Leia claims she (somewhat) knew her true mother

[Kryllith]

Or maybe Leia has really and truly convinced herself that looking at home movies of Padme when she was a kid constitutes "knowing her real mother" and "died when I was very young" is the same as within minutes after she was born.

I pretty much figured she was talking or misremembering old movies of Padme while she was a little girl. Padme was a public figure, I'd imagine there were tons of record of her which Leia could have been exposed to which probably seems very realistic to her as a little kid, though I figured as an adult that she knew her mother died shortly after her birth.

[Kurgan]

Here's from the movie, as posted by somebody else (it's correct):

 

PL = Princess Leia

L = Luke

 

PL: Luke, what’s wrong.

 

L: Leia, do you remember your mother? Your real mother?

 

PL: Just a little bit. She died when I was very young.

 

L: What do you remember?

 

PL: Just images, really. Feelings.

 

L: Tell me.

 

PL: She was very beautiful. Kind, but sad. Why are you asking me this?

 

L: I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her.

 

PL: Luke tell me, what’s troubling you?

 

L: <Sensing something> Vader’s here. Now, on this moon.

 

If she remembered video speeches of Padme Amidala, why not mention words, not just "images"? And if they were just photos, she wouldn't have "feelings" from her. Padme never had the Force, so how does she use the Force to communicate with Leia? We're assuming that Leia uses the Force (unconsciously) to somehow know something about Padme, right? But she acts like Padme died when she was a little girl or something. How would you get "kind but sad" from that? It's really a stretch in any case.

 

And if she was lying why would Luke not want to face up to the truth? He was about to reveal to her that they were brother and sister. He should have said "You don't really know her, because I was there too, I'm your brother, she died after we were born, remember?" Then you could have her say something like "I know, somehow... I've always known" or some crap like that. Lucas obviously hadn't planned this back in 1983 how he was going to depict Padme in the prequels and her eventual fate.

 

We knew she died when Leia was "very young" but not that she died a few seconds after Leia was born (and Luke was born first but had no memory of her!). I'm told that scientifically understood that it's impossible for people to remember their own births, so any "memories of their mother" either of the kids had would have been through the Force or self-delusion of some kind.

[aner21]

I guess we can all agree it was a huge hole in the plot and continuity, along with the fact that vader knows she's pregnant, the emperor knows she's pregnant and also knows that vader didn't kill her and they both do nothing about it. In the OT Obi-Wan says that if the emperor suspected Anakin had children he would hunt them down.Yet nothing happened. GL screwed big time and there's no point in trying to come up with excuses. You can always make fun of the situation by saying Luke was born with his eyes closed and Leia with hers opened. So she knows her mother and he doesn't. The prequels storyline in my opinion were 65% wanting to milk the SW for what it's worth 30% based on making great visual effects and 5% about telling a coherent story that could actualy be articulated with the OT without general retcon.

[Titanius Anglesmith]

aner21, next time you post, please look at the date of last post. When no one has posted in almost 9 months, the thread is dead, and resurrecting them is a no-no.

[NL_Sudentor]

I'm referring to the scene in Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, when Leia comes to see what is bothering Luke on Endor (outside the Ewok abode), and just before Luke tells her that Vader is also on the moon, that he is his father, she is his sister and that he must face him. It's at the beginning of this conversation, when he asks Leia if she can remember her real mother at all (and he goes on to say that he can't), and she responds, "A little. Just images and feelings" - how is that possible? In Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Padame dies whilst in childbirth, and consequently (obviously) if anything (the irony is that) Luke (by a couple of seconds lol) knew her longer than she did.

Surely she is referring to Padame though, because she is referring to her "real mother" like Luke asked. If she is not referring to Padame than I guess she is instead referring to her adopted mother, because she might still believe at this point that she is her natural mother. We don't ever see "Lady" Organa do we? Maybe she died when Leia was small, and that explains it. Even if this is so though, that would have just been a bit weird (from a script-writing point of view) to include this confusion intentionally, thus creating potential confusion in the audience (like yours truly).

 

Am I missing something here, or is it just a plot-hole, that Lucas "overrode" in the prequels?

 

 

Indeed weird, but George could change it off course,

Obi Wan says also when luke returns to his x wing that they were separated when they were born, and that this would be a threat to anakin.

[Kurgan]

I guess we can all agree it was a huge hole in the plot and continuity, along with the fact that vader knows she's pregnant, the emperor knows she's pregnant and also knows that vader didn't kill her and they both do nothing about it. In the OT Obi-Wan says that if the emperor suspected Anakin had children he would hunt them down.Yet nothing happened. GL screwed big time and there's no point in trying to come up with excuses. You can always make fun of the situation by saying Luke was born with his eyes closed and Leia with hers opened. So she knows her mother and he doesn't. The prequels storyline in my opinion were 65% wanting to milk the SW for what it's worth 30% based on making great visual effects and 5% about telling a coherent story that could actualy be articulated with the OT without general retcon.

