#THE LUKE AND LANDO INTERACTIONS ALONE ARE WORTH IT

[elivanto]

I FINISHED SHADOW OF THE SITH AND GODDD YOU ALL NEED TO READ THIS BOOK

[lady-eny]

The rise of Skywalker Review

"The rise of Skywalker" wants to do many things and fails miserably in, sadly, most of them.

The negative reaction to "The Last Jedi" seems to have reached JJ Abrams, who, instead of trying to make a film with a good plot, full of resonance and coherence, wanted to give fans what they had asked without worrying about the story, getting this: a disaster with very beautiful shots, but a disaster after all.

We know that time has passed since the last movie, but it was never specified how much. Many things happen off screen and in the first scenes we are already immersed in a new plot. Palpatine is alive, the mission? To find him and defeat him.

When it was mentioned that Palpatine would return from the grave for this film many were enthusiastic and others were suspicious of such a decision. It was not for less, because bringing back such an important villain, the corrupter of the Skywalkers from the beginning, was a difficult task, especially if you add the expectations of the fans in the equation.

The film has moments that must have felt important, transcendental. Moments that, perhaps due to failures in the shots or the music, couldn’t generate the response they should.

This movie feels empty; there is no passion or energy in the star scenes. It never compromises itself with anything. No feelings, no action.

It does not cause emotion, it’s as if it had been done to accomplish something. Complaint one: Rey did not have adequate training. Check, she already did. Complaint two: Rose. Check, she no longer appears. Complaint three: Rey's parents. Check, they now matter ... and so on in the whole film.

Scene after scene, not even the most anticipated appearances such as Lando or Luke, thrill. There is no soul present.

The rhythm remains in the monotony. Oh, one death. Ah! forget it, it's alive. Nothing matters too much until the end, because there is no solid argument supporting this movie.

Too much fan service, and too much nostalgia, although it was expected, it seems that the excess dulls the picture.

Certain scenes turn out to be too exaggerated, dramatic, or, so coming from nowhere, that cause laughter. And really, it didn't seem to be the intention.

The use of force stands out. Forget everything seen above, that here the users took steroids and are super powerful and capable of, well, everything.

Healing through the force was introduced in the first scenes so that, in the end, no one would argue about the unexpected inclusion. But without this ability, much of the plot would fall. In pieces.

Despite all this, the effects are enjoyable, although not as special and innovative. The music is good, but it doesn't generate the right atmosphere. It is not used correctly.

The connection between Rey and Kylo Ren has been one of the central axes of this trilogy. Although it stands out in the film, it’s given great importance and is even baptized as a powerful dyad, it is only to be discarded and forgotten moments later. Great waste.

The screenwriters totally forgot the essence of Star Wars. Hope, compassion, family. It is a fairy tale for children. Said by George Lucas himself long ago.

Complementary novels and comics have spent hundreds of words establishing the story of Kylo Ren. In canon, Ben Solo was influenced by the dark side since before he was born. Described as full of conflict, he is a character who became the favorite of many and the most hated by others. He belongs to the most remarkable area here. His lines are scarce, certainly, but in them, perhaps because of the incredible performance of Adam Driver, a change of energy is felt.

That's why when there is an important turn in him, we all feel it. And in the end, we all get sad. We will not discuss the angle of the scenes or something, but the ideology behind. The end of this character is practically a copy of the end of his grandfather, reaffirming that not a single risk was taken here.

Was necessary? We do not find hopeful that the message behind redemption is always death. It would be hopeful that a character who has always been in crisis because of his nature and power has the opportunity to do things well, and live to do it, fixing his mistakes. The sacrifice is romanticized in a painful way.

Equally important is our protagonist. The trilogy begins is a desert, expressing how much she hates it, her loneliness and need for a family. She ends the trilogy alone, in a desert, and without an own family (not alive, at least). That is, secrets revealed there, friends over there, but in the end, everything remains the same. What a progress.

Repeatedly, cultural products have followed a trend: by representing a strong and powerful female main character, they necessarily leave her without any romantic ties, because apparently love makes women weak. Let's remove prejudices, people. A female character with a partner or family, with feelings, does not make her less strong or important. Jesus.

There is no melee duel worth remembering. An attempt is made to emphasize Rey, Finn and Poe as a strong rebel trio. Although their interactions are enjoyable, it seems that there was too much effort to project them as close friends, with a very important connection, when it’s in this film where we see them interact for the first time. Despite the attempt, no, they don't quite achieve the essence of a golden trio (Harry, Ron and Hermione continue to lead).

Despite being described as "the epic conclusion" so many times, it is inevitable to capture certain story arcs with pending closures, as if they were waiting to be retaken at some point. I clarify, it is unlikely that another film is coming in the near future, but with how prolific the comics and books have been in this sequel trilogy, there would not be surprise if it’s in LucasFilm and Disney's plans to exploit these characters a little more .

Upon leaving the theater, one can genuinely come to wonder what JJ was referring to when he described his film as "hopeful."

"Nostalgic"... yes, "excessive"... perhaps, to be generous. But hopeful... we are not that optimistic.

[helplessly-nonstop]

I Won’t Say I’m in Love (SkySolo imagine)

Well while I was doing a Star Wars marathon, this fic just happened to pop into my mind and refused to let go so here we are. An imagine full of angst and fluff. Godspeed to your emotions, my nerds.  

Word Count: 3996

Warnings: angst, cursing, fluff so sweet your teeth will rot, Han is a jealous bastard and Lando knows it too, Leia and Chewie just want Han to quit pining over Luke and admit his feelings

Han Solo does not catch feelings, no matter how many times Chewie would insist otherwise. And he has not caught feelings for some blue eyed, blond Jedi wise ass. But if that was the truth, then why wouldn’t his heart stop fluttering anytime he saw Luke Skywalker? 

Going back for him when he was in trouble at the Death Star was his first mistake. If Han truly wanted to distance himself and not catch feelings for this kid from Tatooine, he should have followed through and not saved his ass from Darth Vader. But Han Solo was a weak, weak man for a pretty smile. 

Han’s second mistake was showing the kid how to properly play in snow. Luke had grown up on Tatooine with sand covering every inch of the planet, even in places that it didn’t belong. So when they arrived on Hoth, Han could see the wonder in his blue eyes at the snowy terrain. His heart clenched at Luke’s small smile then he muttered, “Never cared much for this kinda cold.” 

Leia stepped beside the young Jedi and glanced over the blond as she said, “It reminds me of the mountains back home. I haven’t seen snow in what feels like forever.” 

“I’ve never seen it before. I-I always wanted to. And now… it’s just so white out here.” Luke murmured, his eyes wide with his delight. Han gave a chuckle and wrapped his arm around his shoulders before he stated, “Better stay wrapped up, kid. It’s too cold out here for those rags you call robes.” 

Luke swatted him away weakly then replied, “Shut up, they’re not rags! They’re comfortable!” The taller man gave a laugh and ruffled the Jedi’s hair as he chimed, “You’ll freeze if you don’t wear an actual coat, junior. Come on, let’s go find out where they’re putting us.” Luke grinned up at the pilot then tangled his arm with Leia’s before pulling her inside. Chewie approached Han from behind then rumbled, “You’re a sap, Han Solo.” 

The pilot turned to the Wookiee with a frown then insisted, “I am not. Shut up, fuzzball and let’s get inside before we freeze.” The two hurried to catch up with Luke and Leia then Han snatched the young Jedi by his waist, beginning to ruffle the blond’s hair. 

“Han, come on! I need to go find out where I’m sleeping!” Luke insisted with a laugh. Leia raised her eyebrows at the interaction then Han suggested, “Why don’t you stay in the Falcon with me? It’ll have better heating and you won’t have to share a room with someone you don’t know.” 

Chewie glanced down at his pilot then rumbled, “Oh but you’re not a sap. You’re such a fool in love.” The captain twisted to face the Wookiee and snapped, “Shut it, fuzzball. I am not.” The Princess snickered and patted him on the shoulder as she murmured, “You so are.” And with that, she ducked into the control center to greet one of the Generals with a grin on her face. Luke turned to face Han and Chewie then asked, “What are you talking about? What did Chewie call you? I’m so confused.” 

The Wookiee gave a laugh then walked back to the Falcon, leaving the two alone. Han stared at the young Jedi then grabbed Luke by his arm, chiming, “C’mon kid, let’s go get you a coat, gloves, and a hat then I teach you how to have some serious fun in snow, okay, kid?” 

Luke nodded with a bright smile then Han wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him towards the rest of the fleets in search of something warmer to put over his robes. Thankfully the Resistance had thought ahead when they chose Hoth as their new place to reside and plenty of the other pilots had different sized coats and hats for the men to choose from. 

The two Rebels slid into their warmer clothing then began making their way towards the entrance of the base to go outside when they ran into Leia, who was as bundled up as her comrades were. Luke flashed his familiar smile at the Princess then he chirped, “We’re going to play in the snow, do you want to come outside with us?” 

She began to protest then Han wrapped an arm around the Jedi’s shoulders as he replied, “Let’s be honest here, kid, the Princess is much too elegant to come play with us rebels. She could never get her royalness dirty.” Leia scoffed at his goading then shoved him towards the exit door, chiming, “I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for Luke, since he’s never been able to play in the snow. Now let’s go, laser brain.” 

The three ended up making a snowman then Leia threw a snowball at Han’s head, causing the three to erupt into a full on snowball war with Luke dodging most of what the two threw at him. The Jedi began to race towards the base entrance for cover then the door opened, revealing Chewbacca. Just as the Wookiee stepped out, Han launched a snowball in Luke’s direction, only for Chewie to be hit. The three Rebels paused as he glanced down where the snow had stuck to his fur and looked up towards his captain with a roar. Han gave a laugh then chimed, “The kid and Princess needed to have a bit of fun, fuzzball! Don’t be a grump!”

