Star Wars’ impact on pop culture has been such that references it created over 30-40 years ago are still brand new in our minds, as these are used on an every day basis. One of the characters with the most quoted lines is Han Solo, who recently got his own film.
Solo: A Star Wars Story reminded us how cool Han really is, and this was first truly cemented when he’d replied with “I know” to Leia in the fifth part. The exchange took everyone by surprise, and is now a famous example within subversion of love tropes in films. The 21st century has brought us memes,which have incorporated this pop culture reference as well. Here are 10 of these we know you’ll love.
For the Love Of Bacon
Here’s the thing, you can love anybody however much you want, but it will still pale in comparison to bacon – that’s just a fact of life. How can we say that with certainty? Well, that’s because even Star Wars backs this up with this true meme.
As it turned out, Leia wasn’t talking to Han at all, and was instead picturing bacon to whom she admitted her love. Maybe she thought she wouldn’t be having any more bacon after being captured by Darth Vader. In any case, there’s no truer truth than the love we have for bacon. It even exists in galaxies far, far away.
Truly Inspiring
The reason why Han Solo’s quote became famous in the first place was because it defied usual tropes where the love interests exchange simple confessions – Han was the first guy who did in a way that fit his character.
This makes it a motivational quote when you think about it; the guy was about go to what he thought was his death, and was so confident that the girl he loved would know what he was talking about, that he didn’t even say he loved her. Leia said “I love you” to let him know how she felt, but our man Han was confident from the start because he knew it already.
Granddaddy Love
Kylo Ren acted like a little brat in all of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as if he was a kid denied permission to play with his fancy powers, and he transferred these emotions into love for Darth Vader, his grandfather.
For some reason, Kylo Ren chooses to ignore Darth Vader becoming a good guy by his last appearance, instead resembling this meme where the placing is very appropriate. Darth Vader was also like Han in that he was very stoic, and he probably would’ve reacted this way to Kylo Ren’s fanboy admission of love as well.
The Lazy Man's Meme
If you happen to have someone you want to confess your love to, then all you need to do is send them a picture of Han and Leia with no text and see if they understand. If they get it, that means they know you’re in love.
In essence, this is what Han was doing as well when he replied with the curt “I know” line, because he didn’t need to spell it out for Leia. Now that this scene is immortalized in pop culture, true love would mean your significant other wouldn’t need any explanations for Star Wars references – they already “know”.
Han Always Knows
You know why Han was such a cool dude? It’s because he didn’t waste time trying to talk about his emotions. He was an emotional man himself, but he never tried to be all lovey-dovey about it. By Star Wars: Episode III – Return of the Jedi, he seemed to be more embracing of declarations of love, but still remained a cool guy at heart.
Now that Han has been dead for years, people take to the internet – or even to Harrison Ford – how much they love Han. But knowing the character, he wouldn’t respond with any modesty; he’d just give a nod and be on his way, because he knows how you feel from before.
Civil Love
Now that Disney owns both Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it means that the superheroes from the latter franchise are related to the former one. This also means no one’s stealing anyone’s property from this meme, since they’re from the same company.
It looks like Captain America and Iron Man have been very influenced by Star Wars, seeing as they’ve chosen to declare their love like Han and Leia. Making this even funnier (and heart-warming) is that both characters are placed in the appropriate panels. The more emotional of the two, Captain America, would let his feelings know; Iron Man, the cool guy of the Avengers, would most definitely respond like this.
Now That's Just Disturbing
George Lucas really didn’t think things through by the beginning of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, when he had Luke and Leia kissing as Han watched (it makes sense in context). Now that we know they’re actually siblings, we thought the ending of the next part was funny where Leia told a confused Han she and Luke were siblings.
However, when you look at it from Han’s perspective, it’s easily very confusing to find out the two were brother and sister, especially when he was there when she had kissed him. No wonder he can’t work up to say his line in this meme.
In An Alternate Universe Far, Far Away
It was still touch and go as far as the siblings angle was concerned back in the day, and George Lucas could’ve had Luke and Leia become love interests instead. Had the situation been decided to be kept as a love triangle (thankfully that wasn’t the case), then perhaps we might have had Han say these words by the film’s end instead.
There’s a chance he might’ve even have meant to say this in the actual chronology as well, seeing as Han didn’t get the opportunity to elaborate on his words before he was frozen. Had he said this line, perhaps everyone at the cinema would’ve burst out laughing.
Love Hurts
What’s sadly funny is that Han seemed to be prepared to say “I love you” this time round as he met his son for the final time. In Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren took Han by surprise when he impaled his father with his lightsaber; a moment where we were made to believe Ren would’ve embraced him instead.
In an ironic twist, this meme seeks to poke fun at how Han got was coming to him for not professing his love to Leia, as in this case Kylo swiftly kills him before Han gets the chance to say “I know” to him.
The Love Of Today
It’s a good thing Star Wars was set a long time ago as if it had been set in present times, then we’d have had a Leia who was kept hanging. The youth of today say everything through texts, and chances are the Han and Leia of today would’ve been texting each other on WhatsApp.
However, a majority of the people tend to just see someone’s message without replying, which irks the sender when they spot they’ve pretty much been left ignored. In the context of today, Han basically did do this to Leia, seeing as he didn’t really respond to her message, did he?