None of these events are directly referenced after they happened. The kiss happens, and is never mentioned again. Lars and Beru die, and once that scene is over, as far as I recall they are never mentioned again in the trilogy. Luke should be in mourning for months afterwards - for all intents and purposes, he saw the burned corpses of his *parents* lying on the ground, for cryin' out loud! Obi-Wan should be directly referencing this event as he trains Luke, as Luke should be *filled* with anger and pain, and a ripe target for the Dark Side at that moment, but... nope. Not a peep - five minutes later it is like nothing major has happened, and we never hear about them again.
I would have to watch the movies again looking for references to both events, but I believe you are right that after the initial occurrences, they don't get mentioned. This is certainly something that might stand out, but I don't think it is the same consistency issue the Leia and Luke kiss present. We do see both Obi-Wan and Leia react to Alderaan. In a more dramatic movie, that emotion would have been milked longer. In an adventure, things generally move on. We are not meant to assume they are less sad about it after the fact. It was simply dealt with, when it was dealt with to keep the tone and move of the movie consistent (also someone shouting 'for Alderaan' later would probably have undercut Ben's somewhat moving reaction to the event---which I think of as a central point in the film). So one never really gets the impression that Alderaan or Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru never happened. We just understand that those emotions were dealt with efficiently when they happened, but Alderaan is still gone at the end of Jedi. With Luke and Leia kissing, there is a change in the setting and characters that is simply never addressed. So it is just this thing that stands out in the movie for me, where when it happens I think, well that is odd because they are brother and sister, but clearly the film maker hadn't written them as bother and sister at this point. It is a characterization issue that is never really dealt with. Frankly I am surprised Lucas never edited it out.
Personally I am fine with that. The twist of them being twins is so iconic, and such a nice way to bring Luke's sister into the story without introducing a whole other character, that I feel it was the right move. My point here is not to say we should stop and condemn the kiss or that it was bad film making. I just raised the issue because it points to where a plot hole or weird development that isn't fully explained can be a good thing for a movie.
Alderaan dies, and there are some gasps and a Jedi senses badness, and it is never referenced again in the film. You'd imagine that some pilot going at the Death Star would shout "For Alderaan!" or something. But, as I recall it, *nothing* is said.
And it would have been a worse movie if they did that.
None of which we actually have a problem with. And I'm okay with us not having a problem with them. We are okay glossing over these things, and that's fine. There's some extended canon that deal with Alderaan, at least, but I've never read it and I'm fine with that.
Which has been my point the whole time. Glossing over the kiss is fine, just like glossing over other rough edges (and allowing rough edges and inconsistencies to crop up when they add something to the story) is fine.
The kiss was innocent enough at the time, given what the people knew. They find out they are siblings *a year later*, while they are rather busy trying to deal with war with the Empire, another dead mentor, a new megaweapon, and Luke is trying to redeem Vader, and you think it is notable issue that they don't go back and deal with a kiss that is only awkward in retrospect?
It seems to me that, in terms of glossing over things that should have major emotional impact, but don't, the kiss is the *least* offender. I'm sorry, but it seems less like valid critique, and more like cherrypicking, to call this out separately as an issue.[/QUOTE]
