He may not have invented the “roguish scoundrel transforms into an unlikely hero while maintaining his pirate charm” trope, but Han Solo is probably one of the most enduring examples of it. And hey, when a trope is well done, it works. That’s why a lot of tropes exist in the first place.
Han Solo. An expert smuggler who has a laidback attitude towards crime and politics but stays vigilant when it comes to someone who might double-cross him. His great loves are money and freedom, with the one ideally facilitating the other. He pilots a ramshackle ship but coaxes fantastic speed and great maneuvers out of her. While he likes to project the air that he doesn’t care about much, he and Chewbacca go way back and consistently watch out for each other when the situation gets dicey.
He doesn’t claim to care about the Rebellion one way or the other. When Han joins Luke and Obi-Wan on their mission in A New Hope, it’s strictly a job to him, getting his passengers where they want to go in one piece so they’re able to pay him. And later, when the mission changes to rescuing Leia on the Death Star, Luke only briefly tries to appeal to Han’s sense of morality or chivalry before switching tactics: “She’s rich,” he says enticingly.
But for all that Han insists that he only cares about the money, he doesn’t stay gone once the job is finished and he’s secured his payment. He’s still not in it for the Rebellion; no, he’s in it for the people. He’s already taken with the strong-willed Leia, and though he tries to make a clean break, he can’t leave Luke to fly off on a dangerous mission to the Death Star, not without some backup from himself and the Falcon.
The thing is, while Han’s first instinct to bail may be self-serving, this is an instance where he has good reason to be. He owes money to dangerous people and Jabba’s already getting anxious for his payment. The smart move is to take the money and settle his debts. But Han stays. He stays in spite of himself, declaring he’s about to leave any moment but somehow still sticking around.
And along the way, Han Solo, space pirate, becomes someone you can depend on. He watches Luke’s back during the critical Battle of Yavin and later saves him from the unforgiving cold on Hoth. He alternates flirts and bickers with Leia, but there’s little he wouldn’t do for her sake. When he’s betrayed by an old friend, he feels the sting of it but jumps into action, trying to keep himself and his people safe. And in the last days of the Empire, he’s on Endor fighting alongside Leia, risking his neck to save the galaxy.
I like this about Han, that he likes to do the “my only mistress is hyperspace” routine but actually cares pretty deeply about those he’s close to. That care and their influence helps him to be a better version of himself. What’s more, his friends come through for him in return. Leia, Lando, C-3PO, R2, and Luke all go in hard to rescue him when he’s captured by Boba Fett and “gifted” to Jabba. Han is someone who was burned by caring in the past, but he ultimately can’t turn off his heart to others, and when he needs them most, they come through for him. Not bad at all for a scoundrel who’s “only in it for himself!”
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