#background rey x jannah

[xwingsandlaserswords]

Stories from a Secret Garden

Collab with @jinkouuart​ for @codywanweek​ day 6, fairytale! Be sure to check out her amazing companion piece! 

Cross posted on AO3

Rey will be the first to admit that Finn and Poe's kids are great. They're smart, funny, and respectful. They don't fight and they know how to clean up after themselves. Her friends are great dads; that's evident every time she babysits. 

The one problem is bedtime. 

The minute she remotely mentions the b-word, all hell breaks loose. Damrus starts begging for one more round in his game. Shara hides in the cupboard. Leia tries to negotiate. Even Annihea, who is too young to understand a word anyone says, starts wailing. The babysitter is supposed to love bedtime; Rey can't help but detest it. 

Tonight is no different. Damrus sulked as he brushed his teeth. Leia hugged her teddy and demanded a thirty minute delay. She had to drag Shara out of her hiding place. Even Beebee seemed upset with her. Beebee is never upset with anyone.  

"My final offer is twenty more minutes," Leia stated, holding out her hand. 

"Or," Jannah, her co-babysitter for the evening, said, "you can get in bed now and Auntie Rey will tell you a bedtime story." 

It was like those four words flipped a switch. The kids perked up and hurried to their bedrooms. Rey looked at Jannah, stunned. "Why did you say that?!" She whispered, "I can't tell stories for the life of me!" 

Jannah shrugged and continued to rock and feed Annihea. "It always works when I have to watch them." 

Rey put her hands on her hips. "You, my love, are an excellent storyteller. I, on the other hand-"

"Will be fine," Jannah interrupted, "if you can't think of one, use a story from your life. They're only going to be awake for half of it; no need to panic if you aren't the next Emily Dickinson." 

Rey still frowned. "Why can't you do it?" 

"Because this baby is almost asleep and there's no way I'm risking waking her up." Jannah moved the bottle to the table and shooed Rey off to the bedroom. 

The brunette flipped her girlfriend off before calling the kids to Damrus's bedroom. The three sat in the eldest's bed and eagerly waited for their aunt to begin.

Rey sat across from them and smiled awkwardly. "What story do you want to hear?" 

"Princes!" 

"Knights" 

"Dancing!" 

Shara and Leia shouted their ideas one after the other. Damrus simply shrugged. "I like flowers," he mumbled. 

An idea came to Rey's head quickly. "Okay, here goes.

"A long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away…" 

                                                      ♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡

It really doesn't surprise Cody to learn the prince is missing. 

Everyone was frantically preparing for that night's dance. Soon, dignitaries were arriving from all over to meet the king to be. In a few short months, Prince Anakin would formally take his late father's place as monarch of their young country. Cody wasn't concerned: he'd seen the young man grow into a fearless and noble ruler. He didn't have the most conventional way of doing things, but Cody had to admit his methods were effective.

Most agreed that Anakin would settle down and conform to tradition once he was married. Cody thought that was ludicrous; marriage wouldn't change Anakin's foundation. Regardless, a dance was being held with the secondary hope of finding a spouse for the future king. The young man must have hated the idea as much as Cody if he'd been missing since dusk. 

Good luck finding him, Rex, Cody thought to himself. At least my prince isn't missing.

He walked the cobblestone path to a small, secluded place in the Queen's Garden. The sun wouldn't be up for another hour, but the humidity was already uncomfortable. He hated being outside in his formal wear. The armour encasing his legs and right arm made him sweat. The straps on his shoulders made certain movements difficult. The white uniform underneath was thick and stiff. His sword was positioned in an unfamiliar way. Cody understood that it protected and looked better than his usual outfit, but the dance wasn’t for hours! Did he have to wear it now? 

He would only endure this discomfort for one person. That person was currently sitting on a bench and rereading the same book for the fifth time. Cody would never understand why- he already knew all the words by heart. 

Cody was sent to retrieve him for some final inspection, but he couldn't help but take a moment to admire the prince's beauty. The long cape was swept into his lap, creating a pillow for his book. The golden shoulder plates and buttons glistened under the lamp light. The tailor must have modified the suit recently; Cody didn’t recall ever seeing the golden accents on his right leg and left sleeve. He also couldn’t help his slight jealousy: the prince’s outfit looked much more comfortable than his own. 

"If you stand there any longer the birds will mistake you as stone", the prince said, interrupting Cody's thoughts.

He smiled slightly. "I was allowing you to finish."

