Star Words: Episode IV, Part 3

[matril]

The scene I'll explore in this entry is portentous both from the perspective of an audience member in 1977 as well as for someone who has seen the prequels. Let's look at both viewpoints, shall we?

Our first introduction to Leia is in the opening crawl, as an agent of action, a guardian of precious information for the Rebellion. Then we see her slipping expertly through narrow corridors, evading capture and sending the stolen plans away to (relative) safety. Even when she gets captured, it's only after putting up a considerable fight. She's clearly a force to be reckoned with (ah, there's just no way to avoid "force" puns when talking about Star Wars).

On the other hand, we're introduced to Vader as a terrifying shadowy figure, masked and ominous, coolly surveying the wreckage of battle. And then we witness him interrogating a terrified rebel before strangling him with one hand and tossing him aside like a piece of garbage.

So our admiration of Leia can only increase when she is brought to him and immediately offers an unflinching reproof, without even giving him a chance to talk first.

"Darth Vader. Only you could be so bold."

She goes on to assert the Senate's certain disapproval of his actions and insists upon her cover story of a diplomatic mission. I mean, the sheer brazenness of it all! Let's be honest, Leia -- it's not only Vader who could be so bold. You might just be the boldest being in the galaxy. Vader rages furiously against her, yet she never loses her poise. What a glorious change from the leading ladies we'd seen in sci-fi or action films prior to Star Wars. They screamed, they fainted, they clung to the brave men who rescued them. At last we have a heroine who does something different, who takes on the role previously reserved for leading men.

After the prequels, though -- even after Episode VI -- this scene becomes exponentially more powerful. It's possible Leia and Vader have crossed paths before, but this is the first time we see it. And knowing what we know -- knowing that they don't know it -- oh, the pain and angst. Not only is Vader confronting his own daughter as an enemy, proceeding to take her captive and torture her, but Leia is behaving a great deal like her own mother would in similar situations. She, too, is an impassioned advocate for the oppressed, for fighting against tyranny. Does Vader see a glimmer of Padmé in her face -- whether literally or metaphorically? Is he perhaps all the more vindictive against her because she resembles the wife who, in his warped view of things, betrayed him? Ugggghhh. The possibilities are vast, and universally tragic. None of this was part of the storyline in 1977, of course, not for the audience or the actors or even Lucas himself, but it's fun to retroactively interpret things afresh. Leia is still awesome, and Vader is still terrifying, but layered on top of that is an unwitting father-daughter reunion.

Next time, first impressions of Luke....

Comments

[krpalmer]

While it's been interesting to look at these lines "from 1977's vantage point," I appreciate starting to look back with what we know now too. I suppose Leia being "bold" too works in both those ways... One thing I do have to admit to when it comes to "recent developments," though, is looking at this scene and thinking "Rogue One having Leia's blockade runner escape the battle itself for the sake of a halfway upbeat ending doesn't quite seem to work here," and that as someone who looks at "Vader and the Emperor in TESB" and supposes Vader has issued an open challenge to his master they both understand so perfectly they don't need to spell it out to the audience.

[matril]

Yeah, I know that Rogue One is the one Disney film that most fans like, but it just doesn't work for me. It ends up diminishing the opening of Episode IV, creating a sort of anti-climax. Vader massacres the Rebels as they've trying to get away, but then when they catch up with the Tantive IV he just hangs back and lets the stormtroopers do all the dirty work? It makes no sense. That whole sequence just feels like a pander-fest to all those fanboys who wanted the prequels to contain scenes of carnage enacted by Vader. No thank you.

[krpalmer]

I was thinking more just that trying to come up with a clever reason for Vader not to just tell Leia "look, we saw your ship fleeing the carnage" doesn't feel invigorating for me the way other "clever explanations" can; I can also wonder about one part of Episode IV's plot being "the Imperials are trying to get the location of the Rebel base from Leia" when Rogue One might seem to imply everyone on her ship (not to mention the disabled bigger ship it dropped out of) could be another lead towards it. Your thought has also occurred to me, though.