Rey in The Force Awakens (Possible Spoilers)

[Alidar Jarok]

The First Order would want to be prepared to deal with people wielding lightsabers. For all they knew, Luke Skywalker could be at some secret base training a thousand Jedi students at once, and they might show up any day now.

In the (now defunct) context of the old EU, and even considering General Grievous's droid guards in ROTS, energized melee weapons do make sense.

As for Finn being able to swing a lightsaber around (and it's not like he did a particularly excellent job at it), he was probably trained in close-quarters fighting with a handheld weapon just like the trooper he was battling.

Kor

Yeah, that was my take too. I wish he almost did a better job, at least Stormtrooper to Stormtrooper to show that.

 

[DWF]

I wouldn't say Anakin forsook his blue saber, exactly. Obi-Wan incapacitated him and took it away. Anakin wasn't really in a position to do anything about it.

I might have have to watch ROTS again (shudder) to see how that scene played out.

Kor

I think that's more or less it. I seem to recall Anakin's severed arm/hand lying there grasping the saber and it's twitching or Anakin's motioning towards it but he's in no position to get over there quick or mentally focused enough to summon it, Obi-Won picks up and stalks off to go watch Padme give-up on life because what woman who just gave birth to two kids has anything to live for?

I mean, her husband just killed dozens of people, including children so he was kind-of an asshole. No, I'm sorry, he couldn't possibly do that. I mean, it's not like he's killed dozens of people, including innocent women and children, before and then told this to her face while pouting or anything.

Wait...

God, those fucking movies suck.

Nice how you put together two insidents years apart like the happened at the same time.

 

[DWF]

I wouldn't say Anakin forsook his blue saber, exactly. Obi-Wan incapacitated him and took it away. Anakin wasn't really in a position to do anything about it.

I might have have to watch ROTS again (shudder) to see how that scene played out.

Kor

Obi-Wan told Luke that his father wanted him to have his lightsaber when he was old enough. Which I guess is true from a certain point of view.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I wouldn't say Anakin forsook his blue saber, exactly. Obi-Wan incapacitated him and took it away. Anakin wasn't really in a position to do anything about it.

I might have have to watch ROTS again (shudder) to see how that scene played out.

Kor

Obi-Wan told Luke that his father wanted him to have his lightsaber when he was old enough. Which I guess is true from a certain point of view.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSOBeD1GC_Y[/yt]

 

[{ Emilia }]

Ok, I'm gonna say it. Veering from common thought, I don't think Rey is Luke's daughter. Never did. It just doesn't make any logical sense as a story. Every Force user left can't all be of the same bloodline, Luke, Leia, Kylo Ren, & now Rey too? I don't see it. There must be more than the Skywalker line here. Truth be told, I think she's Obi-Wan's granddaughter. Ben's all up in her dream sequence. Maz & Rey refer to Luke only as Luke, no hint of a relation to it. She is inherently adept at force pushing minds, as well as anyone we've seen, short of Obi-Wan himself. She even speaks with the same accent, unlike everybody else around her. They're the only heroes who do. The rest all sound American.

That sword isn't Luke's sword. Luke's is green now. That BLUE sword is Excalibur, which is why Kylo Ren thinks it belongs to him, & why Luke never keeps it, but stores it with someone, & actually never takes it from Rey in that really lengthy final shot. It's not his sword. It was made by Anakin, & he forsakes it for the red one. The person who possesses that blue sword the longest is Obi-Wan Kenobi, & Obi-wan is the only person who has consistently fought with blue swords. That sword is hers now. It's not a family heirloom. It's held nothing but grief. It is the conflict sword, that clashed against a brother Jedi when Anakin raised it against Obi-Wan, & it fell to Luke only so that it may find its way to its final hand, a Kenobi who must face another Skywalker.

Doesn't that seem more well rounded?

I liked the Obi-Wan theory since I first read about it, for the reasons you stated. My only issue with this is that they'd have to do a lot of backstory explaining to make this work. Like telling people when Obi-Wan had a kid and what that kid did during the days of the Empire, why Rey was then left on Jakku without Han or Leia even knowing who she is.

