Star Wars: The best moments from The Empire Strikes Back
By Nik Edlund
The Empire Strikes Back best moments: Han and Leia’s Kiss
Han and Leia have a contested relationship from the start of The Empire Strikes Back. They start the film by arguing and early on Han accuses Leia of having feelings for him. She brushes that assertion off and says she’d rather kiss a Wookie.
When the Empire attacks the Rebel base, Leia’s only chance of escape is with Han on The Millennium Falcon. The Falcon is having engine issues and when they can’t jump to hyperspace they take refuge inside an asteroid.
During this time of respite of being chased by the Imperials, Han and Leia end up alone together working on The Falcon. Leia is having issues getting a lever to go upwards and Han comes up behind her to help. She gives him an elbow smash to get him off of her and hurts her finger as the lever finally goes up.
Han grabs her hand and begins rubbing it. Leia then asks him to stop calling her “Your Worship” and he agrees. They talk about how Han can be a nice guy sometimes and not always a scoundrel, and as Han moves in he tells her “I’m nice men” and they kiss briefly before being interrupted by Threepio.
This was a fun scene for many reasons. After A New Hope was released, it was unclear who Leia would end up with. This scene cements the fact she’ll be with Han. It’s also a perfect blend of humor and romance and we see the earlier contention between the two was actually mutual attraction.