Tricks and Traps in the Galaxy Far, Far Away...

One of the things that defines SW is its sense of stealth, deception, planning and plotting. Various characters employ specific tricks -- from the classic "Jedi mind trick" -- to the laying down of traps and leading others astray. I'd like to use this thread to list and discuss as many as we can find.

Here are some of my favourites:

Obi-Wan The Drunk

ANAKIN: Where are you going, Master?
OBI-WAN: For a drink!

This little sub-plot seems to be where Obi-Wan Kenobi has gotten his reputation as a drunk from! It's a wonderful little trap that Obi-Wan lays down for Zam as he tricks her into thinking he's a helpless target. And, of course, we get the surprising retort from Obi-Wan to his padawan's question.

Vader The Father

By torturing Han and Leia and making them endure pain and suffering, Vader deliberately induces Force visions in Luke and coaxes him to Cloud City. This is a great parallel, and hardly now unintended, to the second installment of the other trilogy, wherein Vader / Anakin himself experiences visions of his mother suffering. And very fitting for a Sith to pervert the Force in this way.

Palpatine The Fool

Seeking a swift end to the Rebellion, Palpatine dangles a carrot and draws the forces of the Alliance directly to him, where he plans to "crush the Rebellion in one swift stroke". Like Tarkin, Palpatine is doomed by the arrogance bound up in his audacious gambit, himself falling into -- or rather, being thrown into -- the belly of the very trap he set. The trickster becomes the tricked, the betrayer the betrayed.

Jedi Dogs

Like attack dogs following a scented trail that Palpatine has laid down, the Jedi themselves fall into a brilliant trap initiated by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Their actions call to mind Obi-Wan's later line, perhaps now reflecting on what happened to his beloved Order: "Who's the more foolish? The fool? Or the fool that follows him?" The Clone War is a complex moral trap cultivated and controlled by one being to subvert an entire galactic order.

 

?Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it.?

When Obi-Wan presents Luke with his father?s lightsaber, the above dialogue adds one very important aspect to the whole certain point of view spiel. In essence, Obi-Wan is playing the role of the recruiter, thus subverting the truth of Anakin?s fall behind a veil of generalized heroics meant to elicit in Luke an urge to live up to a familial legacy built around the idea of the war hero. Given the ghost Obi-Wan of RotJ responding to Luke?s refusal to kill Vader by claiming that ?then the Emperor has already won,? the lightsaber handoff scene in ANH exudes a certain degree of ? dare I say it unnerving subtext ? in that Obi-Wan is fabricating a story for the purpose of pushing Luke to accept a weapon he?ll wield to kill a specific someone. Of course, this could be pushing things a bit, and it does make sense why Obi-Wan wouldn?t want to overwhelm Luke with the whole truth and nothing but the truth during their first real meeting. Yet given Luke?s essential act in RotJ of throwing down his saber, it?s hard not to read the IV-VI Obi-Wan as not fully comprehending why Luke should aspire to become a Jedi. Thus the initial trickery/bending of the truth, as Obi-Wan wasn?t merely unsure of Luke, but also the Jedi concept itself.

 

I'd like to discuss the betrayal by Lando of Han and co. He set up his friend(s) through probably the worst trick/trap of the entire saga. And with the consequences of that being as severe as they were, I guess it reflects the saying "it hurts the most when you are betrayed by those closest to you". That is true in Star Wars on an emotional level. We see that Obi Wan is devastated by Anakins betrayal emotionally. But these kind of betrayals also result in the worst consequences - they physical hurt and cause damage. After Lando tricks Han, his friend is frozen in carbonite and sent off to Jabba's Palace. Due to this trap, Luke almost fall prey to the dark side, is physically mutilated and learns a terrible truth which he wasnt ready for.

I guess this also showed however that if you treat your friends badly and "trick" or "betray" them then you will suffer the consequences too (something you and I have discussed in the "good choice of words thread" Cryo. Lando of course lost everything (Bespin) and got a well deserved smack in the face. Vader, in betraying Obi Wan and the Jedi, lost everything too. When Sidious betrayed Vader in ROTJ, he ended up losing his life....

 

Yoda's tricking of Luke when he first meets him on Dagobah. Yoda's feigned stupidity shows the parallels between Luke and Anakin: both are impatient, both were treated like crap by Yoda the first time they met him, both were vulnerable to visions of loved ones in pain, but the one shining difference is one is a Sith Lord and the other is a Jedi.

 

Ah yes that is a splendid parallel! Anakin abandoning his duty as a jedi to rush to save his mother. It turns out with him lashing in anger and seeking revenge for her death. Luke sensing Han and Leia and abandoning his training which leads to him lashing out at Vader seeking revenge for the death of ben and the pain of his friends.

 

You gotta love Amidala's use of decoys in episode's 1 & 2. Plus those cute lil' Ewoks sure know how to pack a punch behind their traps during the Battle of Endor