"Hm, yes," Obi-Wan turned the page of his book, "and I am oblivious to the fact Anakin is currently with the Queen of Naboo."

"Ah, well…" Cody cleared his throat. "The Duke has requested your presence in the ballroom. He would like your opinion on some things."

 Obi-Wan met his gaze, amusement twinkling in his blue eyes. "It is a shame I cannot be found, then."

"Yes, Sir, it is."

They shared a smile before Obi-Wan stood. He put his book in the bench's hidden compartment. How the prince managed to find these hidden places, Cody would never find out. 

He looked back at the Knight and smiled. "Would you care to escort me around the garden before I must see the Duke?"

Cody offered his arm. "It would be an honor, Your Highness."

Obi-Wan took his arm and they began their stroll. It was easy to get lost while surrounded by the beauteous flowers. The path diverged into three different sections: one leading to the castle, one to the stable and the last to the gates. Cody didn't need direction before heading down the path to the gates. 

"The roses are breathtaking this year," Obi-Wan said, breaking their silence. 

Instead of speaking his thoughts, Cody nodded. "Hevy has been working with Ninety-Nine to ensure the garden is ready for the summer. My suspicion is that he wants to show up the Alderanian gardeners."  

Obi-Wan chuckled. "I will never understand their competition." 

"It's a thing between brothers. Cutup did well for King Bail's wedding; Hevy wants to do better for the prince's coronation." Cody replied with a shrug. 

Obi-Wan put a hand on his own and stopped in the centre of the path. "Do you think he's ready?" 

"Oh, I'm sure Hevy is. Ninety-Nine is a great teacher." 

Obi-Wan shook his head fondly. "I have no doubt in that. I meant do you think Anakin is ready? He's still so…" 

"Headstrong?" 

" Young. At his age all I had to do was smile and nod. He is going to be running a country." 

"You did a little more than smile and nod, Your Highness." 

Cody recalled the prince’s marriage with the late Queen of Mandalore. Prince Obi-Wan had just turned seventeen. He proclaimed the union would unite their two countries for years to come. Cody, a teen himself, couldn’t help but feel bad for the elder. For years, it appeared the prince was stuck in a marriage of convenience. 

Later, he learned this was only partially the case. Yes, the marriage was arranged, but Obi-Wan had quickly fallen in love with the Queen. Years later, the couple had a son. Soon after the prince’s birth, King Qui-Gon passed away. Obi-Wan was forced to return to his home country to take over Anakin’s teachings and the role of acting monarch. For Mandalore to maintain its political position, it was agreed the best course of action was to dissolve Prince Obi-Wan and Queen Satine’s union. This was all before the prince had turned twenty-five.

So, no, Obi-Wan did not just "smile and nod" when he was the age of the young prince. 

Obi-Wan continued, "I had years of learning under Father before I was expected to lead, not to mention what I’d learned from Satine. Anakin-" 

"Anakin has known his duty since he was born," Cody interrupted. "He has watched and learned as you acted in the role he was born to take. You fail to give him enough credit, Your Highness. Anakin will be a fearless and noble ruler, just as you taught him." 

It was no secret Obi-Wan was treated unjustly by the former king. As the child of a non-traditional union, Obi-Wan held no place in line for the throne. Qui-Gon still educated him, but all his attention turned to Anakin when he was born. The younger son was the first born to the King and Queen. The throne was his right, not Obi-Wan’s. 

When Qui-Gon passed away, it was agreed that Obi-Wan would temporarily act as monarch. He was to educate his younger brother so one day, when he turned twenty-three, he may take the throne. Several protested this arrangement, arguing that a bastard should have no such power. By the time anyone cared to listen, Obi-Wan's reign was coming to an end. Now their attention is on the king-to-be and his courtship status. 

"I know you do not want to be king," Cody said softly. "But even the moonlight doesn't hide your worry. What is bothering you?" 

"Many things keep me up at night, my dear. You'll have to be more specific." Cody simply tilted his head and waited until the prince sighed. "I know he is ready, but I still feel Anakin is too young for such responsibility. I fear that his and the Queen from Naboo's courtship will be denied. I worry that my son resents me for leaving when I had no choice. I fear…" He looked to the ground for a moment. "I fear that once Anakin ascends to the throne, he will no longer need me." 

Cody gently tilted the prince's head to meet his gaze. "There is no doubt in my mind that he will always need you. You are his brother, his mentor, his beloved friend. He may not need an advisor anymore, but he will always need you." 

