Alas, poor Alderaan (SW:ANH 8/??)
Otherwise known as the part wherein we find that Tarkin's death was quicker than he deserves, Leia kicks ass, Vader did not blow up Alderaan, and I theorise about the Force. Warning for TV Tropes, per the usual, though not many.
-- LUKE: What's that flashing? *reaches out*
HAN: *slaps*
It's moments like this that make me really admire the presentation of Luke, too. We've seen him as petulant, practical, restless, idealistic, dutiful, intelligent, mature and naïve, boastful, kind, and now, curious and clueless.
His characterisation could be completely incoherent, but of all the criticisms I've heard about him, that's not one of them. It seems perfectly reasonable that the Luke who sensibly refused to go haring off after R2-D2 at night, or who responded to his foster parents' grisly deaths with calm and maturity, could be the same person who is now going, "ooh, flashing lights! SHINY!" The different situations in which we see him expose different facets of his character, but he never seems out of character.
Also, I rarely find ignorance endearing, but -- this is somehow just "oh, Luke" and <3.
-- They jump to light speed (which now forever reminds me of ludicrous speed) and the view switches to Earth Alderaan and the Death Star.
Oh, no.
I hate this scene. I mean, it's a good scene, but ...
This would probably be less horrifying if Alderaan didn't look quite so much like Earth.
-- Vader and two Imperial guys escort Leia to the main chamber. I'm not sure exactly why he's running errands for Tarkin - surely the officers could do it just as well on their own? But he does come across as subordinate to Tarkin, if only slightly.
I've never really noticed before, but while Han's narrative importance is tied to Luke and then Leia -- he's completely irrelevant until he joins up with them and has no plotline apart from that -- Luke and Leia themselves seem to be starring independently in related plots. They get about equal screentime, equal narrative emphasis: they're essentially co-protagonists. (I suspect this is why TV Tropes has such difficulty classing Leia's role into one of the sidekick spots. She's not a sidekick.)
Leia doesn't look any different than she did before her torture, right down to the neatly coiled hair buns (which are strangely attractive -- they still don't flatter her face, or anyone's, but you can see all the lights in her hair and it's pretty). So I'm guessing that it was probably a mix of drugs and some creepy Force mind thing. It's possible, however, that it's been awhile -- we really have no idea how much time has passed.
Also, she's plainly undaunted.
-- Tarkin bows to her (with apparent sincerity) and Leia nods her head. Um, okay.
LEIA: Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash.
Okay, this really makes it seem that Tarkin is in charge of Vader in some way and that Vader's a loose cannon. Moreover, while she's addressing Tarkin and about to rail against him, I suspect that this line was directed straight at Vader. The implication isn't really that much different from "only you could be so bold," but the phrasing is much more vicious. The hint of respect is now absolute contempt, so I definitely think their relationship was very different before her torture.
-- LEIA: I recognised your foul stench when I was brought on board.
Oh, Leia.
No matter how many times I say Leia is hardcore, it will never be enough. Also, I love that she talks like she's on some kind of pleasure cruise and he's an icky acquaintance who turned out to be on the same ship.
TARKIN, smiling: Charming, to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life. *strokes her cheek*
Uh. This is really really creepy. Like, way creepier than Alderaan and Obi-Wan dying and all of it. It's like the archvillain just became Uncle Badtouch and now "icky acquaintance" has horrifically squicky implications. There's Leia talking about recognising his smell and Tarkin being all creepy-affectionate and it hurts me to do this, but, and OMG MAKE IT STOP.
It's suddenly very disconcerting that she's the only woman we ever see on the ship.
Vader, by the way, is just sort of standing there. Since the camera's focused on Leia's face -- the top of her head isn't much higher than his chestplate -- we can't see him either, but he draws a sharp breath here. Hm.
Also, since Leia's backed against him while Tarkin is leering at her, she's sandwiched between them and looks very tiny.
:(
Suddenly I really wish she wasn't the only woman in a room full of creepy evil men.
LEIA: I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.
He stops smiling. And we don't actually see him back up, but suddenly he's no longer within arm's reach. Go Leia!
This is the difference between a minor badass and a truly hardcore BAMF.
-- TARKIN: I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational.
