Was Lando a bad guy?

[Baron von Blitztank]

He was a man who did what he had to in order to keep himself and his city safe and if that involved betraying Han to the Empire then so be it.
But still he rescued Leia and Chewie, he managed to help rescue Han from Jabba and he blew up the second Death Star so he was able to clean up his mess and then some!

Truly a selfless man.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

No, I wouldn't say he's a traitor. The Empire (or maybe just Vader) kept changing the nature of the bargain and it was obvious that if Calrissian didn't comply, Cloud City could have easily ended up like Alderaan (too soon?) Besides, Lando only really knew who Han and Chewie were. He could have been completely ignorant about Leia and the droids and, there's no way he could have known who Luke was. Lando was looking at it like this; 2 friends and a couple unknowns vs possibly millions of inhabitants in Cloud City.

To top it off, he didn't just redeem himself when he took out the second Death Star, he was backstabbing the Empire before Han was loaded onto the Slave I. He may have known the Empire would have screwed him over but either way he still had his android man-servant and several militant forces ready. After that he threw up the alarm and saved Leia and the Droids.

After that, it must have taken him those three years between Empire and Jedi for him to have gained enough trust and a good enough reputation to have become one of Jabba's in-house guards.

Lando may have sold out Han but he had redeemed himself before he ever left Cloud City.

 

[DEAD34345]

Edit: -Crap, wrong thread.-

I'd say he just trusted the wrong person, but his priorities were basically right. He just wanted to protect his city, and when Vader changed the deal (which Lando really should have seen coming) he tries to fix his mistake.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

He was a man with his back against a wall with his city held hostage.

I saw nothing wrong with his decision.

He also blew up the second Death Star.

I'd say that more than makes up for it.

Pretty much this

here i'd usually add my own little tid bit, but the above is so perfect I actually cant think of anything else.

 

[jawakiller]

He was the only black guy in the original Trilogy... HE WAS THE WORST BAD GUY O.O

Always thought that was funny. The only black guy in the entire universe with the exception of Samuel Jackson.

 

[Sentox6]

What about Captain Panaka?

Actually, he was one of the only two brown men. Well, genetically speaking.

OT: The Empire shows up with some Star Destroyers at your little mining city. Whatcha gonna do, really?

 

[SergeantAnt]

Selfless....

Anyone who says otherwise is either very immature or just didnt pay attention to the movies(no offense intended)

Think about it. Your the leader of a huge city, and a giant evil army is going to take over and make the lives of everyone there a living hell, unless you give them your closest best friend. He was obviously not happy when han was frozen and didnt want to do it, but he had no choice, because he's responsible for an entire civilization of people. It doesnt get much more selfless then that.

Plus he helps save han, and leads the rebel fleet in the end to destroy the second death star. I refuse to think anything mentions above makes him a black hearted traitor lol.

 

[Robert Ewing]

I don't think he was a bad guy. He did what was best for his people at cloud city, which was the right course of action. I mean, sacrifice the lives of thousands of your people whom look up to you, and are in your care, or a friend you haven't seen in decades, and a few of his cargo?

I know which I'd choose. And besides, he went on to head the rebellion and destroy the second death start, I'd say he was pretty damn heroic.

 

[dickywebster]

I wouldnt say he was a bad guy, more an idiot who trusted an enmpire that was often called evil.
But i guess they had him over a barrel, so maybe he was just caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

[Treblaine]

So where do you stand, selfless, or traitor?

He did betray his friend... but he did it for a good reason. He tried to redeem his actions and I think did.

See he's a complex character with conflicting desires and intentions, well realised. Something the Prequel Trilogy critically lacked.

 

[Treblaine]

He was the only black guy in the original Trilogy... HE WAS THE WORST BAD GUY O.O

Always thought that was funny. The only black guy in the entire universe with the exception of Samuel Jackson.

The worst?

Jabba the Hutt
Emperor Palpatine
Grand Moff Tarkin
Any of the other bad guys
Anyone who didn't risk their life to save Han Solo

He wasn't even that bad, didn't you get the memo? Vader altered the deal:

 

[bz316]

Nah...Lando wasn't a traitor. If he was just a traitor, he would've done what he did for far more selfish reasons like money or a position in the empire, and he would've fled with his bribe as opposed to helping Han and Chewie, risking his own life, and ultimately going on to blow the shit out of the second death star. He was just a good guy put into an unenviably difficult position.

 

[Dukenstein]

What's really sad is that we can have such a meaningful discussion about a supporting character from the Original Series but not a single character in the prequels have as much depth.

 

[Vykrel]

no, he was not a bad guy. he did what he had to do to protect the people of his city. part of his deal was also that his friends wouldnt be harmed.

besides, he redeems himself later on.

Billy Dee's thoughts on the matter: http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/peace-and-love-baby.html

 

[WanderingFool]

He was a man with his back against a wall with his city held hostage.

I saw nothing wrong with his decision.

He also blew up the second Death Star.

I'd say that more than makes up for it.

Thats my thoughts, His choice was to either sacrifice a old friend, or the city. Lets really ask ourselves, is Han really worth a whole city? Plus the rest of them were suppose to stay on Cloud City, but Vader altered the deal.


Really, anybody who says he's a traiter should have the crap ***** slapped out of them.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Promise of money (if I remember properly) and being asked by the legendary badass Boba Fett might have been the cause. Regardless, he makes up for that slip up x10 later.

 

[Luke5515]

Lando was a basically good guy who got put in a bad situation.
He's like Han before he went respectable.
Right about the time he started carrying a government ID and being married to a princess.

 

[godfist88]

I wouldn't think so, it's not like he did it for money, he only wanted to protect the citizens of cloud city. plus, he certainly did redeem himself later on.

 

[Penumbran Wolf]

To answer your question: No. No he wasn't. He was a member of a rare breed of man known as "A Responsible Ruler". Vader threatened to blow up the city without so much as a "Duck and Cover" PSA if Lando didn't play along and make nicey with Fett and the storm troopers. He put the well being of his people over his personal feelings, like a good ruling body (I'm looking at you Washington). It's even mentioned that the original deal was to allow Han, Leia, Chewy, and the droids to be remanded to house arrest in cloud city, but Vader being the uncaring douche he is "altered the deal". So no. He wasn't a bad guy. Just a responsible person.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

He was the only black guy in the original Trilogy... HE WAS THE WORST BAD GUY O.O

Always thought that was funny. The only black guy in the entire universe with the exception of Samuel Jackson.

Ah, but there is another black guy in the original trilogy. There's a X-wing pilot in Return of the Jedi that you see just before he gets blown up.

I don't think Lando is a bad guy, or even a traitor. I think he's a good man who was put in an impossible position. Based on his character and what he was facing, I understand the original choice he made. I also knew that, despite how much he goes on about profits, the original choice would eat him up. It wasn't a good choice, but there weren't many options.

Besides, he more than made up for it. The second Death Star attack would have failed without him. No, I'm not talking about the fact that he blew it up. I'm talking about the fact that, when everyone was ready to cut and run, Lando was the one that made them stay and fight.