CT In universe explanations only -- why the heck didn't Ben tell Luke that Leia was his sister?

In ANH, I do think there is some sense to why Ben keeps it a secret that Vader is Luke's father. When Ben tells Luke that Vader killed his father, it seems pretty clear that Luke has no idea who Vader is or what horrible things Vader has done or even what the Force is. In regards to his father, Luke even says: "I wish I knew him..." Since Luke has no firm idea whether Vader is good, evil, or somewhere in between, Luke may have been tempted to connect with Vader on his own and maybe even ditch Obi-Wan altogether, and that probably would have led to some pretty bad things. So, Ben's reluctance to tell Luke the truth about his father's identity makes some sense.

However, I'm pretty sure the same can't be said about why Ben doesn't tell Luke that his sister is Leia. As Leia's message plays, Luke stares at her obviously enamored. Ben even tries to convince Luke to come with him on his mission to Aldreraan, specifically emphasizing that they would be helping "her" (Leia) in the process, so telling him that he'd be helping his sister would certainly be helpful in convincing Luke to come along. Then, of course, there's the more obvious reason why Luke should know. Luke has the hormones of a 19-year-old, Leia is attractive, and putting 2 and 2 together, you'd have to assume Luke might be interested in hooking up with that cutie in the hologram.

So, is there any in-universe explanation that could explain why Ben doesn't tell Luke that Leia is his sister? Help me fellow posters. You're my only hope!

 

As Ben would be the only one that would know that Luke was getting all hormonal and eager over a video of his sister, we can only assume that he wanted to see the incest lustings that would follow!

Or GL hadn't padded out a story arc for the three films to follow?

Either/Or really!

 

My only guess (taking the PT into account). Luke would have felt an immediate feeling off attachment to her. But wanting Luke to become a Jedi, Ben probably didn't want him to become too attached. After all, her position in the rebellion puts her in a constant position of danger.

So yeah, I'd say that it's an unnecessary precaution of guarding Luke from the temptations of the Dark Side. Honestly, in universe, there isn't really much logic to it.

 

Ben was hedging his bets that if Luke knew that Leia was his sister then Vader and Palpatine could know so he kept her "safely anonymous". (And he was right, after Luke knows Leia is his sister Vader finds out eventually by reading his mind.) Vader only know that Padme had a baby, not babies. Sending Luke vs. Vader would eventually reveal the family connection but Leia would still be an unknown "there is another" potential fail-safe.

Fate of the galaxy is at stake, you gotta be really, really vague.

 

This is the reason. Luke wasn't at a point in his training where he could completely shield his mind from being read by the likes of Vader and the Emperor, especially when it came to the kinds of strong feelings engendered by a newly discovered sibling relationship.

Obi-Wan and Yoda must have thought Luke was ready by the time RotJ rolled around, which is why they finally told him. But Luke ended up letting it slip anyway. So you can see they really were quite smart to keep it from him.

 

Given Luke & Leia's respective social standings, there still wasn't really any reason for Obi-Wan to let Luke know, and every reason to keep the secret intact.

The likelihood of Senator/Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan bumping uglies with Lou, sorry, 'Luke' Nobody from a minor system in the Outer Rim Territory of A Million Light Years From Nowhere probably wasn't particularly high on Obi-Wan's totem pole of concerns and potential outcomes with a Death Star to worry about.

Had they all survived, and had Luke & Leia began showing growing affection for each other, then maybe Uncle Ben might have had a few words.

And had SW been made by HBO, it might have been a few encouraging words about keeping the bloodline pure.

 

Ben Kenobi: "Hey Luke, i see that you got exited when seeing that beautifull young woman in the hologramm."

Luke Starkiller: "Yes Ben, She is so cute and sexy! I want to meet her and rescue her!"

Ben Knobidobi: "Sure you want you lil perv. But wait, she is your sister!"

Luke Socialmediastar: "Err...what? Nooooooooooooooo!!!!"

Ben Nobiknobi: "TROLLFACE"

----
Hours later, after some tequilas.
----


Ben: "Hey, You still want to bang your sister?"

Luke: "hELL NAW!!!!! I prefer C3POs golden buttcheeks instead!"

3PO looks concerned... "Master Luke?!"

 

Wouldn't it have been smarter to let Luke and Leia know and then train them to take on Vader together?

 

The last two eggs in the same basket?

 

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I blame the writer. I mean, did he even bother to watch the third one!?

 

On a galactic scale, what we think of as coincidence is more probable.

