STAR WARS

Heavenly Bodies

Just after escaping the Death Star, Leia consoles Luke:

Nothing he could have done. Kenobi had similar sentiments regarding the death of his foster parents. Hmmm... How much in the know is Leia? Hard to say.

Han needs help at the guns and enlists Luke. He jumps right in and is soon up to speed, his kill rate the same as Han's. A far cry from the bumbling no-nothing he appeared to be in the cockpit at the start of this trip. This is probably Kenobi's brainwashing at work. Luke is convinced that he can 'feel' things beyond the range of his senses. If he's bought Kenobi's line completely and truly believes this, then he'd be able to unlock many latent abilities, much in the same way a hypnotists' subject can overcome fears and perform feats they could not normally do. Maybe the Jedi employ a systematic program of self-hypnosis, maybe this is what they call 'the Force'.

Meanwhile, Tarkin apparently follows Vader's advise reluctantly:

Vader's not only ahead of the Rebels at all times, he's ahead of the Imperial high command as well. And so much for the assertion that stormtroopers are bad shots - they were obviously under ORDERS not to shoot to kill! Damn, now those are professionals! And as far as their supposedly bad armor, their facing high-powered armor-piercing rounds - no much that's gonna stop that kind of fire power.

On the way to the Rebel base, we get a palpable taste of Luke's attraction to Leia:

Luke's attraction to Leia is downplayed significantly because in the third movie he convinces her that he's her brother. He's been hot on this girl since he saw that recording she made. She's not too shy around him either, planting a kiss on him in the Death Star and a kiss before the attack run from Yavin IV.

There's also a deleted near-kiss from Empire that was just too gross given the later 'revelation' of siblinghood (this same near-kiss is actually in a trailer for Empire that's on the extras dics for the Star Wars Trilogy DVD release - holy shit. see starwarscutscenes.com). More on this in the Empire Strikes Back section.

Speaking of heavenly bodies, Yavin is the orange-red gas giant that the fourth moon (where the Rebel base is) orbits. The fourth moon is referred to as Yavin IV. Semantics, perhaps. But the mistake that we make is assuming that a 'system' is a STAR system rather than a PLANETARY system. In Empire Strikes Back, we're led to believe that great intersteller distances are being crossed. With no hyperdrive. More on this in the Empire Strikes Back section as well.

When Leia gets to the base, she's greeted by Willard, who's listed in the screenplay as commander of the Rebel forces. He gives her a hug and exclaims, "You're safe! When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst." Holy shit, a whole planet was destroyed, dude. Does he think losing the precious little princess would have been worse than losing an ENTIRE PLANET?! These Rebels really dig their royals. If this is a common attitude among the Alliance, I'm rootin' for Vader.