Han Solo’s third mistake as he tried to prevent himself from falling in love with Luke Skywalker? Going out in below freezing temperatures to drag the damn rebel back to their base on Hoth. But that didn’t go quite as planned. Han had finally found the kid lying face first in the snow and fear struck through his body, harder and deeper than the cold of Hoth could ever try and reach. The pilot scrambled off the TaunTaun he was riding and rushed forward towards the Jedi, turning Luke on his back. 

“Kid? Kid, hey, come on. Luke! Come on, you gotta wake up!” Solo urged, tapping the blond on the cheek to wake him from the cold and exhaustion. Those familiar blue eyes finally opened then Luke squinted up at the pilot, asking, “Han? You came out for me?” The captain sighed with relief, thankful that his friend wasn’t dead then scooped the younger man’s lightsaber to slice open his now dead TaunTaun before he gutted the lizard and stuffed Luke inside to keep him warm while he worked to put up a shelter for the two of them to stay in overnight. 

“Ahh, kid, what the hell have you done?” Han asked after he finished the shelter. The blond gave a nonsensical answer then those blue eyes fluttered open as he mumbled, “Han… Han, ‘m sorry.” Solo cupped his cheeks then pressed his forehead to Luke’s as he stated, “Yeah, it’s okay, kid, just get warm, okay?” He wrapped one of the two blankets that he had in his bag tighter around Skywalker’s shoulders then tucked a stray piece of hair behind Luke’s ear with a small sigh. Sometimes Han really wondered if this kid was worth more trouble than he caused. 

The kid began to tremble, either with the pain that he was struggling with or the freezing temperatures of Hoth, both was a possibility then the captain tugged the younger man into his side before pulling the larger blanket over them both. There was no way that the Rebels would be looking for them tonight so they might as well get comfortable. Luke’s head fell onto Han’s chest then the blond mumbled, “Didn’t mean to bring you out into this mess, Han. I’m sorry.” 

“Kid, just get some sleep and quit apologizing. I’m a man, I make my own decisions, you got that? Now get some rest, you need it.” Han chastised with a roll of his eyes. Luke nodded in understanding then his eyes fluttered shut, falling into his exhaustion.  

While Han watched as Luke floated in the bacta tank to help recover from his injuries caused by the hypothermia that he endured and the brutal attack of the wampa, the pieces began to fall into place for the pilot and Han couldn’t help but wonder if Chewie was actually right: was he catching feelings for this bright eyed Jedi? 

It was stupid, he wasn’t some youngling doing something new and trying to decide whether he liked it or not: these were actual emotions that people his age already had a handle on. So why was it that he couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he was in love with Luke Skywalker? 

“Han?” Luke called out, scuffling after the pilot as he left the recovery room. Solo glanced over his shoulder then turned when he noticed that Skywalker was fidgeting with his hands. “What’s up, kid?” Blue eyes flickered up to the taller man’s face then he raised up on his tiptoes to kiss the pilot on the cheek before he murmured, “Thank you… that’s two I owe you.” Han stared after the young Jedi as he walked back to his bed then walked to the Falcon, stunned. Luke Skywalker just kissed his cheek. Holy shit. 

He entered the ship and slumped beside Chewbacca who asked, “What’s wrong, Han? Is it Skywalker?” Han let his head fall into his hands then groaned, “Chewie, you were right. Fuck, I’m in love with the kid, what the hell am I going to do now?” 

“Face your feelings and tell him how you feel like normal humanoids do?”the Wookiee suggested, crossing his arms across his chest. Solo peeked between his fingers then hissed, “No, are you kidding me? That’s the dumbest idea, what if he doesn’t like me back?! Then what, I actually have to leave! If I leave, who’s gonna save his ass from getting killed? Or who’s going to give Leia shit about those braids and her royal pain in the ass status?” 

The two stared at one another then Chewie stood as he shook his head before he replied, “Come talk to me when you’re not acting like a cub, Han.” The Wookiee exited the ship and Han stared out the windshield with a sigh. Fuck, he was really going to have to own up to his emotions, wasn’t he? Unfortunately though, they were in the middle of a war and wars take no rest for anyone, no matter how big of a crisis they had found themselves in. The Battle of Hoth took place then Luke went to the Dagobah system to train under some Jedi Master while Han, Leia, Threepio, and Chewie tried to outrun the fucking Imperial Army, who was determined to capture the crew. 

“I know how you feel.” Leia stated, claiming the seat beside Han as he piloted the Falcon to their next destination. He flipped auto pilot on then turned to face her as he replied, “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, Your Highness.” 

“Except that you do. Anyone with eyes and half a brain can see the way that you look at Luke. My only question is when are you going to admit the truth, you stuck up, half witted, scruffy looking nerf herder?” The pilot jerked his head up then he snapped, “Who’s scruffy lookin’?” 

“You are, you moron! God, I wish you would just stop being so damn stubborn and just accept the fact that you’re head over heels in love with Luke! Ugh!” She stormed out of the cockpit then Han turned back to his piloting as he muttered, “I’m the one having the crisis but I’m still in the wrong. That makes complete sense.” 

Han Solo has seen a lot of shit go wrong in his life but ever since he joined the Rebellion, things just got progressively worse. At one point, Chewie offered up that this is what he gets for not believing in the Force but that just made him more pissed at the galaxy. But it only got worse when he went to Lando. He actually thought he could trust that bastard but Force he was so wrong. Trusting him and where did it get him? Frozen in carbonite. 

Leia helped him escape the trap that Jabba the Hutt decided to put him in then rushed out, “Luke is here to save you.” 

“Luke is here? Oh Stars, we’re doomed. Wait, why can’t I see?” Han asked, rubbing at his eyes. Leia paused then replied, “It’s probably just temporary, from the hibernation in carbonite. Come on, we’ve gotta go.” But as normal, their original plan didn’t work out. The Princess was taken hostage by the Hutt and Han got tossed down a garbage chute where Chewie was sitting. 

The pilot settled against the wall then pressed his head into his hands as he muttered, “I really hope that Luke knows what he’s doing.” A few bounty hunters came into the cell then jerked the two to their feet before dragging them out. He jerked out of the bounty hunter’s hold then bumped into someone else, who grabbed his arms to steady him. 

“Kid, is that you?” Han questioned with a raise of his eyebrows. “Han, you’re okay. Force, I thought Jabba had already fed you to whatever he could find on such short notice.” Luke rushed out, cupping the pilot’s forearms. The older man gave a laugh then replied, “Trust me, kid, that makes two of us. Together again, huh?” The young Jedi laughed before he answered, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

“So how we doin’?”the pilot asked as the Gamerorrean shoved him forward. Luke laughed quietly and stated, “Oh the same as always.” Han raised his eyebrows at the reply he got before the pigs jerked them to a stop then he questioned, “That bad, already? Damn, kid, thought you had this covered.” 

“I did have it covered… old man.” Han paused at the statement then glanced down in the general direction of Luke’s voice and scoffed, “Did you just call me an old man, junior?” Leia rolled her eyes at the banter then snapped, “Can you two please focus while this slug is plotting our deaths? That’d be great honestly.” 

“Glad to see you’re still kicking, Highness. I thought for sure Jabba would’ve thrown you down a chute to become a snack by now.” Han stated casually and she rolled her eyes before stating, “Trust me, I would have preferred becoming rancor food over where and how I’m sitting now.” Jabba gave a few hisses and snaps then Threepio translated for the four prisoners, “He has decreed that you are to be terminated… immediately.” 

“Good, I hate long waits.” Han muttered, fidgeting in the Gamerorrean’s hold. The three were hauled off onto a separate ship then drove to the middle of Tatooine, with Jabba the Hutt’s people partying on their own. 

“I think my eyesight is getting better. Instead a dark blob, I see a big light blob.” Luke gave a small chuckle then stated, “There’s nothing to see. I used to live here, ya know?” Han turned to stare in the smaller man’s direction then  replied, “You’re gonna die here, ya know. Convenient, isn’t it?” 

“Well, at least I’m dying in good company. But stick beside Chewie and Lando, I’ve got a plan.” The pilot sighed and muttered, “You’ve had a plan before and look where we are now. About to get fed to whatever the hell this is.” 

Thankfully Luke’s new plan had gone as well as it could, with no one on their side dying. They managed to get back to the Falcon then Luke led Leia into her room, eager to help her get dressed and out of the awful bikini that Jabba the Hutt had stuffed her inside while Chewie helped Han gain back the rest of his eyesight. Lando made sure that the compressor was working then walked beside the pilot asking, “How you feelin’, old friend?” 

“Like I’ve been run over by a speeder. Hey, I gotta ask: how’d you, Luke, and Leia get together for this plan?” Han asked, turning to face him. Lando gave a nervous laugh then turned to face his friend before he answered, “Well, that depends. Just how much are you in love with that Jedi of yours?” The pilot snapped his head up to narrow his eyes at Calrissian before he snapped, “What the hell does my feelings for Luke have to do with you teaming up with the bratty twins of the galaxy?” 

The scoundrel laughed again and replied, “Well let’s just say that I wasn’t helping them without a payment and the kid was nice enough to offer that pretty mouth of his.” Anger churned into a tight knot in his stomach and Han came to a slow stand as he snarled, “You better be fuckin’ with me, Lando.” 

Luke and Leia exited her room then the blond furrowed his eyebrows together as Lando answered, “Oh, he was insistent. Said he’d do anything to get you back. So who was I to refuse?” The pilot made a move to snatch his friend up, only for Luke to step behind the two, insisting, “Han, don’t!” Solo scoffed then flared down at the Jedi, snapping, “Oh, you give him a blowjob and now you’ll jump to his defense?!” 

