The Empire Strikes Back - a general Random Thoughts thread — Page 6

I see it as Vader trolling Han and Leia.

G&G-Fan said:

It’s subtle things like how Darth Vader refers to everyone by their rank, species (in the case of Chewie), or last names, even his own son. He mostly calls him “Skywalker” (until the end). Can you imagine calling your own son by his last name? It’s almost dehumanizing, showing how Vader views everyone as tools, objects. Not only that, it shows how much he has mentally disconnected himself from everyone around him. His ability to empathize with anyone (until his son, in sparse moments until his redemption) has gone cold. He’s separated himself so much from Anakin in his mind that it’s not awkward for him at all to refer to his son by just his own last name like it would be for a normal person. In his mind, he’s just Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker doesn’t have meaning for him (or at least, he acts like it doesn’t).

When Vader refers to Luke as ‘Skywalker’, I interpret him as both spitting on the hated name of his former self, and as spitting on the current identity of Luke, hoping he’ll one day assume the identity of ‘Darth Something-sinister-sounding’.

G&G-Fan said:

I love how the opening emphasizes Han and Luke’s friendship so well. Han is willing to die for a chance to save his friend, and they have such a good dynamic he’s not mad at Luke for Leia kissing him. It’s a great way to make the audience fear they may never reunite and show Han’s growth. From the veneer of callousness to a real friendship.

Yeah. When I rewatched ESB a little while ago, I was surprised how effective this was. Especially that scene in Echo Base where Luke says goodbye to Han, while Han is perched atop the Falcon doing repairs. I was equally surprised just how little screen-time Han and Luke have together, yet the short time they’re together is used so effectively.

We often fondly remember the “big 3” main characters in the OT, and their great chemistry. It’s actually kind of surprising when you remember that the “big 3” only appear together on-screen for half of A New Hope, the beginning of Empire Strikes Back (where they’re together on-screen really for only one scene in the medical bay), and maybe about less than one-half of Return of the Jedi. They’re separated for over half the entire Original Trilogy, yet their chemistry is so good and the scripts are so tightly written that it successfully creates the impression of a strong bond and deep friendship between the three of them.