6. Baby Luke & Leia
They dont get a great deal of screen time, but baby Luke and Leia are very much the glue connecting the two trilogies, so having their origins laid out was essential. I think its a nice touch that baby Lukes eyes are never open and Leias are, so that her memory of her mother has some reality to it. Beyond that, its all about where they are hidden. We discussed Owen and Beru taking on Luke already in the previous article, so lets focus on Bail Organa. He doesnt have a great deal of screen time in Episode II or III but the scenes he is in add some weight to him being a strong enough candidate for fostering Leia. Organas first big moment is subtle. Right at the end of Episode II, his small disappointing fist drop mannerism when the Republics war ships take off and head into the Clone Wars is enough to tell us this guy is not a fan of where the Republic is going. From that, we know hes more of a Padme than most of the other Senators. In Episode III, his line And so it is after he witnesses a young Jedi Padwan shot down by Troopers somehow puts a devastating line under the horrific events of Order 66 and then he goes on to save Yoda and regroup with Obi-Wan. Bail, through largely circumstance and his ability not just to go with the flow when it comes to politics makes him a prime candidate for taking on Leia after Padmes death. Through Organa, we know why Leia has still grown up with a strong sense of right and wrong, why she can work both sides of the political conflict, and just about manage to keep her head down (until Vader gets involved anyway). Through Bail Organa, Leia gains pretty much the same upbringing she would have got if Padme had raised her herself it seems. Arguably, it was a risky business making her aware she was adopted (she seems to be fully aware of this in Return of the Jedi), but the Republic had been fully dissolved between Episode III and IV, so there was probably not a great deal of interaction between Organa and Palpatine after this point anyway. If Luke was going to be the future of the Jedi, Leia is very much the future of the Republic and potentially this combination of brother and sister putting the galaxy back together after the Empire could very well be what we see in Episode VII.