Star Wars: Every Romantic Subplot In The Saga, Ranked

Since George Lucas has openly admitted that romantic dialogue is one of his weakest assets as a writer, the love stories have never been the best part of Star Wars movies. From teenage Padmé flirting with nine-year-old Anakin in The Phantom Menace to Rey giving a mass murderer the kiss of death in The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars saga’s romantic subplots have often been disappointing.

But romance isn’t completely dead in the Star Wars universe. Han and Leia share a timeless love story in the original trilogy, while The Last Jedi sets up a compelling dynamic between Finn and Rose.

8 Rey & Ben Solo

After The Force Awakens hinted that Rey and Finn would eventually end up together, The Last Jedi separated them and instead paired Rey up with Ben Solo, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Ben is a heartless mass murderer and the movie takes place in the couple of days after Rey witnessed him killing his own father, who’d become a sort of paternal figure in Rey’s life, in cold blood.

Throughout the rest of the trilogy, Rey fell more and more madly in love with Ben, but he never actually did anything to redeem himself. This is easily Star Wars’ most toxic romance — it’s like if Padmé fell for Anakin after he turned to the dark side.

7 Poe Dameron & Zorii Bliss

Poe Dameron’s entire backstory got needlessly changed in The Rise of Skywalker when he brought his fellow heroes to Kijimi to meet up with his old spice-running crew, including his old flame Zorii Bliss. Oscar Isaac and Keri Russell clearly had chemistry, but the characters were too thinly drawn for their romance to be interesting.

Their greatest moment is a non-verbal exchange during the final celebration that seemed to suggest they’d just stay friends. A lot more could’ve been done with these characters’ relationship.

6 Finn & Jannah

Finn got a new love interest in every Star Wars sequel movie. The first movie set up a romance between him and Rey, then the second movie kept them apart and instead paired him up with Rose Tico, then the third movie minimized Rose’s role and introduced yet another romantic partner for Finn: Jannah.

While a fellow ex-Stormtrooper would make a great match for Finn, and Naomi Ackie gave a terrific performance in her limited role, The Rise of Skywalker didn’t do enough with the Finn/Jannah dynamic to make it at all memorable.

5 Anakin Skywalker & Padmé Amidala

The go-to example of a cringe-worthy Star Wars romance is Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. When Anakin was a nine-year-old slave, a teenage Padmé was weirdly flirtatious with him. Then, from complaining about sand to feeding her the bottom of a pear, Anakin spent Attack of the Clones desperately trying to woo Padmé. In Revenge of the Sith, Padmé got sidelined and then killed by sadness.

There are a couple of saving graces in this love story. John Williams’ sweeping Anidala love theme “Across the Stars” perfectly captures the tragedy of their forbidden romance and their secret wedding ceremony makes for an emotionally charged final scene in Episode II.

4 Han Solo & Qi’ra

In the original trilogy, Han is shown to have a cynical attitude toward romance as he refuses to face his feelings toward Leia until after he’s spent a couple of years in carbonite freezing.

His origin story in Solo: A Star Wars Story detailed the backstory behind this cynicism (in addition to the backstory behind his jacket, his dice, his sidekick, and his last name). His childhood sweetheart Qi’ra, played by Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke, betrays him for Darth Maul.

3 Jyn Erso & Cassian Andor

Although there are no sweeping declarations of love in Rogue One, there’s plenty of will-they-won’t-they romantic tension between the leads Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor throughout the movie.

In the movie’s poignant finale, the Empire uses the Death Star to destroy the entire battlefield, killing all the heroes who were introduced in the first act, and Jyn and Cassian just accept their fate, take a seat on the beach, and wait to die together.

2 Finn & Rose Tico

It’s a shame that The Rise of Skywalker massively sidelined Rose Tico (giving her just over a minute of screen time in a two-and-a-half-hour movie) because The Last Jedi set up a promising romance between her and Finn. At the beginning of The Last Jedi, Finn wasn’t yet wholeheartedly committed to the Resistance’s cause.

Spending the middle act of the movie with Rose is what inspired Finn to believe in the cause enough to sacrifice himself for it. But Rose wouldn’t let him make that sacrifice. After saving him, she indirectly tells him she loves him.

1 Han Solo & Leia Organa

Easily the greatest romance in the Star Wars saga is Han Solo and Leia Organa. Throughout The Empire Strikes Back, as they’re stuck on the Falcon on the run from Imperial forces, Han and Leia are forced to confront their feelings for one another, culminating in the iconic moment when Han is being frozen in carbonite: “I love you.” “I know.”

This dialogue exchange is flipped in Return of the Jedi when Leia saves Han during the Battle of Endor. By the end of the movie, Han and Leia are a full-blown couple, celebrating the Rebellion’s victory.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3461 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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