CT Why didn't Vader go to jabba palace if he knew Luke would eventually go there to rescue Han?

In the ESB, Vader clearly knew Boba Fett was taking Han in carbonite to Jabba's palace and after he defeated Luke, he knew that he was rescued by Chewie, Leia & Lando in the millennium falcon and they all escaped by light speed. So as Vader clearly knew they escaped and it would be obvious they was going to rescue Han as they tried to in ESB but failed, why didn't he go to jabba palace and capture them all early alongside with his storm troopers? Did he think they wasn't going to ever go Jabba's palace and rescue Han?

 

Maybe Vader waited in the system for a while. Didn't many months (less than a year I think) go by before Luke arrived?

 

you're forgetting where Jabba lives...a place surrounded by sand. Anakin hates sand

In all seriousness though it's a good question. Perhaps Vader undervalued true friendship at that time and didn't think Luke would bother going after him, maybe he thought Han didn't survive the process of the carbon freeze, or maybe Vader did wait in the system for a bit as mentioned above. Many possible theories could count for head canon unless the ROTJ novel sheds light on it.

 

Actually a good question. My theory is that at that point Vader had become sure that Luke would eventually come to him to fight him again. He knew that after Luke came to Bespin to confront him. He said as much to the Emperor, "he will come to ME". So he no longer felt the need to chase after Luke, all he had to do was wait for him. Despite Luke's "NOOOO" Vader felt that Luke believed him to be his father, and would be even more eager to turn him to the good side. Also Palpatine said he intentionally let the Rebels find out where the new DS was, it was meant as a trap. They were sure the Rebels would come to Endor, and of course that Luke would be with them.

 

IMHO Vader is just no more so eager to go after Luke in ROTJ. Vader knows he's given two options: turning his son or kill him. In TESB he probably felt sure to lure him into the Dark Side offering him power, but after the catastrophic outcome of their duel in which Luke preferred death than his father, maybe Vader begins to fear he will be rather called to kill him.
Palpatine says that he feels Vader wants still find Luke, but maybe could that be just a vague feeling of longing? Since, as matter of fact, Vader looks quite resigned and passive in ROTJ: he plans nothing; he doesn't even stop the ship when he senses Luke in it (indeed he does report to Palpatine, but it looks like he does just in line of duty); he doesn't look for the place where Luke and his friends are, also if he senses his presence on Endor. He even looks unhappy when at last Luke surrenders.
So, it seems to me that maybe Vader still wishes his son was with him somehow, but he doesn't want really to reach actively the point where Luke's fate will be decided, because he fears it. Probably he would have gone to Jabba's palace just if Palpatine had ordered him, perhaps hence Palpatine steps up to the plate and orders him to bring Luke in front of him.

 

^ Agreed.

I think Vader knew that any chance of getting Luke to join him was lost after the duel on Bespin, and their next meeting would either end with Vader dead or Luke dead. He also knows that Palpatine has taken a keen interest in Luke and is obviously going to want to meet Luke personally so Vader’s just stalling the inevitable for as long as he can.

That said, didn’t a year go by between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? That’s a pretty long time for Luke and friends to rescue Han, and for Vader to basically try to avoid Luke.

 

I'm not sure, but I remember somewhere I read 6 months (yet I don't know if it was a reliable source).
Six months would be still a lot of time, but not so much, when you think about: Luke needs surgery, probably several weeks of physical therapy for his hand and getting used to it, some time for psychological recovery to think straight, learn how to build a new lightsaber and then do it (for his very first time all alone),... Just after all that, he could begin to plan Han's rescue and the planning would take its time too. IMHO, six months would be a realistic amount of time, given the physical and psychological trauma he went through at the end of TESB, taking into account that he needs to be fully lucid and efficient to make the rescue plan to work. (It could be said Leia was through even worse in ANH and she is basically unscathed, but I'd say Leia in ANH is unrealistic by this point of view).

 

The novelization said "six of Tatooine's long months". The Legendsverse modified that slightly to 8 months using the rest of the galaxy's units.

I don't know yet what the newcanon's going with.

 

Sometimes, it seems time is a very relative concept in GFFA, but if you fly at light speed it should probably be

 

The answer is right in the film. Vader was tasked with managing the death star project, and his search for Luuuuke was put on hold.

 

According to Brian Daley's ROJ novelization, Vader had set up a blockade of Tatooine but just the two ships managed to circumvent it, but all the above sounds more realistic to me.

I'd rather think that Vader knew it would be better for his plans if Luke's friends were to die - and that the Empire or him had nothing to do with it!

There was some probability that Jabba would take care of that, so there was no pressing reason for Vader to interfere, rather the contrary.

 

I think no one could be sure where Jabba kept Han Solo.

 

Vader's feelings over Luke's coming to him along with the Emperor's plan to lure the Rebellion into a trap (and thus Luke as well) are factors to consider in this interesting question.

