Princess Leia Organa is a pillar of Star Wars. She is the first important human of the Rebellion that fans see in the series. She has fought tooth and nail for justice and liberty in the Galaxy. But, along the way, she has still made bad decisions that have led to terrible outcomes.
In Star Wars, she's easily one of the easiest characters to support, thanks to her fighting her capture and her move from Princess to General. But even the best characters in life do some less-than-honorable things. And Leia's time in the Rebellion and the Resistance is no exception.
7 Ungrateful For Her Rescue
When Princess Leia is set to be executed in A New Hope, Luke, Han Solo, and Chewbacca go on a mission to save her life. But when they are cornered in the detention cell hallway, Leia becomes instantly combative to the trio that is trying to help her.
She's intelligent and capable, and that lends itself to her advantage when she blasts a hole in the garbage grate. But acknowledging the risks taken by the ragtag team of heroes would have been better, since she was just sitting in a prison cell until they arrived.
6 Trying To Make Han Jealous
The Empire Strikes Back features one of the most unusual creepy moments in the entire Star Wars saga. Han and Leia are arguing again, and Han pushes Leia too far. So, to prove a point to him and to make him jealous, Leia kisses Luke. This wasn't a big deal when the film was released in 1980, but that changed with the release of Return of the Jedi, with the reveal that Luke and Leia were brother and sister.
That adds a creep factor to the kiss that didn't have to be there. It can be argued that Luke and Leia had no clue at the moment, but it makes Luke's infatuation with Leia in the first film and the kiss in the second film very odd.
5 Hiding Rey's Parentage
While the reveal that Rey was a descendant of a Palpatine clone was met with mixed reactions among Star Wars fans, a major plot point of the sequel trilogy was Rey's quest for knowledge about her parentage. Rey wanted to know from where she came, and Leia, as well as Luke, had those answers.
While it can be understood that Leia may worry about Rey's well-being once Rey learns she is a Palpatine, it's still not a wise idea to keep the truth from the last Jedi hope. Plus, once Kylo Ren told Rey that she was the child of "a nobody," it was important that Leia tell Rey the truth.
4 Hid Her Heritage For Political Gain
Following the events of the Galactic Civil War, Leia appeared to have a bright political future ahead of her. She was a hero of the Rebellion who had served in the Imperial Senate before the Empire's downfall. She was poised to do even greater things.
But in the novel Bloodline, her political career comes crashing down. It is revealed she is Darth Vader's daughter and the truth of her heritage, and the fact she had hidden it, damages her political reputation. It's a situation that could have been avoided, had she been straightforward about her ancestry.
3 Making C-3PO A Spy
As the leader of the Resistance, Leia needed a spy network to collect information on her enemies. That decision makes perfect sense, and showcases why she is a great leader. However, her decision to choose C-3PO to lead the Resistance Spy Droid Network doesn't make much sense.
C-3PO is a neurotic mess at the best of times, so he is probably the least likely character to be able to pull off espionage and subterfuge. Plus, everything involved in a spy network would endanger those involved. It's an odd way to repay loyalty to a character who has been verbal about not wanting to be involved in the war. That move could have easily turned C-3PO into the first droid to develop an ulcer.
2 Underestimated Darth Vader
This miscalculation cost several Rebels their lives. In the Star Wars comic series, Leia plans on taking down Darth Vader. She learns that he is alone on Vrogas Vas and sends a team of Rebels to take him out. Of course, a fallen Jedi who knows both the Light and Dark sides of the Force can take down a team of Rebels easily.
Leia doesn't intend to sentence these Rebels to death, but she quickly learns how formidable her foe is. These casualties were the definition of unnecessary. Plus, Darth Vader didn't need the ego boost associated with taking out a team of Rebels on his own.
1 Sent Her Son To Jedi Training
On the surface, this isn't a bad action. Ben Solo was demonstrating Force abilities, and Luke had started a Jedi academy to train the next generation of Jedi. It makes sense that Leia would trust her brother with training her son and his nephew. But Ben Solo would become the ultimate failure for both Luke and Leia.
Leia sensed the darkness that surrounded Ben, but failed to confront it herself. Luke sensed it as well, and almost succumbed to it in a moment of weakness. Unfortunately, Luke's weakness inspired Ben Solo to give in to the darkness and become Kylo Ren. As Kylo Ren, he killed classmates, Jedi, and members of the Resistance, and even destroyed entire star systems. This decision wound up costing a lot of people their lives.