History Fridge / ReturnOfTheJedi

* A frequent point of ire among fans is that ''all'' the Imperial officers, including Admiral Piett, have the exact same rank insignia (that of commander). Interestingly, this has not been addressed by Lucasfilms as a goof, meaning there would be a reason for this. Now, the Death Star II is being constructed in total secrecy, so the chance of leaks must be minimal. In real-life militaries, officers often remove their insignia when going into dangerous areas to not identify themselves as high-profile targets. By giving all high-ranking officers the same insignia, any spies or snipers would have to memorize what Jerjerrod, Piett, or any other significant personnel look like and thus not just go by their rank insignia.

** ''Trial of Insight:''' Testing a Jedi's mind. Luke realized that Anakin was still in there, and that he could be redeemed. Not to mention immediately realizing that Leia is his sister.

** Endor also has very large and dangerous predators (this isn't even EU, the Ewok films made after [=RotJ=] confirm it), which the Ewoks learned to defend themselves against. The same traps that keep an Ewok village safe from a marauding giant wolf lizard thing do a dandy job of smashing up chicken walkers.

** As another example of FridgeHorror by way of ShareTheMalePain, the theory also makes Vader an example of EunuchsAreEvil. By the way, if you're wondering how a eunuch could also be a BassoProfundo, Vader actually used an artificial voicebox, since his throat had been burned too. Moreover, even if he hadn't needed his vocal cords replaced, he'd already gone through puberty by that point, so losing his balls wouldn't have changed his voice from Hayden Christensen back to Jake Lloyd.

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!! Fridge Logic
* This film created a problem of ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale that the new canon exacerbated by having the Empire effectively fall within a year of Palpatine’s death. It is stated that the Rebel Fleets we see at Endor, Hoth and [[Film/RogueOne Scarif]] are at least the majority of the rebellion’s combat force. This means that the Rebel Alliance is under 100,000 strong in a galaxy of trillions at least, despite this film showing us that, apart from some parts of the military, everyone hated the Empire and celebrated its destruction. The rebellion we see could in no way challenge the Empire that outnumbered them by at least a magnitude of a thousand, if not far more. Now some say that’s the point; everyone was terrified of the Empire whom fighting seemed like suicide and would punish your friends and family for your treachery, but once Palpatine’s gone thanks to TheChosenOne, the common people sensed the Empire was vulnerable and freed themselves. [[UngratefulTownsfolk The Galaxy’s common people being easily cowed]] would explain how the First Order was able to conquer the galaxy in a year despite devastating losses and only starting out a few million strong. But even setting aside the UnfortunateImplications that the people can’t free themselves without one great man killing another; if people are that afraid of the Empire’s military, Palpatine’s death shouldn’t have made much of a difference. Now, yes, the Empire broke up into warring factions, but each one of those factions would still be far too large for the rebellion to challenge. There’s still Stormtroopers on your homeworld and Star Destroyers in your sector, and a hundred levels of bureaucracy remaining that will shoot you if you try anything. The Rebellion’s efforts to free the galaxy at their current size were realistically doomed to fail without Operation Cinder, but A. [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker Episode 9]] makes that ambiguously canon, B. Operation Cinder didn’t seem to do nearly enough damage to the Empire to give the rebellion a shot before the rebels shut it down, and C. that effectively nullifies most of the heroes work; they didn’t destroy the Empire, they accidentally activated a self-destruct build by an impossibly spiteful man and carried out by his insane subordinates.
* While it would hardly be the first time this franchise has blatantly ignored basic physics, many fans have pointed out the idea that the Sarlacc could digest someone for thousands of years is laughable. Now, [[AllThereInTheManual Legends states that]] the Sarlacc injects its victims with nutrients and slows their metabolism, somewhat explaining away dehydration, starvation, and old-age. But injecting your own food with nutrients defeats the purpose of eating. Other theories state that the victim does die early on and the corpse continues to be digested (confirmed in ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' via suffocation), though Jabba's words imply that the "discover a new meaning of suffering" and "slowly digested for a thousand years" happen [[FateWorseThanDeath happen simaltaneously]], or that the Sarlacc works partly like a plant, sucking up nutrients and moisture from soil around it, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions about why anything would evolve such a run-around way of sustaining itself.]]
** Pitcher plants (and Venus Flytraps) '' do'' get nutrients from the soil, but use their prey to supplement the nutrients they can't get. The Sarlacc seems (to me) to be a larger version of this.

** In Legends this wouldn't be the first time this tactic is used: in ''VideoGame/XWingVsTieFighter''[='=]s campaign mode, the Rebel objective in the final battle is the destruction of the ''Vengeance'', a dreadnought of the same class, a goal achieved through fireships that bring down the shields and destroy the bridge before a final attack run from bombers.

