7 Things That Don't Make Sense In The Original Trilogy
While many fans would call it sacrilege to point out even the smallest flaws in the original Star Wars trilogy, there are nevertheless certain aspects of it that don't hold up to closer scrutiny. Here we will go over seven of the weakest points of the original trilogy. Considering the original is the best written and most cohesive of the three beloved Star Wars trilogies, there are slim pickings for true plot holes. However, for the sake of argument, we will do some nit picking over one of the best series of movies ever made.
7. Laser Conservation
One of the most endearing traits of the Rebel Alliance is their faith in droids. From the very beginning, when Leia dispatches R2-D2 with a plea for help, the Rebels have trusted these often overlooked characters. However, this faith could have easily been misplaced had an Imperial gunner's trigger finger been slightly itchier. As Artoo and Threepio jettison an escape pod from the besieged Tantive IV, Imperial cannons track their departure, prepared to fire. However, the officer orders the gunners to stand down, saving the droids and unwittingly dooming the Death Star.
6. Luke Keeps His Family Name
Afer the fall of the Republic and the annihilation of the Jedi, Obi-Wan and Yoda hide Luke and Leia away from the Emperor. Leia is whisked away to the Core World of Alderaan where she is raised by Senator Bail Organa and his wife, Breha, and takes on their family name. This makes a lot more sense than Luke returning to his father's homeworld, bearing his name, and living with his actual family. This seems like an extremely easy way for the Imperials to find him.
5. Detour with the Death Star Plans
In the final act of Rogue One, we see the Tantive IV escaping the massacre aboard the Profundity and leaving with the Death Star plans. This would seem to be the highest priority mission for the Alliance as the Death Star is fully operational and planetarily lethal. But Leia has been tasked with another mission by her adopted father: jumping from Scarif to Tatooine to recruit Master Kenobi to the rebel cause. This would seem like an unnecessary detour on an otherwise vital mission and causes their ship to come under attack by Darth Vader's Star Destroyer.
4. Ewoks
The much maligned Ewoks may be cute and cuddly, but their effectiveness in combat is dubious at best. Originally written as Wookiees, the costuming costs were deemed too high, so they were shrunk down to canonical size and dubbed "Ewoks." These diminutive creatures were highly successful in combating some of the Emperor's "best troops" during the Battle of Endor, using extremely primitive weapons to dispatch the Imps. From hammers and bows to logs and triplines, the most advanced weapon in the Ewok arsenal is a bow. Theses technological limitations, however, don't prevent them from defeating the Imperial forces and saving the Rebellion.
3. The Hutt Heist
The beginning scenes of Return of the Jedi are some of the greatest Star Wars moments. The fight at the Sarlaac pit, the crazy creatures within Jabba's Palace, and of course the Rancor. However, as exceptionally as it all panned out for our heroes, Luke's plan wasn't the greatest to begin with. Why did he stash his saber in Artoo in the first place? He didn't seem to have any trouble slipping past Jabba's security using only the Force. Couldn't he have carried his lightsaber into the throne room and used it to turn the tide against the Hutt and his cronies? Once Luke is captured, it's extremely lucky that Artoo is taken with the Hutt out to the Pit of Carkoon. Otherwise, Luke would once again be without his Jedi weapon.
2. Space Slug Stomach Atmosphere
While running from the Imperials after the Battle of Hoth, Han is forced to pilot the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field to avoid a flight of TIE's. Han's piloting skills and the Falcon's shields hold while the TIE's are destroyed. Attempting to lie low to repair the damaged hyperdrive and avoid more Imperials, Han flies into the crater of a large asteroid. However, this turns out to be just as dangerous as a Star Destroyer. The crater is home to an exogorth, with Han piloting the Falcon directly into its stomach. When Han, Leia, and Chewie all exit the ship to keep mynocks form chewing on the power cables, they wear minimal protective gear and are not harmed. This would seem to indicate that the stomach of the slug is pressurized as the crew are not harmed by the vacuum of space while in its stomach. What's more confusing is even if it was a crater, why would Han leave the ship with so little gear? Did he expect the crater to have an atmosphere?
1. Legit Death Star Plans
One of the biggest twists of Return of the Jedi is that the elaborate attack plan laid forth by the Rebellion has been by the Emperor's design from the beginning. He allows the Bothans to secure information on the second Death Star and transmit it to the Rebels. If this was his plan, why didn't he simply leak false plans and direct the rebel attack at a heavily shielded or defended part of the battle station? Or if the Emperor was set on leaking legit plans, why wasn't the power core heavily guarded? He knew this would be their objective, after all. This one is easy to chalk up to the sheer arrogance of the Sith, specifically Darth Sidious.