History Headscratchers / TheEmpireStrikesBack

** The bounty on Han and Chewie was placed by the mob boss Jabba the Hutt, who wanted to make an example of them for losing the Millennium Falcon. Boba Fett was tasked with capturing Han and Chewie and bringing them to Jabba to collect on the bounty. However, Boba Fett had a personal vendetta against Han Solo for the events that took place in The Empire Strikes Back. In that movie, Han Solo accidentally knocked Boba Fett into the pit of the Sarlacc, a massive carnivorous desert creature on the planet Tatooine. Boba Fett managed to escape from the Sarlacc alive, but it was a humiliating experience for him that tarnished his reputation as a bounty hunter. As a result, Boba Fett was focused solely on Han Solo and wanted to claim the bounty himself, without having to share it with the other bounty hunters who were also after Han and Chewie. This explains why Boba Fett chose to bring Han back to Jabba's palace instead of also capturing Chewie. He wanted to present Han Solo to Jabba himself and collect the full bounty.
*** Han doesn't kick Fett into the Sarlacc pit in ''Empire Strikes Back'', he does it in ''Return of the Jedi''. So it doesn't happen until after Han has been taken to Jabba and rescued by his friends.
*** Hmmm. Sounds like an AI came up with that previous answer.

** The bounty on Han and Chewie was placed by the mob boss Jabba the Hutt, who wanted to make an example of them for losing the Millennium Falcon. Boba Fett was tasked with capturing Han and Chewie and bringing them to Jabba to collect on the bounty. However, Boba Fett had a personal vendetta against Han Solo for the events that took place in The Empire Strikes Back. In that movie, Han Solo accidentally knocked Boba Fett into the pit of the Sarlacc, a massive carnivorous desert creature on the planet Tatooine. Boba Fett managed to escape from the Sarlacc alive, but it was a humiliating experience for him that tarnished his reputation as a bounty hunter. As a result, Boba Fett was focused solely on Han Solo and wanted to claim the bounty himself, without having to share it with the other bounty hunters who were also after Han and Chewie. This explains why Boba Fett chose to bring Han back to Jabba's palace instead of also capturing Chewie. He wanted to present Han Solo to Jabba himself and collect the full bounty.
*** Han doesn't kick Fett into the Sarlacc pit in ''Empire Strikes Back'', he does it in ''Return of the Jedi''. So it doesn't happen until after Han has been taken to Jabba and rescued by his friends.
*** Hmmm. Sounds like an AI came up with that previous answer.

*** On that note, Han had Chewbacca working for him. Sure, he owed Han a life debt, but would there have been a life debt if Han didn't have a kind-hearted side? Not likely. Chewbacca was firmly against slavery because of the long history between the Wookies and their Trandoshan oppressors; by all appearances, Han felt the same way. Leia seemed to dislike Chewbacca at first; he doesn't get a medal at the end of ''A New Hope,'' and she calls him a "big walking carpet '' at the beginning of ''Empire Strikes Back.'' Even so, she sees how well Han treats him (despite when they get on each other's nerves.) She realized Han he couldn't be all bad, whatever work he did for Jabba.

** Side point: aside from natural ability, I think an Imperial officer's competence was partly the result of the military academy the one in question attended. Aside from the clone officers in the Grand Army of the Republic, there were others like Tarkin who had been trained during Old Republic times at academies around the galaxy. Since the Republic had been decentralized until the end and each planet mostly defended itself, it seems reasonable that officer training programs were not standardized. So while good academies produced officers like Thrawn and Veers, less reputable schools churned out knuckleheads like Ozzel.

*** No, it can't be thrown out. You can argue the movies all you like -- that's not what I'm doing, and it wasn't from the start. Besides, that brings up even more problems, since most of the ones I haven't mentioned I'm accepting the EU explanations for. And regardless of repulsors, they've gotta be capable of deceleration anyway, because otherwise they'd be completely useless for basically anything. I mean at the very least they must have retrorockets. So they could have used your trick regardless. (They also should have been able to just cut engines, turn around, and fly backwards to shoot at the TIEs, using momentum to keep moving and repulsors to escape the DS's gravity. But hey, another movie, another battle, another Swiss-cheese plot point.)

** I hear your frustration, and there's no denying that there are certain plot holes and inconsistencies in the Battle of Hoth. However, it's worth noting that the Rebels were heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the Imperial forces, and they were facing a sudden and unexpected attack. Additionally, the AT-ATs were heavily armored and had powerful weaponry, making them difficult to take out without heavy equipment or tactical advantages. Furthermore, the Rebels may have been hesitant to use the ion cannon too extensively, as it required significant power to operate and could potentially drain their resources. Additionally, they may have been worried about causing unnecessary collateral damage to the base or other Rebel facilities on Hoth. While it's certainly true that the Rebels could have made different strategic decisions during the battle, it's important to remember that they were fighting against overwhelming odds and were facing a massive and experienced enemy. In the heat of battle, it's not always easy to make the most strategically sound decisions, and even the best troops and military leaders can make mistakes or face unexpected challenges. The Battle of Hoth may not have been a perfect example of military strategy, but it's certainly a memorable and iconic moment in the Star Wars universe.

** It's possible that the armor on the AT-ATs is strong for most types of blaster fire, but the speeders used by the Rebels were equipped with more powerful blasters that were able to penetrate the armor. Additionally, it's possible that the armor is not completely impenetrable and that repeated shots from weaker blasters could eventually wear down the armor and allow for a killing shot. The point of tripping up the AT-ATs with cables is to provide an opportunity for the speeders to fire at the AT-ATs from a position where they can target the weak spots in the armor, and not that the armor is completely impenetrable. Additionally, it's also possible that the Rebels had upgraded their blasters since the Battle of Yavin, allowing them to dish out more damage to the AT-ATs.

