Summary
Princess Leia Organais one of the most iconic characters inStar Wars, yet these 11 things about her make no sense. Leia Organa has been prominently featured inStar Warsmovies and TV showsfrom the very beginning, and her legacy continues to have an impact. In fact, even since Carrie Fisher tragically passed away,Star Warshas found creative ways to continue incorporating the character into new projects, from animated appearances to complex de-aging technology.
While Leia is certainly one ofStar Wars’best characters, several significant aspects of her story make little sense. In fact, throughouttheStar Warstimeline, a number of decisions made about Princess Leia’s character have been a bit confounding.Of all the confusing plot points about Leia Organa, these 11 make the least sense of all.
All 14 Force Powers Used By Princess Leia (In Star Wars Canon & Legends)
Leia Organa was one of the most naturally gifted Jedi in both Star Wars canon and Legends, and she had a wide variety of Force powers at her disposal.
Leia Organa
One of the most confusing aspects of Leia’s character has always been her fairly mild reaction to watching her planet explode with her parents and most of her people still on it. Carrie Fisher herself even joked about this, pointing out that Leia was comforting Luke following the death of Obi-Wan despite having just lost everyone she cared about and her home. TheObi-Wan Kenobishow then made this even more confusing.
While it may have been somewhat easier to write off Leia’s minimal response to the destruction of her planet when her parents were unknowns,Obi-Wan Kenobirevealed how loving Bail and Breha Organa were and how close Leia was with Bail in particular. In light of this,Leia’s response to Alderaan exploding makes less sense than ever. Yes, Leia is a brave, tough person, but this response is still bewildering nearly 50 years later.
Padmé Amidala
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithalso backedStar Warsinto a bit of a corner with the decision to have Padmé Amidala die in childbirth. InReturn of the Jedi, Leia told Luke that she remembered her mother to a certain extent. While it was clear the twins' mother must have died when Leia was still very young, Leia’s description of her mother as beautiful but sad suggested she’d had at least some time with her mother early in childhood. However,Revenge of the Sithsurprisingly retconned this moment, revealing that Leia never knew her mother.
Revenge of the Sithalso backedStar Warsinto a bit of a corner with the decision to have Padmé Amidala die in childbirth.
This is one of the odder confusing aspects of Leia’s story because it didn’t have to be an issue;the original trilogy hadn’t indicated how Padmé died, so she could conceivably have lived for a few years with Leia, making this moment inReturn of the Jediperfectly logical. In fact, George Lucas even considered having Padmé live on Alderaan for a short while, which would have been perfect. Instead,Star Warsleft Leia with this odd storyline, which can only possibly be explained if Leia somehow felt her mother in the Force as a newborn.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Yet another confusing parental bond for Princess Leia,it makes no sense that Vader wouldn’t have sensed his connection to Leia in the Force. While Palpatine may have hidden his presence in the Force from the Jedi in the prequels, that took considerable power in the dark side to accomplish. Leia, who had no idea she had any Force sensitivity, clearly wasn’t capable of such a thing. Moreover, Darth Vader is one ofStar Wars’most powerful Sith. How could he not sense both Leia’s familial connection to him or her Force sensitivity?
Leia might not have been revealed to be trained as a Jedi untilStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but she did use the Force throughout the original trilogy, most notably to find Luke inThe Empire Strikes Back. In light of that, she surely would have had some presence in the Force. Nevertheless, despite having Leia on his ship, interrogating her, and standing right behind her as Alderaan exploded, Darth Vader never realized that Leia was his daughter nor that she was Force sensitive inA New Hope.
Luke Skywalker
Perhaps the lowest moment for both Luke and Leia in all ofStar Warswas the kiss they shared as brother and sister. While the franchise may have somewhat successfully walked back the kiss between Rey and Kylo Ren and argued that it was only a platonic kiss, there’s little arguing that Leia and Luke’sEmpire Strikes Backkiss was romantic. The two spent most ofA New Hopeand the first half ofThe Empire Strikes Backclearly showing romantic tension, and the kiss was the peak of that plot.
While the romantic nature of the kiss isn’t in question though, Leia’s silence on the matter is. Even after Luke reveals that they’re siblings, Leia doesn’t exhibit any signs of distress or discomfort at having kissed her brother, and it never gets brought up again. The question remains: what did Leia think about that kiss in light of the revelation that Luke was her brother?
7Leia Received A Surprising Power-Up In The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
One of the most bewildering moments in all of Leia’sStar Warsappearances was her ability to not only survive in space but also fly through it inStar Wars: The Last Jedi. Clearly,The Last Jediwanted it to be crystal clear that Leia was Force-sensitive in canon, but this was arguably a step too far, as not eventhe Chosen Onecould have survived (or flown around in) space. Nevertheless, that is precisely what Leia did after the First Order blasted her ship, sending her shooting off into space.
This is sadly a solid example of the sequel trilogy losing the plot at times, but it also remains a very confusing aspect of Leia’s character. For one, it isn’t clear whether she knew she possessed a power this immense, although she doesn’t seem all that shocked by having survived the blast. For another, though,it remains an utter mystery how Leia could have learned to control the Force to this degree in light of her decision to abandon her Jedi path.
