For over 40 years, the beloved Star Wars saga has captivated fans all over the world with its lovable characters, exciting adventures, and heartwarming relationships. The series has explored the true nature of humanity through its use of the dark and light sides of the Force, allowing for conversations both meaningful and difficult about what people would do, should they ever find themselves in a Jedi's or Sith's position.

RELATED: Star Wars: George Lucas' 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Creative Decisions

Over the course of three trilogies so far in the Skywalker Saga, viewers have been introduced to a cast of main characters who have faced the unthinkable and made impossible decisions. Star Wars is a saga defined by the dark, the light, and the balance between them. But even the lightest of characters can commit some dark deeds. We're taking a look at the worst thing the franchise's main characters have ever done.

Han Solo: Abandoned Leia and Ben

Han Solo

Based on the Han Solo we knew in the original trilogy, it was perhaps foolish to think that he would go on to become strong husband or father material. Han has always been selfish and flighty, interested in traveling the galaxy and getting what he wants, when he wants it.

As disappointing as it may have been to learn, then, it made sense when The Force Awakens revealed that Han had left both Leia and Ben behind in pursuit of living a life of smuggling among the stars. He couldn't be stuck in one place for too long.

Leia Organa: Sent Ben to train with Luke

There haven't been many examples of stable families and well-equipped parents in the Star Wars universe. But generally speaking, Leia Organa is one of the most competent and compassionate parental figures depicted in the series so far.

But even that doesn't excuse Leia from the grand mistake she made in sending her young, Force-sensitive son, Ben, to train with her brother, Luke. Leia recounts in The Force Awakens that it was sending Ben to Luke that caused her to lose him, and Han as well. It was only during his time with Luke, further, that Ben finally succumbed to the darkness and left the life he'd known behind.

Luke Skywalker: Nearly killed his nephew and entered seclusion

Luke senses darkness in Ben Solo in The Last Jedi flashbacks

It was the central mystery at the heart of The Force Awakens: just where is Luke Skywalker, famed Jedi and galactic hero? By the end of the film, the map to his location had been completed, and Rey and her companions had finally located him on the remote islands of Ahch-To.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Ways The Rise Of Skywalker Can Give Leia A Fitting Send-Off

But it was only in finding Luke that the ugly truth of his past actions came to light. During his years training his students, including his own nephew, Ben, Luke feared the darkness he sensed in the young Solo and considered killing him, bringing about Ben's fall to the dark side.

Lando Calrissian: Betrayed Han and Leia to Vader

The Empire Strikes Back Storm Trooper Darth Vader Lando Calrissian Boba Fett

In time, Lando Calrissian would go on to become a galactic hero and legend just like our golden Star Wars trio would. But in Empire Strikes Back, Lando was anything but a hero. If anything, he was quite clearly meant to be viewed as a traitor, and even a villain.

After he offered  sanctuary and help to his long ago friend Han Solo, as well as Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, it was revealed that Lando had in fact betrayed the truth of their location to Darth Vader and his bounty hunter, Boba Fett, in order to keep the Empire from interfering with Cloud City.

Anakin Skywalker: Killed all the younglings

Anakin murdered the younglings

The story of Anakin Skywalker is undoubtedly a tragedy. He began his life as a slave who dreamed of freedom and escape, went on to become a Jedi and the alleged chosen one, only to wind up turning to a life of darkness and evil after succumbing to his selfish, darker impulses.

But the descent into darkness was truly sealed the moment when, in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin, now deemed Darth Vader by Palpatine, killed the dozens of Jedi younglings in the Jedi Temple. It's impossible to watch this scene and not feel shaken.

Padme Amidala: Married Anakin

Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala in the fields in Naboo in Star Wars

Truth be told, Padme Amidala almost never did anything wrong in her too short life. She was brave, heroic, and brilliant. But the worst thing she ever did, and therefore, her biggest mistake, was deciding to marry the young, impulsive Jedi Anakin Skywalker in a secluded wedding on Naboo at the end of Attack of the Clones.

It was Anakin's giving into love, forbidden to Jedi, that would cause much of the conflict and pain in the following film, Revenge of the Sith. Had they not married, Anakin would not have feared losing Padme, and Padme would have gone on to live the rest of her life as she deserved.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Lied to Luke about Vader

Obi-Wan Kenobi speaks with Luke in A New Hope

Obi-Wan Kenobi never did much bad in his long life either. But in the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a much more hard to pin down character than he is during the prequels. As the secretive and reclusive old Ben Kenobi, Obi-Wan is hesitant about opening up regarding the truth of the past and the Force to young Luke Skywalker.

RELATED: Star Wars: The Clone Wars - 10 Crucial Plotlines To Remember Before The New Disney+ Season

But during the scene in which he explains the past to Luke, Obi-Wan makes a fateful mistake, telling Luke that Anakin Skywalker had been killed by Darth Vader, and not that the young man had, in fact, become the nefarious villain.

Finn: Nearly deserted the Resistance

When the sequel trilogy began, Finn was merely FN-2187, a low ranking Stormtrooper without an identity or a name. By the end of the first film, however, he had become a full-fledged hero and a member of the Resistance, the alias he had feigned in the first act of The Force Awakens.

He very nearly threw all of that away at the start of The Last Jedi, however, when he selfishly attempted to desert the struggling Resistance. Thankfully, he was caught in the act by Rose Tico, who shocked some sense back into him - both literally, and figuratively.

Kylo Ren: Killed Han Solo

Kylo Ren speaks with Han Solo before killing him on Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens

Kylo Ren is undoubtedly one of the most complex and fascinating characters in the history of the Star Wars saga. It would have been easy for the series to take on the stock role of a flat, emotionless villain again, but instead, the sequel trilogy has focused on Kylo's struggles between the dark and the light.

The worst thing he ever did just so happens to exist right in the nexus of that struggle. In The Force Awakens, in an attempt to securing his position in the dark side, Kylo killed his own father, Han Solo, only to find, as Snoke would tell him, that the action had "split [his] spirit to the bone" - making him more conflicted than ever before.

Rey: Turned to the dark side...?

Dark Side Rey activates her lightsaber in The Rise Of Skywalker.

So far, Rey has shown herself to be a pretty level-headed, kind-hearted character. Even if she has had moments fueled by rage and darker thoughts, her actions have all been in the name of the greater good.

That's why it's entirely possible the worst thing she's ever done has yet to happen. But if the teaser trailer for The Rise of Skywalker released at the D23 Expo is anything to go by, then it's likely that we'll be seeing a very dark Rey, doing some very bad things, very soon. But only time will tell just what her descent into the darkness will be, and what lasting effects it could have.

NEXT: The 10 Coolest Star Wars Characters, Ranked By Their Feats