Skip to main content

star wars - After Hoth, why did Vader pursue the Millennium Falcon instead of Luke's X-Wing?


In The Empire Strikes Back film, the opening crawl says:




The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space....



It has also been established in Return of the Jedi that Force users can sense each other:



Chewie whines nervously. Luke stares at the Huge Super Star Destroyer that looms ever larger before them.


LUKE: Vader's on that ship.



If Darth Vader is obsessed with finding Luke and he can sense his presence, the obvious thing to do would be to follow Luke's X-Wing after the battle of Hoth rather than the Millennium Falcon. Why didn't he?



Answer




Because Luke escapes Hoth undetected while the Falcon does not


At the risk of answering the question with the question, it seems that Luke just got lucky. After talking to Wedge on the planet, Luke is seen alone in space leisurely setting a new course to Dagobah:



EXTERIOR: SPACE -- LUKE'S X-WING


Luke's fighter, its wings closed, speeds away from the icy planet. Soon it disappears into the stars.


INTERIOR: LUKE'S X-WING -- COCKPIT


Luke, looking thoughtful, suddenly makes a decision. He flips several switches. The stars shift as he takes his fighter into a steep turn. The X-wing banks sharply and flies away in a new direction. The monitor screen on Luke's control panel prints out a question from the concerned Artoo.


LUKE: (into comlink) There's nothing wrong, Artoo. I'm just setting a new course.



Han on the other hand is instantly in trouble:




EXTERIOR: SPACE -- MILLENNIUM FALCON


The Millennium Falcon speeds away from Hoth, closely followed by one huge Star Destroyer and four tiny TIE fighters. As it is pursued, the Falcon races toward two very bright star-sized objects.


INTERIOR: MILLENNIUM FALCON -- COCKPIT


Inside the cockpit, Chewie lets out a loud howl. Han checks as the ship is buffeted by exploding flak. He appears to be doing six things at once.


HAN: (harried) I saw them! I saw them!


LEIA: Saw what?


HAN: Star Destroyers, two of them, coming right at us.



If Luke had left with Solo, then it is quite reasonable to assume that Vader would have had the ability to sense him eventually (this becomes more apparent in ROTJ) and pursue him specifically (whether he was in the Falcon or his own X-Wing). As it is, The Empire isn't even aware there is an X-Wing alone in deep space headed off to a remote planet inhabited by the galaxy's last Jedi Master. Vader's ability to sense Luke is not omniscient. In fact, it is outlined in ESB as very limited. He reaches out to Luke only when he already knows generally where Luke is and while he still close by ... and even then it seems a "loose" connection:




INTERIOR: VADER'S STAR DESTROYER -- BRIDGE


Vader stands on the bridge, watching as the Millennium Falcon is chased by the TIE fighters. As his Destroyer draws nearer, Vader's breathing gets slightly faster.


VADER: Luke.


INTERIOR: MILLENNIUM FALCON -- SLEEPING QUARTERS


Luke realizes that Vader's ship is very near. He feels resigned to his fate. He senses that he is beaten, more emotionally than physically.


LUKE: Father.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more