Han Solo and Chewbacca are not the daring Rebel heroes of old when we meet them in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They are smugglers with a hazardous and prohibited payload. Hauling a stolen Baleen class heavyweight freighter known as the Eravana. As viewers quickly learn, that payload includes many rathtars, voracious, tentacled predators that, upon unintentional release, wreak mayhem upon the ship. Many viewers still wonder long after the monsters have rolled through a dozen hapless crooks: Why did Han Solo first have rathtars?
This is not a careless smuggling incident. It is a deliberate, high risk job that perfectly matches Han Solo's trajectory post Return of the Jedi. To grasp why he was carrying these specific beasts, we have to examine the condition of Han's life thirty years after the Battle of Endor, the nature of rathtars as a product in the underworld, and the particular canonical specifics surrounding the assignment.
The State of Han Solo: Post Galactic Civil War
To grasp Han's drive, we first have to see where he is in the cosmos about 34 ABY. For the Corellian smuggler, the triumph over the Empire did not provide a fairy tale conclusion. Han's life broke apart as canon materials, including the novelizations and the movies themselves, indicate. His marriage to Leia Organa fell apart because he couldn't handle political life and, more significantly. After all, their son Ben Solo turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren.
Han's heart broke over his son's fall to the dark side. He went backward since he couldn't bear the grief. Returning to what he knew before the Rebellion, smuggling, he left Leia and the New Republic. Still, the galaxy had altered. The New Republic was disarming; the criminal underworld was filling the power vacuum left by the Empire. Han was a middle aged guy tormented by failure, seeking to drown his misery in credits; he was not a young man with a rapid vessel.
Taking a job to haul rathtars in this setting is not about the Rebellion or a righteous cause. It concerns survival and the well known cadence of crime activity. Han Solo required funds to continue operating. More crucially, he needed something to draw his attention away from it. Carrying the most hazardous lifeforms in the galaxy demanded concentration. It demanded that he be Han Solo once again, even for just a few hours.
Han and Chewbacca were driving the Eravana because they had taken it, most importantly. Confirmed in canonical sources, this fact strengthens Han's return to his former criminal activities. He was improvising his route across the cosmos without institutional support and accepting any employment that came his way.
What Exactly is a Rathtar?
We have to know what a ratthar is inside the current canon before we get into the practical aspects of the employment. Originating on the planet Twon Ketee, rathtars are large, carnivorous predators. Round, muscular bodies with several tentacles coated in suction cups and teeth distinguish them. Inflating and deflating their bodies lets them roll at astounding speeds.
Rathtars are voracious food consumers. With a central mouth and several smaller feeding jaws, they will eat nearly anything they can capture. These are not rational, tame creatures. Canon materials highlight how nearly impossible it is to train rathtars. Under no conditions can they be domesticated; their erratic aggression means that even safe containment is a high risk project. They are grouped as dangerous species in the canonical reference Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia rather than beasts of burden. Their main utility to the galaxy is as exotic specimens.
Under New Republic law, having rathtars is prohibited because of their threat; most civilized societies probably disapprove of them. Special containment units, magnetic confinement cages that maintain the animals suspended and calm, are needed for their transportation. These cages on the Eravana show that Han had purposely gotten a ship suitable for such unstable cargo.
Its emergence is vital. Catching rathtars calls for experienced hunters with the equipment and knowledge to survive the attempt in Twon Ketee, a very dangerous world. Han Solo did not personally catch these species. He obtained them from a third party, therefore increasing the complexity and expense of the project.
The Buyer: An Unidentified Client
Han is persuading his first mate, Rey, that the task is secure by informing her they are moving rathtars for a customer. The movie never, however, specifies who that customer is. King Prana, a canon character, is not participating in this deal. The customers continue to be totally anonymous.
This uncertainty is very revealing on its own. Maximum confidentiality is usually maintained in the criminal underworld for high stakes transactions, including illicit exotic animals. The fact that the purchasers are never identified or visible implies they work in the darkness, perhaps agents of a criminal syndicate, a private collector, or a company preferring to remain inconspicuous.
The agreement was set for a meeting. Han's own statements prove they were still midway through transactions. He says precisely, ‘’The gangsters are waiting for the rathtars’’, implying that the customers were either in transit or awaiting delivery. Han and Chewbacca were carrying the rathtars to a meeting location where the buyers would examine the products and finish the sale. This is customary operating practice for prohibited goods. On a world with officials, you meet in deep space, exchange payment, and part ways; you don't deliver dangerous cargo.
The Debt That Broke the Deal
Han's rathtars are intimately related to why the agreement had crashed. To elude planetary authorities, Han, Chewbacca, and a small team were acting out the deal on the Eravana. But two criminal groups, the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, boarded the ship before the purchasers showed up.
The timing is crucial. Before the purchasers showed up, the gangs got there. Han was just seconds away from finishing the trade and getting paid when the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub stepped in. These organizations did not come for the rathtars. Han was in debt to them, hence they why were present. The movie's dialogue shows this explicitly: Han had taken credit from both groups and failed to refund them. There is no canonical evidence that these loans specifically paid for the rathtar shipment. Han possibly had several unrelated debts acquired throughout his years back in the smuggling game.