6Why Did Leia Pursue Her Jedi Training When She Was Always Going To Stay In Politics?
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
The Rise of Skywalkershockingly revealed that Luke had trained Leia as a Jedi at some point betweenReturn of the JediandStar Wars: The Force Awakens, although likely closer toReturn of the Jedibased on their ages in the training scene. This was quite a surprise becauseStar Warshadn’t explicitly given Leia Force powers in the movies until that point—she’d shown moments of Force sensitivity, and Yoda heavily hinted she had the Force, but formal Jedi training was new. However,Leia’s political aspirations make this quite confusing.
Leia is well-known for the incredible Rebel fighter she was but also for becoming a senator of the utmost importance. In fact, the success of the New Republic (however brief) is due in large part to Leia’s role. Given that, it’s odd that she would have gone all the way through Jedi training. Surely, Leia didn’t intend to abandon politics to become a Jedi, so what was her plan once she became a Jedi Knight? That remains unclear and is unlikely to be further explored, unfortunately meaning this may always be a mystery.
5Where Did The Ewoks Get Leia’s Endor Dress?
Return Of The Jedi
One of the most mysterious Leia moments came inReturn of the Jediwhile Leia was on Endor. Although she was initially sporting the iconic camouflage outfit that has made its way to countless Princess Leia action figures, she suddenly appeared wearing a completely different set of clothes. Specifically, after Luke and Han Solo were taken hostage by the Ewoks, Leia walked out wearing a beautiful flowing dress. However, it’s unclear where exactly this dress came from.
Clearly, Leia acquired the dress from the Ewoks, but it remains a mystery why the small bear-like creatures would have had a woman’s dress readily available. Sadly,this most likely means Leia’sReturn of the Jedidress has a bleak history. Given the Ewok’s behavior throughout the heroes' time on Endor, it’s safe to assume they killed the original owner of the dress.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The sequel trilogy made a number of curious choices, but one of the most bizarre was Leia’s decision to name her son Ben, undoubtedly after Obi-Wan’s name from when he was in hiding on Tatooine, Ben Kenobi. Presumably, this idea was taken from Legends, in which Luke Skywalker named his own son Ben. However,it makes considerably more sense for Luke, who had a much more significant connection to Obi-Wan, to name his child after him.
WhenThe Force Awakensrevealed that Leia named her son Ben, it seemed downright bewildering. After all, Leia had a father whom she adored (Bail, not Anakin), and she really didn’t seem to have much of a connection to Obi-Wan even after her distress call inA New Hope. WhileObi-Wan Kenobiworked to make sense of this by revealing that Obi-Wan had rescued Leia when she was young, this still didn’t make sense. Was that one time really enough for Leia to choose Obi-Wan as her child’s namesake above anyone else?
Was that one time really enough for Leia to choose Obi-Wan as her child’s namesake above anyone else?
Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Many bristled at the characterization of the original trilogy’s heroes in the sequel trilogy, although most of the outcry was about Luke Skywalker’s character changes. However,Leia’s character was also nearly unrecognizable in the sequels, at least when it came to family. For one, Leia and Han had apparently called it quits after their son had turned to the dark, which may be slightly more in keeping with Han’s scoundrel nature but makes much less sense for Leia, who not only loved Han but also wasn’t one to simply give up.
However, that same arc began with a very odd turn for Leia. Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side was ultimately complete when he woke up to find his Uncle Luke about to kill him, but he had been grappling with the dark side for some time because he felt abandoned by his parents. In fact, even before they sent him to train with Luke (which he perceived as something they’d done because they feared him), Ben felt as though his father was always gone and his mother cared more about politics.
Leia was deeply involved in the New Republic Senate when Ben was young, but it’s very hard to believe that Leia either didn’t notice or didn’t care that her young son felt abandoned.
Yes, Leia was deeply involved in the New Republic Senate when Ben was young, but it’s very hard to believe that Leia either didn’t notice or didn’t care that her young son felt abandoned. In fact,Leia is a character with significant parental trauma, both in terms of her biological parents and her adoptive parents. She may have struggled to strike a balance between saving the galaxy and being a mother, but her decision to send Ben away when he already felt neglected just doesn’t make sense.
2Why Didn’t Leia Appear As A Force Ghost For Ben’s Death?
Much more egregious than Leia’s decision to send Ben to be trained as a Jedi at Luke’s Temple was her absence as her son died.The Rise of Skywalkerrevealed that Leia had the ability to appear as a Force ghost, as she did so on Tatooine when Rey buried her lightsaber. Clearly,the death of her son should have been a much more significant moment for Leia than her lightsaber being buried, yet she didn’t show up for Ben like she did for Rey.
Again, this is just not in keeping with Leia’s character, including within the movie itself. Just a few scenes earlier, Leia had given her life to turn her son back to the light, making it clear she believed him to be redeemable. Despite Ben following through on that redemption, he died effectively alone, with none of his multiple family members confirmed to be Force ghosts present at the time.
