Exchanging a passionate but emotionally haunted final kiss, Han Solo is finally separated from his lover and placed in the carbon freeze chamber pit middle, as Ugnaughts prepare him for the freezing process.
Despite the dangers and the fear of losing his life to the carbon freezing process, the familiar Han Solo magic is evident when, after Leia declares her love for him, he replies with the unexpected but sincere return of 'I know', a line that, worrying to Lucas since the unscripted Ford contribution was filmed in June 1979, got laughs from 1980 cinema audiences watching the tense scene play out. But thankfully not in a negative way - we were all simply enjoying the confidence of the hero.
Harrison Ford: As I pass by her, I think Leia ought to say very simply, " I love you."
Irvin Kershner: (Tries it out) "I love you." And you say, "Just remember that, Leia, because I'll be back." You've got to say, "I'll be back." You must. It's almost contractual."
HF: If he says "I love you," and I say "I know," that's beautiful and acceptable and funny.
Behind the scenes on the Carbon Freezing Chamber set, captured by publicist Alan Arnold for Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back - 1980
"I hated the line, 'I love you too,' because it gives her (Leia) the advantage, and whenever anyone says, 'I love you,' 'I love you too,' you're at a disadvantage- the other person said it first. We shot 'I love you too,' and (I said) 'Let's come up with another line.' Well, I came up with lines, Harrison came up with lines, and we shot for another half hour, on lunch penalty. And I just went crazy, because they wanted their beers - which they drink in England during lunch - and I wanted, you know, to get the right line. After half hour, we gave up and I said 'Let's do one more take. Don't think about it, shoot!Action!' And Harrison pulled back and said, 'I know,' and 'I said, okay, that's it. Lunch!'
Irvin Kershner- The Empire Strikes Back DVD commentary - 2006
"When Kersh presented his cut, he used the line, 'I know,' and George (Lucas) said, 'well that's gonna get a laugh.That's not good.' And Kersh and I both said it could be a good laugh at that moment. I remember being at the test screening in San Francisco sitting next to George - Kershner on the other side - and he went in predicting this was going to be a bad laugh, but I think the audience convinced him it was not so bad. But I take no ownership (of the line). If Kersh hadn't thought it was a good idea, we wouldn't have shot it. So there you are. It is a collaborative process. "
Harrison Ford - 2010
Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan was not happy with the changes made to the dialogue but seeing the final improvised results on screen proved ultimately accepting of it.
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