Anakin and... Han? Unexpected Parallels

Adapted from my starwars.com blog, since this is a slightly more relaxed setting and I feel better about making digressions.

One of the (few) things I enjoy about the Star Wars prequels is the generational parallels. It's kind of like Harry Potter that way; you get to see how the previous generation screwed up, and then how their kids face similar situations. I don't remember exactly when or why it occurred to me to compare Anakin and Han. I wasn't expecting much to come of it, but I found quite a bit to work with, in their functions (pilots, crazy rescues, old connections causing trouble, etc.) and especially in the way GL set up their romance arcs. I enjoyed looking at the Royal Girl/Jedi Friend/Morally Ambiguous Pilot trios from a perspective other than Anakin vs. Luke or Padme vs. Leia. It's just nice to branch out a bit. Since Han is kind of a foil to Luke anyway, it makes sense that he'd have things in common with Anakin too, now that I think about it.

( So, Han doesn't kill younglings, or their furry equivalents in Return of the Jedi, but they do both say... )