 

I could check the scene again, but I don't think the "Luke's eyes were closed, Leia's were open" is true of that scene. I think both babies are the same (since digitally they just digitally copy and pasted one real baby to appear like twins). Besides, the infants' vision and memory wouldn't be good enough at that age to remember their mother. So once again, you'd have to use "the Force did it" as an excuse or say it was delusion. Neither is a satisfactory answer.

 

The bottom line is that Lucas changed his mind and didn't seem to care about the contradiction. The early drafts and behind the scenes lore before Episode III was written depict Leia living with her mother for a few years before her mother died. She was definitely NOT remembering Mrs. Organa in that scene with Luke.

 

Lucas passed up his change to alter or remove the scene in the 2004 release. So it remains as a major gaffe in the story...

[TheProphet]

Before the 'Anihkan Trilogy', I interpreted this scene and the story very differently. From what I though had happen was that Luke found his way to Tatooine by Obi-Wan, and Leia lived with her mother in hidding. I thought Senator Organa married Padame. (Before I knew her name.)

 

Otherwords, Leia took off into hidding with her mother while Obi-Wan hides Luke. When their mother was in hidding, she married Senator Organa. After a few years in hidding, their mother died for some reason. I thought this explains the reason why Luke doesn't remember his mother, but Leia remembers a childhood experience with her. Otherwords, Leia had some memories of being around her mother.

 

This would also explain the reason why Obi-Wan was surprised during his conversation with Yoda on Daghobagh:

 

Obi-Wan: "That boy is our last hope."

Yoda: "No. There is another."

 

Obi-Wan seemed to have either forgotten, or came off a little quizical to Yoda's comments.

 

Haha, that is actually exactly what I thought. It just seemed to me that this was the case. I was very surprised to see what happened in Episode 3. I suppose some of the comments explaining it for the Star Wars Universe could essentially apply, but you have to admit it was kind of a mistake on Lucas' part.

[DeadYorick]

Its obvious that Lucas simply retconned it since he didn't have enough time to think of a solution to that small plot hole. Leia was probably mentioning Bails wife and didn't know he wasn't her biological father at the time. Remember Leia said she knew of her mother before Luke divulged that she was his sister

[TheProphet]

Its obvious that Lucas simply retconned it since he didn't have enough time to think of a solution to that small plot hole. Leia was probably mentioning Bails wife and didn't know he wasn't her biological father at the time. Remember Leia said she knew of her mother before Luke divulged that she was his sister

 

Now that to me, is much more plausible than the "They were implanted memories" theory. It actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

[Gurges-Ahter]

Obi-Wan: "That boy is our last hope."

Yoda: "No. There is another."

Obi-Wan seemed to have either forgotten, or came off a little quizical to Yoda's comments.

This could also be explained if Yoda actually meant that Vader was the other hope; meaning he could be turned back to the light side.

[Serpentine Cougar]

Maybe Obi just didn't realize she had Force potential. Wookieepedia says her force-sensitivity didn't "surface" for several years.

[Gurges-Ahter]

Yeah that's the simplest explanation. I just wanted to throw the Vader idea out there for speculation.

 

Although I disagree that her force-sensitivity didn't show up for several years since she used it to communicate with Luke while he was hanging from the bottom of Cloud City at the end of ESB.

[Blix]

I guess I always just figured it was her adoptive mother, since the twins lived in different families on different planets. I believed that more so upon seeing Episode III, which I knew that Leia couldn't have possibly meant Padme`, since an Infant wouldn't remember being born.

[M@RS]

I read the Ep. 3 book and it said that Luke kept his eyes closed tight while leia's eyes were wide open staring at padme. Soooo she could remember padme's face if kept dreaming about it when she was a girl, I don't know either way it wasn't mentioned why waste time trying to figure it out?

[teodesetkata]

Figuring things out is the point of life.

[M@RS]

but why not figure something out that will stop world hunger or something? instead of this, I mean it's just a movie

[gallandro]

Luke: "It's you, Leia."

 

At that moment, Leia thinks back to the Death Star. "Holy force," she thinks. "I kissed him." Then she thinks about Hoth and that kiss...on the lips! "He's thinking about that right now!" she thinks. "Ewww! Okay, Leia, think... how can those incidents not be completely icky.... wait, I got it!"

 

Leia: "I've known. Somehow... I've always known."

[Rinku]

but why not figure something out that will stop world hunger or something? instead of this, I mean it's just a movie

I agree, I mean some-things are meant not to be figured out in movies. They leave holes like this for the books so the authors can create something to entertain us and lengthen our knowledge about star wars. If everything was answered for in the movies then as soon as the saga was over then we would not have any books that happen during the movie, due to our knowledge of what happens. All we would get would be thought up ideas about the Star wars universe, which could get pretty boring because there would be nothing to connect with the movies per-say (due to there being nothing to fill).

[M@RS]

Luke: "It's you, Leia."

 

At that moment, Leia thinks back to the Death Star. "Holy force," she thinks. "I kissed him." Then she thinks about Hoth and that kiss...on the lips! "He's thinking about that right now!" she thinks. "Ewww! Okay, Leia, think... how can those incidents not be completely icky.... wait, I got it!"

 

Leia: "I've known. Somehow... I've always known."

 

Not a bad translation...