In the iconic opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope, Darth · Vader engage in a tense standoff with Princess Leia. Surprisingly, Vader doesn't know that Leia is actually his daughter.
Despite his interrogation of Leia, the Sith Lord has not yet discovered that he is related to the princess.
In contrast, Vader sensed his connection to Luke · Skywalker almost immediately.
Why, then, is Vader so quick to perceive a relationship with one child and clueless about the other?
The simple answer is that creator George · Lucas decided to make Leia Darth · Vader's daughter only after the release of A New Hope.
Star Wars books and comics try to explain this age-old plot hole. Lucas originally planned to form a love triangle between Han · Solo, Leia · Organa, and Luke · Skywalker. However, he ultimately decides to make Luke and Leia brother and sister, which is clearly reflected in later films through the way they get along.
In reality, Vader didn't become Luke's father until Lucas realized that the character was a huge hit with the audience. He improvised many plot elements while writing the original trilogy, so other writers had to find plausible explanations for the loopholes that this way of writing introduced.
Vader doesn't know Leia is a daughter?
In the canonical teen novel Star Wars: Princesses, Scoundrels, and the Farm Boys, published in 2015, author Alexandra ·Bracken portrays Darth · Vader sensing the Force in Leia as she interrogates her in A New Hope. Leia resists the Imperial Probe, showing her sensitivity to the Force.
This shocked Vader, as before A New Hope, he and Darth · Sidious were considered the only remaining Force users in the galaxy. In addition, the Emperor misled Vader into believing that his children died together when Padme died. In addition, they all believe that Obi-Wan and Yoda are long dead.
Unlike Luke, a powerful Force user, Leia's Force abilities are more instinctive and passive. In the original trilogy, Leia never used the Force in battle, nor did she use a lightsaber.
It was only in the controversial sequel Star Wars: The Last Jedi that Leia was portrayed for the first time as a character using the Force, which was an eye-opener for viewers, and the scene where she reached out to save herself from being swallowed by the vacuum of space is still unforgettable.
Leia's Force prevented discovery
Even when she first met Darth · Vader, Leia wasn't particularly aware of her connection to the Force. Leia grew up as a princess in Audrão and later became a senator in Coruscant. Her adoptive father, Belle · Organa, does everything in his power to protect Leia's true identity from being discovered.
In fact, the story of the Star Wars "saga" suggests that Leia demonstrated Force abilities at a young age, but due to her isolation from the Force and the Jedi, she did not develop these powers further. However, that doesn't stop Leia from choosing not to pursue these abilities because she doesn't want to be a Jedi. She followed her adoptive father into politics and became an important member of the Senate at a young age.
The 2007 novel Death Star further explains why Darth · Vader failed to recognize Leia. In the novel, Vader feels something familiar as she interrogates Leia. Vader even notices Leia's beauty and is amazed at her resemblance to Padmé. In the Star Wars comics, Leia is portrayed as having a stronger connection to Padmé than to Anakin. This explains why she is more prominent in the Senate and not in the use of the Force.
In Death Star, it seems that the Sith Lord might discover Leia's true identity if he followed his instincts. However, Leia's determination during Vader's interrogation deprived him of the opportunity to discover that she was his daughter.
While this explanation isn't as satisfying as the relationship Lucas had planned from the start, it still rationalizes Vader's lack of knowledge of Leia.
The reason why Leia has been cautious
Leia didn't realize her Force potential until Return of the Jedi, but that doesn't mean she lacks those instincts or hasn't used them. The entire series alludes to the fact that these instincts played a huge role in her political acumen, explaining how she (like her mother) was able to hold high positions at a young age, as well as her extraordinary insight. (For example, she discovered Lando · Karisin's betrayal earlier than anyone else in The Empire Strikes Back.) ）
In the Obi-Wan · Kenobi episode, young Leia is portrayed as a very precocious child who has been able to bypass the servants at home and has repeatedly caught her adoptive mother off guard. This all happened before she was held hostage and needed to be rescued by Obi-Wan · Kenobi.
This incident undoubtedly opened her eyes to the reality of the struggle against the empire and matured her early, helping her to become a powerful politician.
It may also have taught her to be cautious, which easily translates into subconscious repression of the Force's abilities. Her Force abilities are already weak — easily dismissed by herself as "good instincts" or something like — and the early trauma of Obi-Wan · Kenobi taught her the wisdom to proceed with caution.
It's not hard to believe that her abilities are suppressed deep enough that Vader can't detect her Force abilities.
Vader couldn't believe the child was still alive
Perhaps, the strongest factor in Darth · Vader's failure to perceive Leia · Organa as his daughter was his own denial. Darth · Vader simply couldn't convince himself that Anakin · Skywalker's child was still alive.
Anakin· Skywalker's fall into Darth · Vader at the end of the Clone Wars was dramatic and thorough, leaving little trace of the former Jedi knight.
At the time of the events of A New Hope, Vader had completely consumed Anakin and couldn't even stand the thought that his child would be alive after Padmé's death.
Even a momentary belief that some of Anakin's · remnants of Skywalker still existed would render all the horrors he'd done over the past twenty years meaningless, and Vader simply couldn't stand the thought.
After all he had done—killing Mace · Windu, killing the apprentices in the Jedi Temple, and the countless atrocities committed in the years leading up to New Hope—the moral reckoning would be too much for him to bear.
Therefore, he chose to follow the Sith monarch more firmly.
Vader's taunt of Leia reveals the truth
As viewers know, shortly after reconnecting with his son and learning that Leia is his daughter, Vader betrays and kills the Sith Monarch, saving the entire galaxy. The survival of Anakin· Skywalker children prompted the once-great Jedi Knight to become a hero again.
Seeing Luke and knowing of Leia's existence gave Vader hope that had been lacking for so long - the hope that he had been afraid of getting hurt again and rejecting the hope he had admitted. Vader's denial kept him from facing the truth for years – but even he couldn't escape the facts about Luke and Leia.
This was especially evident in his final duel with Luke. Once he learns that Leia is still alive, he taunts her on the grounds that he might lead her to the dark side, which angers Luke and causes him to finally defeat Vader in battle.
The Sith Monarch then attempted to kill Luke, and nearly succeeded, but Vader eventually broke free and saved his son. Knowing Leia's background and the possibility of what the Sith monarch would do to her played a big role in that decision.
Darth · Vader's failure to perceive Leia · Organa as his daughter during the events of A New Hope may seem like a plot hole at first, but it actually reveals a deep turmoil within him. George · Lucas didn't know the truth about Leia's background at first, but it did make a beautiful turn for her and Darth · Vader's characters.