I wouldn't mind if Rey weren't related to anybody we know. But I guess I'm not going to complain either way. For all I care her last name could be Binks or Ackbar and I'd still love her.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I wouldn't mind if Rey weren't related to anybody we know. But I guess I'm not going to complain either way. For all I care her last name could be Binks or Ackbar and I'd still love her.

"What? I am a... FISH?! Are you kidding me?"

Flashback to the Space Janitors!

Wait... Finn was in sanitations, right? Coincidence? I think not!!!

 

[ancient]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement. Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

I suppose we should get back to discussing Star Wars because this isn't going to lead anywhere pretty.

I would say that they disprove that racism/sexist have any real power on the large scale of business/politics pretty conclusively - and that's something we can all enjoy.

^ I actually just mentioned that in the movie thread. I have read comments on-line from someone who is proficient with the staff in real life, and he observed that all of Rey's "saber" techniques were actually staff techniques.

Yeah, in terms of surprising lightsaber efficiency, I was more taken aback by how well Finn could wield it so fast, although I'm guessing he learned how to use that Stormtrooper sword weapon thingy and just carried it over.

Finn is a soldier - I think they may be also setting up some battles between Stormtroopers & the Jedis. They want the Stormtroopers to be more of a threat than the stupid droids of the prequels I'm guessing!

The First Order would want to be prepared to deal with people wielding lightsabers. For all they knew, Luke Skywalker could be at some secret base training a thousand Jedi students at once, and they might show up any day now.

In the (now defunct) context of the old EU, and even considering General Grievous's droid guards in ROTS, energized melee weapons do make sense.

As for Finn being able to swing a lightsaber around (and it's not like he did a particularly excellent job at it), he was probably trained in close-quarters fighting with a handheld weapon just like the trooper he was battling.

Kor

I think we've been conditioned to think only Jedi can wave a sword around in the SW universe. I was confused at first when Finn & Rey were able to stand up to Kylo even though Rey is shown to be a martial arts friggin master at the start of the movie. Then again, there is a long stretch of movie with no hand-to-hand combat wherein I sort of forgot about her staff-quon-do.

I wouldn't say Anakin forsook his blue saber, exactly. Obi-Wan incapacitated him and took it away. Anakin wasn't really in a position to do anything about it.

I might have have to watch ROTS again (shudder) to see how that scene played out.

Kor

Obi steals it, then assumes Anakin will probably burn to death eventually and sort of walks away. All he had to do is go over there & nudge him into the lava with his toe.

Using that lightsaber is a Skywalker tradition!
Losing that lightsaber is a Skywalker tradition!
Being too old to start the training is a Skywalker tradition!
Not liking Sand is a Skywalker tradition!
Losing your right hand is a Skywalker tradition!
Piloting things is a Skywalker Tradition!

Rey is at 4/6 of those things right now. Granted, that might just be due to heavy recycling rather than anything else.

 

[Set Harth]

I seem to recall Anakin's severed arm/hand lying there grasping the saber and it's twitching

That didn't happen... actually, Anakin's sword-arm was the one that wasn't cut off at that point.

 

[Trekker4747]

Nice how you put together two insidents years apart like the happened at the same time.

She was there as Anakin, through anger and rage and a good deal of pouty bratism, tells her he slaughtered an entire village of sand people, including women and children. She looks at him almost dreamily and decides to marry him and fuck him after this. Again, after saying he just slaughtered an entire village!

A year(s) later, when told he killed some remaining Jedi and the "Younglings" she acts baffled and stunned as if it's beyond her grasp Anakin would kill children.

I don't care how much time passed, she *knows* it's in his capability to kill children because he *told* her about the last time he did it. It shouldn't be so shocking and inconceivable to her.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

Guys, the Jedi weren't allowed to have kids when Obi-Wan was still in business. It was a huge plot point. Obi-Wan was, in the prequels, portrayed as someone who follows the Jedi code, who disapproves of shenanigans, and who yelled at Anakin that he'd get thrown out of the Jedi order if Anakin should run after Padmé instead of doing his job (in Attack of the Clones).