Obi-Wan put a hand over the knight's own. "What would I do without you?" 

"Not have a knight to cover your sorry arse." 

Obi-Wan shook his head. He waited a moment more before speaking again. "I've been thinking of moving upstate." 

Cody recoiled slightly in surprise. "Oh?" 

"Yes, once Anakin is crowned and married to Padmé. Nowhere too far: just somewhere to get away from the politics and so-called royal life." 

"Really?" Cody tried not to let his hope build. 

"Yes. I may invite Krokie to stay. It depends how he'd get along with my fiancé, however." 

"Fiancé?" This is the first time he'd heard the word out of the other's mouth. 

"After the coronation I will have no ties to the throne. I will be able to marry whomever I want." Obi-wan smiled cheekily. "Perhaps you've met him; he is in the guard, after all." 

"There are thousands of men in the guard. You must be more specific." 

"Well, this knight is loyal. He is always two steps behind me. Regardless of my rankings and status, he has never feared to speak his mind." Obi-Wan took a step closer. "He is also quite charming. Handsome too, if I say so myself, especially in his formal wear." 

Cody grimaced. He'd almost forgotten about the uncomfortable garments. "He'd only wear them for you, Sir." 

"Soon he may never have to dawn them again." 

"I love you," Cody admitted, tired of the banter that kept them apart. 

Obi-Wan kissed his cheek and pulled him close. "And I you, cyare." 

Soon, dignitaries would be arriving, Rex would arrive with the upset prince, and someone would pull Obi-Wan away for one reason or another. Cody tried to forget about that; right now it was just him, his beloved, and the stars. 

                                                      ♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡

Rey broke out of her story-telling trance and smiled. "The end!" She said gleefully. 

All three children were fast asleep. Rey looked to the door frame and frowned when Jannah laughed. "How long have they been out?" She asked. 

Jannah shrugged. "Leia fell as soon as you said the first sentence, Shara followed after Cody found the prince and Damrus was out not too long ago." Rey sighed before getting up and gathering Shara in her arms. Jannah came in and followed suit with Leia. "You did well," she continued, "I quite enjoyed your story." 

"Oh, that wasn't a story," Rey called as she exited the room. "That was simply the beginnings of my grandfather and his husband." 

… Well, maybe she had taken some creative liberties, but Jannah didn't need to know that. 

[hail-the-supreme-leader-kylo-ren]

TROS TRAILER BREAKDOWN

Here’s a collection of thoughts/things I noticed in the Rise of Skywalker trailer.

We open with Rey ‘Jedi’ training, with the helmet and droid thingo which is a callback to Luke’s training with Obi-Wan: “Stretch out with your feelings!”. But since she’s dropped the helmet, looks like she’s surpassed what Obi-Wan taught Luke, or the training droid has gone crazy. 

This visually parallels the Force cracking the ground between Kylo and Rey on Starkiller Base at the end of TFA. Also Rey has the ‘red string of fate’ tied around her right-hand (which we also saw in the teaser, see below), so this is likely the same sequence of ‘Jedi’ training with Leia in the forest. ALSO related to the ‘string of fate’, there’s a damn rope there in shot running across the valley.

Cool shot, it brings to mind when we were first introduced to Rey, scavenging a Star Destroyer on Jakku in TFA. I’m certain this is the Death Star ruins, because she does have her bag on her, which we know she brings with her to the ruins from the teaser footage (see below), and that also explains why she’s wet! 

[Those last 2 shots are from the first teaser trailer] Note: Rey, Poe and Finn all have bags, and Poe has an injured his arm and has wrapped his scarf around the wound. 

Poe is making a speech to the Resistance, and note he has his left arm injury properly bandaged now (the wrappings are white).

Here’s a shot of the Resistance in a ship or hanger, and they look under attack as blaster fire shoots in the background. Most Resistance folks are running away, but (Dominic Monaghan), Connix, and Rose aren’t retreating but looking on at something horrible unfolding. Rose keeps moving towards what’s upsetting her (probs Finn being hurt less be honest), and it kind of looks like Dominic is calling “Rose” to get her attention and convince her to retreat to safety like everyone else. Also note that the orbaks riders are already there with the Resistance.

Here’s Finn, Poe, and Chewy and it looks like they’re in the same forest that Rey’s training in, so this is probably the Resistance’s new “headquarters/base”. Note that Poe has his injured arm wrapped up in his neck scarf he wore on Pasaana, so he hasn’t given his Resistance speech yet, and both Poe and Finn have their saddle bags.  

