Leia Organa: Intergalactic Badass

Leia Organa is seen as intergalactic badass and hero to many. We are first introduced to Leia in 1977 in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. When we met her she is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan and a member of the Imperial Senate. From the get go she is kingdom onto herself, a feminist icon for the ages, and a lone female fighter (and later revolutionary) in a male dominated world. While Star Wars has many great aspects that set it apart from all others that came before it, it is not without its detractions. In Leia we see a trope that is as old as cinema itself which crops up time and time again. It doesn’t matter what world or what time period you’re talking in even in a galaxy far far away the idea of having more than just a token woman is seen as farfetched and completely ridiculous.

As many scholars have pointed out this is a troubling and disturbing trend that we see all too often. We, as audiences, will suspend our disbelief and believe in everything from Wookiees to Dementors to the miraculous powers of the Starship Enterprise but cannot conceive of a world in which men and women are equal and involved in both conflict and civilian life in equal measure. Until recently that is.

For this and many other reasons Princess Leia Organa quickly became a fan favourite and continues to be so to this day. Throughout the series we see her act as a Politician in the name of Alderaan; a soldier, spy, and Base Leader for the Rebel Alliance; as a disguised Ubese Bounty Hunter; and a General in charge of leading the new Resistance. Reprising her role to the delight of fans in Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens she is every bit the badass rebel fighter she always was.

From her first moment on screen to her last she is in control and unapologetic. She takes shots at the Stormtroopers who board her ship; is wounded numerous times but continues forward blaster in hand; and still has enough energy left over after being tortured to insult Commander Grand Moff Tarkin where it hurts. She is smart, she is witty, and she refuses to take anyone’s crap.

Much of what we see in A New Hope goes on to the form the basis of Leia’s character as the series moves forward. In it we see her act as a spy for the Rebel Alliance and become captured by the Empire and tortured for information. It is as a result of this torture that Leia experiences one of her first great losses a pattern that unfortunately repeats itself many times over. When torturing her results in no valuable information Tarkin threatens to destroy her home planet if she doesn’t give the Empire what they want. Leia then gives him the location of an old abandoned base to set them off course, but her victory is short lived. As soon as Leia gives him what they need Tarkin orders Alderaan to be destroyed.

Leia’s reaction to this chain of events typifies her character in so many ways. She is a woman who is at times both diplomatic and abrasive in going after what she wants and protecting what she loves only to have those things taken away from her despite her best efforts. This is part of what shapes her to become the strong, but vulnerable character we have all come to love so much.

A New Hope also introduces one of the aspects of Leia’s character that makes her so appealing and fun to watch. While she seems to regard herself and is certainly seen by those around her to be a woman of upstanding and righteous morals who believes strongly in the greater good and is willing to fight for it, she winds up falling for and becoming utterly smitten with the series’ famous nerf herding smuggler: Han Solo.

Their argumentative, volatile, and endearing romance is part of what keeps us coming back for more. It’s the classic one again off again, are they couple, corny sort of ridiculous love story that audiences of all ages love and for good reason. Han is as cocky as Leia is stubborn. They can’t agree on anything except that they’re crazy about each other and even that depends on their moods.
The series gives viewers many iconic scenes between these two love birds. These include the Medal Ceremony in A New Hope where Leia bestows medals on the Rebellion’s heroes at the hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4. They say a smile is worth a thousand words and the smile plus wink Han gives Leia as she awards him his medal certainly does.

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back gives us the most Han and Leia moments in the entire series. I mean who could forget Leia’s stinging insult that Han is nothing more than a, “Stuck Up…Half Witted…Scruffy Looking…NERF HERDER!” And then of course, there’s their kiss aboard the Millennium Falcon where a heated exchange over repairs to the Falcon’s Hyperdrive lead Leia to tell Han to, “Stop that,” when he pulls her closer. “Stop what?” he asks to which she says, “Stop that. My hands are dirty.” To which he replies, “My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?” All of which culminates in the scoundrel and the princess finally sharing a passionate kiss.

And then of course, there are the iconic declarations of love. When Darth Vader is preparing to freeze Han in carbonite, Han uses his final moments to order to Chewie to take care of her and then kisses her passionately only to be dragged backwards by Stormtroopers. As Han is about to be submerged Leia looks at him and finally says the words, “I love you,” to which Han responds, “I know.” She later returns the favour in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi when the pair are cornered by Stormtroopers. All hope seems lost when Leia stealthily reveals that despite her injuries she is still fit for battle and that she’s got a hidden blaster. Upon realizing this Han looks at her and says, “I love you,” to which Leia replies, “I know.”

There are many times that the two completely give up on each other only to come running back seconds, hours, days, or even years later. They can’t stand to admit the way they feel about each other anymore then they can stand to be apart. That is until betrayal rips a hole in the fabric of their life together. But even then, as always, they find their way back and into each other’s arms. And so we impatiently await the next installment of the Star Wars series: Episode VIII. Where once again Carrie Fisher will reprise her iconic role as Leia Organa: the woman who went from Princess to Politician to Rebel Fighter to Resistance General.