Shady Thoughts: Further Comments and Editorial Reaction to "Who is the Other?"
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| Title: | Shady Thoughts: Further Comments and Editorial Reaction to "Who is the Other?" |
| Creator: | Linda Ruth Pfonner |
| Date(s): | Spring 1982 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Wars |
| Topic: | |
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Shady Thoughts: Further Comments and Editorial Reaction to "Who is the Other?" is a 1982 essay by Linda Ruth Pfonner. It is a response to Shady Thoughts: Who is the Other? Theories I've Encountered published two years earlier.
It was printed in Shadowstar #6 and is part of the Shady Thoughts essay series.
The essay's topic fan speculation regarding Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and a line from that movie about there being The Other, someone who was not Luke Skywalker. It is also an example of the division some fans felt over choosing who was the "hero" of Star Wars: Han or Luke.
Some Topics Discussed
- the Other can't be Leia because she is too young and busy with other things
- it could be a love interest of Han that hasn't been introduced yet
- the Other is Han because: he found Luke on Hoth, the way he is comfortable with weapons, the way he flies his ship through the astroid belt, he was uneasy about Bespin, and "last, but most certainly the least: WHY IN THE NAME OF ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGONS OF PERN DID DARTH VADER FOLLOW THE MILLENNIUM FALCON OFF HOTH?"
- Tarot cards are good indicators of truth
From the Essay
"Who is the Other?" I'll tell you, when I first bought Shadowcon at MediaWestCon, I tended toward the theory that the Other was probably Princess Leia, but Han was my second choose. I would have preferred it to be Han, but I don't really believe that St. George thinks at all like I do.
[snipped]
Upon further contemplation and discussion with Karen Klinck, we have come to the conclusion -- after 63 viewings of TESB -- that Han is the Other.
Assuming that Han is the Other, I still do not believe he would ever be conned into accepting formal training or knighthood. He certainly would never put up with the whipsawing that Ben and the little Green Wart have put Luke through.
Part of the secret of Han's popularity is the fact that the man likes himself. Luke is not sure he should. Between Owen Lars and Yoda and Ben, he's fairly sure that he's a second-class wimp and a nearly-complete failure. Luke could never talk himself into taking credit for the Death Star; according to the book, he didn't remember what happened. Ben took over completely.
Luke fails at nearly everything he tries in TESB. He loses Leia's affection to Han — if he ever had it. He actually and literally flees to Dagobah, and there, Yoda repeatedly tells him he's unfit, unworthy and unskilled. Luke seems to learn what he does about the Force in spite of what Yoda can do.
Predicting what St. George Lucas will do is iffy. Certainly, none of us truly expected him to throw Han and Lela together in TESB. We wanted it, certainly! We saw — and, to a point, still see — Han as a man and Luke as a boy, though he matures rapidly at the end of TESB. But we never expected Mr. Lucas to agree!
I think that there is hope for Luke. He proved his courage at the end of TESB by jumping off that catwalk. To choose what should have been certain death in preference to accepting Vader as father and mentor demonstrates more courage than we ever expected of him. At Mos'Eastly Con, where we saw TESB for the first time — in a largely fannish audience of over 2000 — when Luke jumped, we applauded. Not because we wished him ill, or hoped he would die, but because it was the mark of integrity and courage that we were delighted to see.
You did have a point about Han: what else is there for him to do while in that slab but meditate? Also, consider the unmistakable expression of agony that is tne last glimpse we get of Han's face. Now, no one will try and claim he could possibly be conscious in there. But the subconscious is a strange thing. He's not awake. He's not even alive, really, notwithstanding the fact that Lando said he was. He just isn't dead, either. Somewhere in the limbo between not-dead and not-alive, Han is existing with two final memories: Leia's last words and obvious fear, and his own agony. So I would venture to predict that his hibernation -- or cryonio suspension or whatever — is filled with nightmares and his awakening won't be pleasant.
Now, if you were Ben Kenobi, would you leave Han alone in that slab, suffering like that? Ben is now "more powerful than you can possibly imagine." So let's see what happens in The Revenge of the Jedi when Han gets defrosted. I would speculate that he won't be in terrific shape, he'll need rescuing, and that even he won't be aware of how much he changed while in carbon freeze.