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In the closing scenes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on board the Falcon, we see Finn spotting the Jedi Order books in a drawer while making Rose comfortable.

Until then we'd been left to believe that Yoda had destroyed them when Luke decided to make a bit of drama.

Who stashed them on the Falcon? Rey? Luke? Yoda?

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    Excellent question. I picked up on this detail but assumed it was Rey. On further consideration it would more likely be Luke. But it isn't ever made clear. Perhaps in episode 9...
    – Coomie
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:21
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    My first thought was Rey as well, but on second thought, there's no reason for her to do it - as far as she knows, the books are safe on the island, and she can return there after saving the fleet, and Luke has kept them safe so far. No reason to risk his wrath yet.
    – muru
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:24
  • @Napolean I forgot the spoiler formatting, hence the quote formatting. Has this site eased up on spoiler hiding?
    – muru
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:25
  • I don't think it was Rey either. She was so awestruck and humbled by the books that she wouldn't have just stolen them for herself. Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 18:10
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    certainly not definitive, however, this explanation is on the Wookieepedia site (at the end of Yoda's chronology): "unbeknownst to Luke, Rey had already taken the Jedi books when she left."
    – MmmHmm
    Commented Dec 27, 2017 at 11:16

3 Answers 3

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On a second viewing, I noticed we actually see the texts twice on the Falcon--the second is the obvious time, but we actually see a very brief glimpse of them right after the Falcon leaves Ahch-To, when Rey closes that drawer before getting in the escape pod to Snoke's ship and telling Chewie to rendezvous with her later. Hence, she knew about them/their location before ever being mind read by Snoke.

So, it seems likely that it was Rey who stole the texts. Yoda likely knew about it (re his snarky "nothing she doesn't already possess" comment), but I doubt Luke did, given that he attempted to run into the burning tree to rescue them before being repelled by a bunch of fire.

As for why she did it--it's speculation, but Rey had already offered Luke the chance to reclaim the way of the Jedi multiple times and he refused (including directly before she left the island, when she offered him the lightsaber). He also wasn't teaching her anymore. It's a good bet that she'd decided to take things into her own hands by then.

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    I think Yoda burned the tree to keep Luke from finding out Rey had the books and trying to get them back.
    – jejorda2
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 16:01
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    Just watched the movie again. I think I saw this scene, so now I can accept this answer.
    – muru
    Commented Jan 21, 2018 at 9:27
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    Poor Luke, he's been lied to his entire life, and his dead teachers still lie to him.
    – J Doe
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 18:36
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No clarity is given in the Last Jedi, but the best answer is Luke.

Only 3 people know of the Sacred Jedi Texts:

  • Rey,
  • Luke &
  • Yoda

Yoda

It's not likely Yoda would try to preserve them given the way he described them "not page-turners". And also the fact that he destroyed the uneti tree.

Rey

It's also not likely Rey would try steal them when she would assume that Luke is taking care of them and assuming they will be safe on Ahch-To.

Luke

It makes the most sense that Luke would want to preserve the Jedi through Rey, this is shown by his willingness to train her and save the Rebellion.

Perhaps he wanted Rey to continue her own training away from Ahch-To.

Perhaps he assumed that Rey's memory would be mindread (as it was) and the location of the Jedi Texts found and destroyed by the Sith - this would also explain why he would stash them on the Falcon rather than giving them to her in an obvious way.

The real question should be: Was it Luke in the flesh that planted the Sacred Jedi Texts? Or was it his force ghost?

Those questions and perhaps the original question may be answered in a future episode.

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    Then again, it's very Yoda to seemingly set the books on fire and make Luke panic when he's secretly Force-shifted them away.
    – muru
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:35
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    @muru Perhaps. I wouldn't rule that out. But Yoda placed very little value on them compared to Luke.
    – Coomie
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 1:44
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    At first when I saw them in the drawer, I presumed Luke had snuck them away while on the Falcon, but I think it makes the most sense that Rey would have taken them as she was disillusioned with Luke's role as mentor/Jedi guardian. I don't think it was Luke also because didn't he talk to Yoda about destroying them? Methinks Rey. 2¢.
    – MmmHmm
    Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 4:45
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    Luke doing it makes no sense in terms of what's shown in the movie. At first, he wanted to destroy the tree (and thus the books contained within). When Yoda destroys the tree, Luke says something like "But the sacred Jedi texts!" implying that he thinks they're still in there. Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 9:27
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    @BrettFromLA I'm pretty certain he says that after the tree has already been set on fire. And AFAIK no-one, not even a Jedi, has ever teleported anything in Star Wars. Commented Dec 21, 2017 at 9:40
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It was Chewie. He took some mementos and stuck them in his memory drawer. Him and the Jedi go way back to the Clone Wars, he may even know how to read the text. If anyone could find Jedi to use them it's that hairy dude, he might even know where Ahsoka is. Yoda just showed up at the end to chat with Luke. Luke would of let them burn. Rei, well, where would she even know how to read what's in the books?

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  • Maybe a diet of Porg gave him the runs and the MF was out of toilet paper?
    – Jason K
    Commented Mar 12, 2018 at 14:36

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