notbecauseofvictories:

honestly I love the deleted scenes from Empire Strikes Back so much, in large part because they perfectly set up Leia’s character. 

For example, in the extended argument about Han leaving, she keeps trying to make the argument that the Rebellion needs him, he’s a leader, he’s an excellent pilot, won’t he think of—but he snaps “don’t tell me about the rebellion again, don’t you ever think about anything else? I’m sorry, but you’re as cold as this planet.”

(”And you think you’re the one to apply some heat.” “I could but I’m not really interested anymore.” [insert why_u_always_lyin.gif])

This is the main personal drama for all of ESB. Han is upset she won’t admit she likes him, that she wants him to stay for herself, not for any greater purpose or to help the Rebellion. Leia is confused as to why he would want that when she’s already given him the highest praise she knows how to give. (Does Leia have a higher standard than ‘you can help fulfill my ideological and political objectives’? Though to be fair, she’s also…a little emotionally withholding, just. As a rule. Like her brother, she can be an asshole.)

It’s an interesting contrast with a couple deleted scenes later, when we get Leia and Luke alone in the medbay, as he’s recovering from the yeti attack/hypothermia. When he mentions that he’s leaving for Dagobah bc his dead mentor appeared to him in the snow, Leia flips out, “that’s great, that’s just great—why doesn’t everybody just take off?” she snaps, and a couple lines later: “When am I going to learn not to count on anyone but myself….”

(for Extra Pain, you can imagine how carefully she is Not Thinking About Alderaan, and how these two moonjockeys are the only people she’s really got left in the galaxy.)

And it makes perfect sense that she would wait until then to show emotion about Han, because Leia has always been less emotionally guarded with Luke. Even in New Hope she was warmer with Luke than Han—one of my favorite scenes in ANH is when Luke, bummed that Han won’t stay and fight the Death Star, crosses paths with Leia in the hangar. She reacts to his unhappiness with such obvious sisterly “I will unquestioningly hate whoever hurt you” that I melt. 

In an earlier piece about Leia, I wrote “It’s funny, how alone you didn’t realize you were” and I stand by that as her character’s arc. Not grand or sweeping, just this shouty, emotionally reserved, burning-bright idealist, figuring out that she does not have to surrender those things to keep these people in her life.