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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

CT Leia and Han in "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK"

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by DRush76, Dec 29, 2012.

  1. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2008
    I realize that Leia and Han got on each other's nerves in "A NEW HOPE". I also realize that Han had expressed to Luke, his minor attraction toward her. And he briefly flirted with her at the medal ceremony, at the end of the movie.

    But when did Leia and Han started harboring serious feelings for each other before "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK"? When Han returned to the base after being on patrol, he and Leia literally exchanged soulful looks before they engaged in one of their arguments. What brought about that exchange of looks at the beginning of Episode V?
     
  2. CT-867-5309

    CT-867-5309 Chosen One star 7

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    Jan 5, 2011
    They've presumably spent a lot of time together in between ANH and ESB. Dangerous, adventurous time at that.

    There's not much more to say without citing the EU, which isn't done in the movie forums.
     
  3. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2009
    They'd been fighting for the Rebellion together for about three years, they'd gotten to know each other as well as anyone could - and there was always that magic spark between them that Han was happy to acknowledge, and Leia would rather didn't exist.

    BANG!

    Classic movie romance. Gone With the Wind in outer space, as GL himself put it back in 1975. Much as she loved good boy Luke, Leia couldn't resist the bad boy charms of that space pirate with his rugged good looks & smart mouth, despite it being completely contrary to her better judgement. It's called sexual chemistry, and both Han & Leia were slaves to its irresistible power.


    Let's drop the rude, okay? -Darth Boba
     
  4. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 29, 2000
    You can cite EU all you want. It's not an end-all-be-all however.
     
    Julius Vernon likes this.
  5. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Mar 4, 2011
    The Han/Leia romance worked well for me but wow, that's rude. There are some fans who didn't buy the romance, and "it's classic" isn't exactly a be-all end-all selling argument. I've known people who were royally pissed in 1983 because Lucas ended the love triangle for good by making Luke and Leia twins; they were Luke/Leia shippers and didn't like Han at all.

    In answer to the thread topic--what CT said. They were together off-screen for 2-3 years between films, there was time for that relationship to build to what it became in ESB.
     
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  6. ezekiel22x

    ezekiel22x Chosen One star 5

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    Aug 9, 2002
    Plot demanded it. A shame, really, since Leia was more interesting to me in ANH. She seems off in ESB right off the bat, when she stands silent while two men discuss the specifics of her travel arrangements. I get the feeling the ANH Leia would've told Han to buzz off, and that she can get to her own ship, thank you.
     
  7. krtmd

    krtmd Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 5, 2012
    To each his own, I suppose. I vastly prefer the Leia of TESB. Star Wars needed a little romance, and the pre-teen girl I was in 1980 responded with a vengeance to the Han and Leia relationship. I also liked the fact that it was made clear, at least to me, that Leia chose Han before she knew Luke was her brother.

    I agree with the other posters who said that those 3 years between ANH and TESB certainly imply that there's been a relationship developing between the two of them that we don't see onscreen. Much like the adult me now wonders what the two of them were up to on the Falcon on that voyage to Bespin without a hyperdrive. [face_mischief]
     
  8. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008

    But what incident led them to that period early in ESB, when they began harboring serious feelings for one another? Did it happen in a book set between the two movies? What? Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the Han/Leia relationship very much. But I have always wondered how they jumped from Han's mild flirtation to him exchanging soulful looks with Leia? Sometimes, I get the feeling that story wise, this aspect of their romance seemed a bit cheated. The explanation that their adventures together during those 2-3 years between ANH and ESB seem rather vague to me. Now, if the start of their serious feelings for one another happened in some novel or comic tale set between the two movies, I can buy that.
     
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  9. Trask Ulgo

    Trask Ulgo Jedi Padawan star 3

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    Dec 8, 2012
    I think that ANH shows that if Han and Leia spend more time together their love for each other will grow. Needless to say, in three years they must have went on a few missions together. I do agree that I wish more was detailed during this time period.
     
  10. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008

    I didn't really get that impression when I first saw ANH. I thought Leia and Luke would end up in a romance together. So, I was surprised when I saw ESB.
     
  11. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Marvel has a lot of them working together. And there's a much later comic strip in which Leia & Han crash-land on Hoth, are forced to snuggle together to share warmth to survive, and spend a lot of time talking (mostly about Chewie- but they are on the brink of kissing when the rescuers arrive):

    http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/A_Valentine_Story
     
  12. LandoThe CapeCalrissian

    LandoThe CapeCalrissian Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Dec 30, 2012
    Lets be honest, Han and Leia always had a desire for each other...

