It was better as a random idea Darth Vader had since he was on Cloud City. They didn’t even know if it would kill Han or not. Now even the coffee table he was frozen in is the same. Like everything in these spin-offs it feels grey and muted but most of all fan servicey and boring instead of creative. I’d like to get excited seeing IG-88 but I can’t after Rogue One and Solo, because this is just more of that.
What is the coffee table used for the rest of the time then? It’s perfectly sized for most humanoid life forms. Why would it have hardware built in to show Han was alive and in perfect hibernation? TCW or not, I don’t think Vader pulled this idea out of thin air. The risk came from using the crude facility on Bespin.
Presumably it’s not used the rest of the time? Since the gas they produce or its storage is never seen we will never know. The life support thing I give you, but I think it’s more of an evil scheme than a sci-fi technology that makes real sense.