** An alternative explanation that might be helped by the need to lure the Rebels is that because of the sheer size of the Empire and the Imperial military, it is likely slip-ups with keeping ships and forces updated with the latest code aren't all that uncommon -- so Imperials are used to giving leeway one or two codes back. It doesn't completely defeat purpose of the codes because it still means the enemy can't rely on ''too'' old codes.
** It has a real world analogue in the USA. Federal Reserve Notes are constantly updated to make them harder to counterfeit, but the old ones are still legal tender.

* In many ways Sidious' death is [[LaserGuidedKarma a karmic backlash from both sides of the Force.]] Darth Bane originally devised the Rule of Two for the Sith because he wanted each Sith to be stronger than their master, and specifically wanted to avoid the scenario where multiple weaker Sith teamed up to defeat their master. Yet Palpatine (at least in Legends) may have been weakened from fighting [[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed at least one former apprentice]], and ends up being killed when Vader, his current apprentice, fights alongside Luke, who Sidious wants to make his next apprentice. In other words, Sidious' death shows ''exactly'' why Darth Bane declared that it was best that a Sith only have one apprentice at a time.

* In the beginning of ''Return of the Jedi'', Vader and Jerjerrod discuss the Emperor's impending arrival. Vader concludes the discussion with "I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am." Near the end of the movie, you see just what he means through their differing methods. Vader is the type who kills brutally, but swiftly, via his trademark force choke, and typically limits his psychological warfare to the opponent at hand and their abilities(or lack thereof). Palpatine prefers to slowly fry his quarry alive via force lightning and on the psychological side, gleefully rips apart everything his enemy believes in and prefers to hurt them through the people they care about.

* Some fans and even Creator/CarrieFisher herself were critical of how passive Leia seemed in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' compared to the previous movies. They remarked on how she allowed herself to be chained to Jabba the Hutt without talking back as opposed like she did to Tarkin and Vader. It does seem like BadassDecay until you remember when Leia was insolent with Tarkin, Tarkin blew up her planet! With her loved ones Han and Luke and the rest of their friends all under Jabba's power Leia possibly learned not to take the risk of being a bitch this time. She also managed to get her revenge later.
** Also, she was there as part of a larger plan to rescue Han. That Lando was already there in disguise, the droids had been snuck in as "gifts" and Luke had not yet come, all pointed to the assumption that Leia being able to get Han out on her own without a fight was a long shot that they were willing to try, but that they did not expect to succeed. So rather than get Jabba all riled up, Leia was humoring him in order to let his ego convince him that everything was under his control, since she knew that they would be moving on to the next stage of the plan.

* While not all fans are okay with it, having young Anakin be seen in the newer releases makes sense. That was the last time he was Anakin Skywalker before becoming Darth Vader. When he died, he became the man he was again; Anakin did truly die when Vader was born.

* In light of ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' and its canonization of the [[GrandTheftMe "essence transfer"]] concept, Vader keeping Luke from striking the Emperor down is presented in a different light. In that movie Palpatine reveals that he can possess anyone who strikes him down, a technique which has passed on from generations of Sith -- so Luke killing him would open him up to possession. The truth is that Vader isn't defending the Emperor from Luke, ''he's defending Luke from the Emperor''.

* In both Legends and the new EU is mentioned that Ackbar spent a few years as Tarkin's slave, and learned how to fight a space battle from him. This actually reflects Ackbar's tactics at Endor: the fire ships mentioned in the novelization are an attrition weapon that would leave the Imperials terrified and shaken, and when he decides to try and distract the Imperials from Lando's attack run he blows up the ''Executor'' to shatter their morale, both tactics that Tarkin, who made a point of scaring the enemy into submission, would have appreciated. Tarkin's influence would also connect to Ackbar's reaction to the ''Executor''[='=]s destruction: he'd have noticed he's fighting right as his slave master would have had.

** Endor also has very large and dangerous predators (this isn't even EU, the Ewok films made after RotJ confirm it), which the Ewoks learned to defend themselves against. The same traps that keep an Ewok village safe from a marauding giant wolf lizard thing do a dandy job of smashing up chicken walkers.

** Endor also has very large and dangerous predators (this isn't even EU, the Ewok films made after [=RotJ=] confirm it), which the Ewoks learned to defend themselves against. The same traps that keep an Ewok village safe from a marauding giant wolf lizard thing do a dandy job of smashing up chicken walkers.