The Guavian Death Gang is a very well planned, technologically sophisticated criminal syndicate represented by Bala Tik. Their enforcers employ cutting edge combat training and wear unique red armor. Led by Tasu Leech, Kanjiklub is a more classic gang from the Asian region using melee weapons and physical power. Tired of Han's excuses and procrastination, both sides boarded the Eravana to gather forcibly.
During the ongoing conflict between the perplexd passangers han the gangs and rey anf finn, a blaster bolt for the rathtars' cage hit the control panel. The cages' magnetic fields failed, and the monsters were let out. The deal between Han and the anonymous customer was concluded in a bloodbath.
The Rathtars as Exotic Commodities
Why would anonymous buyers want rathtars? In a galaxy far, far away, exotic fauna serves several purposes, all of which are documented in canon.
Power is usually shown through materialism in the criminal world. Although Jabba the Hutt had a rancor in his basement as a frightening but known quantity, a ratthar stands for much more. They are rare and more erratic. This renders ownership the ultimate status sign for every crime lord. Owning a rathtar tells competitors that you have the tools to catch, house, and dominate a being that might devour an entire force. The fact that rathtars are almost impossible to educate only increases their worth as trophies. Absolute control over total turmoil is embodied by a confined rathtar.
The dark underbelly of the galaxy is gambling and blood games. Canon has alluded to several battling pits located over the Outer Rim. Creatures are set against one another or against sentient beings in these pits for entertainment. In such an arena, a rathtar, with its many mouths and rolling attack, would be a champion. Crime rings might have been among the unknown buyers. They are always trying to fill their fighting pits with new, undefeated beasts. This brings in more visitors and increases bets.
More ominous than sports is the possibility of biological exploitation. The First Order initially appeared during this time. They were vigorously looking at military uses for superweapons. The First Order has no canonical proof connecting it to the rathtar exchange. But the possibility exists that the purchasers represented companies eager to investigate the beasts. They might have wanted to investigate their digestive abilities, combat ability, or resilience.
The secrecy surrounding the purchase reinforces the idea that the purchasers were not real businessmen. Meeting on an arbitrary ship in deep space rather than on a planet implies the buyers desired no record of the deal and no witnesses save Han and his crew.
The Setup: A Transaction Waiting to Collapse
Han had a rather simple strategy. First of all, confine the rathtars inside the magnetic cages. Then let the purchasers examine the items from a respectable distance. Collect payment afterward. Pay off his remaining debts next. Pocket the remaining profit at last.
Han's persistent failure to keep ahead of his creditors caused the plan to crash. Because Han had stopped running and begun negotiating, the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub followed him to the Eravana. He thought he might stop them long enough to pay them the proceeds from the rathtar transaction. He was wrong.
Designed for hazardous species transport, the Eravana's containment system uses regular gear for hauling unstable cargo and magnetic confinement systems. The setback was caused by direct blaster fire amid a frenetic confrontation rather than Han's ignorance. Shooting at armed groups might damage any ship's systems.
The Narrative Function of the Rathtars
Although this study mostly considers the in universe logistics, the rathtars clearly serve a story purpose for Han. They represent his present life's physical representation. They are untamed, erratic, and filthy. By welcoming them aboard, Han opens his ship, as he has opened his life, to pandemonium by leaving his family and fleeing his history.
The succession intentionally mirrors events from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The restricted ship setting, the encounter with gangsters, and the unexpected unleashing of a monster all remind one of the Death Star trash compactor scene with the Dianoga. Once again in over his head, Han depends on luck and rapid thinking to live.
The rathtars obliterate the Eravana, therefore Han, Chewbacca, Rey, and Finn are forced to flee on the Millennium Falcon. This is extremely important thematically. Earlier, Han had lost the Falcon, which was stolen from him, and then once more, ultimately ending up with Rey and Finn on Jakku. Han boards the Falcon after following it, and the rathtar calamity offers the means for him to get back his ship.
Without the rathtars, Han would not have been on the Falcon when the Starkiller Base crisis broke out. Though horrific monsters, the beings are the narrative tool that compels Han Solo to go back.
The Stolen Eravana and the Stolen Falcon
Two ships factor into this equation, and both reveal aspects of Han's circumstances.
The Eravana was stolen. Illegally acquired by Han and Chewbacca, this Baleen class heavyweight freighter would indicate they couldn't afford to buy a genuine ship or didn't want one that could be tracked. Han stole a ship already set for unusual cargo or retrofitted it personally; the Eravana had rathtar containment units. The ship either way symbolizes Han's reduced situation. He went from piloting a stolen bulk freighter to commanding the Millennium Falcon, among the galaxy's fastest ships.
Before the events of The Force Awakens, the Millennium Falcon itself was stolen form han. Canon records the theft chain: Han handed the Falcon to a crook named Ducain, who mislaid it to the Irving Boys, who subsequently exchanged it to Unkar Plutt on Jakku. For years, Plutt held the ship until Rey and Finn fled in it. This series shows how far Han had plummeted. That ship helped define who he was. Loss of it was still another blunder in a long line of failures. He sees a chance to recover part of his past life as he follows it to Jakku and discovers Rey and Finn aboard.
