CT Did the force lead Han to find Luke on Hoth?

Something I've always thought; when Han is searching for Luke on Hoth (after Luke escapes from the Wampa's cave), he appears through Obi-Wan's force-ghost. This gives me the impression that something unseen was guiding Han to Luke, and his appearance at this moment was will of the force.
And, alternatively, is it possible Obi-Wan lead Han to Luke?

 

Yup, that's what I've always thought. A nice touch from Obi-Wan who overheard the whole ANH "You don't believe in the force" conversation.

 

Yes, I definitely think that Han was led to Luke by the Force (either the will of the Force or Obi-Wan using it).

Incidentally, I started a thread for this exact same topic on the SW.com forums when I posted there years ago... while some agreed with me, many did not and stated so vehemently for many pages. They thought I was questioning Han's abilities and his devotion to his friend by even asking, and some also said that it wasn't possible because Han was not Force sensitive. Pretty ridiculous and uninformed positions, I thought.

 

I agree with Mr eht

 

Thanks.

 

Heh, yeah I see no reason to think it implies that, Han was out there searching afterall.
Could this moment be partially what Obi-Wan is referring to when he says later "I cannot interfere", later proven by Luke needing Leia's rescue? These are two quite contrasting moments.

 

Yeah, I kind of think he was implying "If you are in the middle of a physical fight against Vader, I won't be able to help you like I did when you were lying in the snow." But I've never been quite sure why he couldn't or wouldn't help Luke when he was hanging there, after the fight and in need of help. Of course he wanted Luke to learn to take responsibility for his choices, but at the risk of him dying? I guess there wasn't really anything Obi-Wan could have done to help Luke then anyway... only the people on the Falcon were close enough to get there in time anyway.

 

In my opinion, no Han was not guided by the force. I think he knew approximately where Luke had been, made an educated guess and got lucky when he spotted him. He appears through Obi-Wan's ghost because Luke was simply looking in that direction and Han came from the same direction, at least that's how I always interpreted it. It never crossed my mind that he was led there somehow by the force. Just my opinion, but if others want to believe Han is force-sensitive, fine by me.

 

IMO, someone doesn't need to be Force sensitive to be unknowingly guided by the Force to go in a certain direction. Han would call the decision to go that way a "hunch" or a "feeling", and the result of finding Luke he would call "luck". Plus, of course, whatever useful information his scanning equipment provided.

 

In my experience, there's no such thing as "luck"

 

Fair enough Wookiepox. Just to clarify though, I don't think Han had to be force-sensitive to be lead there by it. I was thinking more that the force was using him as a tool. Just my opinion

EDIT- whoops you guys beat me to it.

 

Oh sure, throw some Obi-Wan reasoning at me - not fair! Well I can't argue with a Jedi.

 

This. ^

I think that throughout the OT we are seeing a lot of what Qui-Gonn called "the will of the Force." Larger destinies are at play, and the Force penetrates all living things, binds them together. Han and Luke partake of that connection, forged by chance (if one believes in chance) in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

I think Han was a good smuggler by acting on instinct - not consciously aware of the Force, but "luckier" than most. So it is just luck that he finds Luke on Hoth... from a certain point of view.

 

Also, part of the problem is that there really isn't any way for anyone to know approximately where Luke is. We don't know how far the Wampa dragged him back to it's cave, and then when Luke escaped, he ran blindly out into a blizzard and walked in a random direction for who knows how long. I don't think its too far out of the realm of possibility for Obi-Wan or the Force to have nudged Luke and Han in the right directions so that they eventually intersected.

 

Let's not forget, Han had a scanner at his disposal too. It could have been the Force that led him to Luke, or the scanner. Or a combination of the two.

 

Yup...

 

Nope. GL did.

 

The ways of the Force are mysterious, and have never been explained completely to us Star Wars fans. What we do know though is that Hoth has a very strong force energy as the OP stated originally Obi-Wan appeared to Luke as a Force Ghost. Later in his life Luke recorded his experience on Hoth in his journal as one of the most powerful experiences he has had with the Force. It is quite possible that the Force lead Han to Luke, or Obi-Wan lead Han to Luke or in the long run it could also be both. I would say yes Obi-Wan appearing to Luke was the wil of the Force since it has a destiny for all lifeforms.

 

Something else that occurs to me in this context is that a big point is made early in TESB that there is very little life on Hoth at all. We know very little of the mechanics of the Force (and I don't think the midichlorians explained it or demystified it, just illustrated a little that the Jedi had been able to learn), but perhaps in an environment with little life the connections between living things is stronger.

Obviously, it was the plot that required Han to find Luke, but if we are subscribing to the Jedi notions of the will of the Force and a universe without coincidence, then I think we have to leave the possibility open to this being the guiding hand in this instance.

 

I don't think I can take Qui-Gon 100% literally on the universe without coincidence thing.

 

It's debatable. Obi-Wan says it in ANH as well. To assume the force is guiding everyone's destiny kind of takes some of the life out of the characters, there's no free will. Having said that, I generally like the concept. Another example I wanted to raise, is Artoo and Threepio both ending up with the Jawas in ANH. They disagree and go in the opposite direction to each other, but both, in different ways, end up on the sandcrawler. Destiny, or a metaphor, perhaps?

 

This would suggest many events in Star Wars may be guided by the deceased as well as the living.

 

You mean because Obi-Wan may have had a hand in this? Even if he did, it doesn't necessarily mean he went around interfering in too many situations. And keep in mind, he is the first Jedi to retain his identity via a Force ghost. Qui-Gon got halfway there with his non-ghost Force "voice". So there would not be too many deceased people able to influence anything via the Force. Also, if the Force is generated by all living things, even the will of the Force would only be guiding things along using the force it receives from living things, not deceased ones.

 

I suppose it's possible, but I don't know if Force ghosts can influence the minds of non-Force-sensitives.

I actually chalk it up to Han's tracking abilities and his life sign scanner.

 

Someone could always start a poll!