Star Words: Episode VI, Part 25

[matril]

Just as Han's cracked twig leads from disaster to something fortuitous, so does Chewie's Wookiee appetite. Going after a tempting bite of raw meat, he gets all of them tangled up in a trap. And this draws out the Ewoks.

But our heroes are going to have more work to win their trust than Leia did with Wicket. Han is...a trifle more abrasive. And these Ewoks are older, in leadership positions, looking to protect their tribe. Luke wisely advises passivity. He's learned his lesson after underestimating Yoda at their first meeting. These primitive teddy bears could be more than they appear.

Turns out, their best hope lies in Threepio. Much to the droid's chagrin, they have taken his golden skin and ability to speak their language to mean that he is a god. How very improper. After all,

"It's against my programming to impersonate a deity."

One of the classic quotables. All while the Ewoks kowtow and chant their praise, and Luke tries not to laugh his head off. Han is a little less amused, having put up with Threepio's prissy protocols for some time now. Any given screenshot from this scene is hilarious.

I'm also just delighted at the incongruity of the situation. Blasters against crude spears? Of course the blasters would win. But Luke tells them to willingly surrender their weapons. I don't know that he anticipated exactly what follows -- getting served up as dinner -- yet he continues to remain passive, thoughtful, until he comes up with the demonstration that will free them while also earning the Ewok's respect. If they had gone in with blasters blazing, they would have lost a chance at valuable allies. They have to go against the easy, obvious way -- go against their programming, as it were. That's where the really interesting stuff happens.

Next, one of my favorite scenes in the entire saga....

Comments

[matril]

We're all aware by now that in the SW universe, droids tend to serve the role of lowest caste/comic relief that would have been played by servants or slaves in traditional stories. (Kurosawa films are the obvious example, but it shows up a lot in Shakespeare and mythological tales as well.) And since we're all about egalitarianism in modern America, even this metaphorical caste system gets us all indignant, and we start to rage about droid's rights and whatnot. It's a perfectly fine hypothetical to explore and debate, but yeah, it often goes overboard into sucking all the joy out of a story that's, you know, just a story (and probably not stealth propaganda in favor of an oppressive caste system).