“What are you talking about?! Okay, I think we need to talk.” Luke admitted, gripping the front of Han’s shirt before dragging him into the captain’s quarters. The blond slammed the door behind them then shoved the pilot towards the bed before he pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan. Those blue eyes fluttered open and Luke demanded, “Would you care to tell me what was that out there with you and Lando and why the hell you think that I gave him a blowjob?” 

“Because you went to that son of a bitch and when he wouldn’t help without a payment, you sucked his dick!” Han exploded, pinning the shorter man to the door. Luke’s eyes widened and he ducked his head with a small laugh, which only pissed Han off more, even though his chest tightened with the cuteness of the motion.

“Why the hell are you laughing?! This isn’t funny to me! I actually thought that-“ Solo cut himself off with a shake of his head. The Jedi sobered then tangled his fingers in the hem of the pilot’s shirt before he tugged gently, murmuring, “Han, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird and it’s worrying me. Is it something I did? Did I make you uncomfortable, I didn’t mean to!” 

“Kid, just stop! It’s nothing you did. Just… you know what, never mind. Just go, get out. Go sit with the Princess.” Han insisted, beginning to back away, only for Luke to tighten his grip on his shirt, tugging him back. The older man frowned when he took notice of Luke’s lips pressed into a stubborn line then the young Jedi mumbled, “I’m not blind, Han. I know how people act when they’re in love. So why are you acting like this if you just see me as some dumb kid?” 

The captain stared down at the insistent Skywalker and cupped his jaw as he replied, “Maker, I wish I could see you as just some dumb kid. But shit, junior, ever since I saw you in Mos Eisley, I can’t get you out of my head. Anything you do makes my heart feel like it’s going to fucking launch out of my chest. And I thought I could make it stop, I thought that I could just ignore the way that you made me feel but dammit, you were just so insistent on being my friend.” 

Luke’s lips parted then he murmured, “You… had feelings for me?” “Not had, kid… Have. Shit, I’m so fucking in love with you, I’d do anything for you at this point.” Han admitted, staring down at the blond’s mouth. Skywalker stared at the pilot for a few seconds, taking in all of the information that Solo had thrown his way before he asked, “But wait, if you’re in love with me, why’d you act like you were so into Leia?” 

He sighed at the question and thought for a moment before he answered, “I tried to distract myself from you, see if I could save you from me.” Luke frowned up at Han and twisted his fingers in Han’s shirt as he snapped, “But you never thought to ask me if I wanted to be saved. Did you ever think that just because you were saving yourself from being rejected that I wasn’t being hurt by it? You were protecting me from something that you thought that I would be ended by in the end but you didn’t even stop to consider the possibility that I wanted what you have to offer me.” 

“Wait, why the hell are you mad at me? I was just trying to protect you!” Luke let out a frustrated growl and stomped his foot like a youngling would when they didn’t get their way before he insisted, “Blast it, it’s like this is going in one ear and out the other! Han, you didn’t even consider asking me how I felt about you. You kept shoving me away and acting like I was your little brother but you failed to see the way that I look at you, like you had designed and hung the entire galaxy, like you could do no evil. Like you’re the one person who would hold me at the end of the day and tell me that everything was alright, that just because I’m Vader’s son doesn’t mean that I’ll turn to the dark side. You failed to see that… that you wasn’t the only one who’s in love.” 

Han paused at Luke’s admission then he leaned closer as he murmured, “Are you telling me what I think you’re telling me?” The Jedi gave a small laugh and answered, “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you when we first met at that disgusting bar.” Solo chuckled and shook his head before he pressed his forehead to Luke’s then he murmured, “I’m sorry that I’m an idiot. I should’ve told you.” 

Skywalker nodded in agreement and his blue eyes shimmered under the dim light of the captain’s room before he asked, “Would you kiss me now? Then go talk to Lando and say you’re sorry for nearly taking his head off?” 

“I’m not apologizing to that son of a bitch but I will kiss you.” Han informed the younger man before he leaned down and pulled Luke into a kiss. The blond practically melted into the tenderness of the kiss then he sighed quietly as the pilot pulled away, murmuring, “We should probably go back out there and figure out what our next move is.” 

The Jedi began to nod his agreement then the two twisted towards the door when someone knocked on it. Han narrowed his gaze when he realized that it was Lando on the other side then the man chimed, “You always were the jealous type. Even when we were younger. After Chewie told me that you were head over heels for this Jedi, figured that you’d need a good push from your old buddy. And with that being said, I believe that I deserve a thank you?” 

Luke laughed at Lando’s explanation and slid out of Han’s grasp as he asked, “You’ve always been a jealous person? For shame, Han, I figured you’d be the mild tempered and understanding one.” 

“Sarcasm is not a good look on you, kid, just saying. Now c’mon, we need to figure out what the Rebellion’s next move is.” Han informed the shorter man as he nudged him out of the captain’s quarters with a roll of his eyes. 

[hellobrockie]

Some very long Rambly TROS thoughts

Holy fuck there is so much wrong with this movie.

Let's start at the beginning. Kylo tracks down the wayfinder/holocron crystal thing that will lead him to the sith homeworld. We learn that Palpatine was behind both the Snoke and Vader voices in Kylo’s head-basically the dude has been manipulating him for 30 years. Kylo states very clearly he's gonna kill this motherfucker. This is very in line with the Last Jedi- Kylo wants to destroy everything- the Sith the Jedi the Resistance- because he’s tired of the constant push-pull of rejection and manipulation. BUT THEN HE DOESNT KILL PALPATINE???? At first the film argues that he doesn't kill Palps because Palps promises him the big FINAL ORDER fleet? Okay...but I don’t think Kylo really gives a shit about a big fleet of ships when it's offered by the fucker who has been scrabbling his brains for shits and giggles. Once the ‘Rey Palpatine’ thing comes to light, we are lead to believe Kylo went along with the whole final order plan because he wanted to kill Palpatine together with REY???? Ahh okay? 

So now we switch back to Rey. She's basically a jedi, cool. And I guess the Skywalker saber just fixed itself, with literally no scars or anything. A great visual representation about how this film feels about character development that happened in The Last Jedi. So Rey breaks concentration and fails the courses. According to the film, this happens because sheisapalpatine. If you had two brain cells you would realize Rey could be upset for normal reasons ...like that in order to the Resistance to win she’s going to have to put Kylo down like a dog. Its kinda cool that Leia is her teacher (more on that later).

Soo then we spend the next hour on a pointless adventure with the Trio™. Which would be fun, if they were ever established as a Trio. Arguably the real trio might be Rose-Finn-Poe. More on Rose later. Here is a list of incomprehensible things that happen here:

Kylo reforges his mask. Because Reasons? The knights of Ren. Because Reasons?

A handful of force bond scenes. The first one actually isn’t half bad. By wearing the mask, Kylo is rejecting the intimacy inherent to the connection because he is about to  defile it. Grabbing Rey’s necklace is a physical and emotional violation. It's the first time he has ever used the connection for personal gain.  The other connection scenes mostly just play around with the two of them being able to pass each other stuff. They lack the careful editing of TLJ connection scenes. Disclaimer: I’m a pretty hard core Reylo and these scenes really lacked the magic they previously had.This might be un-purpose Kylo is clearly pretty lost as this point.  Dull, lacking in heart like so much of this film. 

Kylo becomes a cartoon power ranger villian spouting Palpatine exposition and attempting to create suspense by almost catching the trio a couple times. Some of the dialogue is almost Revenge of the Sith Anakin level awkward.  It lacks both the unstable angry energy of FA or the sad tired boi energy of TLJ. 

Rey makes force lighting because I guess she was upset and it's a genetic ability now???

Poe gets a female love interest, becuase hes heterosexual. HeTeroSeXUal.

Poe and Finn flirt for a whole hour while Poe checks out some new chick and Finn now has a harem thing kinda. 

Poe is now a spice trader. BECAUSE YOU KNOW HE'S THE HAN SOLO OF THE TRILOGY. Let's just forget that TLJ establishes that Poe is his own character, probably loyal to the resistance since birth. His parents are rebellion alumni.

Two death fake outs. I don’t know why they had to give 3PO his memories back. He lost them at the end of the Prequels and R2 loved him anyway. Chewbacca capture was a missed opportunity to get some resolution to him shooting Kylo in the gut. 

Hux is the spy. Lovely. He is the ultimate weak bitch. Tbh the most consistent character development. Arguably my favorite detail on the entire film. Perfect execution. Domhnall Gleason is a gift. 

Now onto Endor. Endor has so much potential and squanders most of it.

Finn meets other people who left the stormtrooper program. Cool. Weird how it's tied to force sensitivity. I like the idea of the force putting Poe and Finn in the right place at the right time, but I think to imply people’s ability to escape slavery is tied to force sensitivity brings us to the problematic terrority of the sequels. Also the only one who talks to Finn is also black. And Clearly has a romantic vibe. Okay…..

The Rey Palpatine thing is made explicit. Even though anyone will half a brain figured it out 90 minutes ago. More wierd implications…..who would agree to fuck an old man Palpatine? So Rape i guess. Rey’s parents were normal...is this some kinda side material hook to read more about them or some shit??? Kylo refers to Rey’s parents as ‘filthy junk traders’. He's right. THEY SOLD HER INTO FUCKING SLAVERY. However Rey’s parents are good people??? WTF THIS IS THE JEDI COUNCIL ALL OVER AGAIN.

 Soo Kylo destroys the wayfinder to force Rey to work with him. Anti-Reylos will often get their panties in a twist about how it’s an ‘abusive relationship’. This is the only scene that really comes off as manipulative- in a way it never did in TLJ. Partly because they play up this idea of power-hungry Kylo (which has little basis in reality. In FA he just wanted to make Snoke his daddy. And TLJ Kylo is just soo fucking lonely) rather than sad boi Kylo trying to hold onto someone. Damn the TLJ throne scene is soo careful with getting that energy right, balancing the heartbreak with a little gaslighting (sorry off topic).  Then They Fight. Kylo doesn’t even pull out a saber at first because he literally has no intention of killing her. Rey fights because she's mad. Leia decides to intervene at this time, which is weird because Kylo still has no intention of hurting Rey. Apparently Leia sending Kylo a text is enough to freak him out. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TIME FOR FLASHBACKS, MAYBE A ‘YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE’ TO TIE HIM BACK TO HIS NAMESAKE. 

