jess

first of all, we never hear about han sleeping around or having “conquests” in the movies. i can’t speak much to the eu, but in the ot, the only thing he’s cocky about are his skills as a smuggler and pilot.

in empire strikes back, he’s the one who gets huffy and stomps off when leia doesn’t proclaim her love for him as he prepares to leave hoth. repeatedly, he tries to get her to admit her feelings for him, and is hurt or bothered by the fact that she doesn’t say it. my favorite moment of theirs is in return of the jedi, when han is jealous of leia’s vulnerability with luke and not him, he gets upset and storms away again.

and then, in a moment i will always love, he takes a deep breath and realizes it’s not leia’s fault that he’s jealous, and that she’s clearly upset and needs him to be there for her. and so he puts his own hurt aside to be whatever she needs. that’s so goddamn mature, and it shows how much he’s grown over the course of the trilogy.

which is why i think him saying “i know” at the end of esb is so important for han and leia, and really good insight on harrison ford’s part. leia has spent the past movie pretending not to care about han, and when she’s about to lose him, she panics, telling him he was right and she does love him. han doesn’t tease or dismiss her, and he also doesn’t assert his love for her, because it’s been clear the whole time.