EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Hoth Battle 2 - Oh Hobbie, Where Art Thou?

Twice during this battle, Luke calls out to "Hobbie". Neither time does he receive an answer, neither time are we shown anybody who might be Hobbie. So who the hell is he talking to? We know Luke claims to hear and see a ghost, maybe this is another apparition and further indication of his madness. There is a "Hobbie (Rouge 4)" listed in the credits, but no such pilot is shown. Is this entry in the credits an attept to cover up Luke's growing inability to distinguish fantasy from reality?

Maybe Luke is seeing into an alternate reality where he flew fighter missions with a Kilrathi wingman named Hobbes (a little something for all us Wing Commander fans :)

The Speeders are no match for the Walkers. Luke comes up with a plan on the spot, though. Use the Speeders' tow cables to trip up the Walkers. ('What the fuck, over? Not sure I heard you right, Rogue Leader'). I wouldn't have thought of that. Would you? Don't even pretend.

And Luke is the first one to try this suicidal scheme. Check out his face as Dak tells him that there's a "malfunction in fire control". Luke apparently knows that this is fairly critical as he looks seriously worried. He doesn't inform his gunner of his worries though, and you can actually see him arrive at the courageous decision to risk Dak's life. What a hero.

Dak is dead about TEN SECONDS later, wholely attributable to Luke's negligence. Is all this loss of life worth it? I mean, reinstating rule by heredity is a worthwhile cause, right? Is Luke really the hero of this story?

Luke may not be big on keeping people alive, but he's an incredible pilot. As he's turning his head around to check on the now-dead Dak, he's also flying THROUGH AN AT-AT'S LEGS. He flies through the legs blind. Damn. I mean ... damn.

Okay, Luke managed to get his gunner killed off, and now can't try his own goofy plan. So he leads Wedge (the second most amazing pilot in the Rebel fleet) down the same improbable run. Wedge once again proves able to stick close to Luke without getting killed.

And it works (good shot, Janson). It fucking works.

Gaea's tits, it worked? Must be easy, huh? Think again. Wedge and Janson did it with Luke guiding them in. We only see one more attempt, and it fails miserably. No other Walker is downed this way so we can assume that any other attempts were unsucessful. Not surprising because it looks damned difficult. By all indications Wedge should be considered Jedi material. Why doesn't Luke ever approach him about developing other Force skills? Too bad about that not-being-born-in-the-right-family thing, huh Wedge?

Only one other Walker is taken out in this battle. Guess who does it.