Why were Luke and Leia the Jedi's last hope?

Question

In The Empire Strikes Back, Obi-Wan and Yoda make it very clear that they believe Luke and Leia are the galaxy's only hope.

Obi-Wan: That boy is our last hope.

Yoda: No... there is another...

However, in Legends, some 200 odd Jedi were revealed/retconned to have survived the Great Jedi Purge.

Even discounting those who fell to the dark side or became disillusioned, there were still dozens of upstanding Masters and Knights, and the same number of Padawans and trainees with potential.

Has any explanation been given for Yoda and Obi-Wan not considering reaching out to any of them, even as a last resort?

Answer 1

While I'm not necessarily familiar with all the Legends you reference, in my opinion they simply cannot be accepted as canon. Yoda explicitly states "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be," and the opening crawl for TFA reaffirms that Luke is the last Jedi. In my opinion, the movies are the highest level of canon (well at least 1-6 ;) ), and anything that contradicts them is just a fantasy story.

Besides that, even if some additional Jedi survived the initial purge, they could have been killed by Vader any time between episodes 3 and 5.

Answer 2

There are a variety of explanations why Yoda and Obi-Wan wouldn't consider the other surviving Jedi mentioned in Legends:

• Many of the "≈200" survivors of Order 66 were later killed as part of the decades-long Great Jedi Purge, either by Darth Vader himself or other Imperial operatives. Wookieepedia's Legends article on the Great Jedi Purge claims that there were only about 30 surviving Jedi as of 1 BBY. Furthermore, some of those ≈30 survivors had joined the Empire (e.g. Jerec) and that figure includes Yoda and Obi-Wan so the number of Jedi that could fight the Empire was even smaller than 30.

• Yoda and Obi-Wan probably don't know who survived the Purge. The Episode III script indicates that, while they can sense the murder of a Jedi, they can't sense with the Force which (if any) Jedi survived:

  Obi-Wan: How many other Jedi managed to survive?

  Yoda: Heard from no one, have we.

  Obi-Wan: Have we had any contact from the Temple?

  Yoda: Received a coded retreat message, we have.

  Bail Organa: It requests all Jedi to return to the Temple. It says that the war is over...

  Obi-Wan: Well, then we must go back! If there are other stragglers, they will fall into the trap and be killed.

  ...

  Yoda: Suggest dismantling the coded signal, do you?

  Obi-Wan: Yes, Master. There is too much at stake here, and we need a clearer picture of what has happened.

  Yoda: I agree. In a dark place we find ourselves ... a little more knowledge might light our way.

  _{Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith script}

  Since Obi-Wan (and Yoda) didn't even know if there were any stragglers, they couldn't be expected to know about the survivors in the general case, much less how to contact them. Even if Yoda and Obi-Wan knew about some of those Jedi survivors and how to contact them, they could have easily lost contact with the other survivors as all the Jedi struggled to hide from the Empire in the decades between Episode III and V. Yoda and Obi-Wan only knew about Luke and Leia because they helped protect them from the Empire, and Obi-Wan specifically kept track of Luke as he grew up.

• Even if Yoda and Obi-Wan knew about other Jedi survivors, they'd know that those Jedi had already been defeated by the Empire once before and have very little hope to defeat them. After all, Yoda and Obi-Wan -- both skilled members of the Jedi Council -- failed to kill Sidious and Vader, respectively. If even they failed, what hope does a random survivor have against the two Sith Lords? The only hope is a Jedi who was not born under the Republic and the failed old Jedi Order, and who moreover had a special connection with Vader: Luke (and Leia).

Ultimately, though, it isn't necessary to come up with explanations for why Yoda and Obi-Wan didn't consider other Jedi survivors because Legends is not canon. In any contradiction between canon and Legends, the Legends claim is deemed false. Even under the old G/T/C/etc. canon system a higher-level canon claim such as the quote from Episode V (G-canon) would override a lower-level canon contradiction (such as other Jedi survivors mentioned in the EU/Legends, which is C-canon under the old system). So Luke and Leia were really the last hope according to canon even if Yoda and Obi-Wan were shown to have known and possibly met with other Jedi survivors in some C-canon/Legends story -- those other Jedi survivors can simply be ignored, from a canon standpoint.

Incidentally, there are in fact contradictions regarding Jedi survivors: for example, in Legends Shaak Ti was killed on Felucia by Darth Vader's secret apprentice but in canon she was killed when Darth Vader attacked the Jedi Temple as part of Order 66. So Shaak Ti is one of the "200" survivors of Order 66 according to Legends, but canonically she did not survive.

Answer 3

Both Leia and Luke were the ORIGINAL HOPE, not the other hope.

When the line "that boy is our last hope" is said, Yoda gets bathed in a greenish blue light, representing Luke. However, when Yoda says, "No, there is another," he gets bathed in a red light, representing Darth Vader. You must remember that every element in a movie is an intentional choice, and that this isn't the only time that these colors are used to represent their affiliated characters, and let you know who is being discussed. The point here being that, Darth Vader is the other. This makes sense since Darth Vader is actually the Hero of the story, in other words, it's about his journey and his path for redemption. The story is merely being told through Luke's eyes. This is why it is Darth Vader who finds his place among the Jedi Master by the end of the story. Furthermore, the thing people use to justify Leia as being the other hope is just Obi-Wan's quote, but as you'll recall, he didn't know who Yoda was referring to any more than the viewer did, and this is his own misconception, one which is used as a misdirect for the viewers. Luke is not present for all key elements of the story, which involve the struggle in the balance of the force, only Darth Vader is, because it's his story.

There is also Yoda’s last words, which echo his line in Empire, and which he says after Luke has learned that Vader is actually Anakin Skywalker:

YODA: ... There is...another...Sky...Sky...walker.

The fact he says this after Vader acknowledges he is a Skywalker and not before, should also let you know he wasn't talking about Leia.

OBI-WAN: I will take the child and watch over him. Master Yoda, do you think Anakin's twins will be able to defeat Darth Sidious?

YODA: Strong the Force runs, in the Skywalker line. Hope, we can . . . Done, it is. Until the time is right, disappear we will.

This line doesn't mention Leia as an additional hope, it mentions BOTH TWINS as the original hope. Further proof that it is Darth Vader who is the other hope.

Got to say, even when ben explains that he THINKS its Leia, he, himself, is unconvinced. He is like, you were our last hope. The other hope? He probably meant your sister and shes poop, so we are all doomed. Thanks Luke, way to blow it.

Furthermore, Obi wan spoke with certainty all the time in the prequels, and was constantly wrong.

Look at the prophecy of the chosen one: "Another depiction of the prophecy was a cave painting in the Ophuchi Sanctuary. According to the Ophuchi interpretation, the painting showed an enslaved dove rising up and defeating a serpent that slowly tried to corrupt and destroy him to catch him as its prey. When the serpent was destroyed, rain that had not fallen in the desert for many years would fall again. The Ophuchi believed that a drought would overtake Tatooine the day that the Chosen One was born, and that he would be aided in his task by one called the Argus who would free the Chosen One from his shackles before vanquishing the serpent."

The enslaved dove, is Darth Vader. The serpent trying to corrupt him is Emperor Palpatine. The Argus is Luke, who causes Darth Vader to rebel against Emperor Palpatine. So you are telling me, YOU honestly think, the PERSON DESTINED TO RETURN THE BALANCE TO THE FORCE, who GEORGE LUCAS CONFIRMED WAS "officially the Chosen One and not Luke," wasn't the other hope, but Leia was?