Star Wars: The Force Awakens Discussion (HERE THERE BE SPOILERS)

[Mr Light]

The theory goes...
Rey was a Youngling at the Jedi Academy, possibly Luke's daughter. After the massacre, the First Order is hunting down Luke to exterminate him and the Jedi. Luke decides to go into hiding and forget the idea of training new Jedi, and to protect his daughter (or not-daughter) he must hide her far away from him. So he wipes her mind and drops on the ass-end of the universe, just like he was a kid. He or his wife were supposed to come back for her when it was safe, but the wife was killed and it's still not safe.

The other theory (which you people say has been disproven) says that Kylo saved Lil'Rey at the Academy Massacre because he had a moment of weakness, probably because she's his cousin. To hide his "mistake" he wipes her mind and drops her off on the ass-end of the galaxy where Snoke will never find her.

Also, Revan was totally a girl in my game

 

[JD]

I've said it before, but I find it hard to believe they would make Rey's parentage such a big mystery if they weren't somehow significant. That doesn't mean they would have to be important, but it would be rather underwhelming if they weren't.

 

[Reverend]

I don't see how her parentage was presented as some "big mystery". It really wasn't. Nobody even asked the question.
It only tangentially came up as her reason for wanting to stay on Jakku because "they'll come back for me...some day."
This is not the prophecy of some lost Jedi princess, it's the impossible wish of an orphan.

Now they may address it further on down the line, but so far we've no reason to think Rey's parents were anything but a pair of bums who just took off and left her.

 

[Ithekro]

The main thing that keeps the idea the Rey is Luke's child is that the Episode films are suppose to be the tales of the Skywalkers, and having Kylo Ren be the main Skywalker doesn't seem right for some reason.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Is Rey the child of Luke and Leia?

Because prior to ROTJ Luke had no idea about their relationship..

 

[Reverend]

The main thing that keeps the idea the Rey is Luke's child is that the Episode films are suppose to be the tales of the Skywalkers, and having Kylo Ren be the main Skywalker doesn't seem right for some reason.

Well it's certainly not the first time a Skywalker turned to the dark side, only this time we see less of the set-up and more of the end result. The *only* reason "Rey is a Skywalker" has even the barest credence in my mind is because if she's not and unless Kylo is already a baby daddy (not impossible) he'll be the end of the Skywalker line. Which isn't that terrible a thing to be honest.

Site note: It's weird, but I find myself not being bothered by Kylo's whiny emo thing as I was with Anakin's. Perhaps a neglected child who was corrupted is a little more relatable then "slave who's mother was murdered by sand people and also his secret wife...uh....unintentionally lead his master to him after he committed mass murder and infanticide?"

 

[M.A.C.O.]

So how do people feel about that Rey + Fin vs Kylo lightsaber fight? Does anyone feel it stretches credibility that two characters who never handled a saber in their lives managed to hold their own against a trained swordsman like Kylo?


I found this video of Lucas talking about lightsabers, their mechanics and how sword play evolved in the series.

He talks OT from beginning to 13:10
He talks PT from 13:15, where he illustrates the difference from PT and OT.

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Found a newish video about lightsaber combat and figured I'd quote myself to talk about it again. Also Daisy RIdley posted a video of herself training and goofing off with a wooden sword. Although the martialist/style she demonstrates in the video is Wushu based and not Kendo.

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[Set Harth]

Now they may address it further on down the line, but so far we've no reason to think Rey's parents were anything but a pair of bums who just took off and left her.

She appears to be a bit of a Force prodigy, so maybe there's something special going on there. But they don't have to be characters we already know like members of the "Big Three".

Site note: It's weird, but I find myself not being bothered by Kylo's whiny emo thing as I was with Anakin's.

Not a prequel? Different rules.

 

[Reverend]

She appears to be a bit of a Force prodigy, so maybe there's something special going on there. But they don't have to be characters we already know like members of the "Big Three".

She's certainly strong in the force and it's debatable whether she's a true prodigy or driven by intense circumstances.
Most of the "unbelievable" attributes assigned to her really have nothing to do with her force ability (mechanics, linguistics, piloting & martial arts) but everything to to with her environment and how she was forced to survive on her own.

Really, there's only two moments in the film that she knowingly uses the force. First is her attempt at a mind trick, which takes her several attempts and only does after Kylo effectively shows her how they work. The second time is in the forest where she follows Maz's advice from before and opens herself and lets it take over.

Regardless, none of that means she *must* be a Skywalker or even a Kenobi/Kryze (which I'd actually sort of prefer.) There were once thousands of Jedi strong in the force, all of whom came from ordinary families. Indeed the way the Jedi rules are laid out seems partly meant to avoid creating overly powerful lineages.

Not a prequel? Different rules.

A minor factor, maybe. Though for me I think it has more to do with the execution. We never saw Ben when he was still an innocent, we just see what he's become, which is a very messed up individual. You can imagine him being the sort to torture small animals as a child. Anakin on the other hand was just all over the place. He was a kind and generous spirit...who grew up to be an arrogant, resentful bag of jealously and angst for no apparent reason other than he missed his mum.

I suppose it's a case of less is more. We can imagine something of Kylo's background, growing up in the shadow of renowned, mostly absent parents and uncle. That kind of thing can leave a kid with a nasty superiority complex.
Actually seeing most of what turned Anakin bad runs the risk of being tainted by over-compensating and poor execution, which is pretty much what happened. On paper, Anakin's downfall makes sense. It's just that it wasn't presented very well. At all.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Site note: It's weird, but I find myself not being bothered by Kylo's whiny emo thing as I was with Anakin's. Perhaps a neglected child who was corrupted is a little more relatable then "slave who's mother was murdered by sand people and also his secret wife...uh....unintentionally lead his master to him after he committed mass murder and infanticide?"