I can't help but notice that he strides very quickly away -- Motti, he of the slimy sneer and religious intolerance and near-fatal demotion, is now peering down his nose at her while Tarkin waves his arms about. Okay, back to more comfortable evil. *phew*
-- TARKIN, spinning around: No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now!
LEIA: The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more systems will slip through your fingers.
I can't help but notice that he's "the Emperor this" and "the Emperor that," deflecting all responsibility to the unseen Emperor -- who at this point was conceived as a powerless figurehead, which only makes Tarkin even more contemptible. Regardless, Leia isn't having any of it. She's not just refusing to acknowledge the Death Star's, uh, merits, she's also refusing to let him evade responsibility for it. She even clarifies that her "you" means Tarkin specifically. JUST IN CASE THERE WAS ANY MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT THAT.
-- TARKIN: In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first.
By rejecting his advances?
Oh yeah, Rebellion blah blah.
Vader's here for all this, he's just completely passive. It's a weird word to use for him, since he's generally so intense and aggressive, but he hasn't shown the slightest trace of anything. He doesn't seem angry or happy or eager or determined, he's just there. I've seen props show more animation.
-- TARKIN: I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan!
LEIA: No!
She rushes forward and Vader actually moves. He doesn't do anything, though -- just follows her. We still have no idea what he's thinking. Who knows, maybe he's just in some disassociative fugue state. (Er, more than usual.)
-- LEIA: Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons! You can't possibly - !
She's almost babbling; it's pretty clear that she never imagined they'd attack a peaceful Imperial planet. Maybe because that's an incredibly stupid thing to do. It's one thing to say "we'll blow up your planet if there's a whiff of rebellion" -- horrible, but it might work as a motivation to not rebel. This makes it seem like it won't make any difference if you rebel or not, they're just blowing up planets for shits and giggles.
Tarkin whirls to face her.
TARKIN: You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!
Leia hesitates. Damn, this is pretty much the worst Catch-22 ever. On the one hand, she can be indirectly responsible for the slaughter of billions of people in the Alliance, and on the other, for the slaughter of billions of people on Alderaan. And it's not like she even knew this was coming, so she doesn't have time to brace herself for the decision either. She has to do it all on the fly, right after being tortured, and -- and I really hate Tarkin.
Oh, and it gets better! He's back to using his size to exert power over her, stepping so far forward that his body is even more intrusive than before.
Leia instinctively backs up ... against Vader. She flinches, but doesn't move away. Lesser of two evils, I guess. He still seems to be doing his best to pretend he's not there.
She stares at her planet while SOUL CRUSHING music plays, and says...
LEIA: Dantooine. *gives a sort of sobbing sigh and hangs her head* They're on Dantooine.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what they call Taking a Third Option. It doesn't work, but only because Tarkin is the WORST PERSON EVER.
(Hm, is Dantooine anywhere near Tatooine? Why are the names so similar?)
TARKIN: There. You see, Lord Vader, she can be reasonable!
I think Vader's mask maybe twitches a little. Does he know she's lying? I'm not sure. I'm not sure if he's agreeing or disagreeing or trying to get him to shut up or practising lightsaber forms in his head or simply breathing. If not for the Vader Breath, I wouldn't be sure if he were even still alive.
TARKIN: Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.
LEIA: What?!
TARKIN: You're far too trusting. *smirks* Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry: we will deal with your Rebel friends soon enough.
Yes: he didn't choose a highly populated Core planet just to show Leia. He wanted one. Blowing up a quiet backwater planet might not get enough attention, see.
DIE IN ALL THE FIRES, TARKIN.
LEIA: No --
She bolts forward again, and this time Vader puts his hands on her shoulders and pulls her away from Tarkin. For some reason he keeps a hand on her shoulder but otherwise remains as inscrutable as before.
SOME IMPERIAL SOMEWHERE: Commence primary ignition.
Interestingly, in the script it's Vader who gives the command, but in the final version it's a high-pitched voice coming out of the loudspeakers. Obviously somebody changed their mind somewhere. I don't think they'd planned the redemption yet, so it wasn't setting up that. Maybe they figured that manning the Death Star wasn't really in his job description. Maybe they thought it was out of character, since it's already been established that he doesn't approve of the Death Star. Or maybe they thought that it was just too evil for a Jedi, even a renegade one.
