The other day, on May the Fourth Be With You day, I was chatting back and forth with a favorite cousin of mine, comparing favorite Star Wars scenes. Now, aside from loving every single moment that Baby Yoda Grogu in on screen, in the movies themselves, I sensed a pattern of favorite moments.
Every single one was based in romance.
Of course, I love the adrenaline of the galactic battles and good versus evil and deep Yoda wisdom and everything else that makes the iconic series fantastic.
But I can’t help it: I’m apparently a sucker for the underlying love stories, whether good or bad.
Ranked in order:
1. Return of the Jedi. I always loved the moment on the bridge when Leia learns Luke is her brother and immediately after, Han and her get all lovey. It’s such a sweet, deep moment of love. First, between a brother and sister (though, I must admit, for some reason I was rooting for Luke until the reveal, which is odd, because I’m usually a “bad boy rooter” kind of girl). But that moment was when Leia could claim her love for both men, and that scene anchored in my heart.
2. The Rise of Skywalker. Okay, so the tears were flowing in those final moments where Ben (after discarding his Kylo Ren personality, thank GOD) breathes life into Rey, they kiss and then—gasp!! ***SPOILER ALERT*** he dies! I was SO pissed! I wanted him to live, to be able to enjoy life back in the light with Rey by his side. It didn’t matter if this was the last episode; we deserved a happy ending! But then I remember, it’s Star Wars, and tragedy of star-crossed lovers is inevitable.
3. Attack of the Clones. The tormented, forbidden romance of Anakin and Padme (at first disturbing until I reconciled that he was older now and the age difference wasn’t as creepy as in the first episode) was endearing throughout the entire plot as it built, but not as much as its culmination in the romantically set end-of-movie wedding scene. Sigh. The secrecy yet power of their love made you forget for a moment of the known destruction that was to face them. Who didn’t revel in their short-lived happiness in that glorious sunset moment—even with his new mechanical arm?
And there you have it. My top three scenes. In fairness, a few of my other favorites were not always romantic, but they usually featured a Yoda or Baby Yoda, like when the old guy all of a sudden became an acrobat and kicked ass or his wise words to Luke as he passed away. And of course, the reveal of Vader being Luke’s father was great until it was humorized for me by Chris Farley in Tommy Boy—but that’s an entirely different blog.
What are your favorite scenes?