Leia and the Destruction of Alderaan

I'm sure there were also some sort of security camera features in there plus the probe might have been in there alone with her, too .

 

Blame Lucas lol.

Here is the extract from the book "Star Wars A New Hope: The Princess, The Scoundrel and The Farm Boy" (Young Adult Novelization of ANH):

"You know that's impossible, a small voice whispered in her mind. Nothing would bring her home back. No amount of bargaining would fix this. It was over.

They must have dragged her back to her cell. Leia didn't remember. Her legs gave out the moment she was through the cell door. The next thing she knew, her cheek was pressed against the cold metal grating on the floor. Her fingers curled around it, but Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, for the first time in her life, couldn't bring herself to push herself back onto her feet.

Princess Leia. Were you still a princess if your home world was gone?

In a matter of hours, she'd lost her position in the Senate, her home, and every plan she'd made. For the first time in her life, Leia didn't know what to do. The senator didn't have a plan. The princess didn't have a history. All that was left was just... Leia.

She closed her eyes, trying to picture her parents' faces. Her body shook with the effort to keep her tears back. She folded the pain away, the anguish. She had to. She'd made a promise to her father as he'd seen her and the crew of the Tantive IV off that last time: I won't fail you. But hadn't she?

No. No. Leia pushed her chest off the ground, sitting up. Failing would be giving up. Because somewhere out in the desert there was a droid carrying the hope for the future inside of him. There were allies counting on her, allies who needed to know the truth about the Death Star and the tremendous danger they were in. It wouldn't be the same, but she could still fight. She had a place with the Rebel Alliance.

Leia took a deep breath, her father's voice whispering in her mind. Taking on all of these responsibilities... they've shaped you into a glittering star. (...)

She stood up, straightening to her full height, and began to look around her cell again, searching for her out. They could think they'd taken the parts of her that mattered most. That they'd broken her. But there was a part of Leia that the Emperor, Vader, Tarkin, any of them could never touch.

Her heart was a star that would never burn out."

 

Don't blame Lucas...blame the budget .

 

Good point.

 

Well we had it implied from normal human decency that she'd at least shed ONE tear when she thinks she's completely alone but TFA , as someone said on here a bit ago, is A POST-Feminine World .

 

True that.

 

gender politics. how interesting. 1977 would have been a good time for that, suppose.

but to be honest it never struck me at all that Leia didn't grieve openly about Alderaan. it just wasn't in her personality.
as a little girl seeing the film, i could totally relate to her refusing to let the Empire break her.

 

I'm always right .

 

"Some day you're gonna be wrong, I just hope I'm there to see it."

 

Probably it was to show that the empire could break anyone & the cause of the rebellion.

 

Leia has always struck me as an exceptionally strong character, and that strength came from her many experiences and adventures.

She is not newly active in Episode IV: A New Hope.

In that famous opening sequence, as the Rebel Blockade Runner is overtaken by a Star Destroyer and about to be boarded by Stormtroopers and Darth Vader himself, C-3PO remarks to R2-D2, "There'll be no escape for the Princess this time."

Certainly at this point, Leia would have been keenly aware of the high stakes, what it could mean for her to be in the hands of the Empire, and perhaps the implications such captivity had with respect to the Rebellion and even her own people.

Proceeding to go forward with her mission, despite all this, required an uncommon acceptance of potential risks, a rare determination against all odds, daring disciplined by her instincts and intelligence, and an unconquerable heart and mind not even Vader could crack.

No wonder she turned out to be Luke Skywalker's sister and Han Solo's soul mate.

JediMasterRobert

 

Actually I'd think she'd even qualify as a hypocrite had she reacted that way and here is why:

Tarkin provided her with a choice (at least so it seemed to Leia): We either destroy Alderaan or your hidden Rebel base, make up your mind.

Leia decided to rather sacrifice Alderaan than the Alliance (the need of the many galactic citizens outweigh the need of the one or the few million citizens of Alderaan), because she must have been aware, that once Tarkin found out that she lied when she named "Dantooine", he would have personally pushed the firing button.

It was a (futile) attempt to buy Alderaan time

• to evacuate as many as possible (assuming that Bail Organa knew what the battle station was capable of and about to do)
• and to rely on the hope that the Death Star plans had already been analyzed and a Rebel squadron was on its way

Leia also knew that eventually Tarkin would probably find out that Alderaan was a lead member of the Alliance ("gatherers of information" 1977 Lucas Notes) and have its destruction ordered.

But too cut a long story short: She was willing to sacrifice Alderaan and had to live with this awareness for the rest of her life. Showing grief for something that would have become anyway the result of her own actions doesn't seem appropriate to me.

 

Great post. And I liked how they included her in Star Wars Rebels Season 2 showing that she started helping with the Rebellion before ANH.

I wasn't watching Rebels, but that episode made me start watching the series. Some of her quotes on the episode are really good, showing her true nature of leader and her courage and determination (like a true daughter of Anakin and Padme).

Ezra: "You're a princess. You don't have to risk your life doing this."

Princess Leia: "I feel like because I can fight, I have to for those who cannot. And I think you might be the same way."

And the one I liked the most, that I even made this:

 

speaking for myself as someone who said she didn't cry to make a show of strength, it's not that i personally perceive crying as weak, it's that the enemy likely will.

 

Well it's sort of like her not showing them any signs of weakness so they'll get even more pleasure in getting rid of her once and for all...also, as some of us have already said earlier in this thread, we aren't entirely sure what happens in her cell because we --- the audience --- haven't seen it .

 

Agree. It's just pure speculation from our end.