Does The Evacuation of Hoth In 'The Empire Strikes Back' Make Any Sense? A Way Too Thorough Investigation

This reader question comes from Academy Award nominated screenwriter Michael Weber, who has co-written (along with Scott Neustadter, who, as far as I know, has never heard of this newsletter) The Disaster Artist, (500) Days of Summer, and The Spectacular Now. (I did ask him if he wanted to be credited for this question and he said, "Yes.")

Also, speaking of credit where it's due: this newsletter probably doesn't exist without him. We were watching football together in the East Village and he told me, "I miss you writing about Star Wars." And I kind of realized, yes, I do miss writing about Star Wars. So, my point here is: any complaints or scorn about this newsletter should be directed at him.

Thank you again for reading. This Friday is my birthday and if you still haven't decided what to get me for my birthday, a paid subscription to this newsletter would be fantastic. It makes this whole endeavor possible and it's the reason I can continue to provide 2600 plus word pieces about one third of the second Star Wars movie coming to your inbox.

Also, this one took awhile and normally would be a paid subscriber post, but since it's my birthday, I am sharing it with THE WORLD. Paid subscribers do get to read about my favorite Tom Cruise story, my experience at the The Rise of Skywalker premiere and party (a movie I dislike), and some really awkward interview stories.

Okay, here's Michael Weber's full question, which I found intriguing because I've spent so much time of my life breaking down why Luke's plan to rescue Han from Jabba in Return of the Jedi makes no sense, I've never really given the logistics of the opening act of The Empire Strikes Back much thought. Well, until now...

I don’t understand the evacuation of Hoth… why would transports go first? Seems crazy! If nothing else why wouldn’t X-Wings and Y-Wings create a diversion so the transports can get away? Also why don’t they also use the ion cannon vs the ground attack? Lastly, is the medical ship (the one at the very end of the movie) on the ground like the transports, where do they “park” that thing?