Episode One: Going through the planet core would screw the core up, right?

[Umbran]

Just the distance required to travel through the core with anything in the water would have taken too long to be plausible, and even if planetary physics didn't scream "NO", then the pressure of a thousands-of-miles-deep ocean would crush virtually anything. Realize how deep the pressure is in the ocean after just a few miles, then think of something 1000 times deeper.

Then realize that since they've got faster than light travel, technology suitable for blowing up planets in one shot, and at least one form of "magic", we are already committed to breaking the laws of physics. Crushing depths can be handled by suitably strong materials, and distances spanned in short times with suitably powerful engines. Compared to the other violations of physics, these are hardly notable.

 

[mojo1701]

Then realize that since they've got faster than light travel, technology suitable for blowing up planets in one shot, and at least one form of "magic", we are already committed to breaking the laws of physics. Crushing depths can be handled by suitably strong materials, and distances spanned in short times with suitably powerful engines. Compared to the other violations of physics, these are hardly notable.

Along with 5 kilometre-high towers covering an entire planet.

 

[wingsandsword]

No, R2 did the jump to Dagobah after being told to. It's one the main reasons the X-wing has a spot for an Astromech droid - to store hyperspace coordinate data.

However, the movie is clear that Luke doesn't use R2 to go to Dagobah. Go back to that scene (chapter 18 on the DVD, I just re-watched to be crystal clear about this). Luke says they are going to the Dagobah system, R2 beeps and puts up some info on the screen, to which Luke replies.

"That's alright, I'd like to keep it on manual control for a while." then the X-wing turns and flies off into the distance.

It looks pretty clear that that Luke doesn't use R2 to plot the coordinates for Dagobah, and it's widely interpreted that he goes to Dagobah using the Force to guide him instead of a nav computer/astromech. That scene was even the inspiration for one of the most common powers in the old d6 Star Wars game: Instinctive Astrogation (which let you roll your Sense skill instead of Astrogation to plot a route, to just use the Force to sense the right route.)

Further in the Expanded Universe, in his first appearance in Jedi Search, a mostly untrained Kyp Durron uses the Force to fly through the extreme hazards of the Kessel Maw to escape pursuit, instinctively sensing the right route through the gravitational hazards.

 

[JimAde]

And even if R2 did plot the course to Dagobah, it's an entire planet. Clearly the Force had something to do with them landing RIGHT ON Yoda's home area. Whether it was Yoda sensing Luke or the other way around.

 

[myrdden]

Midichlorians be damned...

Best quote in the thread.