wait, leia used to chat to obi-wan and yoda sometimes?!!? I haven’t read TROS, but this is the first I’ve heard of this! I imagine there aren’t any actual scenes of them chatting in the book, just a reference to the fact, but still, I am in love with the idea of obi-wan forging a proper relationship with leia (after he’s already dead, cos that’s just how things are sometimes)
Yes! She mostly trained with Luke, but occasionally she heard the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and, every once in awhile, Yoda’s voice as well:
Now, this doesn’t say that she never heard from Anakin (as Luke says in Secrets of the Jedi that he heard from Anakin’s Force Ghost), but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case, given that she still hasn’t really settled her feelings on him.
Via this novelization, it feels like Leia never really quite settled her feelings on Anakin until she’s about to die–as part of a bigger pattern of the things she held onto to keep herself going:
“She’d had it backward. Letting go wasn’t giving up. It was the ultimate act of hope.”
It felt to me that, until this moment, Leia wasn’t really ready to let go–of the things she’d worked for, of the people she loved, but I think also the things that she used to prop herself up, her anger at Vader, her unwillingness to accept him as having become Anakin again.
And, even if it’s not canon in any of the books or anything, I absolutely think this is when she truly forgave him and, “Her last thought washed through the galaxy like a wave. She was vaguely aware of Han’s medal clattering to the floor, a whir of sadness from R2-D2, and finally a surge of welcome from Luke, who was not alone.”
YOU WILL PRY FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS THAT ANAKIN WAS THERE ALONG WITH LUKE AND OBI-WAN, NOW THAT SHE WAS READY TO LET GO AND ACCEPT HIM AGAIN.
I’m not sure exactly how the junior novelizations fit into canon, but according to the TROS junior novelization by Michael Kogge (which, I must say, is fantastic and every bit as emotionally impactful as the adult version), you’re absolutely right. It’s in this moment, right before her death, that Leia finally forgives Anakin. The entire scene is so beautifully written, it made me bawl. It even compares Shmi’s relationship with Anakin to Leia’s with Ben at one point. I don’t have access to a physical copy at the moment, but here’s a transcription I made as best I could from the audiobook:
“As her surroundings faded, the faces of her family came to her mind; family she had lost. Her adoptive father and mother, Bail and Breha Organa. The brother she’d always known she had, Luke. Her mother, who had died during childbirth, yet whose kindness had left such an impression that Leia had felt close to her throughout her life.
Her father, who had done great evil, and whose face she always associated with his black mask. She saw another face now—a man’s face, lined with shame and remorse. Leia had never reconciled with Darth Vader, yet Luke had said he’d felt the good in him. Leia felt it now, too. This was not the time to erect more walls and cast blame. She accepted her father’s apology and returned his love. The lines in his face lessened, and his eyes lit up. He smiled.
And then there was Han. Dear Han, scruffy-looking as ever, standing next to Chewie in the same grimy jacket he always seemed to wear, arms open for an embrace she’d never part from again.
“I love you,” he said.
“I know.”
As those faces and memories also began to fade, Leia clasped the medal against her chest and thought of the person who had made her so happy since Han had gone. Han’s last gift to her was bringing her a scavenger from Jakku, who had become like an adopted daughter to Leia. Rey had so much spirit that merely imagining her sprinting through the jungle on one of her tests diminished some of Leia’s pain. She would miss the girl; miss not enjoying a future with her. But she was happy to have spent the time with her she had. For all that Leia had endured, the Force had been good to her in the end. It had given her a second opportunity to be a mother. So many parents who lost their children never had that chance.
Last, she thought of the child she had lost, her son. She missed and loved Ben, despite all he had done. She wondered if her grandmother had felt the same about Leia’s father. A mother’s love was unlike anything else in the universe. It was unbreakable, eternal. Not even the Dark Side could rupture its bond. She felt that Ben and Rey were connected the same way she and Luke were connected: twins—not of the womb, but of the Force. And she knew if there was any way she could save Ben, it would be through what she had taught Rey.
With all the energy she had left, she reached out with her love, told her son goodbye, and invited him home.”
“Her father, who had done great evil, and whose face she always associated with his black mask. She saw another face now—a man’s face, lined with shame and remorse. Leia had never reconciled with Darth Vader, yet Luke had said he’d felt the good in him. Leia felt it now, too. This was not the time to erect more walls and cast blame. She accepted her father’s apology and returned his love. The lines in his face lessened, and his eyes lit up. He smiled.”
