Hello all...Have always wondered just how Jabba knew that Leia was going to help Han escape. Since Jabba and his is henchman were all lurking and waiting behind the curtain, and one of em was even holding 3PO's mouth to keep him quiet, how did they know what was up? Sorry if this has been discussed before. Thanks
Never thought about it all that deeply, but I always just took it as Jabba tipped off Jabba. Perhaps to further emphasize he wasn't just a big, dumb slug. He obviously couldn't be Jedi Mind tricked. Maybe there's more to it that I never bothered to explore.
I suspect Jabba was generally suspicious about all these new people suddenly arriving at his palace, some of whom had incredibly valuable prisoners who just happened to be close friends of Han Solo. That said, I don't think Leia getting captured was part of Luke's plan. He probably wanted her to stay disguised, like Lando, until he could arrive and defrost Han himself. But Leia's a Skywalker and she's too hot-blooded to sit by and watch her friends suffer, even if it means putting herself in peril. Luke did the same thing in ESB, after all.
I never saw the parallel between Leia in Jedi and Luke in Empire before - that's a great point! Still I think Leia thawing out Han and being captured was all part of the plan. This successfully freed Han and gave him more time to recover from the Carbonite than if they waited for Luke. It also placed Leia right next to Jabba. Through the Force Luke could see how the future would play out so what appeared to be a convoluted rescue that relied on luck or a series of failed attempts to infiltrate Jabba's court was exactly what Luke anticipated would happen. Great question about how Jabba was tipped off. I agree with Jester J Binks - it was Jabba's cunning and ability to smell a trap.
Good point..I have also thought along those same lines that Jabba became a tad bit suspicious when Leia showed up with Chewie so soon after R2 delivered Luke's message requesting the trade deal for Han..I'm sure spies were watching her while she stayed the night in his palace..Jabba probably anticipated her actions and prentended to be passed out just waiting to see her next move...I also agree that the plan was probably for Leia to get inside the palace and wait for Luke's next move, but Leia saw an oppertunity to save Han and went for it.
How much of it was Leia's own initiative and how much was following Luke's plan? Leia had to do more than just get inside the palace. She needed to be with Jabba during the battle on the sail barge. It's Leia who not only kills Jabba but also puts the frightened passengers on the sail barge into complete chaos by knocking out the lights and closing the window blinds.
Though wouldn't Boushh (the original bounty hunter, no Leia impersonating him) have been known to Jabba? I always just though that Jabba could have awoken from when Leia hit the chimes as she enters the chamber and it was a couple minutes from that point when Han was freed. A bit of noise was made in Leia's attempts to help Han escape. I guess I just thought Jabba, as someone of importance, would have always had a bit of a crew around him- especially as he had so many characters coming and going it would have been hard to tell who to trust.
I think it was a mix combination: -> Leia is a Skywalker. Like father like daughter. She's not going to sit patiently and wait it out when the opportunity to save Han is right there. -> Jabba is a smart slug. He probably suspected something was up with all these new people suddenly arriving, especially when Boussh!Leia showed up with Chewie. Surely he would've remembered asking the real Boussh to go after Chewie. Jabba also would've known that Chewie was close to Han. When R2 plays the message of Luke, all Jabba had to do was conclude that there must've been some secret plot hatching to nab Solo. So he and his men hid behind the curtains, C-3PO incapacitated via hand-to-mouth and waited.
One thing that always tipped me off - Boussh vs Chewie. I'm not quite sure how big the real Boussh was, but Leia as him was so frigging tiny! Like, half Chewie's size! I had a hard time believing this bounty hunter was able to subdue Chewie. Realistically, he could've broken Boussh in half. also factor in the WAY Chewie was apprehended - a collar and chain around the neck. no cuffs or anything. Chewie had free use of his hands, arms, and legs. gain, he should have been able to destroy Boussh. It gave the very distinct impression Chewie walked in of his own volition. It looked more like she was taking her Wookie for a walk rather than bringing in a prisoner who doesn't want to be captured. If I were Jabba, I would've been suspicious right there.
Fett was there as well - could have been him. He and Jabba might have waited to see what went down before doing anything.
I got the impression that the leash was supposed to be a shock collar. Not even a Wookiee is going on a rampage when he's got high power tasers lighting up his nerve endings.
In the newcanon junior novelization of ROTJ, it was Boba Fett who had told Jabba that "Boussh" definitely wasn't the real one (It had also mentioned that Jabba & company had been waiting for about an hour behind that curtain, to spring the trap.) Beware the Power of the Dark Side: Chapter 12: In Which Leia Is Enslaved "Jabba!" cries Han as he is pulled backward, any hopes of swagger now abandoned. "I'll pay you triple! You're throwing away a fortune here!" But Jabba knows exactly what Han is worth. The princess, however, is an unexpected bonus! * "Co slayats my!" he commands. "Bring her to me!" * Tipped off by Boba Fett, Jabba had known it wasn't really Boushh under the helmet. But he had guessed that the imposter was just another lowlife smuggler. A short lowlife smuggler. But to his hideous delight it turned out to be a beautiful woman - just a human, but beautiful nonetheless.
I had always thought it was Boba since learning that Boushh was an actual bounty hunter who had lived and died and his suit was co-opted by Leia. It would make sense for Boba to know these kinds of things about his rivals.
Jabba's guards were incompetent and easily controlled by Luke, Jabba's other court attendees were a lot more devious and intelligent. The arrival of any new guest is reason enough to be suspicious. A potential new rival for them and taking away Jabba's attention. Best to keep a watch out.
That scenerio has also crossed my mind. I'm sure Leia, Luke and the gang hoped they could pull off the impersonation of Boushh before the word got out of his demise, but Fett (or someone else) figured it out after the plan was already in play.
Gotta say this about Jabba he had bad security the place was full of infiltrators. Lando, Leia and even R-2D2 got by security with a concealed weapon. Wouldn't be surprised if one of the Emperor's own finest & fittest was in the audience with a miniature camera scoping out the place
I think Luke probably knew that by sending Leia in disguise to the palace she would play an important role later. However, like all force premonitions, he didn't know exactly how. I say this because I doubt that Luke would have been okay with his sister being Jabba's slave. Then again, Luke was always kinda weird about that sort of thing.
Lucas said that Luke had intended to get Jabba out into the open and had anticipated that the early efforts to free Han would fail, but that Luke may or may not have known about the Rancor.
I think Plan A was to simply for Leia to free Han and walk out of there. Lando would help rescue Chewie and the droids, and that would be that. Plan B was loosely what transpired. Luke knew of Jabba's frequent trips to the Sarlacc pit, so he expected that's where they would all be taken if things went awry. That's why he concealed his lightsaber in R2-D2, thinking he wouldn't need it in Jabba's palace. However, Luke wasn't counting on being dumped into the rancor pit first.
The plan to rescue Han has never once made any sense, honestly. The way things went in the end seems to indicate that Luke had planned for everything, no matter how implausible or OOC - yet somehow he didn't know about the rancor, which Jabba wasn't exactly keeping secret?
Way I see it, Luke wanted Jabba to hand Han back peacefully. He wanted to avoid conflict at all costs. When Jabba sentenced them all to die he went along with it. He used lethal force because Jabba gave him no choice.
Jabba is personally aware of exactly how 'rescue' plans involving Skywalkers tend to go, so he probably suspected something the moment some random bounty hunter managed to bring in Chewbacca without any limbs missing.
