CT Events between TESB and ROTJ

At the end of TESB, Lando and Chewie leave to find Han. Nevertheless, the group does not start to rescue him immediately after TESB. Luke had time to hone his skills and build his own lightsaber. Lando fought for the Rebel Alliance in the Battle of Tanaab. These questions occurred to me.

Why would Lando and Chewie try to find Han and then leave him there for a while? Presumably, the Alliance could have desperately needed their assistance, but it still seems a little weird.

Why do they need to try to find him at all? If they knew Boba Fett was trying to collect Jabba's bounty, then they would know Han was brought to Tatooine.

 

I always understood that the Battle of Tanaab was something that happened way before the OT, and that Han and Lando were together (and that Han had told the rebels about the Battle of Tanaab, thus making Lando a general).

 

Oh right, now I remember the full quote: "Someone must have told them about my little maneuvers at the Battle of Tanaab."

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

I think Lando was spying on Jabba for some time. It's likely that he was relaying messages to Chewbacca outside of Jabba's palace to relay to the others and come up with a plan.

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I think the key with Luke is that in the OT becoming a Jedi wasn't just a question of "learning magic" as it was in the PT but as much down to strength of character. Luke is a more powerful Jedi by ROTJ not just because he's had time to hone his skills but because he's clearly grown up a lot after the confrontation with Vader in ESB.

 

Anyway, it's interesting to think how much time has passed between the two movies (not counting the "official" sources"), since there can be arguments to suport different ideas. (the fact that the Empire has nearly finished a second Death Star, the fact that the characters seem quite older, the fact that Yoda has become sick, the fact that Luke has "grown up".... all indicate that there is a considerable gap between both movies, but then, the fact that Han is still in Jabba's palace seems to contradict that).

 

IIRC from the ROJ novelization (or the conclusions it enabled) we look at a period of 6 months (in contrast to the three years between ANH and ESB).

The Falcon got to Tatooine first and Lando somehow managed to get a job at Jabba's Palace (how long did that take?). They all probably learned from Lando that Han was "safe" (encased in carbonite) which bought them time to come up with a plan.

As for the second Death Star I'm pretty certain the Empire began construction rightaway after ANH (and Vader's report what caused the destruction of the first one).

 

If i'm not mistaken, the novelization of ESB says that only a few months have passed since the destruction of the Death Star.

 

The ANH novelization defines his age as "twenty" whilst he is "twenty-three" by the start of the ESB novelization, hence the three years time difference.

 

Or at least "twice the age of the ten-year old vaporator".

Though this may be rounding off - eventually ROTS was pegged as being 19 years before ANH rather than 20.

 

That might be the case, but it's been pretty well established since that the interim between SW/ANH & ESB was about three years, then roughly six months between ESB & ROTJ.

Regarding what Luke, Leia & the gang were doing - the 1996 Shadows of the Empire exercise covered it, and although it was EU, I think it's always been regarded as semi-canon (it was basically SW: Episode V & 1/2, released in every form of media with the exception of an actual film), and, to my knowledge, hasn't been retconned since.

Aside from the plots regarding crime boss Prince Xizor and Han-substitute Dash Rendar, it simply established that Luke, Leia & co spent their time carefully planning Han's rescue, while dealing with the fact that they were still Rebel fugitives. IIRC, Luke did what he could to finish his Jedi training, Leia was caught up in Alliance matters, Lando & Chewie began their infiltration of Jabba's organisation - while the threat of Darth Vader and his specific ambitions hovered in the background. They weren't sitting on their hands.

Given how powerful Jabba's crime organisation was (it was, for all intents & purposes, the equivalent of a major Mafia clan), six months to set up and begin Han's rescue was a pretty reasonable timeframe, particularly considering that he was frozen in carbonite. He wasn't being tortured or facing immediate execution.

As for the Battle of Taanab - all I can find on Wookiepedia is that it involved Lando defeating a pirate fleet in the orbit of the planet Taanab, and occurred during the GCW, no further details (so didn't crop up in the 1980s Lando Calrissian novels).
It must have occurred some time before SW/ANH, as the dialogue between Han & Lando in ROTJ would suggest - Han apparently knew about it in some detail (or, rather, Lando knew he did), but clearly they hadn't had any contact with each other between the time of SW/ANH & ESB.
As a result, Lando definitely wouldn't have been acting directly on behalf of the Alliance at the time, although a lot of those tangential 1980s OT-era stories (the Han Solo & Lando Calrissian novels, various Marvel comics, the Droids cartoon) tend to slip in Rebel-type involvement, so if the Battle of Taanab is ever covered in the EU, chances are it'll involve pre-SW/ANH Alliance activity, with Lando helping them in the role of mercenary with a heart of gold. Hell, it might crop up in a new Disney movie.

 

The newcanon announcement a couple of years ago basically retconned all EU.

And there's been a newcanon book set between TESB and ROTJ with no nods to Shadows of the Empire events - Moving Target.