She is one angry bean! Also, note no bag. 

Kylo/Ben’s Darcy moment. #imdead

He looks SO sad and serious approaching her. 

He flips his lightsaber up and over slowly, so that the ‘blade’ is facing away from Rey, which to me looks like a “I don’t want to fight you” move. 

I have no idea what this iceberg floating in space is, but its visually EPIC. Note there’s some kind of ‘factory’ on the top left hand part, that is producing steam from lots of pipes. And there’s also some form of ~buildings~ underneath it too with steam also, but on the underside of the berg the structures are made up of cube forms. Is this perhaps where Palpatine’s headquarters is, secretly hidden in the Outer Rim?

Here is Palpatine’s throne, which has the newly created ‘Sith’ symbol on the back of the chair. Also note that there is blue flashing lightning happening in the background of this scene. 

Here are an Imperial Star Destroyer powering up and rising from the icy cold water. Is this on the ice-berg?? This explains where the Imperial fleet came from that we saw in the teaser trailer. There is also blue flashing lightning happening in the background of this too.

I don’t read/view any other SW materials besides the films, so I don’t recognise any these ships except the Falcon but this is obviously the Resistance’s fleet ready and assembled to fight Palpatine’s Imperial Fleet/The First Order.

This is Rey in her bloat/ship going on solo to the Death Star ruins.

Note Rey’s look of concern/disbelief in the background, at what Babu Frik is doing to C-3PO’s memories/system. 

That looks like a droid or person in shiny armour on the right, that captures BB-8′s and Dio’s attention in Babu Frik’s workshop. 

So the gang is in Babu Frik’s workshop all wearing big ass jackets, and Zorii Bliss is there so this obviously take’s place on Kijimi. And Poe is still wearing his scarf, which likely means that they haven’t visited Pasaana yet and he hasn’t been injured yet. 

They cut to this shot, bit this is not Babu Frik’s workshop, this is likely at the Resistance base as you can see the Resistance members in the background are in their beige uniforms, and those rebels/resistance green map/screens are visible too. 

Same with this shot, it’s not the same scene as the workshop. Poe isn’t wearing his scarf and jacket.

Finn, Poe and Chewie are on board a First Order ship. Note the lighting panels look very similar to the ones in the Empire magazine photo of Kylo in the FO hanger (see below). Poe does not have an injured arm, and both him and Poe have their saddle bags on. 

On Pasaana, during the speeder chase, BB-8 cuts into a cylinder of something that leaks yellow dangerous stuff. Also I think Chewie is in the background, so BB-8 is on his speeder.

Rey is then seen throwing it at the following Storm Troopers that are trailing her on another speeder, and the two Jet Troopers in the air. 

Meanwhile on the other speeder, Finn C-3PO and Poe seem to be having a successful time against the Troopers. Note Poe is wearing his scarf, Finn has his saddle bag on, and C-3PO seems okay he’s cheering like Finn.

This ship that is shooting at the First Order X-Wings and Star Destroyer looks very much like the Resistance Y-Wing seen in the lego that has the characters of Poe and Zorii, so one of them could be piloting this. 

Here we see an epic shot of BB-8, Finn, and Jannah leading her people on their orbaks on the side of ... a Star Destroyer?? Note the blue lightning happening in the background and the Imperial Fleet in the sky behind them. 

This is the Emperor’s throne room in the Death Star ruins, so this happens likely before their watery fight outside. Rey still looks pretty angry, with her saber lit, but Kylo/Ben is giving super patient vibes with no saber lit. HE WANTS TO SORT THIS SHIT OUT.

Here’s Finn, with Jannah behind him on the similar Death Star ruins we’ve seen Rey and Kylo fighting on. Looks like Finn is yelling “REY!!!!”, maybe he’s watching their fight ensue. Or maybe she’s being captured again, mirroring TFA. He’s still got his bag on.

Here’s Rey and Kylo destroying (on purpose or accident?) the stand that holds the charred Vader mask. Note Rey has a dagger in her left hand, and it looks to me like Kylo is reaching out with the force for the Vader mask with his left hand. Are the fighting over it, or both wanting to destroy it?

Here Finn and Poe and C-3PO all look very serious, Poe has his gun out. We can assume this is Pasaana because of he’s wearing his scarf, and the cave’s colour/texture looks very much like the rocky formations of Pasaana (see below). The blue light cast over Finn on the left is likely coming from Rey’s lightsaber. This looks to be from the same scene as the image that was shown at D23 (see below). Also Rey, Finn, and Poe all have their bags on them!

