[Commoner]

One of the common excuses I hear for this scene is, "what difference does it make, there are plenty of other scenes in the film which shows Han to be mercenary."

What is the first order of a script when dealing with characters? When you introduce them you give an insight to their personality... when you INTRODUCE them. I don't want to wait half way through a film to figure out that Han is a mercenary. I mean, this is what's wrong with the prequels, too. When Maul is introduced, what's the big deal? We get a couple lousy lines, he doesn't really do anything... I digress....

Lucas is retro-actively ruining general script writing protocol.

[civilian_number_two]

I thought I should jump in to say I have nothing to say. This is frankly overwhelming: Lucas declaring that the only reaction to Han killing Greedo is that "murder is hip;" Lucas declaring that murderers can't be redeemed, in light of his weird sentimentality towards Boba Fett and Darth Vader; his strange revision of his universe from constitutional monarchy to ne where children are elected queen. It's all too much: I honestly think either he got seriously lucky with STAR WARS, and is actually a really stupid man, or he's diseased and is going the way of Howard Hughes and Michael Jackson. Time may tell.