ST How would you rank Han's death scene?

I just wish we had Leia or some other character comment on his death. Chewie even walks past Leia and does nothing. I'm sure Luke will comment on Han during Ep 8 though.

 

I already see how this ends, Luke is evil, Snoke is apparently some evil sith lord, mostly like Plagueis, Rey is either Luke kid or someone else, we'll see an old ezra bridger, somehow Palpatine comes back and make a deal to help Rey kill Plagueis, it goes south, Rey fights and defeats Luke, Rey convinces him back to light, Palpatine and Plagueis fuse to be some super sith lord, one final battle, Luke dies, Luke tells Rey to create a new order that's not Jedi, final space battle, Rey wins, she escapes the super planet destroyer, it blows, First Order is dead, Leia has her remorse, Rey and Finn will become an inevitable item, Rey creates a new light side order, credits.

 

Han Solo's death was the culmination of his character from a selfish mercenary to a selfless person who has unconditional love for his son as well as being a lot more personal and tragic given that he was killed by his said son. The death itself also harkened back to the family drama of the previous Star Wars films. And I already brought up other reasons for not liking the books such as the writing-style shifts, the villains themselves ("pseudo-masochists with horrible character design"), and the fact that it went on too long (James Luceno did more with his Darth Plagueis novel than the authors who wrote the NJO ever did in that series), to say nothing of the fact that it started with a stupid death to begin with. At least one could say that Han Solo wasn't killed via some ridiculous reason like - oh, I don't know - having a moon dropped on him.

 

It was good but I think the fact that Ren revealed his face to Rey earlier really diminished its emotional impact. Ren is a nobody to Rey but he's Solo's son. The first time he removed his mask should have been when facing Han on the bridge. It would have made the scene that much more emotional. Removing his mask during the interrogation weakened Ren's character and made him far less mysterious when he finally confronted Han. Can you imagine if Han asked him to remove his mask and we hadn't yet seen his face. The impact would have been far more significant.

 

As much as I hate the fact that Han Solo was killed off in 7. I can see it happening. As much as Han Solo was a scoundrel, a scruffy nerf herder, and a "not nice man" He went time and time again against his own feelings to help those who he cared about. He did it for Luke, he did it for Leia, and in the end, he did it for Ben. And it cost him his life. The more I think about this. The more it seems the perfect death for Han Solo.

Here's a little bit of a walk down memory lane for everyone visiting this discussion....

 

I know this is late, but seriously, this is a major theme IN THE FILM ITSELF! It's the main underpinning of the primary villain, even! How are people still missing this?

 

A funeral of some sort would have been nice.

 

Probably happened in the time skip where Rey showered and got a change of clothes.

 

right up there with Porkins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I would think the funeral will happen in 8. It will be in typical Star Wars fashion that things will be said about him later on. If anything, I could honestly look forward to a meeting of Ben and Leia. A mother's love for her son weighted against the hatred of the man who murdered the true love of her life. As a life long fan of Star Wars I honestly could not pick if any Sith's power in the dark side could match Leia's feeling for the loss of Han Solo. Hell, that would make a amazing turning point in 8.
A fully trained Kylo Ren meets up with Leia after beating the stuffing out of Rey. Leia's feelings and anger at Han's death give her the strength to beat the **** out of Ren. It could lead to a even greater twist. Leia herself turning to the dark side over Han's death!

Dammit! I should be writing episodes 8 and 9!!!! In the end Luke and Leia end up battling it out at the same time Rey and Ren fight. Tell me that would not be epic. Just because it is Star Wars and something has to be put in that makes everyone angry. Snokes goes to Naboo and slips and falls, hitting his head and dying on the tombstone of Jar Jar Binks.

I am now prepared to accept your flames.

 

I chose epic

 

Exactly! Kylo wants to be, and thinks he is, a "badass." It's valueless BS. And to want that for Han plays right into that stereotype of the fanboy. The one that's more concerned with coolness and power than morality.

 

I am not sure from where these insights into Ren's motives and the film's themes come. Certainly, I saw nothing of the sort when I watched it, nor have I seen anyone else come to the same opinions.

 

Rey: "You're afraid that you'll never be as strong as Darth Vader."
Han: "Take off that mask. You don't need it."
Kylo to Vader: "I will finish, what you started."

He's a Vader worshipper, plain and simple. And there's a fannish "poseur-ism" to him that's quite evident.

 

I think it was rather underwhelming. His death served no real purpose (i.e. the Death Star escape in ANH) other than to remove him from the story, and it went against the grain of his character shooting first and asking questions later.

 

One of the best scenes in the entire saga.... and definitely one of the best acted scenes in the saga

 

I cried like a baby, just like I did when Yoda died and when all the Jedi were shot in the back.

 

It was very predictable and unnecessary but makes sense if Harrison Ford wanted out.

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Out of curiosity, why is the element of "surprise" being used as a measure of the scene's success? If it were surprising/ shocking, and not somewhat anticipated, I think it would have been far lesser for it. The point is not that an audience needs to be shocked by it. But that the audience needs to be moved by Han's action, while simultaneously being fearful on his behalf.

If surprise was a key element of the scene, it would lose its weight after a first viewing. Instead, each time I watch it, I'm emotionally right there with Han. Why? Because the build up works so well, the emotions are so real (perfect acting, IMO) and those emotions are heightened not by melodrama, or a blaring score, but rather, the play of light on Han and Kylo's face, and the silence. It's essentially a slow-motion tragedy. You know it's coming (by design), but you can't keep your heart out of it (and in what this means for the future of the story). Just as with re-watching the Luke-Vader moment in ESB, we don't get wrapped up in it because of the reveal. Rather, we get wrapped up in what this means for Luke emotionally, and for the story.

Twists and surprises do not good art make. This scene was much more than that, and it shows.

But Han has changed. He's still the same guy, personality-wise, but he's become more selfless and compassionate. I'll post something I said earlier in the thread.

 

Very well said

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A great decision on JJ's part (and possibly, Williams).

 

That's what they did for Sirius's death in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie.

 

So well said - you just explained to me why it is that I've seen TFA more times than I care to admit, but with each viewing the impact of that scene hits me harder. From the moment he says Ben! in that powerful dad-voice that's at once stern and loving, reprimanding and forgiving, all in one - or maybe even before then, when you see him look at his son walking across the bridge, and you can see him debate what to do in those split seconds... and you already know what's coming. Such an amazing scene, so well nuanced and so well acted and so beautifully shot. I can't gush enough about it. XD

 

I saw it coming when he yelled "Ben!". It didn't feel natural. It was surreal and I was just asking myself why there wasn't more development to the story. This Vader wannabe, stranger, who we find out twenty minutes prior in a two sentence reuniting of Leia and Han, is in fact his son who just punked a beloved character...

 

We found out Kylo was Han and Leia's son much earlier, in a scene between Snoke and Kylo. In the first act of the film, immediately after Han and the new heroes escape the gangs and rathtars on the Giant Freighter. So, there was quite a bit of time to absorb it.

And perhaps more importantly than spending more time with Kylo, we spend a lot of time with Han (and a little with Leia), and we feel the impact of their loss on their characters. It's in the weariness on their faces. The sadness. The crack in Han's voice as he tries to sternly call out to his son. It's economical, but effective.

This isn't Shakespeare, after all. It's shorthand character development punctuated by mythic imagery. And nobody does that better than Lawrence Kasdan, IMO. Aided by Abrams' excellent direction of actors, and you get one of the most iconic and emotionally powerful scenes in the saga.