Here we get a true sense of how big this epic last star “war” really is. Again there’s more blue lightning in the background. (I don’t understand the science behind how the resistance members are breathing right now, maybe the ships are very low and still within a planet’s atmosphere?) Also I’m not a ship guru, but are they riding on a FO ship? What ever ship it is, it seems to be an ally ship, as not in the same formation as Palps’ Imperial fleet. 

Cue more trademark Palpatine blue lightning flashes. Ben looks SO cut up. He’s also very dirty which reminds me of this D23 photo of him (see below) where he also looks pretty miserable. He definitely looks like he’s stepping up to face something epic (probably Palpatine or Dark Rey) to help save Rey/the day.

Then we get Rey facing Palpatine, and he seems to be in an apparatus that is keeping him alive/helping him hover/stand/whatever he’s doing while he’s intimidating her. She looks so smol. There’s some runes carved on the floor. Also, there’s more blue lightning happening.

Then lastly, we get this shot of Rey, with more blue lightning action. This shot is a little eerie, with the lightsaber reflecting in her iris making her look almost like an AI robot. But then faintly she smiles and it seems genuine.

[lesbianrey]

Consider rose x Connix because they spent the whole movie together and something gay happened in the background with them I think and also Rey x Jannah. Two scavengers, sword woman and archer, loner and leader, force user and force skeptic (though I think Jannah is fs too). Rey also spent her life dreaming of an ocean... add finnpoe as general husbands and you have 3 great relationships in a trilogy they technically had none.

OH....!!!!!!!!!!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Home- Chapter 17 (Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo x F!Oc)

Words: 1,811

Masterlist:

Chapter 16:

Okay, now I'm furious and with a huge bump on my head. If we get out of this alive, I'm going to kill them.

Obviously the two children escaped and now they’re fighting outside, they’re still in the ruins, but if one falls, the sea will swallow them up.

Finn is calling Rey and wants to go with her, but the girl uses force to push him away and before I can get close, a huge wave crashes into the ruins, where they are.

Luckily, they both jumped to another part of the rubble.

“Shit," I have to stop them somehow.

Don’t.

What do you mean no? It is a challenge?

Kiara, this is not your battle, you must walk away.

Yes of course. And let them both continue to fight to the death? I don’t think so.

Please.

Oh, well, if you kindly ask for it…

Kiara.

Stop treating me like a girl! And all these mental games are enough.

You’re right, you always are.

I am silent for a few seconds.

Only I can end this, now I know how to do it, but I cannot allow you to get hurt.

You have a plan?

Yes and you are not in it.

Ben…

I know I will never be able to fix all my mistakes and I know I hurt you, but it will all be over, I promise.

Why does it sound like a farewell?

I want you to know that I have always loved you, always will, my star.

I'm about to answer him, but instead I feel a pressure on my abdomen, a very familiar burning. The wound of a saber.

“Ben!" I fall to my knees.

"Kiara, are you hurt?" Finn runs to my side. I shake my head.

"We must follow them, they–"

"We can't do it, the waves are more dangerous in this area,” Jannah answers.

At that we hear a ship. The three of us look up and see Kylo's ship disappear in the distance.

"That’s Rey," Finn says with a sigh.

My eyes go back to where they were fighting, but the breeze doesn't let me see anything.

"We must go," Jannah whispers.

Behind us the Millenium Falcon slowly lands.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Poe, Finn, Chewbacca and I reached the resistance base. I’m sure we have a lot of emotions combined right now.

"Poe, something’s happened," Says an informant, but we keep walking. "Finn, Kiara–"

"This can't wait," Finn says, stepping forward.

“We’ve gotta see the general.”

“She’s hurt!”

This is enough for us to stop

“Where is she? What happened?”

"We had an attack, she... she is delicate, they’re checking her, no one else can enter.”

"But that’s already happened, on the ship-" Poe is cut off by the lady.

"It's not the same, Poe. Not this time,” Now she looks at me. "She asked us not to let you interfere, Kiara."

Wow, I was just thinking of using the Jedi trick that Rey and I perfected. Hell, Leia always thinks of everything.

"I can't leave her like that" I complain and the lady shakes her head.

"We just have to wait.”

It was true what she said before, a group of armed people guards Leia's door and every time they saw me, they raised their weapons. I just can't stand idly by. But in the end they sent me to a tent. Neither Finn nor Poe came close, I guess everyone needs a moment to think.

