"The Force Awakens" (with SPOILERS)

Fandom Menace: Why You're Still OK If You Dislike 'The Last Jedi' (And Why It Matters To Disney)

 

I have gotten into discussions of the backstory of Snoke and Rey's parents, mostly because I'm a Star Wars geek with even geekier friends, but I am just fine with what we learned about Rey and never knowing anything more about Snoke.

What I don't buy is that we were never supposed to expect some kind of payoff for Rey's parents. They clearly meant for that to be a point of discussion after The Force Awakens and it paid off in the reveal during The Last Jedi, just not in the way fans expected.

 

I think what Kylo Ren said about Rey's parents, if it's true—I'm not convinced it is—meshes with what Luke said about the Force on the island: that it's not a power owned by any one person. It's not some divine right. It exists between everybody and everything; it's just that certain people can use it. If Rey's backstory is what it was made out to be, it's a democratizing thing.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Ren and Rey have such similar names, for what it's worth.

 

That's why I didn't have as big a problem with midichlorians as a lot of people. It maybe didn't need to be used as an explanation for the Force, but if you take it as everyone in the universe has these things in their blood yet some people have more than others that allows them to be stronger and do more impressive things, it's no different than what we've been told all along.
It's like athletic ability. Everybody can run, but some people are more athletic than others and can run faster. Still others will work and train their ability to run at an elite level.

 

It probably doesn't help that the movies have kind of focused almost exclusively on the Skywalker clan; it almost gives the impression that Force usage is a hereditary thing. While that certainly helps, the now-disavowed books did a better job of establishing that there were layers to it.

 

If it isn’t a lie it’s just random, shitty plotting.

 

It’s worse storytelling if it’s true.

 

Why is it objectionable that Rey isn’t Qui Gon-Jinn’s third cousin, twice removed? A nobody rising to save the day is an archetype as old as storytelling. I much prefer it this way.

 

I'm fine with either option, but now that they have given us an answer, one Rey seemed to confirm with her reaction, they need to stick to it.

 

Because there’d be no established reason he could see something she can’t. It’s not somebting that should be resolved with a line of dialogue.

I mean, if it’s true, it would have been wiser for her just to know their fate for sure at the outset of the trilogy so that several minutes in either movie aren’t spent wasting time on something that’s meaningless.

 

We've talked about this before on this thread. The way I read it, Kylo sees the truth through his connection with Rey. Deep down she always knew the truth, but she was in denial. She was very small when they left her and she needed that lie to keep going. Think about what her life was like before meeting BB-8 and Finn. She was just scraping by on her own for a long time.

Why is that so hard to believe? Human beings are very good at fooling themselves, especially children. I think Maz saw it as well in The Force Awakens, but perhaps she sensed that Rey wasn't ready for the truth.

 

This is absolutely how the scene is played, yes.