[Tumblr crosspost] Luke and Leia

[anghraine]

I responded to this picspam with:

Luke and Leia are visually paired in a lot of interesting ways, especially considered it wasn't conceived as a twin thing until ROTJ. I think Luke-Leia was always built on likeness.

Han and Leia definitely have commonalities, but ultimately it's a relationship about struggling to cross boundaries, and it's framed that way visually. Luke and Leia are framed as a natural pair. Neither ever stop to think of the oddity of princess-farmboy; they just fit. It works, and nobody needs to think about why.

I'm putting it strongly, but—that's part of the reason that the treatment of them as opposite counterparts is so ??????? They're framed together in opposition to Han, visually and dynamically, so often. They're given incredibly similar lines, sometimes simultaneously. I think it's also why ... people joke about the twin twist, but ultimately it works. You can look at these two tiny, unflinching idealists shouldering terrible trauma, and saying, tomorrow I'll grieve but today we carry on, and believe they've got the same blood in their veins.

Comments

[dreamsofghostsandstars]

It's interesting to me that the tension that exists between Leia and Han has no parallel in her relationship with Luke. From the moment she realizes he isn't just a short stomtrooper, she accepts him, unconditionally, with complete trust. You can't tell me she wouldn't have made a snarky remark if Han had been the one to suggest the rope trick, and I find it notable that, even under the stress of being stuck in the trash compactor and chased by stormtroopers, she makes fun of Han and Chewie, but shows only concern for Luke. There are two reasons why this is so intriguing:

A) It's very unusual for Leia, yet feels natural to me as an audience member. (Props to Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill for pulling this off. They have a great sort of low-key, consistent onscreen chemistry.) Leia is a politician. She's trained to look for the other guy's angle. She doesn't show any inclination to immediately trust Han, Chewie, or anyone else (except Luke) not recommended to her as "her only hope" by her father. (She does manage a rapport with Wicket in ROTJ, but I think his tech level and defenselessness have more to do with it than her ability to trust him with her life.) However, she does accept, within minutes, that Luke is her bestie, a solid Rebellion recruit, and a worthy (albeit still unchosen) romantic option. This difference in her reactions could be OOC writing, but I think it's more a case of fridge brilliance, a subtle sign of the intuition she doesn't consciously recognize in herself. I headcanon that Luke brings it out in her because she recognizes, through the Force, how similar they are; how sincere he is; and also that they spent all that time in the womb together. Maybe she even senses that they both have the potential destiny to face down the Empire/Sith and save the galaxy.

2) While Leia and Han are cute, they also follow a stereotypical sort of pattern for romances wherein sexual tension is matched by regular, grating-on-each-other's-nerves tension. Meanwhile, Luke spends 2+ movies as part of this romantic triangle, and there's simply none of that tension there. Even though I don't dislike Han and Leia as a couple, I find it refreshing to see a relationship where common ground and getting along don't prove that the relationship can only lead to sexless suburban boredom, or whatever the equivalent is when you're fighting Nazis, wizards, and the Praetorian Guard IN SPACE!