Monday, June 22, 2020

Question of the Day: Did the Force help Han Solo find Luke Skywalker on Hoth?

A question I continue to have about Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is did the Force help Han Solo find a severely injured Luke Skywalker on Hoth? Especially since it was at night during a snow storm. It has always made me wonder if the Force was involved or was Han just lucky?


Prior to Luke being found he was struggling to hold on but was being encouraged by the Force Ghost of his former mentor Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. During that moment did Obi-Wan through the Force know Han was relatively near and showed Han the way to Luke? Or did Luke in his desperation to survive sent out help through the Force which made it easier for Han to find him?


As much as I believe the Force played a part in Luke being found, I don't want to disregard Han's luck. I know he's considered to have good luck but Han finding Luke under extreme weather conditions was truly lucky. There was a scene that showed he used a scanner but with the near whiteout condition, I wonder how effective it would be? It's not like the Rebels had state of art equipment, most of the tech they had seemed old and outdated especially compared to what the Empire had. Perhaps there was a chance the scanner picked up a faint yet indistinguishable heat signature in the general vicinity. And searching around that area, Han simply lucked up and found Luke.

Luck aside, it's hard not to question the possibility that the Force also guided Han to Luke. And in the scene where the Force Ghost of Obi-Wan fades away, Han on his Tauntaun appears. Either that's an amazing coincidence or Han is extremely lucky to find Luke in the nick of time.

What do you think, did the Force help Han find Luke or is Han just lucky?

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