 

That figures - but my point still stands, taking six months to get Han's rescue organised wasn't dragging the chain. If they found out that he was being tortured or facing execution, then sure, a better course of action might have been gathering whatever Alliance forces they could to simply storm Jabba's palace, but he wasn't. He was simply hanging on a wall, "in perfect hibernation".

 

The new ROTJ novel suggests that they could have used Alliance forces - but the reason they didn't was because they thought it was likely that Han's carbonite slab would be destroyed in the process of Storming the Castle (as well as the Alliance themselves suffering major losses at a time when every resource counts).

 

This, for sure. I never bought the "6-month" proposition, which does not seem like what we have in those two films. Although, letting Han stew in the slab for years seems off too. Seems to me like about 18 months, give or take.

 

Didn't Lando get right to work finding Han? I'd imagine it would take some time for him to assimilate into Jabba's court, but upwards of a year seems far too long.

 

For me, Shadows of the Empire. Leia kicked Xizor's groin.

 

In the novel, it's 6 Tatooine months. The EU ended up (with The Essential Atlas) making it 9 "standard months".

 

(Sorry, pushing the reply button currently does not show the message I wanted to reply to)

Iron_lord said: The new ROTJ novel suggests that they could have used Alliance forces - but the reason they didn't was because they thought it was likely that Han's carbonite slab would be destroyed in the process of Storming the Castle (as well as the Alliance themselves suffering major losses at a time when every resource counts).

This...is just another example why I most likely won't buy anything from the nuCanon, they do not seem to understand even the basic premises.

In the actual film the premise was negotiation with intimidation ("I have powerful friends"). Storming Jabba's Palace would have been just another option for later, but things turned out differently.

But assuming the Alliance had already made such plans but was afraid that Solo's carbonite slab would be damaged - why didn't they assign a commando unit to standby in case our heroes needed assistance (near the Sarlacc?).

I stick to the film and the original novelization and radio drama. If it ain't broken don't fix it. If you feel the need to fix it, make sure it doesn't get broken in the process.

 

The explanation begins with a "You ask 'why don't Luke and Leia and the Rebels just storm Jabba's place'" statement - before going on to explain why that "option" is not as good as it might seem on the surface - "They could have done it - but".


It's aimed at younger readers- the author was Tom Angleberger who also wrote the Origami Yoda series.

The ROTJ radio drama was written a lot later - and it even references the EU with "Arica" (Mara Jade in disguise)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Return_of_the_Jedi_(radio)

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Arica

And it's worth pointing out that the "original ROTJ novelization" has info that's been superseded by the PT - like Obi-Wan referring to Owen as his brother. The new novelizations are written for the modern era. Even TCW's Ahsoka is namedropped at one point (though she doesn't appear).

Maybe read reviews of it etc before dismissing the author as "not understanding even the basic premises" - I think you're a little quick to jump to conclusions based on one reference.

 

Iron_lord

Good point, but vocally jumping to conclusions often ensures that I get a reply that tells me what we are really dealing with.

Unfortunately, it now appears I'm having an even larger issue with this retelling, especially since it's aimed at younger readers.

"You ask 'why don't Luke and Leia and the Rebels just storm Jabba's place'" and the answer is "it was likely that Han's carbonite slab would be destroyed in the process of Storming the Castle"

Is that it? So it's perfectly okay to convey to young readers a "Shoot first - and ask questions later" philosophy which apparently is legitimate for the "good guys"? Now, I'm even more concerned than I was when I started the conversation.

I think the premise changes by the PT at the expense of the ROJ novelization are perfectly covered by "George Lucas Canon" - in case an item contradicts the actual films the rest still stands.

 

I'm paraphrasing slightly - and as I said - two reasons were given - risk of killing Han, and the fact that Jabba's forces will kill lots of Rebels in the process. In short, it's explaining why the brutal approach is a mistake, for both moral and practical reasons.

It tends to assume slightly bloodthirsty and unforgiving readers - the kind of kid who thinks Luke should have left Vader's body on the Death Star because "he's the bad guy" - and explains why Luke's not doing this.

Similarly, it makes a point of how Jerjerrod is not a particularly evil person - but that the Imperial system ensures that he does evil things.

https://disneynerd.wordpress.com/20...er-of-the-dark-side-spoiler-free-book-review/

 

Iron_lord

IMHO, the risk of killing Han in the process shouldn't be the only moral reason. From a legal point of view Han did owe Jabba the Hutt a substantial amount of money, never paid it back and suffered the consequences. Before planning an assault, the Alliance should have considered to compensate Jabba first and foremost, not to attack him.

I definitely do not assume bloodthirsty and unforgiving readers, but a "Shoot first - and ask questions later" ideology is the last thing young readers should be exposed to so they don't end up as such.

In contrast, the part about Jerherrod sounds good, but I can only hope that the book doesn't make him look like an innocent accomplice. The Nuremberg Excuse "I was just following orders" is not really an excuse. Everyone should assume personal responsibility for one's own actions or inactions.

 

Luke did make Jabba an offer - Jabba turned it down.

 

i heard they retconned Shadows of the Empire out, although i really don't know why they would since it doesn't conflict with anything post-ROTJ .