I don't know. But I think it's significant that this scene's Vader went from complicit in genocide to barely present. If it's not meaningful, it's too trivial a change to bother with. If it is -- then it seems that even at this early stage, they didn't want him getting too much blood on his hands.
ALDERAAN: *BOOM*
Most of the Imperial officers have faces and everything, but ... they might as well not, for all the emotion they show at this. When the blast goes off, a couple of them instinctively duck, but that's all. As far as I can tell, nobody gives a shit that they're blowing up a peaceful, highly populated planet in the heart of the Empire.
Because they're EVIL.
-- Back to the Falcon (which looks like a piece of trash even from the inside), Chewie and Threepio are playing some kind of wizard space chess, Luke is doing lightsaber training with a remote (for some reason the lightsaber is green -- idk) and Obi-Wan is having a heart attack.
LUKE: Are you all right?!
OBI-WAN: I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Try billions, Obi-Wan.
Also, we can add 'sensing mass murder' to the canonical Force abilities. However, it's not an inherent one: while Luke and Leia automatically 'receive' telepathic messages, apparently by dint of being Force-sensitive, Luke obviously didn't sense anything here. So I'm guessing it requires training -- or at the least, is a result of training.
Which means Vader probably felt it too, since he's not only trained but trained by Obi-Wan himself. Who knows, maybe that's why he hung on to Leia's shoulder.
-- OBI-WAN: You... *gasp*... you better get on with your exercises.
While the timeline is still fuzzy, it looks he's had enough time to set exercises, anyway.
-- Luke pats him, looking concerned, and reluctantly obeys. This is starting to look like a pattern, by the way: an authority figure gives him an order which conflicts with his own judgment, and he obeys -- grudgingly, petulantly, always reluctantly, but he obeys. Every. Single. Time.
So far.
(This makes his eventual defiance of Obi-Wan and Yoda all the more impressive, IMO.)
-- HAN: -- your trouble with those Imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun them!
Slugs?
HAN: ... don't everybody thank me at once.
<3
Never change, Han. (Well, actually, change quite a bit, but without losing your awesome.)
-- HAN: It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.
C-3PO: But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid!
I'm definitely getting nasty implications re: droids.
-- Luke practises some more with the still-greenish lightsaber. Obi-Wan looks intent and Han ... pays no attention whatsoever.
OBI-WAN: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
Oh look, masculine pronouns again. I can't help but wonder if he'd still be using them if the twin sent to Tatooine had been Leia? Is this a 70s thing or a Jedi thing or just an Obi-Wan thing?
LUKE: You mean it controls your actions?
OBI-WAN: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.
Luke seems a little alarmed, but rather less than I'd be. Ack! But it does make the Force seem more like a conscious entity than just a law of nature or mana or something. Also, this has ... hm, interesting ramifications in regard to the Dark Side.
I mean, this sounds like a very symbiotic exchange: you grant the Force power over you, and it grants you power over the universe. So by accepting the powers, you're accepting its purpose and agreeing to serve that purpose. It's sort of like wizardry in the YW books -- you consent to serve Life and Life gives you the ability to do so. (Damn, SW/YW would be almost the easiest crossover ever. [DW/YW would be the very easiest.])
And it seems reasonable that the same goes for the Dark Side. By using the Dark Side, you're tacitly permitting it to use you.
And it does.
That would very definitely explain why Vader is blamed much more for choosing the Dark Side than, you know, doing evil things. But now it makes sense. At this point, he's largely controlled by the Dark Side -- whatever hellish bargain he struck eighteen years ago left Anakin Skywalker with little control over what Darth Vader does. But he struck it freely. He consented to be used by it and as long as he retains his adherence to it, he's continuing to consent. That's his great evil, far more than anything it does with him.
That's what made him a villain in the first place and makes him one now. That's why Luke draws a direct line between 'good in him' and 'Anakin Skywalker' (as Obi-Wan drew a direct line between 'evil' and 'Dark Side') -- because there's some small part of himself that he didn't give over to the Dark Side, that is still himself. And, of course, that's why he ceases to be a villain the instant he ceases to use the Dark Side. It's not about making up for what he's done, it's about refusing to be controlled by an eldritch force of absolute evil. No more Dark Side, no more villainy.
