This devastating Star Wars video finally acknowledges Leia Organa’s greatest loss properly—even though Star Wars movies and TV shows never have. Leia is one of Star Wars’ best characters, in part because of her fierce, brave, and unfailingly loyal personality. It was clear from the very beginning that Leia was willing to risk it all if it meant saving the galaxy from the Empire. Too often, though, it feels as though Leia’s ultimate sacrifice goes overlooked.

This viral Star Wars video, posted by star_tano on TikTok, finally acknowledges how crushing it really was for Leia to witness the destruction of Alderaan by the Death Star in A New Hope, which is something Star Wars movies have failed to do from the very beginning. The video, which plays off the lyrics of the song “We Hug Now” by Sydney Rose, also draws attention to the way Luke was able to forgive Anakin/Darth Vader, but Leia never was.

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The brutality not only of Leia’s loss but of her being forced to witness it feels downplayed in A New Hope, especially given she goes on to comfort Luke over the loss of Obi-Wan despite all she had just lost. That it was Leia’s own biological father who took part in this mᴀssacre is all the worse.

What The Destruction Of Alderaan Meant In Star Wars

This Scene Established Key Details, But It Did A Disservice To Leia’s Character

The destruction of Alderaan was pivotal in A New Hope, as it established several key things. For one, this scene proved the power of the Death Star, which raised the stakes considerably for the Rebellion. The Empire having the ability to destroy a planet made it abundantly clear (rather quickly) just how daunting it would be for the Rebels to attempt to defeat the Imperials.

Similarly, this scene confirmed beyond a doubt that both Tarkin and Darth Vader were viciously evil. This not only helped to quickly establish Vader as a formidable villain but would eventually have a major payoff by showing just how much he had changed by the time he was redeemed in Return of the Jedi. Unfortunately, as much as the destruction of Alderaan did for the plot of A New Hope, the fallout from it was a major disservice to Leia’s character.

Rather than depicting Leia’s grief and accurately representing how traumatizing this event would be for a person, A New Hope shows Leia seemingly moving on relatively quickly. In fact, later on in the movie, it is Leia who is comforting Luke about the loss of Obi-Wan. Sure, this proves how brave and selfless Leia was, but it also doesn’t quite feel fair to her character.

Our Take On The Destruction Of Alderaan

The Gravity Of Leia’s Loss Deserved More Screen Time

Leia’s reserved response to the destruction of her planet and the death of everyone she loved is one of the biggest things that don’t make sense about Leia. It’s such an odd error, in fact, that Carrie Fisher herself spoke about it, saying she’s “still upset about that.”

Although Carrie Fisher turns the question into a joke—which is a classic Carrie Fisher thing to do—the points made in the clip hold true.

It wasn’t fair to Leia for the extent of her loss to be brushed aside so quickly. Although this story has been explored in other media, such as Star Wars books and comics, Star Wars movies and shows, particularly the original trilogy, failed to acknowledge how horrific this event really was for Leia. Thankfully, this Star Wars video rights that wrong, showing not only the reality of Leia Organa’s pain but also how this left her unable to forgive Darth Vader the way that Luke did.

Source: star_tano