# Star Wars biggest plotholes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444 "2005-06-15T21:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/81 "2005-06-17T02:11:20Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > The worst “pull me out of the movie” moment for me was in AOTC: > > “This is my girlfriend Beru.” > > Wha–? Girlfriend?? Was that necessary, George? Couldn’t they just have already been married? > : I’m glad to see it wasn’t just me it got to. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/82 "2005-06-17T02:22:12Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > It was just jarring hearing the word “Democracy” on another planet, that’s all. I know they have to use English so the movie audience understands it, but it seemed too specific a term in an alien world. It struck a nerve with me, too, but primarily because they kept using it. “I love democracy more than anything.” “Don’t you care about democracy?!” “Obi-Wan, Democracy and I are getting married and you can’t stop us!” Yeah, Lucas may have wanted the characters to have more formal, higher-ideal type of speech, but _nobody_ talks about democracy like that in actuality. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/83 "2005-06-17T02:37:33Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I think the idea is that, if the leader buys it, one of the wingmen can move up and take over the run without having to start the run over back at the beginning. Also, they can take out gun emplacements while the leader is focusing on his targetting computer. _snap_ I got it. It allows the leader to keep his screens on double front to withstand the gun turrets in the trench. Actually what happens is as they approach the Death Star they’re told to switch to double front. The first guy in the trench says he’s switching all power to the front deflector screens. If you did this in the game you had no rearward facing shields. Therefore you need to have guys behind you with normally adjusted shields to block the shots from the TIEs so they don’t hit the undefended back of the leader. Especially if they hang back far enough. Which raises an interesting question. Why were the gun turrents only facing one way? As if they expected people flying in the trench to be going a particular way. At least in the movie all shots only go one way. I just watched it in slo-mo to make sure. They do that in the game too. P.S. The only way I could complete that mission was to blast it straight towards the portal high enough above the Death Star to avoid the laser blasts. I also did this to leave the TIE advanced in the dust. Then shortly before the portal I’d shoot straight down into the trench, pull up hard and fire my rockets. Never could make it the right way. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/84 "2005-06-17T03:00:13Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I don’t see how this is a plot hole, per se. Just a totally un-foreshadowed plot twist. There’s nothing previous that tells us that they can NOT be siblings. I don’t know about that. When Luke revealed to Leia that they were siblings, she said something like “I’ve always known.” But that didn’t stop her from laying a big kiss on him to make Han jealous. And Luke sure was pretty happy about it. It’s worse if you watch the original trailers on the bonus disc of the DVD set. The trailers are pretty bad, to begin with. For both the original and _Empire_, the narrator keeps emphasizing the “romance” of the movies. As he says that on the _Empire_ trailer, it shows Leia kissing Luke, but in slow motion. It made me squeal and cover my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/85 "2005-06-17T03:01:52Z")
This is not really a plot hole, but more like an unanswered question. Okay, you know what? It’s not even a question, it’s just something that cracked me up. In the most recent movie, Yoda gives some long speech to Anakin about how it’s wrong for a Jedi to miss anyone. Life moves on, people leave, people die, Jedi get over it, blah blah blah. Later, when taking his leave of the Wookies, Yoda pops out with “I’ll miss you, Chewie!” I realize it’s probably just a figure of speech, but it seemed to me to be merely a way of saying Chewie’s name just in case the audience hadn’t figured out that he was in fact Chewbacca. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/86 "2005-06-17T03:02:28Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > It was just jarring hearing the word “Democracy” on another planet, that’s all. I know they have to use English so the movie audience understands it, but it seemed too specific a term in an alien world. I felt the same way. I think I was watching some movie about the Roman Empire and they use the word “Coup de’tat” and it bugged me, because it’s a french word, yet french doesn’t exist yet. I don’t know why, considering all the characters are speaking English instead of Latin, but for some reason, it still bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/87 "2005-06-17T03:11:59Z")
Minor correction–yes, I know there is a romance between Han and Leia in the original movies. But the trailers always were pairing Luke with Leia. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/88 "2005-06-17T03:14:59Z")