Very old school evil, that.
HAN: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a blaster at your side, kid.
Um. How old is he again?
Right, 'about thirty.' So he was twelveish when the Empire was established. Anakin and Obi-Wan would have been HEROES OF THE REPUBLIC the whole time he was growing up. Worship of the Force was nigh-universal and Jedi were repelling blaster fire right, left and centre.
Look, I know I'm a hater and a purist and I've got a cast-iron nostalgia filter. But I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS.
WHYYYYYYYY
Er. Let's sum up, shall we?
(1) Leia strongly implies that Vader is generally regarded as a loose cannon and restrained by his more ... level-headed colleagues.
(2) Tarkin is creepily touchy-feely with Leia and talks about him much it hurts him to have her executed. This could be sarcastic, it could be just part of his veneer of elegance or, worst of all, it could be sincere.
(3) Vader is present throughout the destruction-of-Alderaan scene, but seems to have checked out for almost the entirety of it. In contrast to the script, he does not order the destruction of the planet, he doesn't appear to have anything to do with it besides simply being present, and his only significant action is to jerk Leia away from Tarkin.
(4) Tarkin chose Alderaan in particular to make a point to Leia, but he was always going to blow up a highly populated planet anyway. Leia had no clue about this.
(5) While Luke doesn't sense anything, Obi-Wan immediately feels the deaths of (nearly) all the Alderaanians. Presumably it's a side-effect of his Jedi training, or even something he trained specifically to be able to do. We don't know, but we do know to add it to the list of Force Abilities From Canon, No Really.
(6) We don't know how long it's been, but it's long enough that Luke's been set exercises.
(7) Obi-Wan ALWAYS uses masculine singular pronouns in conjunction with being a Jedi. I do not know what this means.
(8) When you use the Force, you kind of control it ... and it kind of controls you. That's one thing with the essentially benevolent Force, but it has fairly terrifying implications regarding the Dark Side.
(9) Han, who can't be much under thirty, regards lightsabers as 'ancient' weapons and the Jedi religion as 'hokey' and dismisses them both out of hand.
-- LUKE: What's that flashing? *reaches out*
HAN: *slaps*
It's moments like this that make me really admire the presentation of Luke, too. We've seen him as petulant, practical, restless, idealistic, dutiful, intelligent, mature and naïve, boastful, kind, and now, curious and clueless.
His characterisation could be completely incoherent, but of all the criticisms I've heard about him, that's not one of them. It seems perfectly reasonable that the Luke who sensibly refused to go haring off after R2-D2 at night, or who responded to his foster parents' grisly deaths with calm and maturity, could be the same person who is now going, "ooh, flashing lights! SHINY!" The different situations in which we see him expose different facets of his character, but he never seems out of character.
Also, I rarely find ignorance endearing, but -- this is somehow just "oh, Luke" and <3.
-- They jump to light speed (which now forever reminds me of ludicrous speed) and the view switches to Earth Alderaan and the Death Star.
Oh, no.
I hate this scene. I mean, it's a good scene, but ...
This would probably be less horrifying if Alderaan didn't look quite so much like Earth.
-- Vader and two Imperial guys escort Leia to the main chamber. I'm not sure exactly why he's running errands for Tarkin - surely the officers could do it just as well on their own? But he does come across as subordinate to Tarkin, if only slightly.
I've never really noticed before, but while Han's narrative importance is tied to Luke and then Leia -- he's completely irrelevant until he joins up with them and has no plotline apart from that -- Luke and Leia themselves seem to be starring independently in related plots. They get about equal screentime, equal narrative emphasis: they're essentially co-protagonists. (I suspect this is why TV Tropes has such difficulty classing Leia's role into one of the sidekick spots. She's not a sidekick.)
Leia doesn't look any different than she did before her torture, right down to the neatly coiled hair buns (which are strangely attractive -- they still don't flatter her face, or anyone's, but you can see all the lights in her hair and it's pretty). So I'm guessing that it was probably a mix of drugs and some creepy Force mind thing. It's possible, however, that it's been awhile -- we really have no idea how much time has passed.
