The Battle of Yavin
Everything Is True
Ada Hoffmann's author newsletter
Here’s how the Battle of Yavin (from “Star Wars: A New Hope”) breaks down when it’s analyzed using Chekhov’s 21-Gun Salute. You can read an introduction to the 21-Gun Salute method in last week’s post - the key to this method is that every character brings a gun to the battle, in the form of some ability to use or some character arc to wrap up, and every gun must be fired in an effective way.
First, let’s break down the guns on both sides of the battle. On the heroes’ side, even before we start setting up the battle itself, we know some of what we’re working with:
Luke Skywalker is our protagonist. He carries two guns. First, he’s a competent pilot. Second, and even more important, he’s strong in the Force. Obi-Wan, before he died, had convinced Luke that he should be a Jedi like his father and had begun to train him. It would be a shame if that training, and Luke’s connection to the Force, didn’t turn out to be important in the big final battle.
(Luke has met several other heroes in the course of his adventures so far, many of whom will also bring guns to the battle - but I’ll talk about them more in the Setup phase below.)
And we know some of what we’re working with on the villains’ side. Just as we did with Luke, we can infer the guns the villains are carrying based on what’s been established in the movie so far, and on genre conventions and viewers’ expectations.
Grand Moff Tarkin is, as far as this movie is concerned, the villains’ leader. He’s terrible! He blew up Alderaan! Tarkin can be indirectly effective in this battle by commanding the Imperial forces - but the biggest expectation we have about him, as viewers, is that we want to see him get his comeuppance. As with many villains in this kind of movie, Tarkin’s biggest gun is actually pointed at himself.
Darth Vader is also an important villain, and there is a personal grudge between him and Luke in particular. He killed Luke’s father (as far as we know), and he also killed Obi-Wan right in front of Luke! It’s not enough for Vader just to be effective against the heroes (although he should be!) - with the way the story has set him up, we want to see a showdown between him and Luke in particular.
The villains’ biggest weapon is the planet-killing Death Star - a very big gun in its own right. There’s a fun rule of thumb for doomsday devices like the Death Star in a story like this: they should come as close as possible to being used (which might even mean beginning to be used!) without actually killing everyone and ending the story. If you watch a lot of popcorny action movies you’ll see this is the case in almost all of them. We already saw the Death Star destroy Alderaan - and now that it’s being brought to the final battle, one of the biggest questions on our mind is whether the villains will manage to use it again.
The villains also have a bunch of small TIE fighters at their disposal. It wouldn’t make logical sense if they didn’t use these to defend themselves in the battle, and their use should be effective.
Guns can be set up in several ways, so I’m going to use the following terminology:
A gun is on the mantel if its existence has been introduced at some point, and we can infer it should eventually be used.
A gun is loaded if we’ve been shown or told that it is about to be used.
A gun is fired when it is used effectively in one of a battle’s try-fail cycles.
A gun is in play when it has been fired at least once and is still in the scene, with the possibility of being fired again.
A gun is removed when it can no longer be fired - perhaps it was destroyed, or the person carrying it had to leave the field of battle, or perhaps by its nature it could only be fired once.
Not every gun goes through all of these stages, but it should go through them in this order, and every gun should be fired. Next week we’ll talk about some general patterns in how the guns move through the stages.
Setup Phase
The setup to the Battle of Yavin begins when the heroes start discussing in earnest what their battle plan will be. Three important things happen in this setup phase. First - we go over some tactical plans. Second - we set up the villains approaching and the risk to the heroes. Third - we have a very short sequence of events, during the preparation for the battle, that puts the characters’ arcs into position and loads a lot of guns.
Here’s what we learn from General Dodonna’s briefing:
The Death Star is highly shielded and has high firepower, but a small fighter can slip through its defenses.
The fighters will have to go down a trench and hit a 2-meter thermal exhaust port.
If they can hit the thermal exhaust port, it will start a chain reaction that will destroy the Death Star.
This clarifies the specific steps the Rebels will need take to reach their goal and why. We have a sense of how difficult hitting the exhaust port will be; one Rebel calls it impossible. Luke is more optimistic. We also load an additional gun on the villains’ side: the Death Star and the crucial trench are protected by turbolasers.
In the second part of setup, we cut to the Death Star and hear an announcement that it will be in range in 30 minutes. This loads the Death Star’s gun - and it also puts a constraint on the battle. It’s not enough for the heroes to beat the villains and destroy the Death Star. They have to do it before the 30 minutes are up - or they’re doomed.
