"Prophecies and Destinies" is the third episode of the Return of the Jedi radio drama. It first aired on National Public Radio on November 19, 1996^[1]. It adapts events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi that take place on Tatooine, Dagobah, and the second Death Star.

Opening crawl[]

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, 
there came a time of revolution, when rebels 
united to challenge a tyrannical empire. Now, 
an ultimate confrontation looms near as the 
threads of the Emperor Palpatine's master 
plan draw the Rebel Alliance towards a last, 
apocalyptic battle.

But above the pit of the monstrous Sarlacc on 
the desert planet Tatooine, one small group 
of freedom fighters is facing its own day of 
reckoning. There, Luke Skywalker and a band 
of allies have risked all to free Han Solo 
from the clutches of the evil gangster, Jabba 
the Hutt. 

Han, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca are 
battling guards to liberate a sand skiff. 
Nearby on Jabba's great sail barge, all is 
chaos and carnage. Luke Skywalker is on the 
attack, lightsaber in hand, to free his other 
companions and end Jabba's reign of terror.

Plot summary[]

On Jabba's sail barge, the crowd is distracted by the battle raging down on the smaller sand skiffs and in particular by Boba Fett's plunging into the mouth of the Sarlacc. Princess Leia takes the opportunity first to smash the barge's instrument panel, then to strangle Jabba the Hutt himself with the chain that he had bound her with. Artoo-Detoo comes over to break Leia's chain and help See-Threepio fend off an attack from Jabba's creature Salacious Crumb. On another part of the barge, Luke Skywalker is desperately fighting multiple members of Jabba's gang. He tells the droids to jump over the side and into the sand. At Luke's direction, Leia gains control of the barge's deck gun and points it directly at the deck. Luke and Leia grab a hanging rope; they trigger the gun at the same moment that they swing out onto the skiff where Lando, Han and Chewbacca are waiting. The barge goes up in flames.

A short while later, the Rebels fly at a low altitude over Tatooine: Luke and Artoo in their X-wing fighter, the others in the Millennium Falcon. An Imperial battle group is in orbit above the planet, waiting for any Rebel force that might be coming for Han. But at the sime time, sensors show an exodus of ships from Jabba's complex—Tatooine's underworld trying to flee the planet. Artoo had hacked into Jabba's data system to make those in the palace believe that the Empire was after them. The criminal and imperial ships fight; the Rebels take advantage of the distraction to run the blockade.

Now safely on their way, the three humans aboard the Falcon apologize to Threepio for leaving him ignorant about the rescue plans, explaining that his memory banks would have been too vulnerable to a scan. Lando takes him aft to repair his photoreceptor, damaged by Salacious. This leaves Han and Leia alone. They compare the just-completed rescue to Han's rescue of the Princess. They flirt: Leia asks Han if he remembers the last thing she said to him ("I love you"); he coyly says that his memory is blurry. He asks her whether she is planning to throw away her dancing costume, to which she simply says, "We'll see." Leia passes Lando as she goes aft to change. Lando tells Han that they now must join the entire Alliance Fleet to prepare to take on the Empire's second Death Star.

Darth Vader arrives on the incomplete Death Star having given no advance notice to the station's commander, Moff Jerjerrod. Vader demands construction be put back on schedule and warns that the Emperor is coming; Jerjerrod promises to redouble his efforts.

Meanwhile Luke Skywalker lands on the planet Dagobah to visit his Jedi Master, Yoda, who is cheerful but weak and on the verge of death. Luke wants to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda says that he has acquired all the knowledge that he needs; yet to become a Jedi Knight, he still must confront Vader. When Luke presses him, Yoda confirms that Vader is indeed Luke's father, but that he had not been ready to learn this before. Just before dying, Yoda tells Luke that "there is another Skywalker." Outside, the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears to Luke. He describes how Luke's father, whom he now names as Anakin, fell to the Dark Side of the Force and became Darth Vader. It is now Luke's destiny to face him. Obi-Wan also tells Luke that he has a hidden twin sister, whom Luke quickly intuits to be Leia.

Back on the Death Star, the Emperor disembarks from his shuttle. He praises Vader for bringing the station's construction back on schedule for only "a paltry cost in lives." Once again he forbids Vader to resume his search for Luke Skywalker, assuring him that Luke will come to him soon. Jerjerrod escorts them to the station's throne room, where the Emperor orders Vader to wait with the Imperial fleet on the far side of Endor. He boasts ominously that a magnificent new day is coming for the Dark Side of the Force.

Continuity[]

The middle part of "Prophecies and Destinies" does not appear in the Return of the Jedi film.^[2] It serves to tie up loose ends in the story. It demonstrates that the Empire had not ignored the possibility of again using Han Solo as bait to capture Luke and Leia; imperial forces had been present, but Artoo found a way to outsmart them.^[3] In the same scene, the humans repair their relationship with Threepio, who had mostly been used as a dupe in the plot to rescue Han. It also advances Leia and Han's relationship by showing Leia openly flirting with him; in The Empire Strikes Back, she had responded to his advances mostly with outward hostility. Finally, when Han and Lando discuss the Millennium Falcon, they bring up events from Shadows of the Empire in which Threepio piloted the ship to help Lando and Leia narrowly escape the Destruction of Xizor's Palace.^[4]

John Lithgow's performance of Yoda is noticeably different from that in The Empire Strikes Back, whether intentionally or not; it is less of an imitation of Frank Oz's vocal performance as the character.^[5]

Credits[]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• Return of the Jedi: The National Public Radio Dramatization

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi Radio Drama on the Internet Archive