In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke and Leia had a famous kiss scene. In The Return of the Jedi, Luke told Leia she was his sister.
She responded, “I Know. Somehow, I’ve Always Known.” This is a perplexing situation.
If she had known already, this could be the most disturbing line in Star Wars. Or, are there other explanations? Read on to find out.
The Kiss and Luke’s Sister
After Luke was rescued by Han on Hoth, he had to spend time in a Bacta tank recovering from being attacked by a Wampa.
Afterward, while he rested, Leia visited him while Han and Chewie were in the room. Here is the iconic scene when she leaned over to kiss Luke after squabbling with Han.
At the time, audiences were left wondering about a potential relationship between the two of them, instead of between Han and Leia.
As some articles have explored, there was a possibility of a romantic relationship in early versions of The Empire Strikes Back.
However, that possibility evaporated once Return of the Jedi positioned the two as brother and sister.
In the third original movie, Luke had a moment with Leia before he went to confront Vader again. After asking Leia about memories of her mother, Luke reveals that Vader is his father and Leia is his sister.
This moment is when Leia utters the potentially most disturbing line, given their potentially romantic relationship.
The Most Disturbing Line?
That Leia had “always known” that they were siblings could make this the most disturbing line. However, we may not want to jump to conclusions.
We do have explanations for this line and the kiss.
Fans discussing this line indicate that Leia meant “she always felt a strong connection to him” that could have been “familial,” not necessarily romantic.
Also, Leia was not truly aware of her connection to Luke until he told her. That information provided “an instantaneous understanding of something” that had not been clear to her beforehand.
As for the kiss scene, many fans have dismissed it as insignificant, and that it was really done to make Han jealous.
Those views coincide with articles like this one that place the kiss in a continuum of Han and Leia’s building relationship.
Yet, the most compelling explanation for this line and the kiss scene is that the storyline for the two of them had not been fully worked out until Return of the Jedi.
As one article explains, George Lucas originally had a 12-movie plan for Star Wars. The storylines were quite murky initially, including Luke and Leia’s relationship.
Lucas specified that he wanted “to have Luke kiss the Princess in the second book,” but Leia was not his sister at that point.
Lucas even commented afterward that he had planned their relationship out before Return of the Jedi.
We have a mention in Empire Strikes Back of “another” Force wielder that would be Luke’s sister but necessarily Leia. Ultimately, in Empire, the reference is left purposely vague.
By the time the script for Return of the Jedi was completed, the storyline had changed considerably.
Lawrence Kasden and George Lucas condensed many ideas that were planned for other installments.
They made Leia Luke’s sister and had to work their way around the problematic scene from Empire.
The Most Disturbing Line
While Leia’s line about knowing she was Luke’s sister may be disturbing, it was not intentionally done that way.
Leia may have had an undefined feeling of connection with Luke. More importantly, the planning for their relationship had not been worked out sufficiently before The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980.
As we know, Star Wars continues to evolve and has been doing that since its inception.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.