However, I think another clue can be found in how Luke announces himself at Jabba's palace: as a Jedi Knight.

So in line with the practices of the old Order, could Vader have seen any attempt by Luke to rescue Han as being part of Luke's trial towards becoming a true Jedi Knight? Luke had constructed his own lightsaber as is part of those trials and thus his success or failure in this endeavour to free his friend (a personal commitment) would reflect his growth and advance of power.

If Luke succeeds, he's a more powerful ally for either Vader or the Emperor. If he fails, well..problem resolved.

 

No, it's as simple as Vader being busy with other matters. One can speculate that he had agents keeping tabs on Jabba's palace, but obviously the clandestine nature of the rescue operation would hide Luke's activities from them just as well as from Jabba. And if any of the agents even managed to report back to Vader without getting blown up along with Jabba, Luke would have been long gone already.

 

Along with other things, if Vader went to Jabba's palace, how would he react? The Hutts are famous crime Lords, and considering how he reacted to Luke coming to the palace, he may try to betray Vader or something, causing needless hassle for Vader.

 

Interesting topic.

Although I don't recall Darth Vader ever being informed of what Boba Fett was going to take Han or who he'd be giving him to. I guess he could've just assumed. But usually an Imperial leader doesn't go on a mission based on an assumption. Is there some EU material that contains a conversation between Vader and Fett about this?

Personally, I'd agree it's simply cos Darth Vader was dealing with other Empire-related things during this time.

 

TESB:

"You may take Captain Solo to Jabba the Hutt after I have Skywalker."

 

How'd I miss THAT?!

I guess I gotta watch ESB again...It HAS been about 5 months afterall...

 

Besides dealing with building a Death Star, it was performance review time, and Vader was tied down filling out officer appraisal forms, and fantasizing about which high ranking personnel he might find a reason to choke to death.

 

Plus, the Emperor probably didn’t want Vader running off on an unsanctioned mission to Tatooine. No doubt he heard of Vader’s last misadventures and made sure to tighten the leash a bit.

 

Actually Vader does know Han survived the carbonite freeze. He asks Lando, "Well, did he survive?" Lando replies, "Yeah, he's alive and in perfect hibernation."

 

Good question. I would surmise that Vader was busy carrying out the Emperor's bidding and did not sense Luke there. Revealing that he was Luke's father had a deep impact upon him, sowing the seeds of conflict within him. Read Shadows of the Empire to find out what occurred between TESB and ROTJ. Vader was occupied with his rivalry with Prince Xizor, the head of the Black Sun criminal organization and a sexual predator, and Palpatine encouraged this.



If you're going by how the PT influenced the EU, then Vader refused to set foot on Tattooine simply because of his painful memories there (losing his mother to the Sand People). Capturing Leia above the planet was as close as he would dare venture. The EU also depicts Vader ordering his stormtroopers to execute Owen and Beru Lars when while they are tracking the droids. Vader's incentive was his hatred toward them for failing to save his mother. Now, in the New Canon, Vader is depicted killing Tuskens again, and he also enters into aggressive negotiations with Jabba in order to obtain his help for the Empire and for his own personal investigations. I'm unsure whether or not it is out of character for him to return to his home planet, but Vader certainly is the most consistently written among all characters in any medium (original trilogy, EU, New Canon). I think the New Canon adds a tinge of his mental instability and arrogance from AOTC, ROTS, and the 2D Clone Wars series to the Darth Vader characterization without negating his maturity. He is, after all, imperious. The real question is why this New Canon version of Vader in the comics would not know that Luke would show up at Jabba's drug den of a palace (which used to be a monastery).

 

I forgot about that. I love the scene in the epilogue to Dark Lord: Rise of D. Vader where Obi-Wan is chillin at some bar drinking water, keeping an eye on Owen, Beru, and baby Luke as they are out shopping, and then the news comes on TV, and shows footage of Vader on Kashyk, and the reporter names him as "Darth Vader."

Until then, Obi Wan thought Anakin died on Mustafar. When he sees this, he starts freaking out, thinking he brought Luke to the worst possible place to hide him.

This is when Qui-Gonn finally speaks to him for the first time and says "Vader won't step foot on Tatooine if for no other reason than the fear of reawakening Anakin."

If Vader was making regular trips to tatooine, then it's unlikely that he would not have eventually discovered Luke in some fashion.

 

^ I highly doubt it. Remember, he thought his kid(s) died with Padmé, and I sincerely doubt Luke Skywalker was making waves before he joined the Rebellion. Indeed, Vader didn’t even realize Luke existed until the Death Star run. He didn’t even sense that Leia was his daughter despite being in the same room with her on multiple occasions. After all, why would he when he’s so sure his children are dead?

Secondly, it’s safe to assume Jabba’s hut and the Tusken camps are nowhere near the Lars homestead so Luke’s still safe, and Vader can come and go without stumbling onto the boy.

 

Vader visited the Tusken camp?