"If you continue like this, smoke will come out of your ears," I yelp at hearing a male voice and almost fell out of my bed. I look up and find Han Solo looking at me with his mocking half smile.

I see everywhere as if it were some joke or am I really going crazy.

"I thought you already knew that,” he scoffs again.

“Enough," I groan. “You're not here, you’re..."

"Dead? Quite a lot, but you can still see me, kid.”

After a few seconds I assimilate things well and I tear up, Han's face relaxes.

"It's not fair," I say in a broken voice. Han comes over and sits next to me on the bed.

"Life is not fair, all those years in space showed us that.”

“You're only a memory."

"Your memory, Kiara."

"I couldn't even say goodbye to you.”

He chuckles. "That's because I never left, not really," I look up at him. “I know it’ll sound corny and very much against my principles. But the force… isn't that bad after all.” I laugh lightly.

"I will always be with you, Kiara,” His arm wraps around my shoulders and I feel a chill. It’s not a normal touch, I don’t know how to explain it, but I know that it’s there. "And also with Ben.”

I look at him confused and I can see a sparkle in his eyes.

"Did you talk to him?"

"They have a long way to go, but…” His smile appears, "I can assure you that it will be worth it.”

"What about Leia? I want to help her,” Han gives a long sigh.

“If I learned anything from my wife, it's that you really have to leave her and wait. She knows what she does.”

"But I-"

"I know, but you can't do anything, for now."

I wince.

"You remind me a lot of her, wanting to take command of everything, but what you've been up to lately has surprised me."

"Now what did I do?"

“You'll know when your time is. You did an excellent job helping Ben, he's back.”

"I feel like I can do more, fight more…”

"You will have your moment," I scoff.

"I miss you, Han.”

"Me too, Kid. You were always my favorite.”

We both laugh and I close my eyes for a moment to continue feeling his presence, but when I open them, he’s gone.

I know his visit was for more than my feelings and nostalgia, he is still with me, as is Luke. Although all this was short, I cannot ask for anything more, in each lesson or scolding Han had with me, I had difficulty with positive words and when I did, I had to make a joke to balance it, over time I realized the little things what he was doing to show his affection and I was understanding.

I sigh and drop onto the mattress, waiting for my next move. I have no idea what to do and something tells me I just have to wait a little longer.

Which was not that long.

"Kiara, we have to talk to you,” say Finn and Poe entering my tent.

“Aw, you’re already coordinated. Adorable,” I say, sitting up and watching them both blush a little.

"We have news.”

"I listen.”

"The little droid we found has important information about Exegol.”

"And?" The three of us left my tent and walked across the grounds.

"D-O is his name, He was going to Exegol with Ochi of Bestoon," continues Finn.

"Why was Ochi going there?"

“To bring a Little girl he was supossed to take from Jakku to the Emperor. Wanted her alive.”

I stop and face them.

"Well shit.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

We quickly connected the D-O database to the computers with Rose's help to try to decipher the Exegol information, but it was all too confusing. Until C3PO arrives at our side along with R2D2 to inform us of a signal from Luke's X-Wing... which I know very well.

The signal gives us the exact location of the planet, apparently Rey has managed to find the ship and now helps us find it. After that, all the members of the resistance prepare for the future battle.

Poe and Finn are responsible for reporting on the entire plan as soon as we arrive, we know that the Final Order will be surrounding us, but if everything goes according to plan, we will succeed.

Some people begin to doubt since the enemy fleet is larger than ours, but Chewie and Lando (when I saw him I knew that we had a little more advantage) will be in charge of giving a warning to the entire galaxy.

"First Order wins by making us think we're alone," says Poe.

“We’re not alone,” I continue “Good people will fight if we lead them,” I nod towards my friends.

"Leia never gave up," says Finn, "and neither will we. We're gonna show them we're not afraid.”

With a little hope, our fighters prepare, tuning the ships, fixing the necessary details. Everything is in motion. Chewie and I take care of preparing the Falcon and help with some things from Finn until a voice stops me.

Kiara.

It’s a different voice, softer.

Leia?

I'm so proud of you darling.

Don't tell me it's another Jedi trick and that you–

I'm still here, Kiara, I must stay, I must recover my strength, but I didn't want you to leave without first thanking you for all you have done for me and my family.

Sounds like farewell, this runs in the family…

Good luck on your mission, I'm sure you will do a great job, my girl.