** Even then, it could just be that Vader's old. If he was in his 20s at the time of 'Revenge Of The Sith', and 'A New Hope' takes place about 20 years later, then with a few years between each sequel, by the time of 'Return Of The Jedi' Vader is close to his mid 40s, and his injuries make him seem much older. As strong with the Force as he may be, he's still old and after going through so much in his life, he'll begin to wear down. He holds his own against Luke for most of the fight, until Luke's rage overtakes him and Vader just can't keep up anymore

** While he was on the same skiff as Han, Chewbacca, and Lando, why was Boba so interested instead in Luke? Because this was his only chance to kill a Jedi - a member of the corrupt society that killed his own father, and made him blind to the rest of the battle around him, including Han.

*** On the subject of Ewok diets, Han, Luke, R2 and Threepio were all caught and hoisted smoothly by a game trap. By my rough calculations, that trap was designed to hold roughly a half a ton of ticked-off meat eater. ''What in any world were the Ewoks trying to trap?!''

* A behind the scenes variant: According to his actor, Piett initially wasn't supposed to return for this film. It was only because of fan mail that he was brought back. This could imply that the intention was for Vader to have executed him off-screen.

* While it would hardly be the first time this franchise has blatantly ignored basic physics, many fans have pointed out the idea that the Sarlacc could digest someone for thousands of years is laughable. Now, [[AllThereInTheManual Legends states that]] the Sarlacc injects its victims with nutrients and slows their metabolism, somewhat explaining away dehydration, starvation, and old-age. But injecting your own food with nutrients defeats the purpose of eating. Other theories state that the victim does die early on and the corpse continues to be digested, though Jabba's words imply that the "discover a new meaning of suffering" and "slowly digested for a thousand years" happen [[FateWorseThanDeath happen simaltaneously]], or that the Sarlacc works partly like a plant, sucking up nutrients and moisture from soil around it, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions about why anything would evolve such a run-around way of sustaining itself.]]

* While it would hardly be the first time this franchise has blatantly ignored basic physics, many fans have pointed out the idea that the Sarlacc could digest someone for thousands of years is laughable. Now, [[AllThereInTheManual Legends states that]] the Sarlacc injects its victims with nutrients and slows their metabolism, somewhat explaining away dehydration, starvation, and old-age. But injecting your own food with nutrients defeats the purpose of eating. Other theories state that the victim does die early on and the corpse continues to be digested, though Jabba's words imply that the "discover a new meaning of suffering" and "slowly digested for a thousand years" happen [[FateWorseThanDeath happen simaltaneously]], or that the Sarlacc works partly like a plant, sucking up nutrients and moisture from soil around it, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions about why anything would evolve such a run-around way of sustaining itself.]]

* Luke's lightsaber is modeled after Obi-Wan's, only with a green blade instead of blue. In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi Master who instructed Obi-Wan and discovered Anakin, is also shown using a green lightsaber. So, Luke has a lightsaber based upon the two Jedi Masters in Anakin's life. And like Luke throughout this film, Qui-Gon fervently believes in Anakin's inner goodness as others as skeptical.

* As mentioned before, Obi-Wan's IHaveTheHighGround moment isn't just in the literal sense, it's also referring to a ''moral'' high ground. Now notice the rematch between Luke and Vader, when the former jumps to the catwalk, or the "high ground", so to speak, Vader opts to ''throw'' the lightsaber instead. The guy didn't just learn from his experience on Mustafar, he is also, symbolically, trying to bring his son to a lower moral ground!

* While it would hardly be the first time this franchise has blatantly ignored basic physics, many fans have pointed out the idea that the Sarlacc could digest someone for thousands of years is laughable. Now, [[AllThereInTheManual Legends states that]] the Sarlacc injects its victims with nutrients and slows their metabolism, somewhat explaining away dehydration, starvation, and old-age. But injecting your own food with nutrients defeats the purpose of eating. You could argue that the Sarlacc works partly like a plant, sucking up nutrients and moisture from soil around it, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions about why anything would evolve such a run-around way of sustaining itself.]]
** It would make much more sense if the Sarlacc didn't, in fact, keep it's victims alive but instead it's food dies from the incredible pain of digestion, dehydration, or starvation over the course of a weeks at the most, and the digestive fluids of the Sarlacc both keep it's food from decaying as well as very gradually digest it. Hence, it's not it's living food but the corpses that take a thousand years to digest.

* While it would hardly be the first time this franchise has blatantly ignored basic physics, many fans have pointed out the idea that the Sarlacc could digest someone for thousands of years is laughable. Now, [[AllThereInTheManual Legends states that]] the Sarlacc injects its victims with nutrients and slows their metabolism, somewhat explaining away dehydration, starvation, and old-age. But injecting your own food with nutrients defeats the purpose of eating. You could argue that the Sarlacc works partly like a plant, sucking up nutrients and moisture from soil around it, but [[VoodooShark that just raises more questions about why anything would evolve such a run-around way of sustaining itself.]]