A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, the story of Star Wars began. As much as Star Wars is a franchise about space and families in space in particular, at its heart, the Skywalker saga and its extended films have been telling stories about love. As the novelization of Revenge of the Sith states, "Love can ignite the stars."

And so far, the many couples explored on screen in the Star Wars franchise have done just that. In a galaxy filled with characters falling in love when they really shouldn't, or falling in love with the wrong people, or (in particularly rare cases) finding true love where they least expect it, the characters of Star Wars are hardly strangers to the grand idea of love.

But some of these couples are undoubtedly much more successful, and much more enjoyable, than others.

Best: Val and Beckett

As Solo: A Star Wars Story revealed, even thieves and ne'er do wells need love, too. Though Tobias Beckett would eventually prove himself to be an irredeemable character with little interest other than himself, his briefly explored but clearly long-time relationship with Val provided the film's first act with some real emotional weight.

Val's tragic loss served as a catalyst in the first part of the film, furthering Beckett's commitment to the mission and his need to avenge Val's legacy. And even in his own final moments, his thoughts returned to her, as he assured Han that he "really was going to learn to play that valachord" - a promise he had once made to Val, regarding his retirement plans.

Worst: Jyn and Cassian

Jyn Erso Cassian Andor Rogue One

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a film full of many hits and misses. One of its biggest misses was using such an ineffective character as Jyn Erso as its lead. Further exaggerating that mistake was the decision to put Jyn in a love-hate relationship with fellow Rebellion member, Cassian Andor.

Cassian was a much stronger character in every way, and played much more convincingly by Diego Luna than Jyn was by Felicity Jones. The duo never had the necessary chemistry on screen that the film seemed to bank on them having. The supposedly tension-filled moment on the elevator, that clearly was meant to telegraph an off-screen kiss, never felt earned or remotely enjoyable at that.

Best: Lando and L3-37

L337 Han Solo and Lando Calrissian in Solo A Star Wars Story

Sometimes, a love story can take place between an arrogant gambler and his equal rights activist co-pilot droid. Solo may not have been Lando's story (allegedly), but arguably one of the best elements of the story can be found in the unconventional love story between Lando and his droid maybe-girlfriend, L3-37.

L3 is entirely aware of Lando's feelings for her, and entirely reciprocal of them as well. But in an amusing, especially earnest scene with Qi'ra, she discusses why things would never work out between them. But it's perhaps in L3's tragic passing that Lando's feelings become most clear, as he is rendered virtually inconsolable as he desperately tries in vain to save the droid who has been there for him all this time.

Best: Bail and Breha

Star Wars offers little more than a single glance at the relationship between Bail and Breha Organa, the royal couple of the planet of Alderaan, but their status as one of the best couples in the entire Star Wars canon is entirely indisputable. Even without exploring the way their relationship is developed in expanded universe materials, the relationship between these two powerhouse political figures is worth admiring.

Beyond being heroes among the Rebellion, Bail and Breha also raised one of the most import figures in the galaxy of them all, Princess Leia of Alderaan. Taking in the infant after the rise of Darth Vader and the passing of Padme Amidala, the loving couple raised her into a fearless leader, a woman who followed in their footsteps and did whatever it took to make the galaxy a better place.

Best: Finn and Rose

As two of the standout new characters from the sequel trilogy, Finn and Rose Tico develop a relationship in The Last Jedi serves as yet another instance of two characters who are incredibly alike finding one another and finding love along the way. Both characters had endured unspeakable hardship from a very young age, with Finn's enlistment into the Stormtrooper legions and Rose's childhood in forced labor on a mining planet.

But together, they embarked on a grand adventure to further the safety and success of the Resistance, taking down some of the ugly powers that be in their galaxy along the way. And in their final moments together in the film, Rose offered yet another stirring reminder that Star Wars, at its best, is not about "fighting what we hate," but "saving what we love."

Worst: Han and Qi'ra

Sometimes, first really can be the worst. Han Solo's supposed first romantic relationship was revealed in Solo: A Star Wars Story as being with a fellow Corellian street kid, Qi'ra, who would go on to become a mass manipulating member of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. There was very little substance to the relationship between Han and Qi'ra, in either flashbacks or present timeline scenes.

Much of their interaction consisted of kissing or bickering, providing the audience with very little reason to care about their once held dreams of running away to a better life together. The fact that Qi'ra was one of the film's most thinly drawn characters, featuring a truly unbearable turn from Emilia Clarke, only made matters much worse.

Best: R2-D2 and C-3PO

C-3PO and R2-D2

If true love can be found between a man and his droid companion, then it's only fair that equal time be afforded to the real, lasting love between lanky protocol droids and their pint-size astromech droid sidekicks. The bond between R2-D2 and C-3PO has been one of the most lasting components in the entire Star Wars saga, with the iconic duo appearing in nearly every single film so far.

The majority of their interactions come across as bickering between an old married couple, with R2-D2 usually riling up the stuff C-3PO and then laughing at his offense. The two are virtually inseparable, and any occasion on which only one of the droids is present feels fundamentally wrong without the other in tow.

Worst: Luke and Leia

Star Wars: Luke and Leia Kissing

Well, we did say that Star Wars is fundamentally a series about love, but also a series about families. So... we sort of had to count this awkward pairing as one of the franchise's worst couples, didn't we? Long before Game of Thrones' terrible twin twosome of Jaime and Cersei were romantically involved, Star Wars teased fans with the concept of Luke and Leia as a romantic relationship...

...only to reveal, surprise, kids! They were twin brother and sister the whole time. Han's face during the now infamous awkward kiss during Empire Strikes Back pretty much says it all. If the Skywalker twins really were meant to be twins the whole time, it really would have been a smarter idea to omit this awkward interaction entirely.

Best: Han and Leia

"I love you." "I know." Few lines have meant more to the entirety of the Star Wars saga than those. The romance between scruffy looking nerf herder smuggler Han Solo and badass Princess turned General Leia Organa is undoubtedly one of the best things to come out of the entire series.

As one of the best examples in film of opposites attracting and making things work despite their differences, the chemistry between Han and Leia is palpable from the very first time they share the screen. Even if things fell apart between them in later years following the turn of their son, Ben, to the dark side, the love between these two stubborn heroes remained as strong as ever, making their final moments together in The Force Awakens truly precious.

Worst: Anakin and Padme

Anakin and Padme in Revenge of the Sith

While the decision to pair Han and Leia together may be one of the best things Star Wars ever did, having Anakin and Padme together may be one of the very worst. Few couples have ever been less enjoyable or had less chemistry, or more awkward beginnings than these two.

Even looking past the awkward, cringe-inducing, one-sided flirtation between a very young Anakin and a teenage Padme in The Phantom Menace, the development between Hayden Christensen's Anakin and Natalie Portman's Padme in Attack of the Clones is entirely devoid of chemistry. These two people should never have been together. But then again, if they weren't, there would be no Luke, no Leia, no Darth Vader, and possibly no Star Wars at all.

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