I sigh and feel a lump in my throat.

I will not cry.

I'll be back, Leia. I promise.

I know you’ll do.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a few seconds. I can do it. Soon this will all be over and maybe I can have what I always wanted.

Home.

I open my eyes and walk slowly through the darkness, only small rays can illuminate for a few minutes. I look around and feel a chill, this whole place screams danger, but I don’t let fear invade me and I concentrate to follow the steps that Rey followed a few moments ago.

Exegol's interior is made of stone and in some parts lethal peaks protrude. My legs tremble when I hear many voices and I know that I am closer to my friend.

I pause as I see Rey in front of a machine holding Palpatine, while the visions of millions of black robes are in the background. I feel Rey's fear and concern.

"All you want is for me to hate, but I won’t. Not even you,” I hear Rey's voice more closely.

I hide behind some rocks.

"Weak. Like your parents…”

"My parents were strong. They saved me from you.”

"Your master Luke Skywalker, was saved by his father. The only family you have here is me.”

Suddenly the roof is slowly opening to reveal how the enemy fleet is fighting against ours.

Clearly we are losing, the others have not answered the call for help and obviously, Palpatine rejoices at the sight and tries to make a deal with Rey to save our allies. Rey looks back at him and nods.

“Good."

This is not good.

Taglist:

@oopsiedoopsie23​

@blackheartedspider​

@fandomshit6000

@thewinterschildren178​78

[kannuckthewolf]

Feelings, Rants, and Thoughts on The Rise Of Skywalker

Wow. What a mind-numbing movie, and it’s not for the good either. I have a lot to say about this clusterfuck of a movie and so...

⚠️WARNING⚠️

‼️SPOILERS AHEAD‼️

This is going to be in no particular order by the way.

Here we go:

• So, Rey’s Palpatine’s granddaughter through his son who looks like Tom Hardy (it could actually be Tom Hardy, but I didn’t stay long after the credits to find out). Her dad looked to be late thirties/early forties which means he had to be born around the time of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which is confusing because he would be around the same age of Poe Dameron if that was the case.

• Also, Jodi Comer from Killing Eve was Rey’s mom.

• Speaking of Poe, I thought he was originally part of the New Republic Defense Fleet and squad leader for Rapier Squadron. When in Sith’s Hell was he a spice runner?!? I’m so confused.

• Zorii Bliss looked cool and did very little in the movie besides show up and help when the plot demanded it. Also, Poe and her have some romantic connection between them that doesn’t go anywhere.

• It seemed to be heavily implied Finn was Force-sensitive in the same way Leia was in the OT, so does Finn have the potential to be a Jedi in future? Hopefully.

• Also, is it just me or was Jannah seemingly attracted to Finn? Like I don’t know what was going on. Maybe their First Order stormtrooper background allowed a bond to form quicker between them. People thought there was flirting, but I don’t know.

• Rose Tico appeared sparsely over the course of the movie, showed up more towards the final battle. She still seems hung-up over Finn.

• Hux shows up for the first two acts then dies. He was the spy in the First Order who told the Resistance about Palpatine’s Sith Fleet and Exegol. He did it all because he hates Kylo Ren. Alligent General Pryde kills him.

• Pryde is the Tarkin of this film.

• Lando showed up to helpful to the story and I would summarize his entire being on this story as a nostalgia pawn and supporting/minor character. Poor Billy Dee Williams.

• Leia dies! That shouldn’t surprise anyway seeing as Carrie Fisher (Rest In Peace) died in real life. Her already recorded dialogue and digital appearance tells me they had to write dialogue around her. She dies because Rey and Kylo were fighting on the wreckage of the 2nd Death Star and she felt NOW OF ALL TIMES was the time to reach her son. WTF?!?!

• Chewie reacting to learning about Leia’s death made me tear-up, I cannot lie about that.

• Han Solo appears as an actual ghost or figment of Kylo’s imagination. He and Kylo have a scene on the 2nd Death Star that echoes the scene from TFA on the catwalk.

• Luke shows up to tell Rey she has everything she needs and is so special. I wish I was kidding. He admits that he and Leia knew she was a Palpatine, tells Rey that she should take Leia’s lightsaber, and lifts his old X-Wing out of the water for her to use, which also has his old helmet in it.

