What did luke drop?

glass · Post by **glass** » 2007-01-30 09:45am

I was watching TESB again the other day, and I discovered something which I never noticed before (or never thought about, anyway). When luke catches himself on the weather sensor at Bespin, something drops away into the clouds, but I couldn't make out what.

The obvious thing from a narrative point of view is his comlink, but it looked much to big for that.

Anyone know what it was, or failing that, care to speculate?

glass.

Aquatain · Post by **Aquatain** » 2007-01-30 09:59am

I kind of figured it was his hand and light saber being automatically flushed out.

Jim Raynor · Post by **Jim Raynor** » 2007-01-30 10:13am

I doubt it was his hand, since he lost that several minutes before he himself dropped down.

Although this has no bearing on whatever G-canon depicted to be falling in that shot, according to The Last Command both the hand and the lightsaber were recovered by the Empire. They were sent to Wayland, and were later used to create the clone Luuke.

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2007-01-30 10:45am

As I remember the novelisation mentions that part of the sensor broke and fell away.

glass · Post by **glass** » 2007-01-30 11:53am

vakundok wrote:As I remember the novelisation mentions that part of the sensor broke and fell away.

That makes sense. I haven't read the TESB novelisation yet, as I am trying to get the NJO books read first so I can talk about them without fear of spoilers...

glass.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2007-01-30 12:09pm

A part of the weather vane.

The_Last_Rebel · Post by **The_Last_Rebel** » 2007-01-30 04:14pm

It might have been his blaster. I don't think he still has it after he lands on the weather vane.

Decue · Post by **Decue** » 2007-01-30 04:35pm

The_Last_Rebel wrote:It might have been his blaster. I don't think he still has it after he lands on the weather vane.

Nope, not his blaster, I just checked my HD version (and I dunno how to take snapshots) and it is white and looks completely different from a blaster. I give my vote to Mange.

AidanMcfay · Post by **AidanMcfay** » 2007-01-31 06:30am

I always figured it was his Saber, mainly cause I didnt think he had it past that point.

Post by **Vympel** » 2007-01-31 06:48am

I thought it was his hand and sabre- ie. it was too insubstantial to set the hatch off but when Luke came down as well, out it went along with him. But then, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem likely ...

Post by **Surlethe** » 2007-01-31 09:03am

Vympel wrote:I thought it was his hand and sabre- ie. it was too insubstantial to set the hatch off but when Luke came down as well, out it went along with him. But then, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem likely ...

I had thought the same thing, but what had puzzled me was that you never see the hand and sabre at the bottom of the tunnel when Luke slides down and comes to rest before the hatch opens.

glass · Post by **glass** » 2007-01-31 09:17am

AidanMcfay wrote:I always figured it was his Saber, mainly cause I didnt think he had it past that point.

He didn't have it past his hand getting cut off, unless the were somehow reunited on the way down, which seems unlikely.

glass.

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2007-01-31 11:32am

Surlethe wrote:
Vympel wrote:I thought it was his hand and sabre- ie. it was too insubstantial to set the hatch off but when Luke came down as well, out it went along with him. But then, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem likely ...
I had thought the same thing, but what had puzzled me was that you never see the hand and sabre at the bottom of the tunnel when Luke slides down and comes to rest before the hatch opens.

There are two hatches so the sabre and hand could have droped down to the lower hatch and then fell when they opened so they would never be in the same shot as Luke.

AidanMcfay · Post by **AidanMcfay** » 2007-01-31 03:40pm

Or it might never of made it into the shaft to begin with... Unless the shoots are actualy sucking in air to catch anything falling, I just kinda figured luke had dumb luck in falling into the vent or used the force a bit to fly toward the shoot. I havent read the novelisation tho so I dont know what it said.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2007-02-01 03:56am

It can't have been his hand and lightsaber, seeing as how in some abominable story later on, the hand and lightsaber were recovered by somebody or another.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2007-02-01 04:39am

Robert Treder wrote:It can't have been his hand and lightsaber, seeing as how in some abominable story later on, the hand and lightsaber were recovered by somebody or another.

You mean The Last Command, written by arguably the finest author the EU ever employed?

The_Last_Rebel · Post by **The_Last_Rebel** » 2007-02-01 09:18am

It could be argued that since it's EU, it's abominable.

Seriously, I believe the hand and saber were lost for good, having been sucked out a similar tube Luke fell in. We don't see anything they could have possibly landed on/into. And it didn't look like Vader was much interested in finding his old saber, either.
However I also don't think that's what we see falling--the shape's all wrong, for one thing, and it also looks larger than a hand should be compared to the repulsorlift spire it falls alongside.

Sephirius · Post by **Sephirius** » 2007-02-01 06:45pm

maybe his droid caller?

Srynerson · Post by **Srynerson** » 2007-02-05 11:39pm

I think people are attempting to ascribe too much significance to the object. I always assumed it was just a random piece of debris blown into the shaft during the decompression of the weathervane control room.

glass · Post by **glass** » 2007-02-06 05:13am

Srynerson wrote:I think people are attempting to ascribe too much significance to the object. I always assumed it was just a random piece of debris blown into the shaft during the decompression of the weathervane control room.

Well, GL ascribes it some significance, we see it drop all the way to the cloud cover. Filmmakers generally show you things for a reason, and I couldn't figure out what the reason was in this case.

I guess it must have just been to emphasise the precariousness of Luke's position. Which breaking off a piece of the vane he is hanging from does most effectively.

glass.