Also, she's plainly undaunted.
-- Tarkin bows to her (with apparent sincerity) and Leia nods her head. Um, okay.
LEIA: Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash.
Okay, this really makes it seem that Tarkin is in charge of Vader in some way and that Vader's a loose cannon. Moreover, while she's addressing Tarkin and about to rail against him, I suspect that this line was directed straight at Vader. The implication isn't really that much different from "only you could be so bold," but the phrasing is much more vicious. The hint of respect is now absolute contempt, so I definitely think their relationship was very different before her torture.
-- LEIA: I recognised your foul stench when I was brought on board.
Oh, Leia.
No matter how many times I say Leia is hardcore, it will never be enough. Also, I love that she talks like she's on some kind of pleasure cruise and he's an icky acquaintance who turned out to be on the same ship.
TARKIN, smiling: Charming, to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life. *strokes her cheek*
Uh. This is really really creepy. Like, way creepier than Alderaan and Obi-Wan dying and all of it. It's like the archvillain just became Uncle Badtouch and now "icky acquaintance" has horrifically squicky implications. There's Leia talking about recognising his smell and Tarkin being all creepy-affectionate and it hurts me to do this, but, and OMG MAKE IT STOP.
It's suddenly very disconcerting that she's the only woman we ever see on the ship.
Vader, by the way, is just sort of standing there. Since the camera's focused on Leia's face -- the top of her head isn't much higher than his chestplate -- we can't see him either, but he draws a sharp breath here. Hm.
Also, since Leia's backed against him while Tarkin is leering at her, she's sandwiched between them and looks very tiny.
:(
Suddenly I really wish she wasn't the only woman in a room full of creepy evil men.
LEIA: I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself.
He stops smiling. And we don't actually see him back up, but suddenly he's no longer within arm's reach. Go Leia!
This is the difference between a minor badass and a truly hardcore BAMF.
-- TARKIN: I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational.
I can't help but notice that he strides very quickly away -- Motti, he of the slimy sneer and religious intolerance and near-fatal demotion, is now peering down his nose at her while Tarkin waves his arms about. Okay, back to more comfortable evil. *phew*
-- TARKIN, spinning around: No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now!
LEIA: The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more systems will slip through your fingers.
I can't help but notice that he's "the Emperor this" and "the Emperor that," deflecting all responsibility to the unseen Emperor -- who at this point was conceived as a powerless figurehead, which only makes Tarkin even more contemptible. Regardless, Leia isn't having any of it. She's not just refusing to acknowledge the Death Star's, uh, merits, she's also refusing to let him evade responsibility for it. She even clarifies that her "you" means Tarkin specifically. JUST IN CASE THERE WAS ANY MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT THAT.
-- TARKIN: In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first.
By rejecting his advances?
Oh yeah, Rebellion blah blah.
Vader's here for all this, he's just completely passive. It's a weird word to use for him, since he's generally so intense and aggressive, but he hasn't shown the slightest trace of anything. He doesn't seem angry or happy or eager or determined, he's just there. I've seen props show more animation.
-- TARKIN: I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan!
LEIA: No!
She rushes forward and Vader actually moves. He doesn't do anything, though -- just follows her. We still have no idea what he's thinking. Who knows, maybe he's just in some disassociative fugue state. (Er, more than usual.)
-- LEIA: Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons! You can't possibly - !
She's almost babbling; it's pretty clear that she never imagined they'd attack a peaceful Imperial planet. Maybe because that's an incredibly stupid thing to do. It's one thing to say "we'll blow up your planet if there's a whiff of rebellion" -- horrible, but it might work as a motivation to not rebel. This makes it seem like it won't make any difference if you rebel or not, they're just blowing up planets for shits and giggles.
Tarkin whirls to face her.
TARKIN: You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!
Leia hesitates. Damn, this is pretty much the worst Catch-22 ever. On the one hand, she can be indirectly responsible for the slaughter of billions of people in the Alliance, and on the other, for the slaughter of billions of people on Alderaan. And it's not like she even knew this was coming, so she doesn't have time to brace herself for the decision either. She has to do it all on the fly, right after being tortured, and -- and I really hate Tarkin.