*** "All of the Jedi were actually evil and conspiring against the people EXCEPT for this one guy you can totally trust him." could still potentially call that into question, especially for people who don't know Anakin Skywalker's story (and publically airing it might also call Palpatine into question). Better to just flag them all as terrorists and pretend Vader is someone else. Perhaps more pertinent to Palatine's goals, pretending that Anakin is dead helps reinforce Vader's ThatManIsDead mentality toward his former identity and prevents him from drifting back to the light.

[[folder: Ian's Performance]]
* Meta question: When Creator/IanMcDiarmid was edited into the film, why did they change some of the dialogue?
** There have been a lot of tweaks over the years, a list of them can be found [[https://lucasfilm.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re-releases here]], but it looks like there were some minor alterations just to make things fit a little better with the sequels and prequels.
** The dialogue changes came about as part of the Special Edition re-release of the original trilogy. This version included additional scenes and effects that were not present in the original theatrical release. Some of the dialogue changes were to make the scenes flow better or clarify certain details. Additionally, some dialogue changes were made to ensure consistency with the Prequel Trilogy, which had not yet been released but was already in development.
[[/folder]]

*** ^ What makes you think that Luke knows how to pilot an AT-AT? And how would he have time to teach himself in the middle of battle? It's better to just blow the thing up and get rid of it than to take the risk of boarding it and then waste time with unfamiliar controls.

*** "All of the Jedi were actually evil and conspiring against the people EXCEPT for this one guy you can totally trust him." could still potentially call that into question, especially for people who don't know Anakin Skywalker's story (and publically airing it might also call Palpatine into question). Better to just flag them all as terrorists and pretend Vader is someone else.

** Given that Ahsoka Tano, leader of the Rebel Alliance's intelligence network, was unaware that Vader was Anakin until she came in direct contact with him and even then remained in denial about it until her disappearance on Malachor, it seems likely that very few in the Alliance knew and those that did did not know it for certain and had no reason to discuss it.

** As far as I know, the line was already intended to be "No... I am your father!" when the script was released. The reason it was shown as "Obi-Wan killed your father!" was because Lucas wanted to keep the reveal a secret. During filming, when they were recording that scene, the only people who knew the actual line were George Lucas, Mark Hamill and James Earl Jones (who's lines would be edited in later), so it was planned at that point, possibly even earlier. I know that doesn't really answer your question, but I think the line could have been left the way it was in the original script, and use it to show that Vader is a complete nut job, when in actuality it was a cunning deception.

** Space slugs, specifically called Exogorths, sustain themselves on metal and high energy materials, which asteroids have both of in abundance. Han likely flew into it when it was sleeping with its mouth open and once his blaster fire woke it up he realized they would be forced to leave before it closed its mouth and trapped them. And, well, started digesting the Falcon.

** Space slugs, specifically called Exogorths, sustain themselves on metal and high energy materials, which space ships have both of in abundance. Han likely flew into it when it was sleeping with its mouth open and once his blaster fire woke it up he realized they would leave before it closed its mouth and trapped them. And, well, started digesting the Falcon.

* As soon as Han figures out that the "cave" their in is [[ThatsNoMoon really a giant space slug]] he has everyone get in the Millenium Falcon and flies out. Except they've been inside the creature for what's implied to be at least a few days by this point, and nothing bad has happened, so there's obviously no immediate danger. Why not wait another day or two and hope the Empire assumes they got crushed by an asteroid and gives up before flying out?

** Space slugs, specigically called Exogorths, sustain themselves on metal and high energy materials, which space ships have both of in abundance. Han likely flew into it when it was sleeping with its mouth open and once his blaster fire woke it up he realized they would leave before it closed its mouth and trapped them. And, well, started digesting the Falcon.

*** Actually, R2 learned it from the city's central computer. There was probably a record in there because the Empire either used local techs (thus generating a work order), sourced local parts (thus generating a requisition/commandeering order), or simply logged that they'd disabled the hyperdrive as ordered using one of Cloud City's communication consoles (thus generating a communication log.) As a wise man once said, [[Film/StarTrekIV "The bureaucratic mentality is the one constant in the universe."]]

** I remember an EU/Legends book that took place right after Qui-Gon had a bad experience with his first Padawan and accepted Obi-Wan as his new ward. Obi-Wan was either a preteen or in his early teens, and he was fairly angsty. He thought Qui-Gon was cool, though, because he was a maverick. They were on a mission against the Hutts, and Qui-Gon could sense Obi-Wan got very angry at one point. (He wanted to draw his lightsaber and kill whichever Hutt was the antagonist.) Qui-Gon admonished him, and he was able to calm down. Anyway, before all that happened--if you respect the Legends lore, at least--Yoda would have been babysitting Obi-Wan as a youngling, and he was apparently rambunctious until Qui-Gon took over his training.

*** Han smuggled spice, but for all we know, he also could have smuggled something else (like bootleg copies of Figrin D'an albums). Trafficking people doesn't seem like something he'd do. After all, he was humane enough to save Chewbacca, and I doubt Chewbacca would have been as loyal to him stooping so low, even with the life debt.

*** Han smuggled spice, but for all we know, he also could have smuggled something else (like bootleg copies of Figrin D'an albums).