Obi-Wan would not have a secret family. It would be sorely out of character. And don't bring up the years of exile where he became a hermit on purpose. That wouldn't make any sense, either.

It's not that I wouldn't like Rey to be Obi-Wan's offspring, but I think we're getting the most obvious solution to her origins (namely that she's Luke's daughter). It would be the one to (probably) least contradict canon - even though yes, I concede that J.J. Abrams is pretty much ignoring the prequels. I still don't think his successor will mess up characterisation and continuity like that. Also, she does have an obvious connection to the main characters, and Kylo Ren obviously knows who she is, so I'm guessing they're related (he didn't try to kill her, either, during their fight).

Tl;dr: The theory that she's Obi-Wan's granddaughter is neat, but unlikely to be true.

 

[{ Emilia }]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement. Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

I suppose we should get back to discussing Star Wars because this isn't going to lead anywhere pretty.

I would say that they disprove that racism/sexist have any real power on the large scale of business/politics pretty conclusively - and that's something we can all enjoy.

That is fucking unreal. I suppose white dudes can enjoy their privilege of not having to experience that racism and sexism have a pretty significant effect on many people's lives.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement. Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

I suppose we should get back to discussing Star Wars because this isn't going to lead anywhere pretty.

I would say that they disprove that racism/sexist have any real power on the large scale of business/politics pretty conclusively - and that's something we can all enjoy.

You're right, one movie with a diverse cast "disproves" the clear statistical reality of wage gaps and systemic abuses aimed at women and racial minorities.

 

[Mojochi]

I liked the Obi-Wan theory since I first read about it, for the reasons you stated. My only issue with this is that they'd have to do a lot of backstory explaining to make this work. Like telling people when Obi-Wan had a kid and what that kid did during the days of the Empire, why Rey was then left on Jakku without Han or Leia even knowing who she is.

I wouldn't mind if Rey weren't related to anybody we know. But I guess I'm not going to complain either way. For all I care her last name could be Binks or Ackbar and I'd still love her.

I'd be fine with her being completely unrelated too, though they really ought to explain why she takes so easily & adeptly at using the force, without any training. Having some boss genetics would go a long way toward doing that

All I mean is that if she is related to someone, I'd feel better about it, if it wasn't Luke, & was Ben, even if they need a little exposition in there, similar to what Luke got over the years. After all, whatever will happen in the next movie, one thing is clear. It begins with Rey spending time with Luke. There's bound to be an info dump in there somewhere. Might as well make it a good one. LOL

 

[Jedman67]

Ok, I'm gonna say it. Veering from common thought, I don't think Rey is Luke's daughter. Never did. It just doesn't make any logical sense as a story. Every Force user left can't all be of the same bloodline, Luke, Leia, Kylo Ren, & now Rey too? I don't see it. There must be more than the Skywalker line here. Truth be told, I think she's Obi-Wan's granddaughter. Ben's all up in her dream sequence. Maz & Rey refer to Luke only as Luke, no hint of a relation to it. She is inherently adept at force pushing minds, as well as anyone we've seen, short of Obi-Wan himself. She even speaks with the same accent, unlike everybody else around her. They're the only heroes who do. The rest all sound American.

That sword isn't Luke's sword. Luke's is green now. That BLUE sword is Excalibur, which is why Kylo Ren thinks it belongs to him, & why Luke never keeps it, but stores it with someone, & actually never takes it from Rey in that really lengthy final shot. It's not his sword. It was made by Anakin, & he forsakes it for the red one. The person who possesses that blue sword the longest is Obi-Wan Kenobi, & Obi-wan is the only person who has consistently fought with blue swords. That sword is hers now. It's not a family heirloom. It's held nothing but grief. It is the conflict sword, that clashed against a brother Jedi when Anakin raised it against Obi-Wan, & it fell to Luke only so that it may find its way to its final hand, a Kenobi who must face another Skywalker.

Doesn't that seem more well rounded?