Instead Rey gets him in the gut. She then heals him, something that should have been really intimate. This would have been time to kiss him in that wistful ‘ I wanted to know what it would be like before I exile myself forever way’. This is one of the scenes that desperately needed more breathing room AND GIVE KYLO SOME FUCKING DIALOGUE YOU COWARDS. Healing him combined with Leia stuff should have reduced Kylo to a pile of tears. I think he would find it completely overwhelming that someone thinks he is worth it, worth a part of their life source, worth their final breathes. 

Oh woah surprise Han Solo. This kinda works for me because unlike robot Leia and fairy godmother Luke, Han looks alive. Plus Han is only a memory so Kylo has to save himself, make his own choice. Aww fuck this got me the closest to tears becuase he looks so fucking sad about the fact that he can’t go home. Damn you Adam Driver and you’re big weepy eyes. His mother is dead and I don’t think he ever truly realized that she wanted him back. I guess with the way things went with Luke, he just assumed he was unwanted. Even now, Han is the only one of the 3 Ben can really imagine taking him back. Who knew Han was such a softie.  At the same time there is something so unintentionally sad about the fact that Ben’s whole family can become force ghosts and not a single one gives enough of  a shit about him to show up at the turning point of his life. 

Also the implication that Ben turns to protect Leia’s lifework is strange. Leia’s legacy is the Rebellion, a democratic senate, a planet wiped off the map, NOT SKYWALKER JEDI #2 JJ!!!!! Ben doesn’t even interact with any of the larger powers at work, he just saves Rey. 

Also while Ben’s guilt and shame about killing Han (his true sin) keep him on the dark side, this doesn’t address the 8 million other reasons he left the light. Also why do Leia and Rey never discuss this???? His own fucking family repeatedly rejected him because of his ‘Vadar-ness’ which is ironic considering…….

Then we cut to Rey’s fairy godmother-esque trip to Ahch-To where she arms herself with all of the Skywalker’s personal effects:

Mad that Rian Johnson denied you that ESB fanservice call-back of Luke being able to pull his x-wing out of water?? Don’t worry JJ has got you covered. 

Mad that Leia didn’t have lightsaber? Don’t worry JJ has got you covered, Leia was always prepared to be a back up to Luke because she doesn’t have her own perspective or anything or like a whole fucking political system to run. Also she stopped training because apparently completing her journey would end in Ben’s death...ooo SmArT foreshadowing that Rey using her lightsaber will end in one dead Ben boi. 

Leia and Luke ALWAYS knew about Rey Palps. Which is funny because they threw their own flesh and blood in the trash because he seemed kinda Vader-y. I guess it's wrong to judge people by their bloodlines unless its your own bloodline. I can’t even. 

There is no mention of Ben at all- even though Leia and Luke both died for him and Rey put her whole heart into saving him.  

Now to Exeger or whatever again. Almost two hours in and we’re back at the planet we were on in the first 5 minutes.

Spaceship stuff happens. Take out your checklist to get those pilot and ship cameos. Ooo look its The Ghost! OG trilogy pilot! Lando is there! WOOO! Poe’s girlfriend lived somehow! 

Ben’s last words are ‘Ow’.

Palps wants Rey to kill him because I guess that will make her evil? Since when does killing people make you evil? I don’t think killing Palps to save the world in the same as ‘striking your enemies down in hatred’ or whatever. 

Oh Hey Ben is here. Palps doesn’t care much I guess even though trolling Skywalkers is his whole life’s passion. 

Palps drains the life out of Ben/Rey. They don’t die. Ben goes flying into a pit. Rey has to face Palps alone because I guess even though Ben/Rey are stronger together and are cosmically linked the lone jedi thing will happen anyway?? Is feminism about doing everything on your own rather than building meaningful connections with your equal partner. Honestly only Men would think a women has to do everything alone to prove her worth, Rey has been wanting allies and family her whole life LET HER HAVE IT. 

Also okay sooo Palps did technically kill Rey’s parents and she had about a whole 5 minutes to think about that. Multiple generations of Ben’s family have been tortured by this guy, so I think it would be rather cathartic to see him play a bigger role in the end of Palp.

Rey enters the Avatar State. Cue more fanservice cameos (I love you Ahsoka, but you said it yourself, you ain’t a jedi). In another backhanded slap to TLJ were back on the TheJediDidNothingWrong line of thinking. Anakin is present ...I wonder if anyone else is interested in talking to him…...

Rey dies. I’m not sure why. Palps legit sucked the life of her and she lived, but the Avatar State killed her. 

Ben crawls out of pit. Damn Adam Driver has legs for days. He heals Rey, its kinda sweet but it's also really really weird that he hasn’t said anything. Not saying we need an over the top love declaration but even his emotionally constipated parents managed to get an ‘I love you’ out. 

Ben saves Rey. The thing Anakin thought the dark side would give him the power to do. Interesting bookend. Sad that my boy has such low self preservation, he gives her his life without hesitation. Why do we have to die for other people? It’s much harder to have to live for other people. To move and grow beyond the past. To try and be our best everyday, even when its hard. Isn’t that real redemption? 

Ben kisses Rey. Awww. Its missing some of the elements of a big romantic drama kiss, which I would be okay with ...if it was followed up with a big romantic kiss with a sunset on a new planet before the credits roll. Alas this does not happen. The audience is somewhat befuddled since their had been almost no dialogue referencing their emotional connections. The ‘no one knows me./I do.’ dialogue from the trailer did not appear in film. 

Ben smiles. It has all the boyish charm and innocence Anakin wished he had in the prequels. Aww he really has never kissed anyone. I wonder when the last time he smiled was. HAS THIS MAN EVER HAD A GOOD DAY HIS ENTIRE LIFE. I am emotionally moved until approximately 2 seconds later….

Ben dies. There is no funeral. No mention. Rey doesn’t shed a single tear. This dude literally gave you his life without hesitation. Is Reylo one-sided? Or at least not equally felt? Ow. U The Resistance doesn’t wonder what happened to the Supreme leader. We know at the end of TLJ Luke became a legend, I do not think this happens to Ben. 

The Resistance parties. Cue Return of the Jedi film reel. Poe and Finn are heterosexual. No resolution to the stupid ReyFinn force sensitve thing. Two women kiss. It will be cut out of the Chinese release. 

Rey buries the lightsabers on Tatooine because you know Luke lived there and Leia once wore a metal bikini there. Rey choose the name Rey Skywalker. Which is interesting because she didn’t get along that well with Luke. She finished her training with Leia Organa Solo, Princess of Alderaan who just happens to have been a result of a sperm donation from Anakin Skywalker. She found a father figure in Han Solo. She loved a guy named Ben Solo. I’m not saying she should name herself Rey Solo, but it certainly is better than Rey Skywalker. I mean it's almost like a person's worth and ability aren’t dependent on either a bloodline or acceptance into the galaxies most powerful family. Rey nobody would have been fine.  I’m not going to get into the feminist angle of a self made women tying herself to the legacy of a man. Cue theaterwide groaning. 

Twin suns. Cool. I liked them better in The Last Jedi.

Rey has a yellow-ish lightsaber and maybe made out of her staff. Wonder where she got the crystals from and why they didn’t introduce it earlier. Possible implication she's going the way of the ‘grey’ jedi? idk some Jedi have yellow actually. Ahsoka had a yellow one. Not sure since this film is back on the JediwayisBest bullshit. 

We see Luke and Leia's force ghosts. Ben’s last word was ‘ow’.

In Summary, some odd implications:

Rey Palpatine is quite possibly the worst idea of all time. Worse than midichlorians. The highest level of fanboy pandering and Rian Johnson erasure. Rey has a lot of very real things to be angry about - her rough childhood, the deaths of her mentors, loving someone as dense as Ben Solo, having to come to terms with the fact that her parents didn’t love her. 

Return to prequel-esque thinking on slavery. Apparently it is not that bad if you sell someone as long as you do it with LOVE. 

Making Finn force sensitive is not character development. Its just half assed pandering and additional exposition in a film filled with exposition.

There is some truly awful dialogue in this film. Its shot composition and editing is so sloppy compared to FA or TLJ. 

The force in balance means killing everyone on the darkside. 

Rose is completely sidelined. She is the only Asian character on screen. She is seemingly replaced with a black woman who has a similar background to Finn and is a scavenger like Rey. Yikes. Why does this feel like an anti-interacial relationship thing. 

Said Black women Jarrah talks to Lando, another black character in a bizarre dialogue that vaguely implies all black people are related. I might be really misreading this, but its weird. I would have liked her to talk to Rose instead because female solidarity. 

FinnPoe is played up a LOT. But we are also repeatedly reminded they are attracted to women. This does not feel like woke Bisexual culture. This is pandering without making a commitment. 

Rey’s worth as a character is related to her connection to powerful people in the Star Wars mythos, not her own traits. 

Ben’s character resonates really strongly with abuse victims and outsiders. His lack of dialogue strips him of a lot of his agency.  His estrangement from his family is not resolved. Vader, who arguably did a lot worse things gets a whole dying monologue and force ghost thing. 

Oh hey C3PO said the festival is every 42 year old….OG came out 42 years ago. heh.

In Summary:

Watch the Clone Wars animated series

Fall in love with Ahsoka

Watch Star Wars Rebels or at least all the episodes with Ahsoka and also the series finale, it's got some cool force stuff in it. 

Think about the cool force stuff in Star Wars Rebels and the cool force stuff in The Last Jedi. Woah.

