logo Sign In

Post #1500704

Author
BedeHistory731
Parent topic
Should Han have died in RotJ?
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1500704/action/topic#1500704
Date created
17-Aug-2022, 8:07 PM

Han dying probably would have hurt the movie a little, I’d argue. Even though Han has little utility outside of the first act, he does very much earn his happy ending with Leia. Han dying would make the end a little too dark for my tastes. Having Han die in between ROTJ and TFA would have been acceptable, with Harrison only making a cameo in either a flashback or Kylo’s visions.

My bigger complaint (and one that actually hurts the movie) is that Vader’s redemption is kind of rushed. It comes off as just a brief rumination, followed by a split-second decision to save his son. Drawing his internal debate out a bit more would make it feel more earned at the end. It’s also why splitting ROTJ into two movies might have improved the overall narrative (movie one being Jabba’s Palace and movie two being Endor), as there would be more time to explore Vader’s redemption.