20 Things You Somehow Missed In Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
12. Kylo And Leia's Moment Contains A Nod To The Empire Strikes Back
Luke's still very much scarred metal hand wasn't the only nod to the original trilogy in this sequel Episode either. Rian Johnson also elegantly referenced an Episode V moment between a parent and their child during Leia and Kylo Ren's Force connection in The Last Jedi.
Watch closely as the general appears to connect to Ren through the Force just before the former is blasted out of the Raddus and you'll spot that the frame dissolves as the shot moves from one of Leia to her boy and back again.
That's exactly the same thing that went down back when Darth Vader communicated with his own son Luke through the Force in The Empire Strikes Back, too.
And Johnson eventually confirmed in the film's director's commentary that this familiar dissolving frame was an entirely intentional homage to the other Skywalkers' shared telepathic moment in Episode V (via Decider).