Finally, we see a series of very quick interactions - each no longer than a line or two of dialogue - which set up more of the guns that the heroes are working with.
We see the X-Wings being prepared in the hangar. These are the small fighters that the heroes are using, and it’s important to see them here because we haven’t actually seen them before! By watching the pilots get in and prepare for takeoff, we’ve loaded the X-Wings’ gun.
Han packs his reward and prepares to leave. This distresses Luke, and it puts a very particular gun on the mantel for Han. He’s already come into conflict with Luke and Leia because of his mercenary nature and lack of commitment to the Rebels’ ideas. It would be disappointing if this was the last we saw of Han and his co-pilot Chewbacca. Whenever we do see them next, it needs to be in some form that resolves this conflict.
A Rebel technician offers to replace R2-D2 with a droid in better shape, but Luke insists on keeping R2, saying he and the droid have been through a lot together. This loads R2-D2 as a gun; by storytelling convention, we expect Luke’s attachment to him to somehow pay off. C-3PO also has a few words for R2, wishing him well and worrying that life would be boring without him.
Luke runs into his old friend Biggs and is delighted to see him. They promise to catch up after the battle. Since we’ve taken the time (even just a few dialogue lines) to establish Luke’s connection with Biggs, when we didn’t previously see Biggs before, we can expect that their friendship should matter somehow in the battle.
Luke wishes Obi-Wan were here, and as the X-Wings begin to taxi and prepare for takeoff, Luke hears Obi-Wan's voice promising the Force will be with him. We’ve previously heard Obi-Wan’s voice telling Luke to run from Vader on the Death Star. Now Obi-Wan is placed on the mantel as a figure who might still be important to the battle in some way - and Luke’s connection to the Force, as well as his ability to join the Rebels as a pilot, is loaded.
We also see a brief shot of Vader, on the Death Star, comparing the impending defeat of the Rebels to his earlier defeat of Obi-Wan. We see a quick, encouraging exchange between Luke and Leia, setting up Leia as a person whose reactions will matter in this fight, even though she is not carrying a gun, exactly. Instead, Leia (and C-3PO) is remaining at the base as a visual reminder for viewers of what’s at stake if the heroes fail. Finally, we are reminded again of the time limit - the Death Star is now only 15 minutes away.
Every gun that will be used in the battle is now either placed on the mantle or loaded - and every gun that will be used in the battle’s first cycle is loaded.
Cycle #1
The Rebels’ goal in this battle is simple enough that it can be divided into only two subgoals. First: get close enough to the Death Star to start the trench run. Second: fly through the trench and shoot the exhaust port. The first try-fail cycle of the battle is devoted to the first subgoal. It also gives us a chance to see what the Rebels are up against.
Goal/Method: The X-Wing pilots go through their callsigns (“Gold Leader, standing by”), pass through the Death Star’s magnetic shields, and approach. One squadron of X-Wings will draw fire to give the other one space to descend. (Note that the characters explicitly say this is how they are approaching it; this helps the viewer to keep track of what’s going on and why.)
Problem: The turbolaser cannons shoot at the X-Wings.
Solution/Cost: The X-Wings return fire. Luke shoots and damages a laser, as do several other pilots. They have an advantage over the turbolasers, but they take casualties, including Luke, who takes mild damage to his X-Wing during a risky maneuver.
Problem: Seeing that the X-Wings can outmaneuver the turbolasers, Vader orders the TIE fighters to launch. The TIE fighters begin to attack the X-Wings and destroy several.
[The Death Star will be in range in seven minutes.]
Partial Solution: Luke hears Obi-Wan's voice guiding him. He shoots and damages several turbolasers.
Problem: A TIE fighter starts tailing Biggs, who can't shake it off.
Solution: Luke destroys the TIE and protects Biggs.
Problem: A TIE fighter chases Luke and does damage to his X-Wing.
Solution: A pilot named Wedge takes out that TIE.
Cycle Success: Despite the turbolasers and TIEs, the Rebels have come close enough to the Death Star to start the trench run.
Response/Setup
Toward the end of the cycle, Vader notices that some Rebel fighters have broken off from the main group. Commandeering a couple of TIE pilots, he sets out to deal with that group himself. Vader’s gun is now loaded.
Here are the guns that have been fired in this cycle:
The X-Wing pilots have been effective (overcoming obstacles in their way). The turbolasers and TIEs have also been effective (presenting a sufficiently difficult obstacle that they damage or destroy some X-Wings).