Oh, and it gets better! He's back to using his size to exert power over her, stepping so far forward that his body is even more intrusive than before.
Leia instinctively backs up ... against Vader. She flinches, but doesn't move away. Lesser of two evils, I guess. He still seems to be doing his best to pretend he's not there.
She stares at her planet while SOUL CRUSHING music plays, and says...
LEIA: Dantooine. *gives a sort of sobbing sigh and hangs her head* They're on Dantooine.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what they call Taking a Third Option. It doesn't work, but only because Tarkin is the WORST PERSON EVER.
(Hm, is Dantooine anywhere near Tatooine? Why are the names so similar?)
TARKIN: There. You see, Lord Vader, she can be reasonable!
I think Vader's mask maybe twitches a little. Does he know she's lying? I'm not sure. I'm not sure if he's agreeing or disagreeing or trying to get him to shut up or practising lightsaber forms in his head or simply breathing. If not for the Vader Breath, I wouldn't be sure if he were even still alive.
TARKIN: Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.
LEIA: What?!
TARKIN: You're far too trusting. *smirks* Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry: we will deal with your Rebel friends soon enough.
Yes: he didn't choose a highly populated Core planet just to show Leia. He wanted one. Blowing up a quiet backwater planet might not get enough attention, see.
DIE IN ALL THE FIRES, TARKIN.
LEIA: No --
She bolts forward again, and this time Vader puts his hands on her shoulders and pulls her away from Tarkin. For some reason he keeps a hand on her shoulder but otherwise remains as inscrutable as before.
SOME IMPERIAL SOMEWHERE: Commence primary ignition.
Interestingly, in the script it's Vader who gives the command, but in the final version it's a high-pitched voice coming out of the loudspeakers. Obviously somebody changed their mind somewhere. I don't think they'd planned the redemption yet, so it wasn't setting up that. Maybe they figured that manning the Death Star wasn't really in his job description. Maybe they thought it was out of character, since it's already been established that he doesn't approve of the Death Star. Or maybe they thought that it was just too evil for a Jedi, even a renegade one.
I don't know. But I think it's significant that this scene's Vader went from complicit in genocide to barely present. If it's not meaningful, it's too trivial a change to bother with. If it is -- then it seems that even at this early stage, they didn't want him getting too much blood on his hands.
ALDERAAN: *BOOM*
Most of the Imperial officers have faces and everything, but ... they might as well not, for all the emotion they show at this. When the blast goes off, a couple of them instinctively duck, but that's all. As far as I can tell, nobody gives a shit that they're blowing up a peaceful, highly populated planet in the heart of the Empire.
Because they're EVIL.
-- Back to the Falcon (which looks like a piece of trash even from the inside), Chewie and Threepio are playing some kind of wizard space chess, Luke is doing lightsaber training with a remote (for some reason the lightsaber is green -- idk) and Obi-Wan is having a heart attack.
LUKE: Are you all right?!
OBI-WAN: I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Try billions, Obi-Wan.
Also, we can add 'sensing mass murder' to the canonical Force abilities. However, it's not an inherent one: while Luke and Leia automatically 'receive' telepathic messages, apparently by dint of being Force-sensitive, Luke obviously didn't sense anything here. So I'm guessing it requires training -- or at the least, is a result of training.
Which means Vader probably felt it too, since he's not only trained but trained by Obi-Wan himself. Who knows, maybe that's why he hung on to Leia's shoulder.
-- OBI-WAN: You... *gasp*... you better get on with your exercises.
While the timeline is still fuzzy, it looks he's had enough time to set exercises, anyway.
-- Luke pats him, looking concerned, and reluctantly obeys. This is starting to look like a pattern, by the way: an authority figure gives him an order which conflicts with his own judgment, and he obeys -- grudgingly, petulantly, always reluctantly, but he obeys. Every. Single. Time.
So far.
(This makes his eventual defiance of Obi-Wan and Yoda all the more impressive, IMO.)
-- HAN: -- your trouble with those Imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun them!
Slugs?
HAN: ... don't everybody thank me at once.
<3
Never change, Han. (Well, actually, change quite a bit, but without losing your awesome.)
-- HAN: It's not wise to upset a Wookiee.
