Ice, Water, Cloud
When water is cold enough, it becomes ice. When it is hot enough, it becomes cloud. The three planets in the three acts of The Empire Strikes Back follow this elemental progression from solid to liquid to gas. The film begins in a place of relative solidity and ends in a place that is not solid at all.
In the first act, the heroes are based on the ice planet Hoth. Han Solo draws attention to the solidity of Hoth when he tells Luke Skywalker, "There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser."
In the second act, the heroes travel to warmer, wetter, less solid locations. Luke travels to the swampy, foggy planet Dagobah, where his X-Wing sinks into a lake. Meanwhile, Han and Leia Organa think they are hiding in a rocky cave but are actually in the damp belly of a space worm, where C-3PO comments, "Sir, it's quite possible this asteroid is not entirely stable."
In the third act, the heroes arrive on the gaseous planet Bespin. Bespin does not appear to have any solid or liquid terrain; the only place where ships can land is the floating station Cloud City. Lando Calrissian tells Leia, "You truly belong with us here among the clouds" – but Cloud City is not a place where the heroes can stay, because it has already been taken over by the Empire.
This progression from cold to heat also reflects the arc of Leia's relationship with Han. On Hoth, she is cold towards him; in the belly of the worm, this cold demeanor begins to thaw as she acknowledges her feelings for him; and on Bespin, she declares her love for him with passionate warmth.
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Concepts: clouds / cold and heat / ice / passion / water
Interpretive Tools: Tripartite Soul Theory
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