The story of Han Solo has finally been told.
From the illicit way he got his ship to the accidental way he got his name, Solo: A Star
Wars Story has everything you've ever wanted to know about the galaxy's most famous ruffian
with a heart of gold.
The conclusion of Solo comes down to a whirl of double-crosses, with secret agendas being
revealed, and hard-won loyalties being betrayed.
Han comes out on top in the end, of course, but things get a little dicey for him and
his friends before the credits roll.
Tantalizing story threads are left dangling, with some surprising appearances hinting at
more story to come.
It's a lot to take in all at once.
Luckily, we've got some tricks up our sleeve to help even the scruffiest-looking nerf herder
make sense of it all.
In short, you're all clear, kid - let's explain the ending to this thing and go home.
Trust no one After accomplishing a time-and-space-bending
escape through the dangerous Maelstrom, Han and company make their way back to the yacht
headquarters of gangster Dryden Vos.
Their goal is to deliver a supply of refined coaxium to Vos, coaxium being a valuable fuel
source that can also serve as a powerful explosive.
Before delivering the goods to Vos, Han and friends make nice with the Marauder Enfys
Nest, who unmasks herself to reveal that she's a teenage girl fighting on behalf of a nascent
rebellion.
Coaxium powers the universe, and she's been trying to acquire the coaxium for the Cloud
Riders anti-establishment goals.
Something about the arrangement speaks to Han's rebellious streak, so the smuggler hatches
a plan to let Nest keep the goods.
But Han's plan experiences complications when it's revealed that his partner Beckett has
been in league with Vos the whole time.
After warning Han throughout the movie to trust no one, he finally demonstrates why
with his ultimate betrayal, leaving with the coaxium - and Chewbacca.
There is another After Han's clever plan devolves into a gunfight
that leaves Vos and his men done for, Han goes off in search of Chewbacca, while Qi'ra
stays behind in Vos' yacht.
Qi'ra hails a mysterious hooded figure.
It turns out to be someone many Star Wars fans figured they would never see in the movies
again: prequel villain Darth Maul, improbably back from an early demise to head up the crime
organization Crimson Dawn.
A lot has changed since the last time we saw this devilish foe, who was literally cut in
half by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of The Phantom Menace.
Left in pieces at the bottom of a massive pit, Maul survived through sheer force of
will - and later thrived with the help of some powerful robot legs.
This is a Maul that's older, angrier, and more dangerous than ever before.
When Maul orders Qi'ra to come visit him on his home world of Dathomir, Qi'ra obliges,
leaving Han and Chewbacca behind on the planet.
More like Enfys Best
After Chewbacca and Han Solo reunite, the kind-hearted bandits drag their quarry of
coaxium back to the camp of the Cloud-Riders, and former foil Enfys Nest.
Initially, the big reveal around Nest is that this big bad space marauder is actually a
young girl, but the more interesting twist occurs as it becomes clear she's one of the
warriors who helps to spark the galactic rebellion.
Her final parting words to Han indicate her belief that he'll find the way to the rebellion
one day, too.
Solo shows Han rebelling against the Empire for selfish reasons, but the original trilogy
sees him becoming a rebel for the sake of others, not just himself.
Interestingly, Nest is so young that she could conceivably still be alive in the time of
Episode 9, should Disney and Lucasfilm feel like going there.
As scary as Nest is for the first chunk of Solo, she really doesn't get to do much once
she reveals her true colors.
But it's a wide galaxy, and it's a big franchise.
If she proves to be a fan-favorite, there's plenty of room for her to pop up somewhere.
Gimme the prize
After Han's crew is pared down to just him and Chewbacca, the two make their way to a
new planet to catch up with Lando, and tie up one last loose end.
Han greets Lando with a move that will look familiar to fans of The Empire Strikes Back,
throwing him off with the threat of a punch before yanking him gruffly into a warm embrace.
While the gesture seemed to be a spontaneous show of affection in its first appearance,
here the move is deployed with purpose.
While they're in close contact, Han deftly picks Lando's pockets, or rather, his Taxi
Driver-style wrist holster, pilfering the extra cards he used to cheat the first time
they played Sabacc.
Han's dishonorable vengeance allows him to finally win the Millennium Falcon in a card
game bet, becoming the ship's sole owner up through the events of Return of the Jedi.
Curiously, Han appears to take the Millennium Falcon well after L3-37's mind has been uploaded
to the ship's interface, and there's no indication that he ever unplugs her from the ship and
gives her back to Lando.
The implications are haunting.
Not only does Han cheat his way to liberating Lando from his beloved ship (and home), he
also appears to steal his best friend along with it.
No wonder Lando turned him over to Darth Vader.
A very big gangster
In the final moments of the movie, Han and Chewie prepare for a trip to Tatooine to meet
"a very big gangster" - and no gangster in the galaxy seems to be bigger or more grotesque
than Jabba the Hutt.
While we always like to see puppets in these Star Wars movies, that Jabba puppet is a real
headache to operate if you want the character to be mobile.
Maybe in the next one - if there is a next one - we'll see the space slug get off his
butt a little.
After all, CGI's come a long way since '97.
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