10 Star Wars Subplots That Went Literally Nowhere
2. Vader Learning About Luke (The Empire Strikes Back)
Darth Vader's revelation to Luke on Bespin that he is in fact his father remains one of the most shocking and beloved moments in all of cinema history. This crushing confession breaks both the young Skywalker and the audience and is arguably the most sombre moment in Star Wars history.
One subplot that audiences often overlook is this revelation but flipped, with Vader discovering that Luke is indeed his son. A New Hope teases viewers with a few glances here and there, most notably during Luke's trench run on the Death Star where he demonstrates his Force skills, and audiences could probably assume that Vader, as a Force user himself, pieced things together quite some time before Empire and Cloud City, however the ins and outs of what it must have done to him are left unknown.
For a complex character such as Vader, who is brought back to the Light Side because of his paternal love, it would have been interesting to see a scene where his whole universe is crushed by such a revelation. Given how the issue of Padme's pregnancy is at the very heart of Anakin Skywalker's fall in Revenge of the Sith, it would have been a nice way of keeping things connected and continuous.