Han Solo and Darth Vader are both characters who became pure manifestations of the worst parts of their personalities.
By the end of the trilogy, the layers are unpeeled and the characters redeem themselves.
Though the trajectory of their arcs are not exactly the same, and don’t line up exactly from movie to movie, but broad strokes are similar.
Darth Vader, for the majority of his screentime in the three films, is a cold, rageful (tho contained), merciless, calculating, egotistical, selfish, even downright sadistic monster. He traps Lando in a deal with the devil with no intent on holding his end, lording his control over him. He tortures Motti for insulting him, Leia and Han for the sake of information and bait, threatens to torture/kill DSII workers to make them work harder. He uses Han as a test subject, not caring if he lives or dies. He torments Luke to get him to join him, threatens to do the same to his sister and to kill him. He kills Antilles, Obi-Wan, rebel pilots, and his own officers that fail him. He revels in his power: “If you only knew the power of the dark side!”. He makes sardonic jokes about his cruel acts.
Han Solo, when we meet him in ANH, is an overconfident, witty, suave, selfish, greedy, double-crossing pirate swindler. He lies and cheats for the sake of money, exaggerates the capabilities of himself and his ship. He makes up incoherent gibberish to Luke and Obi-Wan to sell them on the Millennium Falcon (“the Kessel run in less then 12 parsecs”). He kills Greedo in a sleazy, underhanded way. He smuggles drugs for a gangster and keeps sleazing his way out of paying him back. He gives off the appearance of not caring about anybody, constantly emphasizing that his first priority is himself and money over any selfless ideal. He initially refuses to save the princess and to participate in the Battle of Yavin. He makes fun of Luke and Obi-Wan’s religion, refusing the idea that there’s more to the galaxy then he might know.
Throughout his adventures with Luke and Leia, Han genuinely comes to care for them. He agrees to help save Leia now that he has an excuse for himself (she’s rich) even knowing the plan is crap. He’s extremely concerned about Luke’s well-being in the trash compactor. He chases the stormtroopers, telling Luke and Leia to return to the ship. His face when Leia tells him that money is all he’ll receive is rather vulnerable. It’s clear he already has feelings for her (“So Han, what do you think of her?” “Trying not to, kid”). He tells Luke “May the Force be with you”. Then, of course, he finally comes back to save his friend and revels in victory with his new friends.
In the beginning of ESB, Han is now a big part of the rebellion and willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of Luke, going out to save him in the frigid winter night despite the low chances of survival, and has a very steady, strong friendship with him. Han cares a lot more then he let on, in the beginning. Perhaps that’s why he used to pretend to not care at all.
Han is incredibly pushy, seemingly confident in his scenes with Leia, but the more I think about it, it’s because he feels like he has to be. He has to be overconfident so as to not be consumed by self-doubt. As some have commented on, his behavior can come across as borderline predatory, but I believe this is purposeful character development. He’s a scoundrel, as Leia says herself. He gets mad on Hoth after getting into an argument with her, refusing to talk to her until he hears about Luke. In the end, he’s right about her feelings for him, but what we see is that Han doesn’t take rejection well. Perhaps Han had relationship issues when he was younger, went through a lot of rejection in the past, and had to learn to be scummy and selfish in order to survive in the criminal underworld.
In ESB, we see small peaks behind Vader’s cold mask. Literally, as in, we see a big scar on the back of his head. Still, he is at most commanding and ruthless throughout the film. Vader’s goal is to trap his son into being a servant for his own selfish crusade for power. At the end, when Luke rejects him, he’s more fiery then usual (“Bring my Shuttle!”) and, in his telepathic communication with Luke, sounds more vulnerable then before. Throughout the film, he murders his officers in cold-blood when they fail him, even Needa, who just made an honest mistake and honorably took responsibility. Vader’s response is to jokingly throw it in his face after choking the life out of him. But after the Falcon escapes, he just solemnly walks away, sparing Piett, even after having threatened him, “Don’t fail me again.” There’s more to his conquest for his son then just wanting a Sith apprentice.
In ROTJ, Han is still his classic charming self and now takes an even larger role in the Rebellion. However, we see instances of insecurity in Han with his relationship with Leia. He has an awkward expression when she lays on him during C-3PO’s storytelling scene. He gets jealous that Leia confides in Luke but not him, scared that her having more confidence in him indicates she loves him more. Still, he makes the mature choice, apologizes, and even encourages her to be with Luke. He is rewarded by learning the truth, the situation was a misunderstanding. Han has matures past his insecurities. He doesn’t need to prop himself up with an overly confident persona, anymore.
Similarly, Vader is still the cold-blooded right hand of the Emperor, but as Luke presses on Vader during the conversations, it becomes clear that beneath his hardened personality is deeply repressed regret and guilt. Still, Vader is too egotistical and power-hungry to let go of the dark side, and even coldly states that he will kill Luke if he refuses to turn. It takes Luke making the sacrifice play, and watching his son on the verge of death that Anakin finally reawakens and sacrifices himself to save his son. Immediately, we have tender moments between father and son. In his death scene, Anakin is revealed to be an incredibly soft, caring, and sentimental man, wanting to see his son with his own eyes, even if it means he’ll die sooner. He was a man that lost everything in his quest for power, one who cared too much and went cold to not feel that pain, to feel invincible and satiate his ego. Who wouldn’t let go of that burning hatred for the sake of that adrenaline rush, to not feel the “weakness” within.
In the end, both men accept the vulnerable parts of themselves and find a new family, happy and healed.
