Han Solo and Bespin

Many sources say it took the Falcon a few weeks to finally reach Bespin but as for why Han didn't know Fett was following him is anyone's guess. I mean, sure we can be led to think that Slave 1 had some sort of jamming equipment but my real question has always been if Fett just likes to park in the garbage. Just think about it. Vader calls the Bounty Hunters, talks to them, the Star Destroyer chases the Falcon till it disappears from their radar by Han incredibly parking it on the ship without anyone noticing or hearing a sound and then, after Han comes up with his incredible plan to make their escape along with the floating garbage, Fett was ALREADY inside the garbage! What the hell? Imagine the reaction of the Imperials when out of the blue Fett would call out to them and tell them that once he boarded his ship, that they should take Slave 1 and throw it in the garbage! Does this make any sense? Does a Star Destroyer even have a garbage chute so big that you can fit a whole ship in it? If that weren't the case then it would bring us to my theory of Fett just landing his ship inside the garbage!

 

Several sources seem to indicate it took them a few weeks to reach Bespin traveling at sublight speed. However, it makes sense how Boba knew: either he figured out where he was going and traveled lightspeed to alert the Imperials and reach in advance or he was following it and nearby he notified Vader who arrived at least a day in advance.

 

Well Lando had his position as baron administrator & protector of the cloud city citizens to consider, friendship had to be be put aside this time, as for the trip without lightspeed I'd say about 4 weeks to make.

 

Wild speculation, but maybe Boba knew about Lando and his relationship with Han so figured out where Han was going after following him for a while and then he told Vader, who of course could make it there faster.
Even if it's universe-shrinking, i'd like to see a story somehow involving young Han, Lando and Boba, although Lando didn't seem to know Fett in ESB since he called him 'the bounty hunter'.

 

As for Boba Fett following Han, I always figured that he probably didn't have to follow him for long. After following him for just a little while he probably realized that the Falcon didn't have Hyperspace functionality, and, just like the heroes, realized that the Bespin System was their only option at sublight speeds.

As for how long they were in their cells, no clue. Ultimately, within the context of the story, realizing that they had been betrayed ahead of time was what was really important. Also, we don't know what was said when they were forced to sit down with Vader and Boba Fett in the dining room, at that point, seeing Boba Fett may have been enough to tip them off to who was behind the Empire getting there ahead of them.

@Amanaman , I figure that Fett probably suspected that the Falcon was nearby(although I'm doubtful that he knew they were actually attached to the Star Destroyer) and simply wanted a low key way to check out the area after the Imperials left. The truly honest answer is that it's probably just a minor plot hole , but I figure that explanation works well enough.

 

Well, there was another bounty hunter who almost succeeded instead of Boba :

 

Oh dude! Dengar's ship is just awesome!!!

 

Maybe so, but your making a lot of assumptions as well, like I said, if Boba Fett was smart(which he is supposed to be a top bounty hunter), he wouldn't have had to follow Han for very long at all.

 

Why would Boba Fett have to follow Han the whole way? Like I said, it wouldn't have taken long for Fett to realize that the Falcon lacked hyperspace capability. I'm sure he followed the Falcon long enough to make sure that they weren't just making some repairs at the very least, but after that there is no reason for him to follow them the entire way. It seems rather evident watching the film that Boba Fett tipped off the Empire long before they got there, and, in all likelihood, probably got there before them as well, after all, Fett had a working hyperdrive.

As for them being followed, remember, Boba Fett is supposed to be one of the galaxy's most feared and respected Bounty Hunters. Being as how he specializes in hunting people like Han Solo, it would make sense that he has a sensor jamming package far beyond the capabilities of the sensors on the Falcon. In deep space, without the ability to detect another ship through sensors, visual detection is extremely unlikely. Basically, even if Fett followed them the entire way, I have no problem with that and wouldn't assign any incompetence to Han or Chewie for failing to detect something like that as it would be out of their control.

As for them leading the Empire to Cloud City, of course that's what happened, I never got the impression that the film was trying to imply otherwise.

 

This was always my guess. That Boba Fett got the heads up without actually following them. I always conjectured it was where Leia learned Chewie's language. There was plenty of time to learn in full Wookie immersion mode. Plus, this gave Luke more time to train with Yoda. We just didn't see that part, it was a big jump in time.

 

Once again, you don't seem to realize how detecting other ships in the SW universe works. Boba Fett would not have followed within visual distance of the Falcon, it's not like they could look out the window and see him. Plus, he's a bounty hunter, the kind of person who specializes in tracking a target without being detected until the time is right. He would have ways to mask his presence on enemy sensors, just like there is technology like that in real life.

As for Han leading the Empire to Cloud City, once again, no one is disputing that fact, nor does the film try to.

 

Yeah, it explains the supposed "plot-hole" some people say ESB has, which is that the time Luke spent in Dagobah and the time Han and Leia spent escaping the empire is too different from one another.