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Star Words: Episode V, Part 8
Feb. 13th, 2020 03:20 pmWith Luke safely recovering from his ordeal, we're treated to another exchange of heated banter between Han and Leia. His flirting strategy, as it were, seems to involve getting her as angry as possible. First he claims it was her machinations that kept him from leaving. She responds by calling him a delusional laser-brain. Chewie's chortle is a delightful reaction here.
Undeterred, Han refers to their conversation in the south passage with a rather....creative...interpretation, saying that Leia revealed her true feelings. We've already had some delightful insults, what with laser-brain and fuzzball. Leia's retort provides the best one of all.
"Why you -- stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking -- nerfherder!"
Again, an excellent economy of worldbuilding here. What is a nerfherder? One who herds nerfs, presumably. What's a nerf? Doesn't matter. Leia's disgusted delivery tells us all we need to know; it's obviously the opposite of a compliment. Even better is how Han latches onto the least likely part of the insult, taking issue with "scruffy-looking."
Of course he interprets Leia's wrath as proof that his claims are in fact pretty close to the mark. This is where some of that squirmy kind of behavior shows up. She's told him, unequivocally, that she's not interested, but he keeps persisting. No means yes is a pretty appalling supposition, and it's only barely tolerable here because we know Leia actually does have feelings for Han -- and Han is in fact a deeply insecure guy, clumsily attempting to bluster and bluff his way into winning her over. Compared to some of the other characters Harrison Ford portrayed in the 80s, Han comes across as more of an immature kid than a pushy stalker....but that doesn't excuse it. Ah well.
Most people are much more fixated on a squicky moment of a different nature in this scene -- when Leia attempts to prove her indifference to Han by kissing Luke. Yeah, it's a little yucky in retrospect, but of course they weren't intended to be siblings yet, so it's just one of those unfortunate side effects of shifting the canon as the saga progresses. It's also clearly a moment of "the lady doth protest too much," right down to the fact that Leia looks directly to Han afterwards, without a glance at the guy she just kissed. Even Threepio is looking at Han, aware that this is really about him. Maybe she has a little of that "make 'em angry" approach to flirting too. What a pair of nerfherders.
Next time, something a little more heartfelt....
Undeterred, Han refers to their conversation in the south passage with a rather....creative...interpretation, saying that Leia revealed her true feelings. We've already had some delightful insults, what with laser-brain and fuzzball. Leia's retort provides the best one of all.
"Why you -- stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking -- nerfherder!"
Again, an excellent economy of worldbuilding here. What is a nerfherder? One who herds nerfs, presumably. What's a nerf? Doesn't matter. Leia's disgusted delivery tells us all we need to know; it's obviously the opposite of a compliment. Even better is how Han latches onto the least likely part of the insult, taking issue with "scruffy-looking."
Of course he interprets Leia's wrath as proof that his claims are in fact pretty close to the mark. This is where some of that squirmy kind of behavior shows up. She's told him, unequivocally, that she's not interested, but he keeps persisting. No means yes is a pretty appalling supposition, and it's only barely tolerable here because we know Leia actually does have feelings for Han -- and Han is in fact a deeply insecure guy, clumsily attempting to bluster and bluff his way into winning her over. Compared to some of the other characters Harrison Ford portrayed in the 80s, Han comes across as more of an immature kid than a pushy stalker....but that doesn't excuse it. Ah well.
Most people are much more fixated on a squicky moment of a different nature in this scene -- when Leia attempts to prove her indifference to Han by kissing Luke. Yeah, it's a little yucky in retrospect, but of course they weren't intended to be siblings yet, so it's just one of those unfortunate side effects of shifting the canon as the saga progresses. It's also clearly a moment of "the lady doth protest too much," right down to the fact that Leia looks directly to Han afterwards, without a glance at the guy she just kissed. Even Threepio is looking at Han, aware that this is really about him. Maybe she has a little of that "make 'em angry" approach to flirting too. What a pair of nerfherders.
Next time, something a little more heartfelt....
