Han Solo has been an iconic Star Wars character from the very beginning, and although he isn’t necessarily high on the list of characters who have appeared most in Star Wars movies and TV shows (although he climbs the ranks quite a bit more when accounting for just ), he has certainly had a lasting impact. In fact, while his sequel trilogy appearances were largely controversial—particularly because of his death in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, making him the first of all three original trilogy heroes to fall—he did play a key role in those movies.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Yet, despite that prominence, there are still several things about him that don’t make any sense, decades after he was first introduced, and no, I don’t just mean because he’s a fairly mysterious character, especially at first. Rather, there are several narrative arcs and character decisions made for Han throughout Star Wars’ nearly 50 years, and several of them truly haven’t been explained. Of all those remaining questions, these 5 make the least sense of all
Han Solo Never Followed Up About Luke And Leia’s Kiss
One of the most mind-boggling moments in Star Wars was in Return of the Jedi, when it was revealed that Luke and Leia were siblings. On the one hand, yes, this was jarring because it was yet another Skywalker family revelation, following on the heels of the massive twist that Darth Vader was really Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker’s father. However, this was also shocking news (and, frankly, disturbing) because Luke and Leia had just kissed in The Empire Strikes Back. And, try as Star Wars might to retcon it, that kiss was absolutely romantic in nature.
While that is an issue unto itself, it also makes very little sense that Han never seems to comment on or really react to the news that they are siblings, thereby making their kiss incestuous. Of course, Luke and Leia had no idea at the time, but that doesn’t make the kiss any less unsettling. This conversation certainly didn’t happen on screen, and none of the books have touched upon it either. So, are we meant to believe that Han just never brought it up?
Han Solo Went Back To His Old Ways
The sequel trilogy has been criticized for a number of reasons, although some of the most prominent complaints specifically had to do with character choices, and the original trilogy heroes were high on the list of characters who, audiences felt, didn’t get a fair shake in the final installment in the Skywalker Saga. Luke’s character arc, which sees him give up on the Jedi, the Force, and the New Republic and go into hiding on Ahch-To, was undoubtedly the least popular, and it remains a hot button issue in the franchise even today.
However, Han’s sequel trilogy story was also disappointing and honestly doesn’t make much sense. It’s difficult to imagine that Han really just went back to his old ways of smuggling and conning people. Yes, some will argue that Han and Leia reverted to their old ways after the war because they felt lost after their rebel hero roles ended, but this felt like such a massive regression after everything he had gone through. If being put in carbonite wasn’t enough to make Han permanently change his ways, then I don’t know what would be, but it just felt immature.
Han (Seemingly) Gave Up On Qi’ra
Although Han and Leia are one of the greatest of all time, Solo: A Star Wars Storyintroduced a prior love interest for Han, Qi’ra, who turned out to be even more troubled and complicated than either Leia or Han (a true accomplishment). Ultimately, Qi’ra got tangled up with the entirely wrong people, so it makes sense that they didn’t end up together in the end, but it’s still difficult to imagine that Han really just moved on and gave up on Qi’ra, which is the implication
Granted, Solo ultimately proved very unpopular with audiences, often cited as one of the worst Star Wars movies of all time, competing with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerfor the unwanted ‘worst overall’ title. Because of that, it’s likely that Star Wars just hasn’t wanted to revisit this story on the big—or small—screen. Still, if audiences go by just what’s been shown thus far, Han seems to just abandon Qi’ra, and that really doesn’t make sense or fit with his characterization.
Han And Leia Didn’t Fight For Their Marriage
As mentioned, Han and Leia really are among the greatest love stories in the entire Star Wars franchise, which made the revelation in The Force Awakens that their marriage had ended rather frustrating and disappointing. Han and Leia were far from a perfect couple, even with their love story being so epic and beloved, so it makes sense that they’d had some trouble in paradise. Given that their son fell to the dark side, it’s also easy to see why things would have become particularly hard
Yet, it’s still very difficult to imagine that they simply would have separated and not seen one another for an extended period of time. They had always had plenty of banter and difficult moments, but they also deeply loved each other, and their relationship had been hard won. It’s very difficult to accept that they effectively just gave up on each other, and that only becomes all the more painful in light of their respective deaths in the sequel trilogy
Han Solo Wasn’t A Good Father
Finally, the biggest thing that makes no sense about Han is that he wasn’t a good father to Ben. In fact, while the sequels make it seem like Ben/Kylo is just a whiny brat, canon comics and novels have confirmed that Han and Leia really did neglect Ben when he was young, at one point even leaving him with a nanny droid that tried to kill him when he was just two years old. That is, in part, why Ben was so susceptible to Snoke; he thought his parents feared him and sent him to Luke because of it.
Han was a scoundrel, it’s true, but it just doesn’t make sense that he would be a bad father. A significant part of his own traumatic upbringing was that he grew up without parents to love and protect him. That, too, is a focus of Solo. There’s just no way that Han would have a son and not do all that he could to give him a different life than the one he’d had. Unfortunately, this is yet another product of the sequel trilogy, and it’s arguably the worst overall in terms of Han’s character development.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Star Wars Breaking a 49-Year Tradition Successfully Avoided a Sequel Trilogy Lightsaber Mistake