I liked the Obi-Wan theory since I first read about it, for the reasons you stated. My only issue with this is that they'd have to do a lot of backstory explaining to make this work. Like telling people when Obi-Wan had a kid and what that kid did during the days of the Empire, why Rey was then left on Jakku without Han or Leia even knowing who she is.

I wouldn't mind if Rey weren't related to anybody we know. But I guess I'm not going to complain either way. For all I care her last name could be Binks or Ackbar and I'd still love her.

I advanced the theory in another thread that Obi Wan briefly was married while living on Tatooine - with the jedi order dead, he had nothing to fear. Rey is the granddaughter from that marriage.
I also put out the theory that Rey is the daughter of Leia and Chewbacca, you can see them getting quite close when she pilots the Falcon and after Han dies.

 

[ancient]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement. Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

I suppose we should get back to discussing Star Wars because this isn't going to lead anywhere pretty.

I would say that they disprove that racism/sexist have any real power on the large scale of business/politics pretty conclusively - and that's something we can all enjoy.

That is fucking unreal. I suppose white dudes can enjoy their privilege of not having to experience that racism and sexism have a pretty significant effect on many people's lives.

Whoa I never said that. I think we're falling into the trap of arguing past one another a bit. I was merely pointing out that if they want to make a strong female character as the lead of a Star Wars movie & have it be a huge success that can. And they did. And many people have, which in turn speaks to the fact that sexists cannot stop this sort of thing in business & politics. When we all got together as a society we voted in Obama. On the PERSONAL SCALE of course it still exists, and it is not in any way like carbon monoxide - it's not invisible to anyone, nor can I tolerate it.

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement. Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

I suppose we should get back to discussing Star Wars because this isn't going to lead anywhere pretty.

I would say that they disprove that racism/sexist have any real power on the large scale of business/politics pretty conclusively - and that's something we can all enjoy.

You're right, one movie with a diverse cast "disproves" the clear statistical reality of wage gaps and systemic abuses aimed at women and racial minorities.

See above. This is probably tipping over into being off topic, so feel free to PM me if there's something you really gotta tell me about.

I liked the Obi-Wan theory since I first read about it, for the reasons you stated. My only issue with this is that they'd have to do a lot of backstory explaining to make this work. Like telling people when Obi-Wan had a kid and what that kid did during the days of the Empire, why Rey was then left on Jakku without Han or Leia even knowing who she is.

I wouldn't mind if Rey weren't related to anybody we know. But I guess I'm not going to complain either way. For all I care her last name could be Binks or Ackbar and I'd still love her.

I'd be fine with her being completely unrelated too, though they really ought to explain why she takes so easily & adeptly at using the force, without any training. Having some boss genetics would go a long way toward doing that

All I mean is that if she is related to someone, I'd feel better about it, if it wasn't Luke, & was Ben, even if they need a little exposition in there, similar to what Luke got over the years. After all, whatever will happen in the next movie, one thing is clear. It begins with Rey spending time with Luke. There's bound to be an info dump in there somewhere. Might as well make it a good one. LOL

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

 

[dahj]

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

It is impossible, the proposed theory is grandkid.

I don't think that's likely to happen, because they would have at least mentioned Obi-Wan in TFA if that's the route they planned to take.

 

[Jedman67]

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

I thought the theory is that she's his granddaughter

 

[Turtletrekker]

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

It is impossible, the proposed theory is grandkid.

I don't think that's likely to happen, because they would have at least mentioned Obi-Wan in TFA if that's the route they planned to take.

Obi-Wan actually spoke to Rey in TFA. Han and Leia named their kid after him.

 

[dahj]

^^
So did Yoda and I don't see any "she's actually green!!!" theories

I just think if they planned to make her related to Obi-Wan, they would have at least mentioned him by name at some point so as to avoid a clunky info dump later on.

 

[Jedman67]

^^
So did Yoda and I don't see any "she's actually green!!!" theories

this.

I also put out the theory that Rey is the daughter of Leia and Chewbacca, you can see them getting quite close when she pilots the Falcon and after Han dies.