Rian Johnson did a lot of work in Star Wars: The Last Jedi to bring something fresh to the table for the galaxy far, far away. While there are fans who rejected everything he attempted, there are others who hold the movie in great esteem. However, much like the other two movies in the sequel trilogy, Johnson borrowed a bit from the past. As the middle movie in the franchise, Johnson played with some tropes from The Empire Strikes Back.
The biggest example of this came with Rey going to Ahch-To so she could train with the Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker. This paralleled an event from The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke went to the planet of Dagobah so he could train with the Jedi Master, Yoda. In both cases, Rey and Luke found a mysterious cave that told them a little about their fates. But what was in the Mirror Cave on Ahch-To, and how does it compare to the cave Luke entered on Dagobah?
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi picked up where Star Wars: The Force Awakens left off, with Rey newly arrived on the planet of Ahch-To. After some convincing, Luke agreed to train her. However, he feared her and thought she could go to the dark side, similar to what had happened previously with Kylo Ren. Luke grew more fearful when Rey entered the cave under the island on Ahch-To and found the mirrors. But what was this? Director Rian Johnson has said that the cave represented the dark side of the Force while the island above it represented the light side of the Force. "Well, the idea that this natural place reflected. The idea that if there's a Jedi Temple up top, the light, it has to be balanced by a place of great darkness. We're drawing a very obvious connection to Luke's training and to Dagobah here, obviously," Johnson told /Film in an interview.
This cave tempted Rey and also showed her something about herself, although it wasn't what she wanted to see. Rey had to face her greatest fears before she could become a true Jedi. In her vision, which she saw in the mirrors, she realized her biggest fear was never knowing who she really was. All she saw when she looked were countless versions of herself. This proved what she always knew. There was no one she could rely on other than herself, and her past didn't matter when looking at her future. Johnson showed Rey was a blank slate, which made her trip to become a Jedi more exciting. Sadly, Rise of Skywalker ignored that and made her Palpatine's granddaughter, but for a moment, the sky was the limit for Rey, thanks to the cave's lesson.
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This Last Jedi scene mirrored The Empire Strikes Back. In both movies, young Force-sensitive people approach a Jedi Master who wants nothing to do with training them. In both cases, the Jedi Masters lived in seclusion on remote planets after failures in their past caused them to turn away from their role as a Jedi Master. Yoda failed to see Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side and Palpatine overthrowing the entire Jedi Order. Luke's situation was more personal. He failed his own nephew, Ben Solo, and watched as Ben drifted to the dark side, becoming Kylo Ren. Also, in both movies, the students had to face their fears in the cave. While Rey saw only herself, which solidified her greatest fear, Luke saw something worse. He saw Darth Vader. He saw the possibility of turning to the dark side and the horrible shattered mask the villain wore with Luke's own face in it.
This foreshadowed what would come later in the movie when Darth Vader revealed he was Luke Skywalker's father. This also hinted at the struggle that Luke would face in Return of the Jedi when facing the decision to turn to the dark side and remain by his father's side or reject the offer and either fight or die. Luke didn't know what he was getting into, but the cave on Dagobah showed him how dangerous his path would become. While Rey's vision showed her that she would fight alone, Luke's vision showed him that he would fight his own dark fate. Rian Johnson borrowed bits from The Empire Strikes Back, and with the cave of mirrors on Ahch-To, he delivered Star Wars: The Last Jedi's strongest message.