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From the entries for Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Traditionally, Act I in a play is the hook, the first action where we meet the characters and establish our sympathies toward them. Act II is where the actors flesh out the author’s belief system and where characters grow and change. Act III contains the drama’s resolution, when the audience is fully committed to the play’s hero or heroes, and the characters’ growth enables them to defeat impossible odds.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a true second act in terms of the growth shown by all of the main characters, especially Luke. As a point of reference for those readers not entirely familiar with Star Wars (Hi, Mom!), the planet Dagobah is where Luke learns about what it is to be a Jedi Knight. This is where Yoda trains, tests, and mentors Luke.

Luke arrives at Yoda’s hideaway by crashing his X-wing starfighter into a swamp. This failure to accomplish what should be a simple task foreshadows Luke’s future and presents us with yet another metaphor for the messy state that is Luke’s current development as a Jedi Knight. The fog thickens as Luke’s X-wing approaches the planet’s surface. The instruments of his technical world, on which he is depending on too heavily, finally stop working altogether. Luke’s failure here is the opposite example from that of his using the Force to guide him in the Death Star's trench in the first movie. A Christian might describe Luke’s actions on Dagobah as not living by faith. An even worse cliché might be, “Let go and let God.” We hear these sentiments repeated often and without meaning. The idea behind all three, however, is very helpful. It is the constant realization that we are imperfect, that it is good and helpful for us to give up trying to control everything, and to continually remember to ask for God’s help. In the Star Wars universe, this practice certainly would help Luke land his X-wing on Dagobah without incident, which he does do in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, even though that landing is not shown. A distinctly Christian concept is that of grace, “the free and unmerited favor of God,” according to the Oxford American Dictionary. Luke is successful when he understands that he is not able to accomplish the task of blowing up the Death Star by his own power. He needs the power of the Force. However, in this small, relatively common task of landing in the murky atmosphere of Dagobah, he forgets that lesson in humility.

Luke starts to set up camp and quickly meets Yoda.

It is not obvious to us whether Luke ever learns Yoda’s first lesson about how the simple confuses the supposedly wise. However, in our first views of Yoda acting as a quirky creature, Yoda is trying to teach Luke something that is just as true for us. We often look to those beautiful people around us who seem successful, and think they must be wise.

Luke certainly has his own notions of the outward appearance of a great warrior. In America, we go to gross extremes in the prevalent thinking that since sports and entertainment figures are celebrities, therefore, they must also be wise. When interviewed, reporters very often ask these celebrities probing questions about things well outside the interviewee’s particular field of expertise, as if they must know more than we do simply because of their celebrity status. It is also tempting to mistake a politician in a tailored suit for being wise. In truth, the wise among us may very likely shy away from politics, may not seem as beautiful, as well groomed, or as physically fit as a finely-tailored person who wants your vote and who might easily do unwise things to obtain it. This is all to say that a tiny, green creature with pointed ears is usually not what one expects in a wise and powerful Jedi Knight. Yoda knows this and exaggerates it by acting even more strangely, on purpose and not like a Jedi Master, to teach Luke not to judge by appearances.

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