    Opposites attract and all women love a bad boy, she wanted him instantly because he was everything she wasn't but would never let him know it...

    Leia and Luke were connected by their link to the force. Han and Leia just were into one and other.
     
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  13. sea horse

    sea horse Jedi Youngling

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    Dec 30, 2012
    Did Leia actually use the force? apart from when she turned round the MF to get Luke?
     
  14. LandoThe CapeCalrissian

    LandoThe CapeCalrissian Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Dec 30, 2012
    Well she always had the latent ability to do so... She might've had the force guiding her and helping her, all the while unbeknownst to her for her entire life.
     
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  15. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Mar 4, 2011
    Stereotypes FTL. [face_plain]

    That must be why "good guys" never get married or have kids...oh, wait...
     
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  16. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008

    I never got that opinion in ANH. I noticed that Han seemed mildly attracted to her. But that's it.
     
  17. sea horse

    sea horse Jedi Youngling

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    Dec 30, 2012
    We should of seen more of her using the force. Maybe we will in 2015? maybe....
     
  18. LandoThe CapeCalrissian

    LandoThe CapeCalrissian Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Dec 30, 2012
    I feel as if she was one of the major reasons he came back in the final Death Star scene.
     
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  19. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

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    Nov 12, 2012
    I see it as the only reason Han came back basically just outta guilt for bailing on Luke. I think in ANH Han is basically just annoyed with the Princess considering he's almost gotten killed about a dozen times before he's even seen her face. "I try not to kid. Still, she's got a lot of spirit. You think a Princess and a guy like me?" is the extent of thought he puts into it. He's more about the moollah. And he gets in a flirty-wink with her at the medal ceremony because, hey, she's cute and he just saved the friggin rebellion. By ESB, it's implied that Han and Leia been running quite a lot of adventures together, as the "the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell" line implies.
     
  20. DRush76

    DRush76 Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 25, 2008

    Yes, but was there a comic story or an EU novel that first established when Leia and Han began to regard each other, seriously? What led to that exchange of soulful looks between them in the first 15 minutes of "TESB"?
     
  21. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

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    Nov 12, 2012
    Eh, I read the Star Wars Classic reprints over a decade ago so I can't quite remember but I'm sure they had some romantic Han / Leia tension in there.
     
  22. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Apr 26, 2009
    I don't think there was (other than trivial flirting & banter), nor did there need to be. The impression I get from their interaction in ESB is that whatever chemistry & tension existed between them hit a sort of critical mass around the time the Rebels set up base on Hoth, then Han's decision to leave & pay off Jabba forced the issue, setting off the some old-school romantic bickering.

    Point being - there wasn't any idyllic hookup in between SW/ANH & ESB, Han & Leia's attraction towards each other was just something brewing under the surface the whole time. The serious romance only really began in ESB, so we pretty much saw everything we needed to.

    The deleted scene between Leia & Luke in the med bay transforms the situation somewhat into a love triangle - its excision almost completely eliminated this aspect, although there is still that look Han gives to Luke prior to the battle. Leia kissing Luke after saying "Well I guess you don't understand everything about women" now comes across as solely being done to irritate Han.
     
  23. Darthbane2007

    Darthbane2007 Jedi Master star 4

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    Oct 31, 2007
    Oh come on, we all knew Leia had the hots for her brother...
     
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  24. runacmoc

    runacmoc Jedi Youngling

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    Nov 7, 2012
    Can anyone help me out in finding the video of the extended/alternate shot of the kiss in ESB? I have tried finding it to no avail...
     
  25. J_Girl

    J_Girl Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2001
    That is what spawns volumes of fanfiction. Three years of a love/hate thing and adventures where they rely on each other to help get out of life and death situations will brew than tension until they either kill each other or kiss each other. In ESB, we got a little of both. ;) That soulful look you refer to is because she overhears he is leaving to go face Jabba which means he is probably gone for good at the very least and facing death at the worst. Add the the reference of Ord Mantell, and you have Leia being forced for the first time to face the fact she loves more than hates this scoundrel. This is where their relationship ramps up to something more than the occasional soulful look and flirty wink.

    The video you are looking for is contained in the Blu-Ray Edition extended scenes. I don't know where you can find it on the internet, though, if that is what you are asking.