Here’s a look at the questionable continuity of a lie that Leia tells Luke in ‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’.
The Star Wars franchise is beloved by fans all around the world. The movies, which started with the release of the 1977 classic Star Wars: A New Hope, have inspired and excited generations of viewers – and to this day, the films are considered modern-day classics. Despite that, many plot holes exist within the universe, and over the years, many fans have pointed out serious issues with continuity. One of the most seemingly obvious errors is the scene in Return of the Jedi where Princess Leia tells Luke that she has specific memories of her mother, even though it’s later shown that Padmé Amidala, Leia and Luke’s mother, actually died in childbirth.
Leia tells Luke that she remembers her mother in ‘Return of the Jedi’
During one memorable scene in Return of the Jedi, Luke and Leia have their first conversation after realizing they are brother and sister. After Luke tells Leia that he has no memory of his mother, noting, “I never knew her,” Leia shares that she does have some memories of their mother, but just images and “feelings,” telling Luke that she “died when I was very young.” Specifically, she tells Luke that she remembers her mother being beautiful and sad.
According to a video on the MrsMojo YouTube channel, this scene would open up a major plot hole in the universe decades later when Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was released. This movie, a prequel to Return of the Jedi, reveals that Padmé Amidala, Leia and Luke’s mother, had died in childbirth, only getting the chance to name her children before passing away. Therefore, there’s no way that Leia could have fully formed memories or recollections about her time with Padmé.
Leia could be lying to herself about her memories of Padmé
For years, fans looked upon this marked difference as a continuity error. However, there’s a simpler explanation that could explain why Leia has some distinct memories of her mother. It’s possible that Leia is stretching the truth to maintain her belief that she had spent some time with her birth mother, therefore lying to both Luke and herself. After all, Leia was adopted and raised by Bail and Breha Organa and raised in a life of privilege from birth – but she was always aware that she was adopted.
Live About also points out that Leia’s strong Force sensitivity could have filled in some of the missing gaps in her memory and that she could have had Force visions that revealed images of Padmé Amidala to her.
‘Star Wars’ has several plot holes and continuity errors
There are several rather significant plot holes throughout the Star Wars films. When Obi-Wan Kenobi, known as “Old Ben” Kenobi in A New Hope, first meets R2-D2 and C-3PO in the film, he seems to have no memory of the two droids, even though he worked closely with them some twenty years beforehand. According to Esquire, the prequel films also establish that it takes years and years of training before someone can become a Jedi Knight – while in Empire Strikes Back, Luke seems to accomplish this after just a few days of training with Yoda.
Despite these glaring plot holes, many fans don’t seem to mind the continuity concerns, choosing to embrace them as oversights in the larger story or finding ways to make them make sense.
