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A Scoundrel’s Shrug

Han Solo casually derails the Empire

Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas

Director: Richard Marquand

There is an amazing amount of depth in Han Solo, and many of the reasons we love Star Wars are centered around the moments that make up his personal journey through the saga. You could enjoy the finest Corellian ale, pull up a chair in Fort Epso, and wax poetic about the lessons to be learned from the trials and myriad tribulations of Han.

And then sometimes he just really funny.

You can enjoy both aspects of this legendary character.

Han always has ideas and they’re often from the seat of his pants. It’s a miracle they work. Star Wars history has taught us that Han jumps in first, makes his own luck, and lives to tell about it. That’s the whole “never tell me the odds” part of his character. It can be argued that his luck only truly ran out once, on that catwalk inside Starkiller Base as he stood before his son—ok, ok. Let’s not get dark. Funny Han! Han is funny!

The Battle of Endor had taken a turn for the worse when Han got his crazy idea to climb into a captured AT-ST, pretend to be an Imperial (he had the experience), and *hope* the Imperials inside the shield bunker would come on out. The Rebel fleet above them was being hammered between the very much armed and operational Death Star and the Emperor’s beloved armada. The Rebel ground forces were scattered on the forest floor and only the surprising might and resolve of the Ewoks were keeping the good guys in the game. Han needed this to work.

It shouldn’t have worked, though. It was too simple. Han simply put on an AT-ST pilot’s helmet, covered his face with a transmitter, and said the battle was over and the Rebels were fleeing. In one of the bigger blunders on the Imperial’s side, the commanding officer excitedly sent three squads to help and asked for the back door to the bunker to be opened. The very back door they had been vehemently blocking the Rebels from entering the entire battle. This officer just simply fell for it.

But we can dig into the foibles of the Empire another time.

The Imperials rushed out of the bunker to find Han and Chewie waiting on either side and a plethora (or is it bundle?) of Ewoks ready to seize them. In one of Han’s best reactions, he just simply shrugs at the Imperials.

It’s a shrug that says, “This shouldn’t have worked.” And he’s right. The mighty Empire shouldn’t have lost that day. They had the Rebels trapped in space. They had them routed on the ground. The Ewoks were fierce but would have eventually fallen back against the might of technology. The Empire should have been victorious, but one officer fell for a silly plan. Not because he was incapable. Not because he wasn’t trained. Not just because he was outsmarted. No, he fell for the trick because he, like the Galactic Empire he served, was too blinded by the arrogant self-assurance that they were too big to fail. Nothing could topple them. Yet here they were, trapped by the natives they overlooked and the Rebels they never respected. Han Solo’s shrug says it all, “This shouldn’t have worked, but we’ve won.”

Actually, there’s a lot to learn from a shrug.