I was watching Empire again and two things bugged me. I don’t know if’s a plot hole, but here goes… 1. Okay, the Falcon is supposed to be the fastest ship around. It’s mentioned in the entire original trilogy. Yet, there are several shots of Empire that start with the Falcon fleeing from a star destoryer, just ahead of it. Wait a second? I thought the Falcon is supposed to be fast? And yet it’s shown on several occasionally going just barely outrunning a star destoryer. I don’t normally think of Cap ships as being that fast, certinaly not fast enough to keep pace with “The fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy”. What’s going on here? You’d think the falcon would running rings around those star destroyers, not barely outrunning them. 1. At the end of Empire, Captain Piett tells Vader his troops have deactivated the hyperdrive on the Falcon. Then the Falcon goes into Hyperspace. Vader just walks off. Yet eariler, Captain Needa loses the Falcon in a way that was beyond his control, then decides to take full responsibility for the loss and apologize in person. Needa is choked for his trouble. You know, if that’s how the Empire treats officers, I’m surprised more didn’t join the rebellion. At least, isn’t it a bit wierd Needa gets choked but Piett just gets a dirty look? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/89 "2005-06-17T03:24:34Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I was watching Empire again and two things bugged me. I don’t know if’s a plot hole, but here goes… > > 1. Okay, the Falcon is supposed to be the fastest ship around. It’s mentioned in the entire original trilogy. > > Yet, there are several shots of Empire that start with the Falcon fleeing from a star destoryer, just ahead of it. Wait a second? I thought the Falcon is supposed to be fast? And yet it’s shown on several occasionally going just barely outrunning a star destoryer. I don’t normally think of Cap ships as being that fast, certinaly not fast enough to keep pace with “The fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy”. I think it’s fastest in hyperdrive. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/90 "2005-06-17T03:59:12Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I think it’s fastest in hyperdrive. In that case, why does Han mention “It’s the fastest ship in the fleet” just prior to the battle of Endor. A fast hyperdrive isn’t going to help much in assulting the death star. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/91 "2005-06-17T04:09:01Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > For that matter, here’s another one that’s bugged me: > > Turn your minds back to **The Phantom Menace**. Before the pod race, two bets are made between Qui-Gon and Watto. First, Qui-Gon bets their ship (the silver SR-71) against Watto’s parts that Anakin will win the race. Later, they bet Anakin’s pod racer, which Anakin owns, against Anakin’s freedom. Watto says, “No pod is worth two slaves!” but surely a pod is worth one, since he was willing to make the bet. > > So, after the race is over, Qui-Gon has won the needed parts and won Anakin. They still have their ship, and they have the pod, which Anakin sells. He shows Shmi, his mother, the money he got for it, and she is pretty impressed (“That’s wonderful, Ani!”). And why not, it was the racer that beat Sebulba, so it probably fetched some fair coin. > > Now…why didn’t they use that money from the sale of the pod to buy Shmi from Watto? Watto had just lost a bundle betting, surely he needed cash. They didn’t need cash for anything else, and surely that ought to have taken priority anyway. They never even show Qui-Gon _offering_ to buy her, even though earlier dialog indicated that they should have been able to afford her easily. A pod is worth roughly one slave, remember? > > I am forced to conclude that Qui-Gon really didn’t want Shmi along, that he wanted Anakin alone, without familial attachments, and that everything that subsequently happened to Shmi and Anakin is Qui-Gon’s fault. I’ll do you one better. They had The Queen and her handmaidens onboard the siver SR71. How many handmaidens? 5? 6? They were all tall, slender, 14-17 year old girls who looked just like Natalie Portman & Kiera Knightly. On a planet where slavery is legal. I bet they could have gotten **all** the parts they needed… hell, they could have gotten a whole ship for one of those girls. “Handmaiden, your queen, your planet and your people require you to make this sacrifice. Remember, this is for the good of all Naboo. We will send someone to bring you back as soon as we can. Now, say hello to Mr. Jabba.” I never thought of Qui Gon wanting to get little Ani alone. I never considered him the Michael Jackson type. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/92 "2005-06-17T04:16:57Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > Not to mention that it’s been used to kill children. Kinda strips it of any honor. That actually makes it a more valuable collector’s item. Not only is it an Anikin Skywalker lightsaber, it’s the one he used to kill children. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/93 "2005-06-17T04:19:40Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > I never thought of Qui Gon wanting to get little Ani alone. I never considered him the Michael Jackson type. Don’t say that! I wanted to get Qui Gon alone. :o ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/94 "2005-06-17T04:22:57Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I don’t normally think of Cap ships as being that fast, certinaly not fast enough to keep pace with “The fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy”. > > What’s going on here? You’d think the falcon would running rings around those star destroyers, not barely outrunning them. I wouldn’t asume that Cap ships are slow. I was shocked to discover the other day that aircraft carriers are more or less the fastest ships in any given fleet- and this seems to be true from WWI on. With naval vessels, the bigger ships are usually the fastest. Why not the same for SW spacecraft? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/95 "2005-06-17T04:31:55Z")
