For many, The Empire Strikes Back will be one of the earliest movies they watch where evil wins.
The original Star Wars concluded with one of the most uplifting movie endings ever, and the sequel flipped the script in the best way imaginable. This time around, the Rebels lose, the Empire wins. The Rebel base on the planet of Hoth is destroyed, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is kidnapped and frozen in carbonite, while Luke Skywalker falls for Darth Vader's tricks, loses his arm, and also learns the most horrifying truth imaginable: Darth Vader is his father.
A New Hope concluded with the heroes proudly standing before applauding Rebels at a medal ceremony, but The Empire Strikes Back ends with the group vulnerable and broken, looking out into space and hoping, possibly in vain, that they'll be able to get Han back. This was such a change of pace that The Empire Strikes Back was actually quite divisive when it was first released, although fans later came round to it and it now enjoys the le
