Star Words: Episode VI, Part 8

[matril]

Rather than showing Jabba that Luke's claims of power might be genuine, his defeat of the rancor only enrages the Hutt further. He decides on a more elaborate plan to execute him, and Han and Chewie into the bargain. The reunion of the long-separated friends is therefore under rather tense circumstances. A perfect time for some sarcastic quips.

"Together again, huh?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
"How we doing?"
"Same as always."
"That bad, huh?"

Somehow, even after they spent most of the last film apart, there's a feeling of deep and long-lasting friendship between them. You can sense the history there, how they shifted from a reluctant alliance to mutual respect. Han might still have trouble imagining Luke as a capable Jedi Knight, but the old contempt he showed during their initial interactions has long since faded away.

And this is a delightful exchange. Considering all the scrapes these two have gotten into, it really makes sense that "same as always" wouldn't be a promising answer. Then again, they've always gotten out of those scrapes, so there's hope here too.

Next time, Luke transitions to FULL JEDI MODE and I just can't get enough of it....

Comments

[krpalmer]

Mentioning Han and Luke spending "most of the last film apart" does have me thinking of the three years that originally separated the movies, when the original Marvel Star Wars comics had to get by without Han (I did manage to read some of them at the time, as young as I was; when I was given a bagged pack of three late-1970s issues, they just happened to be stories without Han in them too). There are those unfortunate thoughts about "the reunion we never got" after more than thirty years, too, as much as I keep having to remind myself "bringing this up to complain at every chance isn't healthy at all..." Of course, just as there's the chance to "use your own imagination" in imagining "smaller adventures" in between Episodes IV and V, there's the possibility of "trying to think of your own continuation once again" (or just sticking with the old Expanded Universe novels).