WARNING: The following contains spoilers for LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, now streaming on Disney+.
LEGO Star Wars is one of the most beloved versions of the Star Wars universe, where fans can see their favorite characters in new ways. One of the highlights of the franchise is how its games and specials always make references to the decades of inside jokes surrounding the fandom. This is best exemplified in the most recent Disney+ Halloween Special, Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales, where an age-old question surrounding The Empire Strikes Back is brought to light.
The special consists of a series of spooky short stories that span the entire franchise from the first film to now. One story titled "The Lost Boy" focuses on a young Ben Solo before he ultimately betrays his Uncle and destroys the Jedi Temple. The short opens on Ben and the other Padawans working on their Force techniques by stacking rocks. Where most of the Padawans struggle, the task is effortless for Ben. However, because he is related to Luke Skywalker, his connection to the Force is inherently strong, and he feels he isn't pushing himself enough.
After complaining to Luke about not furthering his training, Luke tells him that there are no shortcuts to becoming a Jedi. Ben storms off and even mentions his Uncle's time training under Master Yoda. Ben mocks his Uncle during the scene, stating, "'No shortcuts to becoming a Jedi.' How long did he train on Dagobah? Like 20 minutes?" Even though the line is meant for laughs, it brings up important issues among the Star Wars canon regarding the passage of time.
Because there is no clear understanding of how time works, the canon has done its best to make sense of it. But with so many planets, no watches and the inclusion of lightspeed, it's much easier said than done. Nevertheless, many additional texts have done their best to make sense of time in the canon. For example, in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, a passage from "There Is Always Another" gives audiences an idea of how long Luke trained for on Degobah. According to the book, he was with Master Yoda for only a few weeks.
For now, this has been the best way to gauge how long Luke took to become a Jedi, but Ben's comment takes on a more literal sense. In the official runtime of the film, Luke's training takes closer to twenty minutes, adding a meta context to Ben's comment. Whether it is only for a few weeks or a few minutes, it doesn't disregard how short Luke's training really was.
Jedi will typically train from early childhood into their teenage years before becoming an apprentice. However, Luke bypassed all of that and went his own path with training following Master Yoda. Granted, the times were vastly different since the Republic. However, it still stands that Luke telling Ben there's no shortcut to being a Jedi contradicts how he became a master in the first place. That being said, it's great to see that the Star Wars universe isn't afraid to call out its inconsistencies.
To see Ben question Luke, LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales is streaming now on Disney+.