Apply all this cool force stuff to your own personal version of the Rise of Skywalker

Wait for clone wars finale Feb 2020

Rinse and Repeat

Peg Kylo Ren

Oscar Isaac is the Captain on the FinnPoe Ship. 

The Last Jedi was the Best One. Fight Me. 

Find the fanfiction where Rey tells him what a good boi he is which reduces him to a puddle. Find the fanfiction where he cries during sex the first time, the second time, every time. Find the fanfiction where his force ghost gets a hug, where his family welcomes his back. 

Read Fanfiction:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852886

What I would do instead:

Delete Rey Palpatine

Ditch the mask. You have a fucking Oscar nomiated actor hiding under it. 

After the Endor part, have Kylo join either Rey or the Resistance. Personally I think him hitching a ride on the Falcon would have been wonderfully awkward. And maybe give some closure the calling Finn a ‘traitor’ thing. This is fanservice-y, but no more fanservice-y than the rest of the film. And maybe finally answer the question of who does/doesnt know who Kylo Ren is. Would like a verbal declaration that he identifies as Ben Solo or least Ben or something. 

Ben can still die I guess but maybe give him some kinda funeral. Or reuse the golden dice symbolism. 

Slow everything done. Let the audience feel sad, feel happy. Oh and cut out those fucking death fake outs. 

[twilightofthe]

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE EPISODE 9 BENEATH THE CUT.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

S O . . .

Honestly I’m kinda really glad I spoiled myself for this movie because I got really really upset by the reviews and went in with my expectations basically on the floor, so I was actually able to be pleased and happy with a couple things in the movie, so I will start off with the few things I did like.

I loved the Rey/Finn/Poe dynamic.  The actors’ chemistry works sooooo well together and I loved their adventure through the first two acts.  You can see how much these guys all genuinely like each other-- even tho the script seems to try VERY HARD to stick Poe and Finn with the worst case of “NO HOMO NO HOMO”-ing I’ve seen in Star Wars since Anakin and Obi Wan in The Clone Wars lol.  Seriously, the script is trying so so hard to pick fights between Poe and Finn, but blessed amazing Oscar Isaac and John Boyega manage to play it so the entire conflict reads more like Poe is jealous of Finn’s feelings over Rey, they act it VERY MUCH like quarreling lovers and it is completely 100% the work of John and Oscar and I love these two so much, I owe them my life.

I adore Rey and Finn’s chemistry too, they spend the entire film with Finn desperately worrying over Rey and Rey confiding her worries and fears to Finn and constantly giving each other looks and ugh, I love them so much.

Force Sensitive!Finn!!!  Just for a second but it happened!  They should have been more blatant but I like that he canonically is!!!

Just in general, I’ve always been a Jedistormpilot shipper, and I feel the ending really leaves that as an open option I will happily take.

The bits with the Resistance and Leia did the best they could with Carrie’s footage.  It was choppy and kinda obvious that footage was all they had to work with, but they tried their hardest and given what little they had to work with, I will unhappily accept it and the fact that Leia had little to no role in the story.  I’m still really upset about it and her character’s death was so damn anticlimactic, but it was what happened.

Billy Dee Williams was charming and awesome as Lando, I loved seeing him, and he did a wonderful job, even if he was just a nostalgia cameo.

3PO was entertaining as ever!  I liked him!  They definitely sidelined R2 way too much, but I was glad to see 3PO and I was glad that he didn’t permanently lose his memory!  The only thing I was kinda ehhh about was the bit with the dagger and the Sith language because the way he was suddenly able to translate it after not being able to translate it?????  Did not make sense at all???????????

Abrams fucking got me with the nostalgia for a second during the Luke Force Ghost scene.  I’m sorry, but I was so happy to see that Leia had done a bit of Jedi training then chose to give it up, I loved the callback to Yoda lifting the X-Wing but then Luke’s ghost did it-- COMPLETE WITH THE OG MUSIC!!!!!  Mark knocked it out of the park and I just love seeing him.

Same for Ian and Sidious!  While I personally did not like the Sidious plot at all and I will expand more on that later, I loved seeing Mr. McDiarmid again and he always just fills me with a bit of glee being his dramatic Palpy self because he’s just as good and as hatable as he’s always been and I thank him for it.

I think that was about it for what I liked, and honestly that was all the work of the talented actors and me being happy to see them pulling off their characters to the best of their abilities.  The plot itself???  Ehhhhhhhhhh.....

Look, as I mentioned before, I liked the Jedistormpilot mission.  That was fun.  

The entire Resistance plot?  Way way way too staggered and jumped around too much, not going into detail, felt a lot like it was trying to cram in everything with little payoff and not much emphasis placed on the importance of its plan so the audience really doesn’t get time to register everything that’s happening with them, let alone care about them

Naomi Ackie did a charming job with Jannah, I would have liked it if her entire plot didn’t kinda invalidate Finn’s overall story arc.  I get they were trying to say “oh look!  Finn’s not alone!  There are other ex-stormtrooper rebels!  Just like Finn!!!”  Instead what it looks like is saying basically that Finn isn’t special, Finn’s defection wasn’t important overall, literally everyone does it, and it means nothing.

(Also going off of this, it really felt like JJ caved to the TLJ hate and totally sidelined Rose, she did like jacksquat in this and I’m mad)

The thing is, I don’t think the Resistance plot and the search for Palpy mission would have been as scattered and rushed and disorganized IF: Rey Palpatine wasn’t a thing, Reylo wasn’t a thing, and Force Ghosts were utilized more.

Look, I was fine with Palpy coming back (on a condition).  Someone had to be the big bad and Disney is too worried about toy sales for it to ever be Kylo, so I knew Sidious could work-- provided they brought back the Skywalkers whose stories were intertwined with his and involved them in his ultimate downfall somehow.

I was fine with Rey Nobody. I was a little mad all the Skywalker legacy was going to her without her earning it really, but I figured that if the final film connected her with the Skywalkers properly, it would be fine, she had time to earn it.

Instead, we got little to no Skywalkers-- one Luke scene that meant nothing to the plot, scraped together Leia footage they could only take so far, and a fucking muddled voiceover from the man who Sidious screwed over the most, the one who originally killed him, the one who should have been THERE.  Look, I should have known they would never actually bring Anakin back, but dammit, he SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE.  HE SHOULD HAVE.  This was his story originally, like it or not, and the entire goddamn Sequel Trilogy never so much as said his name, even when they brought back the creep that destroyed his life and he was supposed to give his own to defeat.

Literally no one asked for the Rey Palpatine plot.  It made no sense, you feel nothing for her “heroic” parents because you know literally nothing about either of them, the convoluted logic on why/why not Sidious wants her alive makes no sense.  His goal makes no sense, it’s confusing, so he wants Kylo to kill her but he also doesn’t, he wants Rey there so she can kill him and he can transfer his life force into her and then he’ll bring the Sith back somehow with all that hooded crowd on the bottom of Exetor???  Where did they even come from??  What happened to the canon saying all the dead Sith were on Korriban?  How is Palpy even gonna use Rey to bring back the other Sith????  When can his ghost/zombie corpse/whatever the fuck he is just fucking pull life energy out of people’s chests?  

What they should have focused on instead of the timeline devoted to Rey Palpatine was keep Sidious as the threat, keep all his other “raising the dead Sith” stuff-- just move his hidey hole to Korriban dammit --and have all the Rey’s parents plot shift to scenes with her interacting with Luke and Anakin’s Force Ghosts trying to figure out how to take down Palps together once and for all.  Let her get adopted into the Skywalker family by the only two who actually carried the name, not just have her randomly take it at the end after interacting with Luke freaking once.  She has seemingly close relationships with Leia and Ben, dammit, in that case she should have been Rey Solo or Rey Organa.

Also have Luke’s Force Ghost replace the nonsense with whatever guy Luke was apparently working with to track down Sidious on Exetor-- we never saw all of that and having aaaaaall of that background wordvomited onto us by 3PO at once makes it jarring and confusing and forgettable.  Literally just have Luke show up and tell them!!!!  

Han’s appearance to Kylo on whatsitsname Endor water moon???  Also should have been Anakin if they really wanted to show Kylo/Ben’s beginning to turn (really it should have been Leia but again I get why they couldn’t) back to the Light via a convo with the dead.  Like omgggg let him finally talk to the grandfather he was trying to impress!!  The opening was right there????  But nope, Han is there, and I guess whatever he says is suddenly enough to turn him good again???

(THIS ALSO MEANS MY FUCKING FANFIC WAS RIGHT.  HAN SOLO IS A FORCE GHOST.  WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.  THAT WAS LITERALLY THE ONE THING I PROCLAIMED WOULD NOT BE CANON.  I’M THE NEW ORACLE OF DELPHI BITCHES.  WHAT THE FUCK.)

Aaaaand this brings me to the romance.  The fucking romance.  Look, I’m sorry if you guys all do, I really am, and I respect if you want to unfollow, but I never have been able to stomach Reylo.  Ever.  I never saw the romance.  I saw pain and abuse and one-sided obsession.  Check that, I will admit that I always saw some sort of want from Kylo.  Adam played him very much being obsessed with having Rey with him for some reason throughout all the films, but it also always played as toxic, and him not knowing what to do with that want, and just lashing out and abusing and forcing himself on her at every turn.  It never played as a healthy relationship and it never played like Kylo should be rewarded for it.  And this entire film????  I see still no romance????  Like the first half is just Rey being damn furious at Kylo, hating him, literally wanting nothing to do with him.  I think another part of it is that I have never in the films seen Rey as having romantic or emotional feelings for Kylo, not ever.  Not consistantly.  It’s always just been an entire film’s worth of her despising him-- no not in an enemies to lovers UST despising, like actual hate and frustration --and then one singular bizarre scene that sticks out like a wart on a face where she suddenly does a 180 and is soft with him, like in the elevator scene in TLJ or the ending scene of TROS.  I wouldn’t even say Rey feels soft for Kylo the first damn time she stabs and kills him before healing him.  That to me seems a lot more like guilt to Leia her mentor over stabbing her son, and healing him for Leia’s sake than Rey actually wanting him alive.  Maybe that’s just because from what I’ve seen, Daisy isn’t the biggest Reylo fan and just didn’t play it with her heart.

