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Star Wars fans have noticed that two major characters in the original trilogy barely interact – but it actually makes total sense.
"Is it just me, or did Leia and Darth Vader barely interact?" questioned one fan on Reddit, sparking a full blown discussion. In the original trilogy, Vader and Leia share a storyline in A New Hope, which sees Leia taken prisoner aboard the Death Star. Then, they're in the same location of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back, but they don't even see each other in Return of the Jedi.
"They interacted the exact amount they needed to in my opinion. Until the throne room, to him, she is just a Senator. To her, he is just the Emperor's/Tarkin's dog," argues one fan. "Torturing her for the location of the rebel base is really the only place their relationship needed to go. And the only other time they meet is on Bespin when Vader has a much bigger fish to fry (Luke)."
"Leia being Luke's sister came up during the production of ROTJ, when Leia never saw Vader again, which likely explains why no more interactions were written between them," points out another fan. "Besides, Vader tortured her, destroyed her planet, and Leia likely lived a happy life with the Organas, her adoptive parents. I doubt she cared as much about Vader as Luke did, since he lived in the desert and knew the Lars weren't his parents. Besides, aside from cutting off his hand and killing Obi-Wan, Vader didn't actually do anything bad to Luke, unlike to Leia."
Another fan also highlights that it's likely down to the continuity not quite lining up: "Because it highlights the fact that she wasn’t originally written to be his daughter."
"Yeah, it was only a little bit in A New Hope and they see each other in Empire but don’t have any interactions. However, given the plan of Vader being Luke’s father, as well as the events of Return of the Jedi, I don't see much where they could interact well as father and daughter (regarding the films only), which makes it more tragic for Vader not being able to see his daughter again once he returns to the light," says another person.
But, not everyone agrees with the premise. "They might not have a lot of interactions, but outside of the dinner scene in ESB they have a lot of meaningful interactions," says one person, pointing out that each scene they do share – like Alderaan being destroyed, or Han Solo being frozen in carbonite – are major points in Leia's story.
"So that is five interactions between the two in the OT," they conclude. "Of those, four of them are big moments for Leia. All in I'd consider that a lot of impactful interactions even if there aren't a large number of interactions between these two characters."
Honestly, I have to agree that it makes total sense that Leia and Vader don't have a lot of scenes together past A New Hope. Beyond the behind the scenes timeline of when Leia was decided to be Luke's sister, their storylines just keep them separate. And, one of the most moving lines in the trilogy is when Vader asks Luke to "tell your sister, you were right" – even if it isn't entirely clear if Vader has actually figured out his daughter's identity at this point.
Next up for Star Wars is Maul – Shadow Lord, which arrives this April 6. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows, including The Mandalorian and Grogu.
