The most popular and consequential scene in Return of the Jedi is when Luke Skywalker has to reveal their family connection to Princess Leia before heading off to face Darth Vader and the Emperor. The Star Wars audience only learned the news of Leia and Luke’s relationship some scenes before on Dagobah. The question blinking in neon was how would Leia take the revelation that Luke was her brother?
We have seen that Luke has no memory of his mother. So, in the Ewok village scene on Endor, he asks Leia if she remembers anything of their mother. The question seems odd since they are twins.
However, Leia responded in the scene that she remembers bits such as flashing images and the feeling. She even elaborated that she remembers their mother as a beautiful and kind but very sad woman.
At this moment, Luke also reveals the truth about their family. Leia was momentarily shocked by the news, but she expressed that somehow, she always felt a kinship with Luke. We assume it was through their Force connection. Luke also told her the consequences of his mission failure. There was a possibility that he couldn’t stop the Emperor and bring back their father Anakin to the “good side.” According to Luke, Leia will be the last hope for the galaxy in that case.
We cannot deny or overstate the impact of this plot twist on Star Wars’ future. The revelation that Luke and Leia are siblings would continue to influence many more storylines after the Original Trilogy. The trilogy set in the current Disney canon and classic Legends continuity will have a consequential effect. On the other hand, it also sets the stage for a critical storyline of the prequel trilogy. In light of the twisted plot, Lucas’ second trilogy requires an ending showing the twins’ birth. The ending will also require the story of Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader. But most importantly, the story will need to explain the story of Luke and Leia’s mother. The big question mark hangs over our head how only Leia remembered her mother when she died during childbirth.
We know the 2005 installment’ Revenge of the Sith’ tackled all the mentioned plot lines. Moreover, the final Prequel film filled the remaining gap, giving satisfactory answers for the origins of the Skywalker family. However, one question mark still hangs over the fans, bothering them all these years. The plot created a controversial gap: How does Leia remember anything about her mother, Padme Amidala, and not Luke when she died giving birth to the twins.
Princess reveals her memory regarding her mother in the Return of the Jedi. Note that the timeline of Return of Jedi picks up 25 years after Revenge of the Sith. It was natural to assume that Revenge of the Sith unintentionally contradicted this pivotal moment in Return of the Jedi.
Now, the good news is that fans are about to get a valid answer regarding Leia’s memory in an upcoming novel. Beth Revis is the writer of this upcoming Star Wars novel, The Princess and the Scoundrel. She has set the novel’s timeline just hours after Return of the Jedi. The novel finally fills the controversial plot hole. In fact, the novel fixes everything for the trilogies. The novel excerpt on StarWars.com gives us an in-depth insight into Leia’s innermost thoughts about her origins. While she tries to process Vader’s death in the repercussion of the Battle of Endor, we get all the answers.
The book finally explains how Leia can recall Padme’s memories from Revenge of the Sith. The book says, “When she had spoken to Luke earlier this night, Leia had told him that she remembered the mother they shared, their birth mother. It had been vague images, feelings, really, nothing more.” The writer further elaborates, “But she did have a memory — of love, closeness, things she could not describe. It was impossible to put her feelings into words, but their truth was not denied. It felt like… a connection, a bond made of light.”
In simpler words, Force is the only justification for Leia’s recollection of her mother. What the princess remembers about her mother is actually what she feels from her mother’s final minutes. They shared feelings of “love, closeness, and a bond made of light” for brief moments in Revenge of the Sith. It goes back a long way to Leia’s and Luke’s discussion in Return of the Jedi. In her response, Leia told Luke that she only recalls “feelings” and “images” about their mother. While the sadness Leia sensed might be coming from Padme’s lost will to live after giving birth to the twins.
Does the question remain why only Leia can recall any of this and not Luke? The writer explains this too in Princess and the Scoundrel.
Revis narrates from Leia’s thoughts, “Yet Luke, who was a Jedi Knight, strong in the Force, had no memory of the woman who had birthed them both…Did he have memories of their father? Was that why he was so capable of forgiving the monster that was Darth Vader? They had been separated at birth, not just from each other but from their biological parents. Maybe Leia had a connection with their mother, and Luke had a connection with their father.”
Leia’s observation in this instant is interesting, hinting at the reason for Luke’s obsessive curiosity about his father. It also explains the strong connection between the father and son during the Original Trilogy. On the other hand, the daughter could more clearly relate with the mother.
We are eagerly waiting for more revelations in The Princess and the Scoundrel. The novel will hit stores on Aug. 16 this year.
