The opening of the mind and heart to spiritual knowledge requires a sacrifice from the hero. At this difficult and dangerous place on the hero path, Han and Luke both reaffirm the meaning and importance of their lives by their willingness to sacrifice themselves.

The danger of illusion is symbolized by Cloud City above the planet Bespin. At first the city appears transcendent as it floats among the clouds, but it has a dark underside that becomes a crucible of pain and betrayal for the heroes.

Vader follows the Falcon to Bespin and then lures Luke there to entrap him. Han is captured, put into hibernation in the carbon freeze chamber, and taken away by bounty hunter Boba Fett to be delivered to Han's former employer, Jabba the Hutt. Han's friend, Lando Calrissian, who betrayed Han to Vader, will undergo a life change and begin his own hero journey.