Leia Organa on Hoth
- Thread starter LJones41
- Start date
Is there a reason she shouldn't be?
Yes. Leia was not an official spy for the Rebel Alliance, a military leader, officer or enlisted personnel. What was she doing at Echo Base?
If only we could think of reasons for her to be there....
She's part of the Rebel Alliance. Echo Base is a Rebel outpost.
Yup! Glad it is settled.
She was part of the rebel alliance and a traitor to the empire.
She does have power within the alliance. Shes seen giving orders to a group of pilots in ESB.
Shes also shown leading/organizing missions in the new comics.
Leia was not THE leader of the Rebel Alliance. She was one of the leaders. So was General Rieekan, aside from being Echo Base's commander. How many people are going to make that mistake? She was not officially one of the military leaders or part of the Rebel Alliance military. She was not an official spy. If Lucas wanted to paint her as some action woman, he could have given her a role other than that of a politician. Or at least make up an excuse as to why she was at the Echo Base on Hoth or why she was allowed to participate in the Endor mission. Actually, why was Luke allowed to participate in that mission? Why didn't he return with his squad or did he ceased to be a Rebel Alliance pilot?
For Luke, he volunteered to go on the mission to Endor, same as Leia did. Generally you don't refuse someone willing to go on the highly dangerous mission if you really need people to go on it. In both cases, they volunteered to be part of the command crew for the shuttle.
Before Mon Mothma appeared in Return of the Jedi, it was assume that Leia was in fact the leader of the Rebel Alliance, or at least a leader, and since at that time it was suggested even in the films that Echo Base was the ONLY Rebel Base, there was literally no where else she could have been. That was how it was made to seem in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back....like there was only one Rebel Base. Only after The Empire Strikes Back did it seem clear there were more Rebel bases, but it is clear that is not what Lucas had in mind early on. Early on, it was one Rebel base against the entire Empire, with the rebels being supported by the pacifist Alderaan. A similar trend of thinking can be seen in The Force Awakens when there seems to be only one Resistance Base to the point were the entire Resistance can be crushed with just that world being destroyed, much like the whole Republic will fall from one system being destroyed. Galaxy-spanning seems to mean nothing to some writers.
Before Mon Mothma appeared in Return of the Jedi, it was assume that Leia was in fact the leader of the Rebel Alliance, or at least a leader, and since at that time it was suggested even in the films that Echo Base was the ONLY Rebel Base, there was literally no where else she could have been. That was how it was made to seem in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back....like there was only one Rebel Base. Only after The Empire Strikes Back did it seem clear there were more Rebel bases, but it is clear that is not what Lucas had in mind early on. Early on, it was one Rebel base against the entire Empire, with the rebels being supported by the pacifist Alderaan. A similar trend of thinking can be seen in The Force Awakens when there seems to be only one Resistance Base to the point were the entire Resistance can be crushed with just that world being destroyed, much like the whole Republic will fall from one system being destroyed. Galaxy-spanning seems to mean nothing to some writers.
I'm getting confused. I was always under the impression that Leia was a pretty major member of the Alliance throughout the whole OT, and that after ANH Luke was too. Even if she's not the leader, a group like that would still need a lot more than just one person in charge. Where does this idea that neither of them were members come from?
It's a bit hard to say with any real certainty but I doubt Lucas gave much thought to the wider complexities or details of just how big the Empire was, what sort of numbers the Rebellion had etc. It simply wasn't immediately relevant to the story he was telling. Everything was described it broad archetypal terms, which is as it should be.
But yes, Leia has always been a Rebel leader. While never explicitly spelled out, that much has been at least inferred from the get-go. Honestly one would have to be a thick skulled obstinate cretin to insist otherwise.
But yes, Leia has always been a Rebel leader. While never explicitly spelled out, that much has been at least inferred from the get-go. Honestly one would have to be a thick skulled obstinate cretin to insist otherwise.
Based upon what? Rieekan is never shown to be Leia's superior or mentioned as such in any way.
She may not have been a military officer, but Leia operated within the chain of command and gave orders to troops and pilots. She also ordered the evacuation of the base, and her orders were not countermanded. Civilian leaders can order military members around, depending on how the chain of command is constructed. Please see the US military as an example
Since the Rebel Alliance is not a typical organization, and is presented in RO as being made up of multiple different smaller groups, represented by the leaders discussing Scariff.
Yep.
Also:
Rieekan got Leia in the loop when the probe droid was spotted, and it was Leia who first voiced the deduction regarding what it was.
Rieekan consulted Leia about the dangers of protecting two transports and a time, and deferred to her judgment that they couldn't hold out "much longer" and so that therefore it was a necessary risk.
A Rebel Officer (Major Derlin) closed the shield doors only after reporting to Leia that it was necessary and waiting for her to assent.
Rieekan was also one of the leaders and founders of the Rebel Alliance. Leia was not his superior. If you don't believe me, check it out.
Furthermore, a political leader has no business being in command of a military base. That is just ridiculous. Even Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" had the good sense to allow Commodore Norrington to order Governor Swann around when Port Royal was under attack or when they were in a military situation. Leia acting like a military leader, when Echo Base already had a military leader was just ridiculous to me. Nor was she in the same situation as Padme in "The Phantom Menace".
But I see that no one wants to question Leia's presence on Hoth, as long as the "Golden Trio" are together at the beginning of the movie.
Furthermore, a political leader has no business being in command of a military base. That is just ridiculous. Even Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" had the good sense to allow Commodore Norrington to order Governor Swann around when Port Royal was under attack or when they were in a military situation. Leia acting like a military leader, when Echo Base already had a military leader was just ridiculous to me. Nor was she in the same situation as Padme in "The Phantom Menace".
But I see that no one wants to question Leia's presence on Hoth, as long as the "Golden Trio" are together at the beginning of the movie.
Well, the Legends article on Rieeken on Wookiepedia does say Leia was just there as a morale boosting figurehead, but at the Leia one says that she helped oversee the creation of the base.
The canon article on Leia says she oversaw Rebel operations from Echo Base, while Rieeken's doesn't really address his role.
The canon article on Leia says she oversaw Rebel operations from Echo Base, while Rieeken's doesn't really address his role.
From what we know of the Rebel Alliance since Disney took over, Leia is likely the leader of several Rebel cells, including Echo Base, which Rieeken is in command of the base. This infers that While Rieekan is indeed in command of Echo Base, Leia is above him on some level. This may be political, this might be military, this might be a combination of the two since the Alliance gets a little fluid about those lines.
It should also be considered, where is Mon Mothma during this time? In theory, she is also at Echo Base and would have been on one of the first transports out.
It should also be considered, where is Mon Mothma during this time? In theory, she is also at Echo Base and would have been on one of the first transports out.
Last edited:
How can anyone answer the question if you keep refusing everyone's answers?
Similar threads
