Star Words: Episode IV, Part 35

[matril]

Luke is going his way -- on a mission with nearly impossible odds -- and Han is going his. He's never claimed to be anything but a mercenary, so why should anyone be surprised that he's going to take the money and run? Yet Luke is genuinely surprised, even hurt, that Han isn't staying to help. Han, for his part, suggests that Luke join the mercenary lifestyle instead.

This is the final showdown between their clashing ideals, both trying to win the other over to his side, neither one budging. Han must realize by this point that Luke would never back down from madcap heroism. And isn't Luke terribly naive to imagine that Han would stay?

Well, maybe not. Maybe Luke has a knack for seeing the good in people. I touched on this in an earlier entry for Episode III (number 42, to be precise). His determination to save his father in the final film of the saga doesn't come out of nowhere. From the very start, Luke has carried this soft spot for apparently hopeless cases.

Granted, he approaches the situation with a lot more maturity and patience in Episode VI. Here, he ends up snapping something rather sarcastic.

"All right, well, take care of yourself, Han. That's what you're best at, isn't it?"

Maybe that's just what Han needs to hear, though. A little bit of cutting clarity. The truth is, Han has a lot of gifts that could be put to better use than self-serving purposes. Deep down, he must realize he could be great at something other than acquiring money and/or notoriety.

Maybe the conflict is already raging in his mind. Rather than responding in kind, he offers a gruff, "May the Force be with you," as an acknowledgement of Luke's belief even if he doesn't share it. And it's quite clear that he's rattled by the kid's reproof. Chewie certainly seems to think something is off, however Han pretends to dismiss it. And the next time we see him, he's flying the Falcon straight into battle for some last-minute heroics. Guess that Luke got through to him after all.

We could argue whether it's Luke's influence, or it's just that Luke intuited what Han already was deep inside...or that Luke had nothing to do with it (obviously, Luke fangirl that I am, that's not my favorite interpretation). In any case, Luke's ideals of heroism and sacrifice win the day. They will win again at the close of the trilogy.

Next time, Leia speaks a truth that resonates throughout the saga...

Comments

[krpalmer]

Thinking ahead in the last week or so, I could see a lot of things to contemplate in this scene (even if I'm not sure I was able to dig much below the "character analysis" level). I recalled someone (very possibly a "Han fan") proposing Han's "Why don't you come with us?" offer amounted to him indeed thinking he knew "what they're up against" and trying to offer Luke an escape route, and I'll admit to wondering if the very line you highlight here might be Luke (even if "subconsciously") trying to provoke Han to anger, even if only to "make things final before going into combat"; Han's response might then be seen as showing he's already different than how he started. Perhaps that's a melodramatic streak in me showing.

I've started my yearly viewing of the Star Wars movies (although I'm only watching "the hexology," and on Blu-Ray, having not subscribed to "Disney+"); this weekend I hope to see A New Hope itself. Your series here has already been something I've been remembering in the process.

[matril]

Nowadays it seems like everyone is inclined to identify with Han, but I assume that when this film was first released, the average viewer was a lot more likely to gravitate toward the straightforward hero. We live the adventure through Luke; we want what he wants. I feel like when Han comes back, it's a moment of joy because Luke hoped for it so much, and we rejoice with him because he is our avatar. (From someone whose awareness of pop culture didn't really emerge till the mid- to late eighties at the earliest, I have to wonder if this shift from Luke to Han happened in tandem with Harrison Ford's ascension into superstardom and Mark Hamill's quieter success in areas like voice acting. Could be one factor, if not the only cause.)

[krpalmer]

In contemplating the "Luke-to-Han shift" you mentioned I got to considering "fans who've got older," and then just happened to think "Han 'gets the girl'; Luke is established as pretty much shut off from that save for the most outré or denying-things fans," and wondering if that has something to do with it... I can keep musing about how peculiar I seem to be for seeming better able to accept "official romances" for some but not demanding every fictional character be established as finding a significant other from their surrounding cast, regardless of whether this involves deploying "shipping lenses" or strapping on "slash goggles" should the gender balance be off. Anyway, as much unpleasantness is mixed up with it "that's not my Luke" seems to have had something to do with the amplification of indignation towards the Disney Space Movies.