- The internet is suddenly freaking out
over Luke's rescue plan in Return of the Jedi.
This week, the interwebs lost its mind
over a 35-year-old Star Wars plothole
that still makes no dang sense.
FYI, this episode of Nerdist News contains spoilers
for Return of the Jedi.
Just kidding.
You don't get a spoiler warning for a movie that's been out
for three decades, sillies.
Now you may remember that the opening sequence
for Return of the Jedi is all about busting Han
out of Jabba's Palace, and you may also remember
what a bungling (bleep)show that rescue mission became,
resulting in many deaths and one too many performances
of Jedi Rocks by the Max Rebo Band.
But when you take maybe half a second
to really think about it, what was the initial plan?
Here's a quick recount of what actually happens.
Leia poses as a bounty hunter with Chewbacca as her bounty,
infiltrating Jabba's Palace.
Lando has already been posing a skiff guard
for who knows how long, presumably gathering intel
on the palace and where Han is being kept.
Luke sends a holographic message to Jabba
through R2D2 and C3PO.
The message says he wants to trade Han for the droids.
Jabba rejects the offer but keeps the droids.
Leia defrosts Han.
They both get caught by Jabba and his goons.
Luke rolls up in the palace.
Jabba captures him too.
Then Jabba brings them all out to the Sarlacc Pit
to sentence Luke, Han, and Chewie to death.
But Artoo shoots Luke his lightsaber
and Leia strangles Jabba to death and they all escape.
So how could that cluster(beep) possibly have been the plan
all along, and why did it take us 35 years to realize
that this is all total nonsense.
Well, last Sunday, our very own Nerdist producer Erin Vale
finally called it out on social media site Letterboxd.
In Erin's post, she lays out the events
of the Han Solo rescue mission.
It makes sense that Lando would disguise himself
as a skiff guard to do some sweet, sweet recon,
and R2D2 and 3CPO showing up
with Luke's holographic message.
Trying to make a deal still tracks,
but why would he leave the droids behind,
and was separating them his plan the whole time?
Erin continued to break down that it makes some sense
for Princess Leia to show up with Chewie,
but wouldn't it have been easier
if Luke just disguised himself as the bounty hunter Boushh
instead of Leia.
There are so many extra steps here.
And finally, improbably, most ridiculously,
Luke's plan required Jabba to send everyone
to the Sarlacc Pit
where R2D2 uses his secret lightsaber cannon
to launch Luke his lightsaber
while he is performing a flip.
Either Luke is playing 7D Chess or his whole plan
was concocted by a hyperactive nine-year-old
or someone that thinks like a hyperactive nine-year-old.
Now a few days later, on Wednesday, Uproxx writer Mike Ryan
wrote up his own take on Luke's Return of the Jedi plan,
and the internet caught fire like the planet of Alderaan
after it was blown up by the Death Star.
Now Mike's article hits a lot of the same points
as Erin's writeup, but he does go into a little more detail
on what each character's part in Luke's insane plan
must have been, making the point that if Jabba had agreed
to Luke's deal, trading the droids for Han,
would we have just never seen the droids again,
and if so, how would Luke have gotten his lightsaber back
from Artoo?
As far as we know, the Star Wars universe
doesn't have an equivalent to UPS,
although they're pretty technologically advanced.
I feel they could figure it out.
One interesting point that Uproxx brings up
is that maybe Luke didn't have a plan at all,
and maybe, just maybe, the rebels all happened
to try to break Han out at around the same time.
That would explain why this plan is full of more holes
than Greedo, but are Leia, Luke, and Lando really that dumb?
So now let's zip over to the AV Club
which pointed out yet another possible explanation
offered Twitter user BunchOfSteve.
He proposes that the first part of the rescue
is Leia's plan.
She convinces Lando to infiltrate Jabba's Palace
to find out where Han is being held.
Then Lando returns some info to Leia,
telling her they'll need rebel support to go get him out.
Leia goes to rebel command, they turn her down
because saving Han is low on their priority list,
so Leia grabs Chewie and a bounty hunter disguise
and walks right through the front door to save Han herself.
And here's where this theory really takes
some creative license.
Luke knows about Leia's plan because of a force vision,
and instead of trying to convince her otherwise,
he thinks up his own plan to lure Jabba out of his palace
to the Sarlacc Pit.
From there, a droid with a hidden lightsaber,
a flip from the edge of a death pit,
and sheer dumb luck saved the day.
It's insane, but until Disney releases a Star Wars Story
standalone film that just covers this mission's
planning meeting, it's the best we've got.
But what do you folks think?
What was the original plan to save Han
and where did it go wrong?
Or did it go exactly as planned?
I personally liked the third example.
Let's discuss.