In this great saga called Star Wars, there are many scenes that take place off camera. We know the essentials of what happened, but can only imagine the details of the situation. I just thought I would take some time to give my ideas on what happened in some of these situations and maybe stir up some fan debate.

Han And Chewie Go Cruising While Luke Battles The Death Star -- A New Hope

When George Lucas conceptualized each of the characters he created very specific roles for each of them. He designed Luke to be the idealistic hero who comes from the poorer side of society to take on a much bigger role in the galaxy. Likewise, he created Han Solo as a foil for Luke, a skeptic, stubborn, and experienced rouge. These differences are highlighted throughout the entirety of A New Hope, which is what makes Han's decision to return and fight against the Death Star all the more intriguing.

Here's what we do know about the events leading up to Han's decision. He attends the briefing and seems to be uninterested in helping out. After the briefing he has a brief encounter with Luke, where we can infer a couple of different things. One, most obviously, he does not appear to want to help with the attack, stating that it is "suicide." Second, he does not hate Luke, and considers him a worthy associate, if not a friend (more appropriately a buddy or pal). This is proven in that Han offers take Luke with him stating that he is "pretty good in a fight." Okay, so Han is not interested in helping the Alliance, but is impressed with Luke. Which is why he offers him the infamous "May the force be with you" almost as a way of wishing him good luck. Thirdly, after Luke has left, Han seems distracted, Chewie growls, and Han says "I know what I'm doing." This last statement subtly foreshadows Han's return later in the battle. You, as a viewer, can tell that there is something going on in Han's mind, that he might be rethinking his choices.

We never see the Falcon leave on screen, so we really don't know if he left before or after all of the rebel fighters. But we do know that Han leaves the base, more than likely without speaking to anyone else, and sets off separately from the rebel fighters. Now, going back to character concepts, we know that Chewbacca's role is the loyal sidekick, the main word here loyal, loyal to Han. Where Han leads, Chewie will follow without question. But we also know that Chewie has a bit of a temper and sometimes voices his opinions. So we have to wonder, was that growl back at the base, a "get back to work" kind of growl, or was it a "should we help Luke, because he's alright" kind of growl. It's tough to give a definitive answer here because Chewie has never got subtitles, so we don't know for sure. However, I don't think that either of those two options are outside of what we could reasonably expect Chewie to say.

I'm going to go forth with the assumption that Chewie is also having some misgivings about Luke and Han's decision. So, we've got now two characters both questioning their previous actions alone in the Falcon with time to kill. I'm sure that most of us have been in this situation, reconsidering a previous action or decision over a prolonged period of time. Perhaps Chewie would have again voiced his misgivings to further push Han over the edge so to speak.

I can almost visualize Han and Chewie leaving the Yavin system. Han gets up and hands the controls over to Chewie and goes to lay down or get something to eat. Chewie sits in the cockpit flying, but wondering what is happening to Luke and the others. Han lays there, hearing Luke's voice throbbing in his head, remembering his own actions, and contemplating his decisions. Until finally he has had enough and goes back up to the cockpit and tells Chewie to turn around. Chewie happily obliges and the Falcon heads back to the Death Star for their storied reappearance and saves the rebellion.

Now, I have not even taken into account Han's feelings for Leia. We know from the scene following the TIE attack in the cockpit that is at least attracted to Leia "...a princess and a guy like me." And we know that their friendship eventually evolves into love and in the EU marriage. It is very likely that Han's feelings for Leia also pushed him into returning to save her.

Thanks once again for reading. I realize that it has been near 3 months since my last blog. Lots of things have been happening on my life. In early June I graduated high school and attended Star Wars Weekends at Disney World in Florida. I worked two paid jobs at the library this summer, in addition to volunteering extensively at the planetarium where I have volunteered for the past six years. And just this last week I moved into my college dorm where I start classes on Monday. I enjoy writing this blog immensely and I hope to keep it more up to date in the future.

Next time: Chewie, The Droids, And Others "Chill" On Hoth

MTFBWY