Star Words: Episode V, Part 31

[matril]

After a delightful reveal of the Millennium Falcon's clever hiding spot, we learn of Han's makeshift plan. Wait until the fleet dumps their trash pre-hyperspace, float away and find a safe place to make repairs. Leia seems to approve, even though she can't help taking another dig at his ship with the wry retort With the rest of the garbage. Their verbal interplay continues as Han stumbles across an old friend.

"Lando System?"
"Lando's not a system, he's a man. Lando Calrissian. He's a card player, gambler -- scoundrel; you'd like him."

This is a great example of tight, efficient exposition with a touch of humor and character flavor. We have a nice sketch of Lando in just a few words. Probably not trustworthy, as Han willingly admits a few lines later, but certainly not the type to hold Imperial sympathies. I'll be exploring a lot more of Lando's complexities later on; this is an fitting setup.

As far as the tone, there's still a slightly combative nature to Han and Leia's exchange, but it's softened, become a little more playful. They both know something has changed between them since that kiss, though neither one is ready to admit it yet. Leia concedes just enough to give his cheek a peck and acknowledge that he does have his moments, now and then, as his plan comes to apparently successful fruition.

And I'm always trying to to work variations of "Lando's not a system; he's a man" into my everyday conversations. It's delightful.

Next, Luke is confronted with the awful paradox of heroic compassion....

Comments

[krpalmer]

In thinking ahead to this scene I'd been thinking of the "You do have your moments" line, but perhaps in part because I once saw it on a "user icon" that compared Leia's peck on Han's cheek to Padme's quick kiss when she jumps down to join Anakin in the arena of Attack of the Clones. "Sketching out Lando's character" is also interesting anyway, but I might have not been thinking before of him being introduced as a "card player" and "gambler," which I can certainly see as supporting thoughts he'd always been "stylish." Instead, I might have just remembered "scoundrel," and supposed that since Han had known him he'd got his hands on Cloud City (even if I remembered comments in the literature about him "winning" it just as he'd "lost" the Millennium Falcon to Han) and become rather more respectable.

So far as "scenes without dialogue" go, the revelation Boba Fett is tracking the Falcon might be taken as proof he's indeed competent as a bounty hunter, but contrasted against quick conclusions happened on with the "No disintegrations" line and his "Mandalorian armour."