I’m glad Ben was redeemed, after what Sidious put that family through, I would have been upset with the last Skywalker descendant dying in Dark disgrace.  But I’ve never been able to like his character really because they never fully let him be evil or an intriguing villain character, but they never showed him as good.  I’m sorry, but the comics don’t do it for me either because it seems they’re just trying to slightly alter Anakin’s issues and problems and stick them onto him and go “see they’re the same!” and it just rings fake and irritating for me, and his sudden turnaround does not have the same weight behind it because I don’t even know what he really turned back to the Light for.  Was it for Rey?  That obsession didn’t look like love.  Was it for Leia?  We never got to see him speak two words to her.  Was it for Han?  Possibly?!?!  That scene was not clear?!??!?!!?!  It sure as hell wasn’t for Anakin or Luke because they weren’t allowed to interact with him at all.  His return to the Light made no real sense because there wasn’t a clear motive besides “plot says so” and I Could Not See the logic in Rey suddenly wanting to make out with him, whether he saved her or not.  Really the one good thing about it was that their lack of chemistry throughout the film means that if I ignore the fact that that kiss happened, it’s pretty easy to pretend they never got together ;D  Plus, that Jedistormpilot hug at the very end tho, like I said, possibilities........

AND ANOTHER THING (god I really am a crotchety old lady), THE ABILITIES OF BEN AND REY TO BRING EACH OTHER BACK FROM DEATH.  Rey effortlessly healed a straight saber wound through the gut that has fucking killed multiple trained Force users dead and even more non Force users, healed it in seconds.  Now I probably seem like the biggest hypocrite here as I’m planning on having Anakin survive that same exact type of wound in a fic I’m writing (spoilers for those reading it lol but not really, did y’all actually think I was gonna kill him like that xD  And that in no means says he’s gonna recover completely...), but the difference is that I’m not having him survive through someone else effortlessly curing the wound.  If Ben survived that gut wound by healing himself, using his raw energy that all Skywalkers are supposed to have, I would be able to believe that.  Self preservation will to live saved Vader on Mustafar, saved Luke, saved fucking Sidious.  

But the matter is, if Rey was so powerful that she could just heal Ben from dying like that, why the fuck in the prequels is Anakin so panicked over his loved ones dying ever?  He’s supposed to be the most powerful Force user in existence, more powerful than Rey, shouldn’t he have been able to do that for say, Shmi??  One might argue, “but Rey’s had training!”  Who trained her?  Leia, who learned from Luke, who learned from Obi Wan and Yoda, neither of whom knew how to fucking do that and pass it down, don’t tell me they did.  The other option is that Rey did it untrained on natural talented instinct, which again, in that case, why couldn’t Anakin figure that out?  Why didn’t any Jedi?  Rey worked off of emotion healing Ben, Anakin should have been able to figure that out too.  I will accept Ben’s energy transfer to Rey saving her after she died later as that literally killed him, that makes sense, trading energy at an equal point-- and further canonizes my theory that Sidious was able to steal and drain Padmé’s life energy through her bond with Anakin to save him after he burned, which was the actual reason Pads died in Ep 3.  But Rey effortlessly bringing Ben back like that????  I just can’t, that just doesn’t work for canon for me.  I’m sorry, but no.

My final issue is the sheer amount of ignoring this trilogy did of the prequels.  I’ve already ranted about Anakin not showing up when he should and I will not repeat myself, this rant got long and I’m getting tired, but he should have been there, dammit.  He really should have.  Luke should have had more screentime.  That bit at the end where Rey hears all of the other Jedi’s voices speaking to her???  I’m sorry, but that really does break canon!  It was supposed to be only Qui Gon’s line, or those he taught and could pass it down, who could become Force Ghosts, and as delighted as I was to hear Kanan again and Windu and Luminara and everyone else, their voices should not have been there as they are not Force Ghosts! (and this is only partially me whinging over the fact that in my Force Ghost fic I have already stupidly proclaimed that only Qui Gon’s line has become ghosts and now I somehow have to fix that o_o)

(ALSO also the appearance of Ahsoka Tano amongst the voices means that she is dead which means they had the actual audacity to fucking kill her off OFFSCREEN with no explanation which grrrrrr)

One last whine about the romance, everything with Zorri Bliss and Poe seemed really forced and just another way for the script to blare out “HE’S NOT IN LOVE WITH FINN HE’S NOT HE’S STRAIGHT SUPER STRAIGHT LOOK LOOK LOOK”, tho Zorri’s character herself was fun without the forced romance.

Look, overall, I really liked the characters of the sequels, but I felt the plot was really poorly executed, and I really felt that this was not the “Skywalker Saga”.  The Skywalkers felt cast aside and put in the background and ignored and totally invalidated.  They were my favorites and I feel the narrative let them down and it makes my heart unhappy.  It really feels like abusers like Palpatine and Kylo got to win at the expense of their victims, and that really makes my heart unhappy.  That’s just my personal feelings.  Nothing wrong if you did like it, but it’s just me.  I miss my Skywalkers and their happy ending and I probably always will.  I probs won’t ever really be satisfied with what happened to them, tho I will work my hardest on it.  I guess that’s it.

[dealingdreams]

Okay TROS thoughts...here we go. I’m putting them all below the cut in case somehow you’ve avoided spoilers

so general thoughts...i didnt hate it nearly as much as i thought i would so thats pleasant but im gonna break it down more

things i liked:

Adam Driver.  just Adam. Fucking. Driver my dudes. This is like a backhanded compliment because JJ is so fucking lucky Adam was cast because the emotional depth of the film rested literally all on his shoulders for me. I only felt the weight if he was acting in a scene. 

I’ll admit im biased but I did adore the interaction between Finn and Poe. Their bickering amused me and the tenderness between them was wonderful...I think Oscar played Poe a bit jealous as well which i liked.

the Reylo scenes to me where beautiful. Ben never lied to her, she tried to deny it but she knew he never did. I loved that he was kinda guiding her, protecting her, loving her, and antagonizing her all at once. I loved how soft their kiss was, their smiles are literally the light of my life. Rey’s face when she healed him. Ben just staring at her as she tells him she did want to take his hand...just chef’s kiss

I loved the saber fights. Ben’s fight at the beginning was hot as fuck...and his fight as newly redeemed Ben Solo was even hotter somehow.

 I enjoyed the fight scenes between ben and rey! how often ben just let her walk away, and despite that one scene which i will mention below...i like i even tho rey was rather aggressive idk...it didnt really feel like she was trying to hurt him much either? i just think they had a lot of chances to kill each other and didnt take it...so i like that

i knew she was looking at ben in that clip i knew it...she only makes that soft face at him

I always enjoy stupid ass C3PO jokes for some dumbass reason

Han and Ben’s scene was heartbreaking and beautiful. Again tho JJ is fucking lucky to cast Adam cause recycling dialogue from TFA wouldnt have worked at all had Adam not been so fucking amazing

the save chewie hall blaster scene was fun 

i liked how fucking dramatic children ben and rey were with that damn ship lol...no im gonna force pull it...no im gonna...what dorks

while i didnt like the entire way the force bond was used i did enjoy seeing it still strong and growing

confirming canon soulmate reylo was a highlight

ben’s hair looked bomb

finn’s outfit was cool

Jannah was beautiful (please correct me if i misspell her name)

dark rey was glorious tho 

that new little droid is literally me so i adore it

that sith cave thing was really fucking cool looking 

the visuals of the film were most of the time stunning 

sooooo...now to what i didn’t like:

I think this first one is the most obvious for those who know me but...Ben’s death just feels so utterly useless to me. especially when they gave him a metaphorical death earlier in the film. i feel extremely hurt and betrayed. Disney has gone out of their way to make us sympathize with Ben Solo. They’ve revealed more and more of his past...how alone he was, the abuse he suffered from snoke and palpatine. just fuck...they just kill him...the moment he realizes he’s free and loved they end his life....literally WHAT THE FUCK. it’s a chicken shit way out of a redemption arc honestly. Not letting u just breath after his death was also so horrible. We barely got to see Rey mourn, we got a split second of it then it jumped to another scene...another second of her looking sadly at her sabor to have the moment interrupted 

tag on to above but...they didnt have him as a force ghost cause Disney is intentionally keeping where he is ambiguous so they can sell more shit which pisses me off so much

thats not how the force works

there couldnt have been that many sith could there??? cause like there can only be 2 at one time....fucking rule of 2 so how the hell were there that many

palps being like...see i actually want you to kill me...is ridiculous

rey palpatine is the most idiotic thing i have ever heard. Rey being a no one from no where was such an amazing thing. Just anyone can be strong in the force...you dont need royal blood to make you worth something....then they just retcon that??? the fuck I MEAN THE FUCK. 

Finn does nothing but worry about Rey the whole film. I know folks dont like his storyline in TLJ and while i understand that and do think it could have been written better i still adore it because Finn grew. He grew from just caring about a small group of people to caring about an idea to caring about something bigger than him. I didnt see any growth in his character in this film. His heroics were beautiful to see and I enjoyed seeing his heart but that was John’s acting more than the writing it think. 

sidelining rose was fucking disgusting 

the trio felt forced to me

the leia scenes didnt work for me honestly and they mostly just made me sad

bringing in lando now felt weird 

ive wanted force sensitive finn for a while but didnt feel right

why the fuck have finn want to tell rey something but never do...ugh i hate storytelling like that

they never explained how palps is back...he just is

rey stabbing ben felt odd to me. i loved the moment when she healed him, and i know technically her anger and darkside was coming out and she acted on instinct...nevermind that even before leia called out to him ben coudnt follow thru with the killing blow. 

