Message-ID: <3717@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Aug-83 09:31:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.3717
Posted: Tue Aug 2 09:31:00 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 5-Aug-83 04:47:13 EDT
Lines: 42
From: David H. Kaufman
Date: 28 Jul 83 13:42:54-PDT (Thu)
From: decvax!linus!utzoo!utcsrgv!edward at Ucb-Vax
To: SF-LOVERS at MIT-MC
Re: SW goof
In TESB, Obi-Wan says that Luke is their last hope, but Yoda
corrects him by saying that their is another. It seems that Obi-Wan
never knew about the other before this moment. But in RotJ we find
out that OB-1 (I'm getting lazy) knew about Leia from the beginning.
In fact he was the one who hid her from Vader in the first place
knowing her future possible importance.
It doesn't make sense that OB-1 should make his "That boy is our
last hope.." comment if he knows damn well that Leia is around.
But he doesn't know she's around! Obi-Wan got this message out of the
blue (transported by droid, no less) from the Princess, saying the
Rebellion needed him, so he rushes off to Alderaan - to which he
arrives shortly after the Death Star (original model) has blown it up.
(Naturally, he is rather upset by this). When he, Luke, Han, Chewie,
and droids arrive on the Death Star, Obi-Wan goes off to shut down the
tractor beam before R2D2 finds out that the Princess is alive and in
the dungeon, as it were. Obi-Wan dies before he gets back to the
ship; he never knows that Leia has been found.
Whether or not you decide this is a goof really hinges on one thing:
as a hologram, is Obi-Wan aware only of what goes on while he's
visible? If not, then he should know that the vision that sent Luke
running off is not just a random vision of his friends (Obi-Wan would
assume Han, Chewie, and droids probably, or maybe Biggs and anybody
else from Tatooine who had joined the rebellion) but a vision that
includes Leia. Yoda knows this because he heard what Luke said after
the vision (I think he does mention Leia, though it has been awhile
since I've seen the movie), and because he explores the future in that
direction. If Obi-Wan is only concious of what happens when he's
visible, then presumably after the fade-out Yoda tells him that Leia
is indeed alive, but in the hands of her father.
David Kaufman