> [@](#): > > At the end of Empire, Captain Piett tells Vader his troops have deactivated the hyperdrive on the Falcon. Then the Falcon goes into Hyperspace. Vader just walks off. He just wasn’t angry anymore. Just dissapointed. But actually, I think this was one of the most powerful moments in the movie. Vader isn’t acting evil anymore. He’s just acting like a concerned father. And you see Piett bug out thinking he’s about to die a painful, painful death… and he gets off scott-free! ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/96 "2005-06-17T06:21:08Z")
> [@eustachian≠fallopian](#): > > I wouldn’t asume that Cap ships are slow. I was shocked to discover the other day that aircraft carriers are more or less the fastest ships in any given fleet- and this seems to be true from WWI on. With naval vessels, the bigger ships are usually the fastest. Why not the same for SW spacecraft? Because the Falcon would probably be the equivalent of a boghammer or cig boat. If you take the Enterprise booking it at 50 knots at top speed flat out , the smaller boat would still be booking around 70 knots. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/97 "2005-06-17T09:12:33Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > ??? That’s an odd nitpick. Where did the Greeks get it? For that matter, where did the Empire get the Nazi concept of a genocidal fascist dictatorship? Why do you hate Athens, **Miller**? 😉 The whole “no nookie” for Jedis business is a bit odd, IMHO. Luke was apparently aware of Jedis when Kenobi says, “Your father was a Jedi.” Imagine, if you will, your weird old uncle telling you, “BTW, your dad was a Catholic priest.” :eek: How did Sigmund the Sea Monster end up in the trash compactor on the DS? Are they the Empire’s version of NYC sewer 'gators? And how was it able to survive repeated compactings? How did it avoid getting dumped into space (since presumably that’s what the DS with it’s trash)? Next, we have one old dude, sneaking around in the bowels of a giant space station, deactivating the tractor beam, and nobody looked down at their console and said, “Hey Bob! I’ve got this little symbol in the taskbar on my PC, what’s it mean? Is this the one that says somebody’s shut off the tractor beam? We probably ought to get someone down there to check it out, before Vader hears about it and chokes us.” Also, _why_ was Leia looking up Kenobi to get him to run the plans to her daddy? I mean, if you just snagged the best hope for smashing the Empire’s greatest weapon, are you going to head to some backwater planet to give them to an old geezer who hasn’t seen combat in ages? Doesn’t exactly strike me as the best idea. I mean, yeah, the old guy might make a good courier in the sense that the idiot clone troopers wouldn’t suspect him, but you _know_ that if he’s going to be out galavanting around the cosmos, he’s going to insist that they stop at every Country Kitchen Buffet, so he can use his AARJ discount card. Why does Jabba pay a visit to Han before they leave? Jabba’s got a lot of ass to haul around, so I can’t imagine he’d take Han’s statement, “Hey, Jabba, I’ve got a gig, so I’ll be able to pay you as soon as I get back.” as truth. Especially after Han steps on his tail. Also, if Han’s Jabba’s bitch, I’d think that Jabba wouldn’t take too kindly to Han finding jobs on his own. R2 can apparently jack into and hack every computer he encounters, but 3PO can only nag them into complying with his requests. (Actually, he just beats the crap of R2 until R2 does something.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/98 "2005-06-17T12:34:31Z")
> [@](#): > > R2 can apparently jack into and hack every computer he encounters, But he has a hard time discerning the difference between an electrical outlet and a computer terminal… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fromage_A_Trois)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/99 "2005-06-17T12:41:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But he has a hard time discerning the difference between an electrical outlet and a computer terminal… :dubious: Come on, we’ve all done that. Haven’t we? Haven’t we? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444/100 "2005-06-17T14:22:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, why was Leia looking up Kenobi to get him to run the plans to her daddy? I mean, if you just snagged the best hope for smashing the Empire’s greatest weapon, are you going to head to some backwater planet to give them to an old geezer who hasn’t seen combat in ages? This actually does make sense. The Rebellion had a severe leadership shortage, and having one of the last of the Jedi onboard would be a huge gain. And even if he was old, Kenobi had a lot of experience. Moreover, think about it: if Organa was sending for Kenobi, it probably meant that it was time for Luke to come out of hiding, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-biggest-plotholes/308444.md?page=6)