 

I think it has all kinds of logic to it. Obi-Wan spoke of not properly training Anakin, of being a failure as a teacher. What mistakes could he have been referring to, except the mistakes of allowing Anakin to get attached to Padme, then not realizing his apprentice cared more about his wife than the galaxy? He knows how he messed up, and he doesn't want to have to cut down his own student like he did last time.

 

I agree that Obi may have wanted to avoid this type of attachment, but Obi sees Luke staring at her enamored, recognizing this he even emphasizes that they'd be helping "Her" (perhaps even directly be rescuing her), and since they are planning to meet up with Leia's father on Alderaan, it seems like Luke is likely to meet up with Leia in the future and hope to form another type of attachment, the kind of attachment Anakin had with Padme. More important, it seems Luke is already attached to her in a sort of infatuation sense, so to me it seems like Obi is only trading off one type of attachment for another.

 

My theory is that it really was for their own good that they not know. Telling Luke would increase the chances of Vader finding out. After all, Vader ultimately found out about it by reading Luke's mind and emotions on the 2nd Death Star. Chances are, if Luke knew, then Vader would have made the discovery on Cloud City.

It was "need to know" information and in E4, Luke certainly didn't need to know.

 

The answer to this was shown in ROTJ. If Vader and the Emperor found out about Leia, than she would be used as a tool to get Luke to turn, just as we saw in ROTJ.
Also, if Vader or the Emperor were to find out about Leia, than Luke would not have been as important to them and actually a little more expendable if he re-buffed their attempts to turn him (Luke).

 

And the funny thing is, the whole audience fully accepted how Leia gave her brother a tongue kiss.

No one said: "Hey WTF?! thats perversion!" when Luke and Leia talk about them beeing siblings in Episode 6.

rofl

 

People still accept Angelina Jolie after she did that with her brother.

 

I don't think the audience "fully accepted it". The uncomfortable groans from the movie theater while watching the re-releases in 1997 certainly seemed to show that people think it's a little….unsettling. But seriously? Considering what was cut out of ESB, and the strong attraction Luke definitely had for her, I think we got off easy with just that kiss. It could've been a lot worse. Thank god, Han stuck around. I'll say that.

And yeah, I think the truth of Leia's identity was such a delicate secret that they weren't going to just spit it out because Luke looked a little love-struck while gazing at the hologram. . Like someone mentioned, that chances of Leia reciprocating his feelings in the first place were pretty remote anyway. Those two are their "last hopes". So no need to jeopardize that by letting the cat out of the bag too soon.

 

Force Ghost Qui-Gonn: "Why don't you tell Luke he has a sister?"
Old Ben: "Because my way will be much funnier!"

 

Well, Ben said in ROTJ that he didn't tell him because it was safer if nobody knew. He thought if Luke knew the truth, Vader or Palpatine might end up finding out. And he got proved right! Once Luke knew the truth, Vader was able to sense it.

Obi-Wan: ". . . which is why your sister remains safely anonymous."
Luke: "Liea! Liea is my sister."
Obi-Wan: "NO, I SAID SAFELY ANONYMOUS!"

Plus, Obi-Wan knew that Luke had no game. Whiney farm-boy hook up with a princess? Long-shot.

 

Because Luke's next question would be "why nobody told me and why am I not living with my sister?"
The answer would lead to other questions and Vader's name would've came out eventually.
Anyway, they weren't suppose to rescue Leia, they were just meant to go to Alderaan to deliver the droids.

 

Okay, at first I thought this explanation was a pretty good one -- Obi-Wan didn't tell Luke because Vader would read his mind and place Leia in jeopardy. However, now, that leaves me asking more questions.

If Obi-Wan was afraid of that, then why did he tell Luke that Leia was his sister in ROTJ? He knows that Luke was going straight to face Vader and Palpatine. Why didn't he wait until after Luke had faced Vader in ROTJ?

It's also clear that Obi-Wan knows that Luke's knowledge of his sister can be used against Luke (presumably to turn him to the dark side). So again, why does he tell Luke about Leia then?

 

He tells Luke that Luke is the last hope - Luke replies that Yoda spoke of another Skywalker (upon which, Ben clarifies) - and after the line "That is why your sister remains safely anonymous" Luke's "insight" tells him who it is - Ben only confirms it.

So a case can be made that Yoda, not Ben, first started Luke asking questions.

 

Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that, but wouldn't Ben and Yoda be on the same page about something that basic? What would Yoda's motivation be for revealing something that could place Luke in greater jeopardy?

(Or maybe senility just got the better of Yoda just before he died!)