5 Han Solo Quotes That Show What Being a Parent Really Means
by ParentCo.
March 29, 2016
The Force Awakens comes to Apple TV, Blu-ray, and other home platforms on April 5.
If you're the only person who hasn't seen the The Force Awakens, turn back! Major spoilers below.
Harrison Ford returns as the adventurous, wise, and ever-handsome Han Solo. We see a different side of him in The Force Awakens, though, because since his last appearance he has gone through the great transition of becoming a father.
Some of his lines in the film, then, truly capture what being a parent is all about.
If you're the only person who hasn't seen the The Force Awakens, turn back! Major spoilers below.
“You changed your hair.”
In the movie, Han and his wife, Princess Leia, separated when their son Ben went over to the dark side. That alone speaks of a parenting truism: kids can put a strain on the husband/wife relationship. But when Han sees Leia for the first time in years, the first thing he says is “you changed your hair.” He shows us that even when parenting gets tough, you and your partner can get through it by just showing that you care in those small simple ways. They’re real cute.
“That’s not how the Force works!”
During the film, Han becomes a father-figure to the two fugitives, Rey and Finn. Finn devises a plan to invade the First Order, but once they arrive there Han discovers that Finn is a little bit overconfident about his use of “the force.” Han speaks this line that resonates with parents everywhere when we just need to teach our kids the hard lessons, even if that means knocking them down a few pegs.
“Take off the Mask. You don’t need it.”
No matter how hard you try, your kid is going to make mistakes. Big ones. Han Solo’s realization that his son Ben has been completely taken over by the dark side is an obvious demonstration of that fact. But when Han meets Ben (now Kylo Ren) for the first time in years, this is what he says. He wants his son to know that he doesn’t need to pretend to be someone he isn’t anymore, and that he is perfect just the way he is. Han shows us that sometimes parenting is just being around to remind our kids of that fact.
“Yes. Anything.”
During their meeting, Kylo Ren asks Han Solo if he will help him. Without hesitation, Han administers this line, showing that being a parent means being prepared to give our all for our children, no matter what. Of course, only moments later, Kylo Ren stabs his father with his lightsaber and throws him off of a bridge to certain death. And that shows us that parenting really can feel like it’s going to destroy us in those tremendously difficult moments. But Han’s line here shows that he is ready to go down swinging for his kid and we should be too.
“How do we blow it up? There’s always a way to do that.”
Han Solo oozes confidence plenty of times during the film, but this line takes the confidence cake. He is working with the resistance to plot their attack of the First Order, and he is ready to do whatever it takes to defeat them. This quote shows his understanding that the good will prevail, no matter what. And sometimes we parents need to remind ourselves of that too. Even when things look extra challenging, we have control. And we can be confident about our parenting skills because we’re just damn good parents.
ParentCo.
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