Han Solo and Pathos in the Star Wars Films

Photo Credit: [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] Lucasfilm

Never Tell Me The Odds:

Punch It!

–Han Solo

Han Solo is an icon. He is a rough and tumble scoundrel who never takes no for an answer. He’s an accomplished gambler, smuggler, and erstwhile gangster. He’s a loyal comrade and a gifted leader. He is a man who came from the humblest of beginnings to rise to a place of prominence where his actions helped topple an oppressive Galactic Empire. Han Solo doesn’t want you to tell him the odds.

Although his character came to a bittersweet ending, we as viewers of Star Wars can always rejoice in his never-say-die attitude. That he made the ultimate sacrifice for his beloved son is a touching example of selfless love – of compassion.

While his character may have been cut from the cloth of pathos, Han Solo never let it slow him down. With a glint in his eye, and a smirk on his face, he improvised and made his own luck. His golden dice a constant totemic reminder of his ability to recover from almost any setback. Perhaps, even a reminder that a lost son can claw his way back to the light.

We as fans needn’t mourn the loss of our favorite smuggler captain. His presence looms large over the whole of the Sequel Trilogy and reaches far back to the time before the rebellion. As Luke Skywalker says at the climax of The Last Jedi – No one is ever really gone.

Han Solo is still out there piloting the Millennium Falcon. Making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.