that to become a Jedi, he must confront Vader. In response to Luke’s gentle but insistent questioning, Yoda confirmed that Vader was indeed Luke’s father, and revealed that there was another Skywalker.

Yoda then died and vanished, his physical form dissolving into the Force. He had learned Qui-Gon’s lessons well during his long years of solitude on Dagobah.

Luke spoke with Obi-Wan’s spirit, and his first teacher revealed that Leia was the other Skywalker Yoda had spoken of – Luke’s sister. But when he told Luke that he must face Vader again, Luke doubted he could kill his own father. He was convinced there was good in the man who had once been Anakin Skywalker. There in the dark on Dagobah, he pondered an alternative to the course of action Yoda and Obi-Wan insisted he must take.