Star Wars (retitled Episode IV – A New Hope in 1981) was just the first course. In A New Hope, everything is dazzling and imposing to Luke’s eyes, while in Jedi, he’s in near-total control of his destiny. In fact, that’s more or less what the consensus was when the film was released 45 years ago today. Luke finds Yoda on Dagobah, where his Jedi training reveals how ill-prepared he is to take on the Empire. Only by replicating the highs and lows of serialised fiction did The Empire Strikes Back show the range of danger and heroism the franchise has been chasing ever since.