Luke’s connections to Obi-Wan and Biggs have also begun to pay off. Neither of these arcs is complete.
Most of the guns that haven’t been fired or loaded have still been briefly highlighted in some way to remind us they’re waiting. For instance, we see Tarkin listening to the announcement on the Death Star’s bridge, and we see R2 in Luke’s X-Wing.
Cycle #2
Goal/Method: Gold Leader will do the trench run and fire on the exhaust port, with the rest of Gold Squadron accompanying him while Red Squadron covers them.
Problem: There are more turbolaser cannons in the trench.
Solution: The X-Wings use their front deflectors and their small size to evade the cannons.
[Five minutes until the Death Star is in range.]
Problem: Darth Vader and his wingmen enter the trench. The Rebels first notice something is wrong by the fact that the turbolasers have stopped. Vader tells his wingmen to cover him while he shoots down the Rebels.
Fail: Gold Squadron, taken by surprise, has trouble dealing with Vader. They get in an argument whether to pull up or stay on target.
Cycle Failure: All of Gold Squadron is destroyed without getting to the exhaust port.
Response/Setup
An Imperial officer hesitantly informs Tarkin that they've analyzed the Rebels' attack and there is a small chance of success. He asks if Tarkin wants to get on his shuttle just in case. "Evacuate? In our moment of triumph?" says Tarkin.
This interlude does not tactically affect the battle at all. What it does is provide a nice character moment. We already know Tarkin needs to get his comeuppance. Seeing his hubris in this moment, and his absolute certainty that the Rebels don't pose a danger to him, makes it even more satisfying later when the Rebels will destroy the Death Star with him aboard.
It’s an appropriate moment for him to feel hubris, and for people in general to doubt if the Rebels will win, since they have just decisively failed at a cycle goal. In general, the end of a try-fail cycle is a good place to pause (briefly! - don't let things grind to a halt!), pull back a bit, and think about the larger picture.
This was a shorter cycle, and it notably did not involve Luke or other important heroes. But we did see several guns fired:
The X-Wing pilots were effective (at first) and Vader was effective against them.
Rather than repeating the same shots as the previous cycle, this cycle’s purpose is to up the stakes and show that Vader is a bigger threat than the other Imperials.
Cycle #3
Goal/Method: Since the Rebels failed at the trench run before, they try it again. Half of Red Squadron enters the trench while the other half provide cover.
Problem 1: It's hard for their instruments to see the enemy fighters or the exhaust port because there's a lot of interference.
Problem 2: Darth Vader is chasing them.
Solution/Cost: Two of the X-Wings will hold off the fighters while Red Leader shoots the exhaust port. Both of Red Leader's wingmen die in the attempt, but they buy him enough time to make the shot.
Fail: Red Leader hits the exhaust port, but it's only a glancing blow. It doesn't go all the way in and therefore doesn't start the chain reaction that would destroy the Death Star.
Problem: Red Leader has taken damage to his engines.
Fail: Luke offers to help fight off the TIEs and save Red Leader, but Red Leader says he is better off concentrating on the next run. He crashes his ship kamikaze-style into the Death Star.
Cycle Fail: Not only have the Rebels still not destroyed the Death Star, but there are no survivors among the group that tried!
While Cycle #3 closely resembles Cycle #2, it comes closer to success, and it fails for a different reason - the characters made it past Darth Vader (!) but their shot when they got there wasn’t accurate enough. If the characters are going to repeatedly fail, it makes sense for them to adjust their tactics every time, and to fail for a different reason every time - rather than trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
We’re also starting to see problems appear fast enough that more than one of them pop up before one of them is solved. This is pretty standard in the exciting parts of battle scenes - it works just as long as every problem is addressed eventually.
Cycle #4
Goal/Method: There are only three surviving Rebel pilots, and they only have one more chance at the trench run. Luke will try to hit the exhaust port while Biggs and Wedge cover him.
Problem: They are going to be chased by Darth Vader.
Solution: Luke suggests flying at top speed to evade him. Biggs worries that they won't be able to pull out of the trench in time at that speed, but it’s similar to stunts Luke used to do in a canyon on Tatooine.
Problem: There is still interference. (Wedge reminds of this problem out loud, since it wasn't solved in the last cycle.)
Problem: Due to previous hits to Luke's X-Wing, his stabilizer breaks loose.
Solution: R2-D2 gets to work fixing the stabilizer.
Problem: Darth Vader hits Wedge's ship. He's too damaged to continue the trench run and has to pull out.