....i’m sure i’ll think of more as i get angrier 

anyways over all...id be lying if moments didnt make me laugh or smile...if i didn’t feel a sense of nostalgia and enjoyment for 80% of this movie. The thing is that even with so much of it being enjoyable to me it still felt void. An action movie, with new characters, a confusing plot and very minimal emotional depth.

The emotion hinged soooo much on Adam or me. The biggest reason for that aside from that fact that Ben Solo is one of my all time favorite characters, is that the things Rey is dealing with in the film are directly related to her being a palpatine...and i HATE THAT. Like straight up wanna fling it into the sun. 

Rey never needed to be related to a force royal bloodline. She should have been allowed to remain strong because she was just strong. Kylo’s equal in every way, not because she was the granddaughter of a sith which btw you can’t inherit force powers. Retconing something so touching and unique from TLJ was just...fucking idiotic. All to please the loud but small misogynistic fandom that thought a woman couldnt be that strong on her own so she must be related to someone

The biggest thing....tho is killing Ben. it felt so unnecessary and just...i feel so betrayed. The interviews leading up to the film got my hopes up that i was worried for nothing. I always thought they’d kill him, because cinema seems to not know what to do with characters has tragic as him without just killing him in the end. we already got a redemption = death plotline in this franchise...why couldnt we get a redemption = life instead??? My friend who doesnt even like sw that much...tros was actually the 2nd sw fim she’s ever seen...thought it was unnecessary as well and agrees with me a lot about my feelings despite not having the same intense emotional attachment to him as me. She for a moment thought they’d be together at the end but nope. Its just...pointless to me now, the sacrifices han, luke, and leia made to reach Ben are for nothing. Their deaths...pointless...Ben means so fucking much to me. I’ve never felt such an intense emotional bond with a character before so im just hurting so fucking much right now.

Rey taking the name Skywalker isnt hopeful or cute its a slap in the face honestly...and it’s just weird! 

The last Skywalker died loved and held by the woman he loved and that is beautiful to me. He died happy and a hero thats a balm at least...but to not let him be the one to kill palpatine...after everything EVERYTHING he put him and his family thru was another just fuck...i wanted justice for him and he just got thrown away

Ultimately...Ben and Rey are soulmates and their force bond was severed. Palpatine didnt take that from them because he couldnt have...again not how the force works....but JJ used that bond to be a battery???? the fuck...but ultimately hes forcing Rey to live the rest of her days with a gaping wound in her soul. a wound unable to be filled and will be with her for the rest of her life...thats so fucking tragic to me. you give rey someone who is her equal, who understands her, and you take him from her and force her to be alone for the rest of her life?? and we are supposed to not see that as a tragedy? Her being fineishness at the end of the film seemed like direction from either the writing or in the moment, but just further proves he didnt bother to even understand the lore he was using. Force bonds were considered i quess legends in the current SW canon but Rian brought it back...so it’s back. and well

  "A bond between two living beings is not something easily broken. It is not a choice… it is like breaking a feeling. Like turning away from the Force. To break a bond, your feelings would have to change, or one of you would have to die—but even then, the bond wouldn't go away, it would simply… it would simply be empty, a wound."―Master Zez-Kai Ell[src]

and .... the only way to break it was to turn away from the Force, as Surik did on Malachor V. So basically it all came down to creating a wound in the Force”

sooo yeah...im pissed i’d give this movie a 1 1/2 out of 5 

thank you for those who have read my rantings! I hope at least some of this made sense

[hansoloschubbybrother]

My Opinion On The Last Jedi...For What It’s Worth

Having just watched The Last Jedi again and having seen way too many YouTube videos from people who hated the movie, I just had to write down my thoughts on it because I disagree with so many of the things that people hated about it.

It wasn’t perfect but, on the whole, I still think it is a great movie, mostly because of the choices made regarding the story arcs for the main characters.

But before I get into that though, I’m going to confirm some of the things where I can agree with the haters.  Firstly, Mary Poppins Leia.  It’s a nice idea that, by being blown into space, Leia’s survival instinct kicks in and enables her to use the force in a way she hadn’t before but I thought it looked awful and by just not having her blown into space in the first place would have been better.  The moment with Kylo Ren deciding not to shoot would have been more poignant and instead of Holdo being needed, Leia could have remained in charge and Admiiral Ackbar could have been the one to sacrifice himself by using light speed to obliterate the First Order fleet, giving him the noble death such a character deserved.

Just on that whole using light speed as a weapon thing, I’ve listened to people using it as another reason to put down the film, saying that if it was a plausible weapon it would have been used already so having it in TLJ doesn’t make sense.  Rian Johnson or someone had a cool idea that looked great in the movie and if other people involved in previous movies had thought of the idea then I’m sure they would have used it too.  It was a great moment in the film and people need to stop trying to find reasons to dislike the movie that aren’t there.

Next up is some of the humour.  Whilst I enjoyed some it, overall it felt a little out of place in a good Star Wars movie and harked back more to the prequels.  It may have been an attempt to appeal to children, but I felt the same way about Luke milking that animal and going fishing and the way BB-8 is used. In the original trilogy, R2-D2 would never actually ride a AT-ST, he may have found a way to control something by interfacing with a computer terminal but not actually driven something himself. This step toward children’s comedy was just one of the reasons I mostly disliked the prequel trilogy and wasn’t necessary here either.  The original trilogy didn’t have that and it didn’t stop those films from becoming an obsession for most children at the time.

My final gripe about TLJ is the over arching story of the slow chase.  Not only does it seem silly that the First Order would need to wait to destroy them, it created the need for the whole Canto Bight scene.  I enjoyed Finn and Rose’s scenes when they were on Snoke’s ship and I also enjoyed DJ as a character, but they needed to find a better way to make that all play out.  I really enjoyed the film’s opening battle with the dreadnought and the end battle on Crait but the story they created to get them from one place to the next was very underwhelming.

In spite of these issues, I still really enjoyed the film and that was mostly because of how they developed the story of each of the main characters.  On the whole, I thought they got this spot on and is generally where I seem to differ hugely from many of the online posting star wars fanbase.

I will leave Luke until last as I think his treatment in the film is what has caused the most hate from the fanbase, not least from Mark Hamill himself.  Instead, I’ll start with Rey as she is probably the character where there is the most common ground.  Undoubtedly for me, Rey is far too much of a Mary Sue.  As the central character of this new trilogy, this is not great film making.  If they needed her to have these abilities/skills from the get go, they shouldn’t have made her an orphaned desert girl at the start.  The journey they needed her to make was too far, too soon.  I know they are trying to explain how this is possible by saying that she basically downloaded Kylo Ren’s skills but it’s not very believable.  This said, I don’t actually believe that TLJ is what makes her a Mary Sue.  This problem is one created by TFA.  In TLJ, she doesn’t actually advance her skills set a great deal, other than to move a bunch of rocks, which is Jedi Training 1.1. Therefore, this is not a problem with TLJ, it’s the knock on effect from a big failure with TFA…which is not the last time I’ll say that.

We then have the issue of Rey’s parents, the source of much speculation between the two films.  I mentioned in a post I wrote after the film came out that I’m glad that her parents are nobodies.  Star Wars is a vast galaxy, why does she have to be some blood relative of an existing character.  It would be difficult to realistically explain that she is a relative of one of the key characters from the original trilogy and very unimaginative.  It is far better that her heritage broadens the Star Wars landscape, not enclose it furthermore.  For those that wanted her to be a Kenobi or a Solo or whatever, there is always the possibility that Kylo was lying.  Rian Johnson did, after all, include the mysterious but unresolved scene with Rey and the mirror thing on Ahch-To.  So for me, it was a positive that Rey’s parents were nobodies.

Finally for Rey, there is her connection with Kylo Ren, which brings me to another aside.  Many people are up in arms that Rian Johnson would use the force in a way that they have never seen before but for me this is just ridiculous.  It’s a sci-fi fantasy film.  If you can extend your disbelief in the originals then why not now?  The Jedi’s are supposed to have kept peace for thousands of years and we have only followed a handful for a few years but somehow we have seen the force used to its fullest extent.  Come on now.  You wouldn’t have worried about this as a child, so why now?  It’s totally not important and totally possible.

Anyway, back to Rey and Kylo.  For me, their connection is the most interesting arc of the new trilogy and using the force as a way to further develop this relationship was an important reason as to why I enjoyed the film.  Without that, they would not get the chance to interact as frequently as they do, thus removing important character development.  Many people, have said that it is not realistic that they would feel some kind of connection after knowing each other for such a short space of time but I see it completely differently.  Maybe it’s linked to personal experiences when it comes to relationships but, to me, it is perfectly plausible that two people with so much in common and who both share the same insecurities would feel an immediate connection.  They are in the same position as each other just on different sides of the force.  It’s natural to feel drawn to someone who is going through a similar experience to yourself, so that you don’t feel alone and for support.  For me, their relationship is an intriguing way to consider the force and how idea of light and dark sides exist.

This leads us nicely onto Kylo Ren.  Many people disliked the fact that in TFA he was basically a power brat.  For me, I was immediately drawn to this idea that we are seeing the proper development of the main bad guy.  His journey in this trilogy is much more what I was hoping to see for Anakin’s journey in the prequel trilogy.  Unfortunately, in the prequels, we a got a few brattish comments and then he basically became a full on bad guy after a short conversation with Palpatine/Sidious.  Kylo Ren’s character development is far more considered than Anakin’s.  He is a powerful brat but, especially because Adam Driver is as good an actor as Hayden Christensen is bad, you can understand why. You can also see that has not completely turned to the dark side, that it isn’t a switch.  This is developed even further in TLJ and, as I said before, I have enjoyed his development and how his character has mirrored Rey.  Kylo Ren has become my second favourite character in the Star Wars universe after his father.  I enjoyed how he first appears to be a Darth Vader clone, evening looking up to his Grandfather, but then falls way short.  I enjoyed the line TLJ when Snoke reminds him of this and tells him to remove his helmet.  I suppose some people don’t want to see their bad guy go through some dark coming of age story but I think it makes it much more interesting.

