ST The relationship between Leia and Chewie

I would have liked them to be mourning right next to each other in the same frame. They wouldn't have to do a long cheesy hug, maybe more of an "alone together vibe" instead.

I see a wide shot of Chewie sitting, mourning, a shadow across his face. Resistance people walk by, going about their business as usual. Leia enters and slowly just sits next to Chewie. Close but not hugging. So small next to him, but both look vulnerable. Her elbows rest on her knees. Her head lowers and rests in her hands. Chewie lets out a faint murmur. SCENE. That's all you need.

I didn't understand the separation between the two when they were in the same room. Grieving people hug and seek closeness when their mutual loved one dies.

 

I don't know....I think that Leia knows Chewie enough to where she understands he has to mourn on his own time. It's his life that is changed most by Han's death, to be honest. Leia was Han's wife (I guess), but he and Chewie were family too and it has to be crushing for him. At the same time, Chewie is over 200 years old and if he has been close with other humans then he's been through this before, and if not then it's just the first of several people he very well may get close to and then lose. Of course Han was murdered and did not die of old age, but when you live from 4-600 years like Wookies do, human lifespans are something you have to deal with, just like we mourn and dread the loss of pets.

 

Leia and Chewie have no dialogue exchange or mourning embrace anywhere in the script not even after Chewie was helping out with the medical pod. In script there is a small dialogue exchange between Leia and Rey. The script can be found on scribed, not sure if I am allowed to post excerpts from it without getting in trouble here.

 

There's no issue with Leia and Chewie not hugging onscreen; it's a nitpick over a slight missed opportunity at worst.

I suspect that as well as pacing issues, the reason for no real scenes of mourning is because Han's memorial service will take place in the first act of episode 8; Luke will be present for the "funeral" scene, without having yet committed to rejoining the cause

 

Han isn't going to have a funeral in Episode VIII. His tribute and farewell was Episode VII. Episode VIII is Luke's film to make his triumphant return and teach Rey in the ways of the force.

 

Cool, I didn't realise you'd seen the script.

 

Not everything needs to be shown. I mean I found it far more bizarre that Leia wasn't in deep mourning over her entire planet family being wiped out in ANH... but YMMV

 

Seeing Chewbacca cry out in anger and shock after his long-time buddy was killed in cold blood was so pitiful... But it's thanks to Chewie who, in his enraged mode, fired that shot which injured Kylo Ren, giving Ren a huge advantage and defeating him after that last fight.

And also for detonating the bombs in the thermal oscillator that caused the eventual destruction of the Starkiller Base!


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I’ll be honest, that was one my biggest problems with the film. They just walked past each other, with Leia choosing to embrace someone else? Nope. Didn’t feel right. There should have been a little moment between them. It wouldn’t surprise me if something was filmed, but was cut for pacing. It just feels very weird that there was nothing.

 

It's common sense. They already dealt with Han's death, they're not going to retread that ground in a year and a half. Most of the audience was satisfied with how he was sent off in this film.

 

It's not retreading ground, it's a believable, economic way of bringing Luke back into the fold without him having committed to anything; basically, my theory is that the question posed at the end of TFA won't be answered there and then; whether Luke actually joins the cause will be a theme of episode 8, and a Han memorial service of sorts would be something Luke wouldn't avoid.

Could be wrong, maybe it won't happen, but it's not an unrealistic idea.

 

I do, however, suspect Luke will will have a moment of sadness for Han.

 

I honestly think Chewie walking through the frame right past Leia was just a mistake. Somehow when they were editing the scenes together that slipped through. I understand why people are saying that it's weird, because it is. He walks by her like he doesn't even know her. You'd think under any circumstances if Chewie and Leia walked within 5 feet of each other they'd at least look at each other but they didn't. ...I can't think of any way to explain it, and I certainly don't think there was some passive aggressive bad blood there about Han's death. I think it was just an editing oversight.

 

Chewie´s smile towards Rey in the cockpit before traveling to Luke looks like he is acting happy to encourage Rey, not that he really is. The initial shock might be gone but I think he will need a long time to deal with Han´s death.

 

He's rushing after Finn, who's in critical condition (and remember, Finn helped patch Chewie up after the fight on the freighter). That's abundantly clear. It was not a mistake.

 

Maybe so. My memory of the scene is that he just looks like he casually walks through the left of the frame (and we only see his torso).

 

Seen it quite a few times. And yeah. Chewie runs after the transport carrying Finn.

 

There was pizza on the Falcon, and Chewie was really really really hungry?

 

Yeah, that really threw me. From my memory of the scene, I don't think Chewie was rushing past after Finn either.

Considering Han and Leia were the two people in that movie who were closest to Han, I felt they really ought to have had some kind of interaction. Especially after the compassionate way Chewie greets Leia when her shuttle touches down earlier in the movie - it's obvious they're still really close.

 

I never had too much problem with this because- as has been mentioned- Chewie is just barely visible in the frame and he appears to be tending to Finn. (Which is understandable. Chewie always seemed like the "protective Uncle" of the troop) They could've saved it with a brief "memorial" scene for Han. But they were in such a rush to get to the finish, it ultimately became a "missed opportunity"

 

Chewie does indeed run/ walk quickly behind the transport that's carrying Finn. He's following Finn to the medical bay. He doesn't just absently walk past Leia.

This is fact.

 

No way on knowing how much baggage has accrued between Leia and Chewie since Han and Leia split up. When your best friends breaks up/divorces an ex, how often do you remain friends with the ex? The hug outside of Maz's didn't seem super affectionate, more of an obligatory thing to give Chewie an excuse to get out of their way.

 

So, Chewie is Paul, Han is John and Leia is Yoko. Makes perfect sense now.

#ConspiracyTheoriesRUs

 

It is retreading ground. Like it or not there was mourning, they showed Leia grieving, Chewie grieving briefly, and then C3P0 calls R2's return "much needed good new". This was all spaced apart from Han's death by a lightsaber duel, an areal battle, and the destruction of a planet. That was the mourning the film placed for Han, and the good news was that R2 was back and Luke is coming back. There's not going to be MORE mourning in the next movie, at most Luke will make a solemn exchange with Leia where he apologizes for failing her son, and for what happened to Han.

 

All this theorizing over something that was clearly just a dropped ball on the part of JJ and company.

There is no hidden reason why they didn't put a Chewie/Leia moment over Han's death. No Chewie having a grudge against Leia, or any other such nerdsplanation.

Just a good, old fashioned oversight. The film was great, but mistakes are made, and this was one of them.