Solution: Luke accepts Wedge's apology and continues the run with only himself and Biggs.
Problem: Luke's plan of flying at top speed doesn't work, because Vader and his wingmen can match his speed.
Solution: Luke asks R2 to increase the power.
Problem: Vader shoots and kills Biggs. Luke's X-Wing is the only one left in the trench, and Vader is on his tail.
[30 seconds until the Death Star is in range.]
Solution: Despite the heavy losses, Luke is almost in range of the exhaust port. He might be able to succeed even without backup if he can just hold on for a few more seconds. He turns on his targeting computer to make the attempt.
Problem: Just as Luke is preparing to fire, he hears Obi-Wan's voice telling him to "use the Force." We've seen Luke succeed at training exercises with his eyes closed before; we also see Vader remarking that the Force is strong with him. Since we’ve already seen pilots using the targeting computers fail, it makes sense that Luke might need to use the Force instead of the computer. But if he obeys Obi-Wan now it will require a leap of faith and make the shot even harder to do, and if he gets it wrong, they're out of time.
Solution: Luke chooses to take the leap of faith. He turns off the targeting computer, despite the alarm this causes at the Rebel base.
Problem: Vader glancingly hits Luke's X-Wing and injures R2. (There isn’t really a solution to this; it’s just part of an arc to this cycle where Luke is increasingly out of allies.)
Problem: The Death Star is now in range. It commences primary ignition - the same set of procedures that we saw at the destruction of Alderaan. If Luke wants to save the Rebellion, he has only seconds left.
Problem: Vader now has Luke in his sights and is prepared to make a direct shot. "I have you now," he says.
Solution: Han Solo reappears from nowhere in the Millennium Falcon and shoots down one of Vader's wingmen. This startles Vader out of making the shot and causes the TIEs to veer off course. Vader's fighter goes spinning out into space, leaving Luke all clear for his shot at the exhaust port.
Solution: Luke shoots the exhaust port.
Victory: Luke’s shot is a direct hit. The Death Star explodes just before it can fire on the Rebel base, and the Rebels are saved.
Responses/Coda:
The whole rest of "A New Hope" is devoted to people reacting and celebrating, but before the battle scene itself is over, we get a few short, concrete reactions from every effective character who is still alive, intact, and physically present the field of battle:
"Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!" says Han.
Luke breathes a sigh of relief.
Obi-Wan's voice reminds Luke that the Force will be with him always.
Vader regains control of his spinning TIE fighter and flies away to fight another day.
Since this was the final try/fail cycle of the battle, every gun that remained on the field was either fired, destroyed, or both. Guns that were fired include:
Luke (both his skill as a pilot and his talent with the Force)
Han (resolving his conflict with Luke by returning to save the day)
Obi-Wan (urging Luke to use the Force when it was needed most)
Guns that were removed or destroyed:
Biggs (using his friendship with Luke and his sudden death to increase the tension)
Wedge a.k.a. the last remaining Rebel pilot who wasn’t a gun in his own right (removed from the field to increase tension)
Tarkin (whose entire narrative role in the battle, besides ordering the Death Star to fire, was to be destroyed in the end)
Guns that were both fired and removed or destroyed:
R2-D2 (both by helping Luke and by being injured, taking advantage of his bond with Luke to increase the tension)
The Death Star (remember that “firing” the Death Star, in the sense of a Chekhov’s Gun, doesn’t necessarily mean that it literally fires and destroys a planet; it means that it comes as close to doing so as is narratively possible, coming into range beginning the firing sequence before it’s destroyed)
Vader (a dire threat right until the last minute)
A Handy Chart
Here’s a little chart summarizing how each gun progresses through the battle:
Some guns - especially the most important guns - start out on the mantel, then are loaded, then are fired and come into play, where they can continue to be fired as the battle requires. Some are introduced and loaded at the same time. A few are on the mantel for a while, then fire suddenly, and a few are only fired once.
Some are fired in a way that primarily has emotional resonance (like Biggs’s death) rather than being materially effective, but these guns aren’t materially useless - whether Rebels or Imperials, they’re members a larger effective group.
But no gun comes out of nowhere - even surprise guns, like Han, are placed on the mantel before the battle. This is what makes the surprise feel satisfying, instead of being a deus ex machina. We’re seeing something surprisingly resolve, instead of an entirely new element suddenly appearing.
We’ll talk even more about this system in Part 2 next week, and the week after that, we’ll be looking at a more complicated battle - the Battle of Scarif from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Pew pew!