It is the same reason why I thoroughly enjoyed that Rian Johnson just killed off Snoke.  No back story, no big bad, just everything opposite to what people might have been expecting.  For me he was Sidious 2.0.  A powerful bad guy who we thought was going to be defeated at the end of the third film. To me he was unoriginal and another reason why TFA was described as a love letter to the original trilogy.  He felt very “Star Wars” but that was it.  People felt short changed after Snoke’s back story was ignored and became insignificant but thought it was exactly the right decision.  He played his part and moved aside for Kylo Ren to become the main bad guy for the second half of the trilogy.  On the subject of his back story, I just don’t get this obsession with needing to know everything about every character’s back story.  We never got that in the original trilogy.  We didn’t get told a single thing about Darth Sidious.  He was just the powerful bad guy that ruled the Empire.  We didn’t need to know more and we didn’t care.  That we got to learn more via the prequel films was great but it wasn’t a vital part of the story that was missing from the original films. This is the same with a whole host of other characters from Jabba, Boba Fett, Lando and even Han and Chewie.  Why do people now suggest that the new films lack characterisation or some shit because we don’t know the back story of every character?  It’s just not necessary.

Poe was another character whose story arc has been criticised.  When I first watch TLJ, I also thought that having Leia and Holdo hold back their plan from him seemed like a stupid decision but this felt more and more reasonable with each watch.  In order to avoid him being just another boring hero pilot character that destroys lots of enemy ships and always survives, Rian Johnson clearly wanted him to have some kind of journey to help develop his character.  It makes total sense to me that a hero pilot would have an ego that is too big and gets in the way of strong leadership decisions, so Rian Johnson develops this through the film, from Poe unnecessarily sacrificing lives and ships to destroy the dreadnought at the start, to his demotion and subsequent exclusion from leadership decision and then redemption at the end by choosing to pull the Resistance fighters back when they’re being picked off easily on Crait.  I can’t help but think that having two women leaders decide not to let the male hero pilot in on the plan goes against male sensibilities in this situation.  He’s the hero, the man and, in all previous eras, would be the one who knows what the right thing to do is.  The truth is, that if it were two male leaders and a female hero pilot who was denied knowledge of the plan, we probably wouldn’t bat an eye-lid.  Is it feminist politics unnecessarily introduced to Star Wars?  I don’t think so.  It’s not forced down our throats, just used to help develop what could easily become a boring character.

The final character I’ll focus on before Luke is Finn.  As mentioned before, I enjoyed his scenes on Snoke’s ship with Rose and Captain Phasma but really didn’t like how they got him there.  It’s a shame that it made his character seem marginalised.  The only part I did enjoy was how DJ made him question his defection from the First Order and whether there is a good or a bad side in war.  This is quite deep stuff for a Star Wars film and quite political but I liked that they asked these questions and it seemed fitting that Finn’s character be the one to contemplate these ideas.  Again, it’s a shame they couldn’t have found a better way to do it, that made him more integral to the story.

Finally, we come to Luke. More than anything else, it’s people’s comments about Luke that get me shouting at my screen.  Maybe it is because I was never drawn to Luke as my favourite character as a child but, for some reason, I just don’t see things the same way as all the haters.  For me, Luke’s story through TLJ needed to follow on from what we were told in TFA, in a manner that is both realistic to how you might think someone would react having been through that experience and also realistic to how Luke, the character, would react.

So, what were we told in TFA?  We learnt that Luke is in hiding and has cut himself off completely from his family and friends as a result of the part he played in the failure of his Jedi Academy and turning his nephew into Kylo Ren.

This leads me to the first of the things that annoy me about some of the arguments laid at the door of TLJ and Rian Johnson.  People claim that Luke would never abandon his friends and cowardly hide away and cut himself off from everything.  This idea is played out in TLJ but this story was clearly set in motion in TFA.  If people can’t believe Luke would act in this way then be angry at JJ Abrams because it was his idea.  Rian Johnson continued Luke’s story from this situation because it’s the only place he could have started from.

Next is to decide whether Luke’s reaction to what has happened is a realistic way for someone to respond.  This is obviously subjective but his failings have led to the creation of a potential new Sith Lord, the death of many young fledgling Jedis, the estrangement of his nephew from his family and the break up of his sister’s marriage to his best friend.  This is quite a heavy burden bare, considering this is on top of how someone would naturally feel after failing so badly.  Imagine someone is revered as a hero around the galaxy, a new Jedi Knight to help bring peace.  Your self-esteem would be sky high.  You would be pretty happy with how your life is panning out. It is clearly absolutely plausible that someone could react to what happened the way Luke does in TLJ.  If people were happy to believe Luke’s set up in TFA, then they have to accept that someone could react the way Luke does. I believe that this is a far more likely way that someone would react than to remain positive and not question your beliefs and the part they played in what happened.

Therefore the question is whether Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and hero of the galaxy, would react this way.  Clearly many fans and Mark Hamill say he wouldn’t.  I just don’t see how they can come to this conclusion based on his actions in the original trilogy.  The main argument I hear is that he was a great Jedi who saw the good in Darth Vader and defeated Sidious.  This just doesn’t stack up I’m afraid.  How do we know Luke is a great Jedi?  He was only taught by Yoda for a little while and clearly never finished his training. In fact, choosing to be so loyal to his friends was against his Jedi training.  Additionally, he beat Darth Vader, not by being a great Jedi but by turning to the dark side and using anger to fuel his fight with him.  Vader threatened Leia and he threw anything Jedi out the window and got plain mad.  This made him a hero but certainly not some grand Jedi.  Then we come to Sidious.  Luke didn’t defeat Sidious at all.  Seeing the good in Vader pulled him back from killing his father but he was about to be killed by Sidious.  It was Vader/Anakin who killed Sidious.  So, Luke was a hero, a bastian of hope but he was not some infallible human or a Jedi dedicated to their code.  If anything, he was the first grey Jedi.  For me, the fact that he felt so strongly for his family and friends is a reason why he would have reacted the way he did when he caused it all to go to shit.

People have also suggested that Luke would never think, even for a second, about killing his nephew. Again, I just don’t have this picture of Luke as all things light and good.  He is not so squeaky clean that when faced with the prospect of a new Sidious or Vader and acknowledging that he is not able to control him, that, for a second, he wouldn’t think that right thing to do is kill him.  Everyone has thoughts they shouldn’t have for just a split second.  Again, why is Luke any different?

It seems to me that people who loved Luke in the originals can’t face the idea that he is somehow a flawed human being and a flawed Jedi.  This character that they idolised as a child is actually a human and not some unrealistic hero type.  For me, it gave Luke something interesting to contribute to this trilogy.  Did people who hated it just want Johnson to forget what was set up for him in TFA, something he is criticised for in other areas, and suddenly have Luke forget all about why he was where he was?  Was he supposed to return to the Luke from the original trilogy just because some girl he doesn’t know turns up with his old lightsabre?  That would have been bad film making in my eyes, not good.

Another criticism is that he died a coward.  I just don’t see it that way.  Was it cowardly to hide away? Possibly but, as mentioned, this wasn’t Rian Johnson’s fault and also not an unrealistic way for him to react to what happened. Having been put in this position, you then want Luke to redeem himself and I thought he did that.  As the film progressed, he slowly became his old self. First he saw Chewie, then the falcon and news of Han’s death, he then agreed to help Rey a bit, then he saw R2-D2 who played him Leia’s recording for Obi-Wan and finally Yoda’s force ghost helped him come around.  There was a progression to his arc and, in the end, his actions were both brave and saved the day.  He would have known that using the force to project his image for all that time would lead to his death but that it was necessary to save the rebellion.  His death gave hope, renewed the idea of Luke the idolised hero, and then echoed the death of both Obi-Wan and Yoda, so was more than fitting, especially with the twin suns setting.  I thought it was a great way for him to “die” and not at all cowardly.  He will almost certainly be back as force ghost in IX as well.

As before, anyone moaning that force projection has never been done by a Jedi in any other material, needs to open up their imagination a little.  Also, if Luke is supposed to be such an amazing Jedi then surely he could find ways to use the force that others before him hadn’t.

My final point about Luke, and of this ridiculously long essay about a film, relates to how people have criticised the idea that Luke could ever feel that the Jedi order needed to end, the idea that an order that kept peace for thousands of years could ever need to move on or evolve.  I can’t believe people even say this without thinking about our own history. Religion, the British Empire, slavery, etc have all been institutions used over 100s of years to keep peace and maintain the powerful but there always comes a time when life and people learn and move forward.  They find better ways to live.  The Jedi might have kept peace for 1000s of years but in the recent past, and Luke’s understanding, they have not kept the peace, they have only been one side of a conflict.  Luke would be absolutely right to reflect on his Jedi beliefs and could easily be correct in his new found stance that the Jedi need to end.  He comes round again at the end of the film, when he corrects Kylo that he is not the last Jedi, but in my eyes his questioning of the Jedi order is not only right but interesting and made for a great film.

[spookykingdomstarlight]

Chapters: 5/5 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Lando Calrissian/Luke Skywalker Characters: Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker Additional Tags: Force Ghosts Summary:

Luke searches for meaning, Lando searches for purpose, and an expedition to a possible location for a future Jedi school gets dicey.

Fic rec time again! So I’ve been following this fic since it started posting and it’s finished now and it’s lovely. Long and plotty Lando/Luke. What’s not to love?

Also, Lando and Anakin interacting, which is pretty much worth the price of admission alone.