Han shot first

[jkvoller]

I was having a discussion with my friends in the pub about this the other. I argued that people cared about Han shooting first because it shows that he has no ties to either the light or dark side. They said that they couldn't see how this five seconds affected his character or why people cared at al. So I'm now coming here to see why escapist care about this particular sequence.

Note: This argument was started by me mentioning that George Lucas also intended fro Greedo to shoot first

 

[JoJo]

As a Star Wars fan, I honestly don't care that much. I don't buy Lucas' logic that shooting first somehow makes Han bad, if someone was coming to kill me then I sure as hell wouldn't wait until they had fired before defending myself. That said I don't think it changes that much of his character either way, since he's a smuggler and in with gangsters like Jabba we can assume that he's led a morally-grey life so far regardless of whether he shot first or second. In a way waiting until Greedo shoots kinda makes him more badass since it shows he's confident he'll make it out of the situation.

 

[tippy2k2]

I was having a discussion with my friends in the pub about this the other. I argued that people cared about Han shooting first because it shows that he has no ties to either the light or dark side. They said that they couldn't see how this five seconds affected his character or why people cared at al. So I'm now coming here to see why escapist care about this particular sequence.

Note: This argument was started by me mentioning that George Lucas also intended fro Greedo to shoot first

We are well aware that Lucas just said that:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115773-George-Lucas-Says-Greedo-Always-Shot-First

Notice that 251 (as of this post) had something to say about the topic...

Personally, I don't think it's THAT big of a deal. Either way, Han was defending himself since it was pretty clear Greedo intended to either shoot him or bring him to Jaba. Call it a gut call but I don't think Jaba had happy plans for Han...

 

[Smiley Face]

I was initially exposed to Han shooting last. I can see how it could be construed as an important moment - it's your first impression of him after all. That said, there isn't a huge difference, and it's a tradeoff between him looking more practical but more callous, and looking more playful but less practical. Ultimately I don't think it makes a huge difference, and as far as I'm concerned I think a status of 'it is what you think it is' is a good place for it to be - it lets you interpret Han how you like. Personally, I don't care, and if I had to pick I'd put it at a 'too close to call' status. The way he keeps his cool after the shooting is more telling than whether he makes the first move in my eyes.

Even more telling than that scene for me is in Empire - when he opens the door to see Vader and is shooting for his throat within a second - that's more impressive than shooting a random, incompetent gangster mid-conversation.

 

[ACman]

I think the worst problem with Han shooting second is that it's clumsy.

Would Greedo, with a blaster levelled at less than a metre away miss so badly? It Han hadn't shot first he would be dead. Also the way that Lucas edited it so that the blaster bolt comes diagonally out of Greedo's blaster looks fake.

It doesn't make sense. The only was that the situation makes sense is if Han shot first.

 

[feeback06]

I think the worst problem with Han shooting second is that it's clumsy.

Would Greedo, with a blaster levelled at less than a metre away miss so badly? It Han hadn't shot first he would be dead. Also the way that Lucas edited it so that the blaster bolt comes diagonally out of Greedo's blaster looks fake.

It doesn't make sense. The only was that the situation makes sense is if Han shot first.

This. It doesn't really bother me, but think about the situation logically. If you were Han, why wouldn't you shoot first?

 

[Vuljatar]

Han shooting first shows that he is tough and capable of being ruthless when he needs to protect himself. He is not a goody-two-shoes, he is Chaotic Neutral (leaning towards Good).

Greedo shooting first makes Han's alignment more Stupid Good.

 

[ACman]

I think the worst problem with Han shooting second is that it's clumsy.

Would Greedo, with a blaster levelled at less than a metre away miss so badly? It Han hadn't shot first he would be dead. Also the way that Lucas edited it so that the blaster bolt comes diagonally out of Greedo's blaster looks fake.

It doesn't make sense. The only was that the situation makes sense is if Han shot first.

This. It doesn't really bother me, but think about the situation logically. If you were Han, why wouldn't you shoot first?

Exactly. Lucas seems to think that the community wanting Han to shoot first because we want Han to be evil or "badass" but really it's about believability.

Also it doesn't make him evil. It just makes him practical.

In Indiana Jones: The Lost Ark Indy shoots a guy because he can't be fucked fighting him hand to hand. I'd bet if Lucas had his way with that he'd edit that scene so that the other guy is carrying a bazooka because he doesn't want kids to think that Indy is evil.

Fuck you George. Can't wait till you die so I can have Original Trilogy "The Original Cut" on Blue Ray.

 

[alrekr]

In Indiana Jones: The Lost Ark Indy shoots a guy because he can't be fucked fighting him hand to hand. I'd bet if Lucas had his way with that he'd edit that scene so that the other guy is carrying a bazooka because he doesn't want kids to think that Indy is evil.

Well Ford was meant to have a long drawn out clost combat fight with the sword guy. However Ford was ill at the time and didn't want to do the scene; which why is was changed so that the scene could be filmed (deadlines to meet and all that).

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think the worst problem with Han shooting second is that it's clumsy.

Would Greedo, with a blaster levelled at less than a metre away miss so badly? It Han hadn't shot first he would be dead. Also the way that Lucas edited it so that the blaster bolt comes diagonally out of Greedo's blaster looks fake.

It doesn't make sense. The only was that the situation makes sense is if Han shot first.

I'd agree with that. Han shooting first isn't a big deal, Greedo had pulled a gun on him and was talking about how much he wanted to kill him.

But, Han waiting until Greedo fires is stupid. Firing and missing like that is ridiculous.

...

Though, hopefully Han knew Greedo was of a species that never spasms and dies instantly when they are shot where he shot him, otherwise it could have been awkward.