The Rathtar sequence links these two boats. The disorder on Eravana causes an evacuation to the Falcon. Han returns to piloting his cherished ship after commanding a stolen monster loaded freighter. Indirectly, the rathtars return his sense.
Canon Details That Matter
Several canonical details enrich our understanding of the rathtar job.
The rathtars' beginning on Twon Ketee is important as it reveals the start of the supply network. The hunters who caught these animals took great risks in Twon Ketee, a hazardous world. Han's purchase of the rathtars mirrored those hazards.
The theft of the Eravana shows us that Han could not get into a starport and arrange for genuine transportation. Using a vessel not traceable back to him, he was working entirely outside the law. This is the action of a man who has burnt his bridges with respectable society.
Han has been taking out loans for some time, according to debts to the Guavian Death Gang and the Kanjiklub. These are not companies lending little sums. Han owed sizable sums of money; both gangs used security forces to collect them. Paying them the proceeds from Rathtar was a risk he was taking; for Han Solo, betting had always been a lifestyle.
Han's comment about the mobsters waiting for the rathtars validates that the agreement was forthcoming. The buyers were either waiting for delivery or en route. The arrival of the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub disturbed a deal set to finish literally hours from then. That time element heightens the tragedy of the circumstances. Han's past caught up with him, bringing him very near to resolving his issues.
The Last Run of a Broken Man
Why did Han Solo carry rathtars? He had them out of desperation, financial hardship, and grieving run. He had them since an unknown customer gave sufficient credits to cover his debts to Kanjiklub and the Guavian Death Gang. He had them because there is always a market for devastation in the huge criminal ecology of the galaxy.
Han got the rathtars from hunters caught on Twon Ketee. To keep them calm, he moved them aboard the pilfered Eravana using magnetic containment cages. He set up a meeting with customers still unknown. He intended to pay his bills and keep going using the money.
Han Solo tried to be the rebel he had been as a young man with the rathtar mission. It was a gamble, and like most of Han's bets, it nearly cost him his life. It also started his journey toward Leia, back to the Resistance, and finally back to his son.
The ratthars were merely freight. But they were freight that mirrored everything Han had become in the decades following the Empire's collapse: reckless, lonely, and clinging to a faint desire that one last score could solve everything. Han lost that hope when the cages broke, and the monsters escaped. Still, he acquired something else: a reason to halt running.
Han Solo could have floated indefinitely across the galaxy, towing one hazardous load after another, always fleeing his son's memories. The rathtars pushed him off that road. His ship was wrecked, his crew was dispersed, and he was thrown together with Rey and Finn. They placed him back on the Millennium Falcon. They drove him toward Starkiller Base, toward Leia, toward the confrontation with Kylo Ren that would define his last moments.
The rathtars were a task. They were a blunder. They were catastrophes. But in the weird calculation of the Star Wars galaxy, they were also exactly what Han Solo required.
FAQS
Did Han Solo capture the rathtars himself?
Han Solo did not actually catch the rathtars. Canon confirms that rathtars live on the exceedingly hostile world Twon Ketee, therefore specialized hunters with sophisticated gear are needed to resist capture efforts. From a third party, that is, from expert exotic animal hunters, Han bought or otherwise acquired the rathtars. This fits with Han's part as a smuggler and carrier more than as a hunter. Not the source, he was the intermediary.
Who was Han Solo delivering the rathtars to?
Canon never reveals the purchasers or buyers of the rathtars. The movie The Force Awakens does not identify a customer, and no tie in products have covered this void. Han's line, the gangsters are waiting for the rathtars, confirms a transaction was imminent, but the identity of those gangsters remains unknown. Although canon offers no particular answer, they might have been collectors, representatives for a larger company, or members of a crime syndicate.
Were the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub involved in the rathtar deal?
No. Because Han owed Kanjiklub and the Guavian Death Gang money from different, unrelated debts, hence why they boarded the Eravana. There is no canonical proof that they were involved as buyers or investors in the ratthar transport or that they sponsored it. Though they had no interest in the beings themselves, their arrival broke the rathtar arrangement. They desired their credits.
Why didn't the rathtars eat Han and Chewbacca immediately?
Designed exclusively for the transport of hazardous fauna, magnetic confinement cages held the rathtars. These cages prevented the animals from attacking by keeping them suspended and calm. The containment only failed when stray blaster fire during the confrontation with the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub struck the control panel. The cages had been working appropriately, hence Han and Chewbacca were able to walk near them without being assaulted before that point.
Could the rathtars have been trained or controlled?
No. Canon materials stress that training rathtars is almost impossible. Under no circumstances can they be domesticated; instead, they attack indiscriminately. They are thus categorized as dangerous wildlife rather than as beasts of burden. High risk is even though to be secure containment. Any buyer purchasing rathtars would need really strong containment systems and would have little hope of managing the creatures in the same manner one could manage a rancor or a nexu. Rathtars are pure destructive force, which is precisely why they are valuable as status symbols or arena fighters.
