Page 142 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2019)

LEIA ORGANA
SWI2019_138-145_LeiaMoments.indd
SWI2019_138-145_LeiaMoments.indd
06 says she has fi nished “welding
the valves she has been working
on” on the Falcon as Han steps
in to the confined area to help
her “reengage the system.”
In this moment, we can feel
Leia resisting the temptation to
give into the proximity and the
attraction. It starts out with a
The Kiss return to the playful repartee.
Han calls Leia “Your Worship”
If romance is your thing, and she asks him to stop. She
The Empire Strikes Back delivers calls him a scoundrel, and he
it in spades. Much of it is played accepts the insult with delight.
for laughs, which lightens the dire All the while Han is moving
situation on Hoth—such as when closer and Leia’s inner confl ict
Han comes back for Leia to make becomes more obvious. Then
sure she escapes from Echo Base. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford
The snarky banter that follows sets deliver on an ambitious moment
up a woman who is trying to stay in the screenplay:
emotionally detached. Dedicated
to thinking about others’ safety, HAN: You’re trembling.
she finds herself faced with a LEIA: I’m not trembling.
man who thinks about hers—and Then with an irresistible
is therefore forced to think about combination of physical strength
her own needs, too. The tension and emotional power, the space
builds as Han chips away at the pirate begins to draw Leia toward
wall she erected after Alderaan him...very slowly.
was destroyed. HAN: You like me because I’m a
Even as the story builds toward scoundrel. There aren’t enough
the release of this tension, Leia is scoundrels in your life.
portrayed as capable. The script Leia is now very close to Han and
as she speaks, her voice becomes an
excited whisper, a tone completely
in opposition to her words.
LEIA: I happen to like nice men.
HAN: I’m a nice man.
LEIA: No, you’re not. You’re...
He kisses her now, with slow, hot
lips. He takes his time, as though
he had forever, bending her body
backward…
To see Leia give in to feelings of
intimacy is rare and unexpected.
It is a standard storytelling move
for a male hero to convince a
woman of his charms, but here the
moment is more about Leia than it
is about Han. This is owing to the
skill with which the character has
been written and performed up to
this point, and it makes the kiss
beautiful. Leia is enriched by her
romance, rather than reduced to
the side role of ‘love interest,’ and
fans continue to fi nd satisfaction
and empowerment in how it plays
out in this movie.
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