Not a prequel? Different rules.

What y'all talkin bout? Whining is a Skywalker trait. Lol

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Honest Trailers did a brief side by side comparison.

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It's funny when you think about it.
Luke whines in ANH and nobody notices until it's pointed out.
Anakin whines in AOTC and people respond with vitriol.
Kylo whines in TFA and people treat him like a 'woobie who just needs a hug'.

Strange world.

 

[Reverend]

Luke whined and/or moped once or twice in the first half of the first film...then never again in the whole saga *after* his family was slaughtered.
Anakin moped and moaned his way through both AotC & RotS, even *before* his mother was killed. Also, Luke was mostly just naive. Anakin was a fundamentally selfish person. Just listen to his eulogy for Shmi compared to Cliegg's. Anakin mostly just talks about himself.
As for Kylo; he doesn't just whine, he has a full blown paddy and from the reaction of the two troopers, probably not for the first time.

 

[Photoman15]

So why does General Leia send only Chewie and Rey to find Luke, someone they've been looking for for a LONG time, someone who they're trying to bring back to help their fight. Why can Rey accomplish this and not Leia?

 

[Reverend]

So why does General Leia send only Chewie and Rey to find Luke, someone they've been looking for for a LONG time, someone who they're trying to bring back to help their fight. Why can Rey accomplish this and not Leia?

Don't forget R2!

The way I see it, Rey has his father's lightsaber, she's strong in the force, needs training and came on the Falcon. I think Luke got the message, the rest is up to him. Especially given that in all likelihood he's already sensed some of what's been going on. Having Leia along for the ride would be a little redundant, bordering on overkill. They don't want to badger him into returning, just let him know he's really needed right now.

 

[Photoman15]

Don't forget R2!

The way I see it, Rey has his father's lightsaber, she's strong in the force, needs training and came on the Falcon. I think Luke got the message, the rest is up to him. Especially given that in all likelihood he's already sensed some of what's been going on. Having Leia along for the ride would be a little redundant, bordering on overkill. They don't want to badger him into returning, just let him know he's really needed right now.

So was Ben and looked what happened with that. She sent Rey for a reason. If the battle(s) are going so bad, she (Leia) would have went personally to Luke, not send someone who Luke would most likely refuse to train because of what happened to the last Padawan Class. Rey has to be someone Leia knows is special.

 

[Reverend]

So was Ben and looked what happened with that. She sent Rey for a reason. If the battle(s) are going so bad, she (Leia) would have went personally to Luke, not send someone who Luke would most likely refuse to train because of what happened to the last Padawan Class. Rey has to be someone Leia knows is special.

I see what you're getting at, but there's just no way that's the reason and it's not directly addressed when Leia met Rey. That would be *terrible* storytelling.

 

[B.J.]

So why does General Leia send only Chewie and Rey to find Luke, someone they've been looking for for a LONG time, someone who they're trying to bring back to help their fight. Why can Rey accomplish this and not Leia?

Maybe because she's a general, and therefore VERY busy, likely even moreso at the moment because the New Republic just got its head chopped off. She probably can't afford the time to go off on a mission like this. In her position, she probably sends people off on various missions like this all the time.

 

[Photoman15]

Maybe because she's a general, and therefore VERY busy, likely even moreso at the moment because the New Republic just got its head chopped off. She probably can't afford the time to go off on a mission like this. In her position, she probably sends people off on various missions like this all the time.

So instead of sending someone Luke may know, or another general or corporal, she sends a stranger to Luke and someone who she just met who by the way just came back from a mission where her boyfriend/husband/baby-daddy was killed.

 

[Reverend]

So instead of sending someone Luke may know, or another general or corporal, she sends a stranger to Luke and someone who she just met who by the way just came back from a mission where her boyfriend/husband/baby-daddy was killed.

Pretty sure Luke knows who R2 is...and Chewbacca....and the Falcon's colourfully belligerent computer system.

Anyway, Leia is probably way to busy writing about 500,000 "I told you so!" messages to the presumably now fractured worlds of the Republic. Though I'm sure she took the time to record a holo-message for Luke on the off chance R2, Chewie, the Falcon sans Han, a new apprentice, an old lightsaber AND the colossal-disturbance-in-the-force-that-was-a-whole system-being-wiped-out was too subtle for him to grasp.

I mean just how dense do you think he is?

Maybe because she's a general, and therefore VERY busy, likely even moreso at the moment because the New Republic just got its head chopped off. She probably can't afford the time to go off on a mission like this. In her position, she probably sends people off on various missions like this all the time.

What? That's crazy talk! I mean after all she went to Jakku personally to meet with--oh...wait...

 

[Ithekro]

"I mean just how dense do you think he is?"

Well he is a Skywalker.

 

[cooleddie74]

So instead of sending someone Luke may know, or another general or corporal, she sends a stranger to Luke and someone who she just met who by the way just came back from a mission where her boyfriend/husband/baby-daddy was killed.

Hey, sometimes you send the person who's shown they can hold their own in a major battle. She's also a skilled pilot.

She knows Rey just helped destroy Starkiller Base, Chewbacca seems very fond of her (and if he's that trusting of her then she must have something going for her) and if there's any familial connection she knows about that she didn't tell the audience then picking Rey to find Luke actually makes a lot more sense. If Rey is Luke's daughter and thus a Skywalker then the bond between the two (and between her and Leia) would be strong enough that she'd trust her with such an important mission.