I like your points about Han Solo. Something really stood out to me as I've been working on my (admittedly silly) One-Woman Star Wars videos, and that was the parallels between Episodes IV and VI. The Death Star stuff is obvious, of course (and not merely a lazy retread, but I won't go too deep on that tangent here). But there are also long sequences near the beginning that follow the hapless droids as they wander the wastes of Tatooine and are then given to a new master -- though it's flipped from being sold to Luke's family to being given away by Luke....anyway, I'd better get to my main point.
My new realization was that Han Solo's role, in terms of Luke's character development, is the same role that Vader plays in Return of the Jedi! However people might call A New Hope Luke whiny and immature, his character has always been an idealist who wants to see the best in people. On the verge of the Battle of Yavin, that idealism makes him deeply disappointed when Han doesn't want to help the Rebellion, and then delighted when he returns -- "I knew you'd come back; I just knew it!" He is much more mature in Return of the Jedi, sadder and wiser, and yet he's still fundamentally that soft-hearted idealist, telling his father, "I know there is good in you." Han and Vader and their subsequence reformations are proof that Luke's faith in people is not misguided or naive. That's Han Solo's role in the first film. After that he's Leia's designated love interest. He's a great character, but he is only ever an appendage to the main character's journeys. That's why I seriously doubt that I'll have an interest in a movie focusing entirely on him before his truly important character reform in the original trilogy. Honestly, I'd rather see how Lando transitioned from a "scoundrel" to a "respectable" administrator of a city. But it looks like he'll in turn be an appendage to Han.
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My new realization was that Han Solo's role, in terms of Luke's character development, is the same role that Vader plays in Return of the Jedi! However people might call A New Hope Luke whiny and immature, his character has always been an idealist who wants to see the best in people. On the verge of the Battle of Yavin, that idealism makes him deeply disappointed when Han doesn't want to help the Rebellion, and then delighted when he returns -- "I knew you'd come back; I just knew it!" He is much more mature in Return of the Jedi, sadder and wiser, and yet he's still fundamentally that soft-hearted idealist, telling his father, "I know there is good in you." Han and Vader and their subsequence reformations are proof that Luke's faith in people is not misguided or naive. That's Han Solo's role in the first film. After that he's Leia's designated love interest. He's a great character, but he is only ever an appendage to the main character's journeys. That's why I seriously doubt that I'll have an interest in a movie focusing entirely on him before his truly important character reform in the original trilogy. Honestly, I'd rather see how Lando transitioned from a "scoundrel" to a "respectable" administrator of a city. But it looks like he'll in turn be an appendage to Han.