C-3PO: But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid!
I'm definitely getting nasty implications re: droids.
-- Luke practises some more with the still-greenish lightsaber. Obi-Wan looks intent and Han ... pays no attention whatsoever.
OBI-WAN: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
Oh look, masculine pronouns again. I can't help but wonder if he'd still be using them if the twin sent to Tatooine had been Leia? Is this a 70s thing or a Jedi thing or just an Obi-Wan thing?
LUKE: You mean it controls your actions?
OBI-WAN: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.
Luke seems a little alarmed, but rather less than I'd be. Ack! But it does make the Force seem more like a conscious entity than just a law of nature or mana or something. Also, this has ... hm, interesting ramifications in regard to the Dark Side.
I mean, this sounds like a very symbiotic exchange: you grant the Force power over you, and it grants you power over the universe. So by accepting the powers, you're accepting its purpose and agreeing to serve that purpose. It's sort of like wizardry in the YW books -- you consent to serve Life and Life gives you the ability to do so. (Damn, SW/YW would be almost the easiest crossover ever. [DW/YW would be the very easiest.])
And it seems reasonable that the same goes for the Dark Side. By using the Dark Side, you're tacitly permitting it to use you.
And it does.
That would very definitely explain why Vader is blamed much more for choosing the Dark Side than, you know, doing evil things. But now it makes sense. At this point, he's largely controlled by the Dark Side -- whatever hellish bargain he struck eighteen years ago left Anakin Skywalker with little control over what Darth Vader does. But he struck it freely. He consented to be used by it and as long as he retains his adherence to it, he's continuing to consent. That's his great evil, far more than anything it does with him.
That's what made him a villain in the first place and makes him one now. That's why Luke draws a direct line between 'good in him' and 'Anakin Skywalker' (as Obi-Wan drew a direct line between 'evil' and 'Dark Side') -- because there's some small part of himself that he didn't give over to the Dark Side, that is still himself. And, of course, that's why he ceases to be a villain the instant he ceases to use the Dark Side. It's not about making up for what he's done, it's about refusing to be controlled by an eldritch force of absolute evil. No more Dark Side, no more villainy.
Very old school evil, that.
HAN: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a blaster at your side, kid.
Um. How old is he again?
Right, 'about thirty.' So he was twelveish when the Empire was established. Anakin and Obi-Wan would have been HEROES OF THE REPUBLIC the whole time he was growing up. Worship of the Force was nigh-universal and Jedi were repelling blaster fire right, left and centre.
Look, I know I'm a hater and a purist and I've got a cast-iron nostalgia filter. But I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS.
WHYYYYYYYY
Er. Let's sum up, shall we?
(1) Leia strongly implies that Vader is generally regarded as a loose cannon and restrained by his more ... level-headed colleagues.
(2) Tarkin is creepily touchy-feely with Leia and talks about him much it hurts him to have her executed. This could be sarcastic, it could be just part of his veneer of elegance or, worst of all, it could be sincere.
(3) Vader is present throughout the destruction-of-Alderaan scene, but seems to have checked out for almost the entirety of it. In contrast to the script, he does not order the destruction of the planet, he doesn't appear to have anything to do with it besides simply being present, and his only significant action is to jerk Leia away from Tarkin.
(4) Tarkin chose Alderaan in particular to make a point to Leia, but he was always going to blow up a highly populated planet anyway. Leia had no clue about this.
(5) While Luke doesn't sense anything, Obi-Wan immediately feels the deaths of (nearly) all the Alderaanians. Presumably it's a side-effect of his Jedi training, or even something he trained specifically to be able to do. We don't know, but we do know to add it to the list of Force Abilities From Canon, No Really.
(6) We don't know how long it's been, but it's long enough that Luke's been set exercises.
(7) Obi-Wan ALWAYS uses masculine singular pronouns in conjunction with being a Jedi. I do not know what this means.
(8) When you use the Force, you kind of control it ... and it kind of controls you. That's one thing with the essentially benevolent Force, but it has fairly terrifying implications regarding the Dark Side.
(9) Han, who can't be much under thirty, regards lightsabers as 'ancient' weapons and the Jedi religion as 'hokey' and dismisses them both out of hand.