Quick disclaimer: this post is not meant to minimize the community that see Han & Luke’s relationship as romantic – I’m fully supportive of people’s choice to ship whichever characters they want (even if that’s not how I personally see their relationship). I’m choosing to analyze their friendship as presented in the films, so there will be no reference to a possible romantic relationship in this analysis.
Ever since I first watched Star Wars, the friendship that stuck out to me the most is that between Luke and Han. It’s surprisingly overlooked due to the other iconic duos within the Original Trilogy – Chewbacca & Han, C-3PO & R2-D2, and even Luke and Leia. But Han and Luke form such a strong relationship throughout their films where they become as close as brothers by the end of the war.
Let’s first define the concept of friendship first before we jump to lightspeed and start the analysis. Friendship, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is “a voluntary relationship between two or more people that is relatively long-lasting and in which those involved tend to be concerned with meeting the others’ needs and interests as well as satisfying their own desires. Friendships frequently develop through shared experiences.”
Han and Luke do not have a voluntary relationship – at least at first. They first meet on Tatooine at Chalmun’s Cantina when Obi-Wan hires Han and Chewie to fly himself, Luke, the two droids (and no questions asked) to Alderaan. Within moments, Han is unimpressed with Luke’s naivety and Luke is unimpressed with Han’s impressive bragging – and this disdain only continues to grow throughout the flight
It’s not until they’ve landed on the Death Star that their friendship starts to form. Luke insists that the three of them go and save Leia. Han and Chewie, convinced Leia will pay them a large reward, choose to follow. They’re forced to work together in order for this plan to succeed. Lucky for them, they make it just long enough for Leia to be freed, carry out the rest of her rescue, and bring them all to the Rebel Base on Yavin IV.
Despite their time on the Death Star working together, they still don’t see eye to eye and Han decides to leave before the Battle of Yavin (see my other article May the Force Be With You which dives a bit deeper into this scene in A New Hope). Han is frustrated with Luke’s naivety again, and Luke is frustrated with Han’s self centered stance.
However, that changes when Han extends an offer of luck towards Luke, “May the Force be with you”, and that connection sticks with Han. After leaving the base, he eventually chooses to return in the hour the Rebels and Luke most need it. Han and Luke on their own couldn’t have saved the day during the battle, but together they were able to succeed. They fully embrace, full of happiness, after the Death Star is destroyed. Seemingly for the first time in the film, they are truly friends.
Throughout the rest of the trilogy, Han and Luke clearly care for one another. Han doesn’t hesitate to go out in a blizzard to save Luke when he never reported back to Echo Base, and Luke also doesn’t hesitate when he has a force vision while training on Dagobah indicating Leia and Han are in danger. In those 3 years it’s clear that the two of them have only gotten closer, and Leia even reflects on this years later in the novel Bloodline by Claudia Gray.
“His willingness to take on the role of mentor was one of the first things she’d noticed about Han Solo, years ago – well, one of the first things she’d liked about him. For all his griping about “farmboys,” Han had dedicated himself to Luke in the days after the first Death Star’s destruction. Leia had watched as Luke slowly overcame his grief for Obi-Wan Kenobi and his aunt and uncle, while learning about gunnery, ship repair, and countless other things from Han. The sarcasm and wit Han used disguised his concern for Luke, and even Leia took a while to realize that Han was looking out for her, too.” (Gray, 39-40)
It’s clear that Han filled the gap left from his Aunt & Uncle as well as Obi-Wan and offered guidance when it was most needed in Luke’s life. Despite his attempts to present himself as not caring, it’s clear that Han cared deeply about Luke, and Luke cared just as deeply about Han.
They share a love for flying and ship mechanics, and teach each other so many things from their otherwise conflicting personalities and views of the galaxy. Han teaches Luke about the breadth of the universe outside of Tatooine and Luke in turn teaches Han how to see his compassion as a strength as well as introduces him to The Force and the idea there’s something greater out there.
It’s no wonder that when it’s needed, Luke (alongside Leia, Chewie & Lando) doesn’t hesitate to put his life at risk to rescue Han after he’s frozen in carbonite & handed over to Jabba the Hutt. Luke is once again willing to risk his life by both fighting a Rancor and nearly being thrown into the Sarlacc – all for his friend.
While on Endor as well, after Leia is separated from them, it’s sweet to see the two of them together trying to find where Leia went as well as escape the Ewoks. They’re joking around, going toe-to-toe on what the next step is, and even trying to rein the other in when things start to get out of hand. It’s a short-lasting view into their day-to-day relationship when they’re not running after one another trying to save them from certain death (because, unsurprisingly, the Ewoks also lead to an almost-certain-death).
It’s also very telling that years later, when Rey appears on Ahch-To, Luke’s first question when he sees Chewie’s there is, “Where’s Han.” There’s even a deleted scene where Luke is mourning Han’s death and reflecting on the loss of his friend – a beautiful moment I wish had been left in, or at least wish more people were aware of it.
Han and Luke’s relationship is so important because while male friendships are not necessarily unique in film, it’s nice to see two men that truly and honestly care for one another. There is no hostile male competition or feeling that one is the leader and another is the follower. Luke and Han may not see eye to eye on everything, but they still show respect to one another despite those differences.
And ultimately, in a large galaxy full of different duos, their brother-like friendship eventually does become true when Han and Leia are married and Han and Luke become family.
Jakku Journal 