• Here’s my summary of the dialogue in this movie:

- Joke/Clever remark

- Exposition

- Rey, you special

• Rey... where to beginning? First of all, Rey has the ability to heal people which was never established prior to this film. She gets angry a lot in this film which is in-character for her. Yes, I know it stated that Leia’s training Rey and all that, but we still get little scenes of her training. We get her mediating at the beginning and then go run a training course where she loses control and has a vision there. That’s all the training we see her do in this movie and she’s so overpowered it drives me nuts. I guess her being a Palpatine is the explanation now for her power.

• By the way, when she and Palpatine met on Exegol, I was having flashbacks to Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi. I hope I’m not alone in this because I was like we’ve seen this before, twice in this trilogy. Snoke did the whole monologue what Kylo will supposedly do in TLJ and now Palpatine was doing the same with Rey in TROS.

• Rey nearly killing Kylo as he sensed the death of his mother made me lose respect for her because what’s wrong with you? After you stab him was when you finally felt Leia’s death? WTF?!?

• Rey killing Palpatine bothered me. Not because he’s dead (hopefully he stays dead this time). It just felt like everything Anakin/Vader did was made moot by Palpatine coming back and Rey properly killing him. Anakin was and still is the Chosen One. George Lucas said it himself that even when Anakin became Vader, he was still the Chosen One and he brought balance to the Force by killing himself and the Emperor.

• Kylo Ren... Ben Solo... God, Adam Driver is a great actor. Too bad his character is someone I don’t particularly care about. Kylo says he wants Rey to join him, but has no problem trying to hit her with his TIE Dagger (whatever) and almost finishing her off on the 2nd Death Star.

• When reverts back to Ben Solo, they start getting comedic with his character and I guess that was... fine. I don’t know. They tried to make him Han Solo-ish and it didn’t really work for me.

• People laughed at my theater when he and Rey kissed then he died like immediately after that. Like, JJ, I don’t like Reylo, but I would’ve at least applauded you for actually pushing Reylo to canon if you went all the way instead of giving the Reylos their kiss then killing him. It was so stupid.

• At the end of the movie, Rey goes to Tatooine with the Falcon and BB-8 and winds up at the Lars’ Homestead. It’s where she combines Luke and Leia’s lightsabers (I guess) to make her own orange-bladed lightsaber. Then, some old woman asks who she is and Rey says she’s Rey. The woman’s says Rey who? That’s when Rey turns her head to see the Force Ghosts of Luke and Leia and then declares she’s Rey Skywalker. Cue to the Twin Suns.

My head hurts after watching this movie. I felt nothing during it. C-3PO was the only funny thing about this movie. I probably haven’t fully processed this movie in full yet.

This is a depressing end to the Skywalker Saga because all the blood-related Skywalkers are dead and Rey, who is a Palpatine, has given herself the surname Skywalker.

Goddamnit all...

[themattress]

TROS’ Backtracks on TLJ

Critics are up in arms about them, but I’d like to look them over and analyze them:

Luke throws away his lightsaber -> Luke catches his lightsaber

This was a joke that both TLJ lovers and haters should be able to enjoy: lovers can enjoy the parallel and how it shows Luke’s change of heart, while haters can enjoy the reversal and “a Jedi weapon should be treated with more respect” line throwing shade on Rian Johnson.

Luke is cynical and jaded about the Jedi -> Luke embraces the Jedi again

I am baffled by this complaint. Did any of these critics actually understand what even happened in TLJ?  Luke already realized he was wrong to be so cynical and jaded about the Jedi and about being a legend following his talk with Yoda, which is why he did his Force astral projection at the end and proudly declared that he “will not be the last Jedi”, the opposite of his earlier “It’s time for the Jedi to end” mantra. It’s character development.

Luke sunk his X-Wing underwater -> Luke raises his X-Wing from the water

Yes, and it was beautiful. Whether Rian Johnson meant to or not, by placing Luke’s X-Wing underwater he had just placed Chekhov’s Gun on the table. It needed to go off, Luke had to do accomplish the thing he couldn’t in The Empire Strikes Back because now he believed.

Luke's lightsaber is broken -> Luke's lightsaber is repaired

Rey took the pieces with her so that she could repair it in TLJ.

Leia's Force flight is not explained -> Leia had undergone Jedi training

Good. That turns her Force flight into foreshadowing. Also, apparently the original plan in TLJ was that Leia, not Rey, was to be “the last Jedi” following Luke, but that plan couldn’t happen once Carrie Fisher died, so this was the only way to achieve any sort of “Jedi Leia” at all.

Rose is a major character -> Rose is a background character

This one’s a touchy issue: I believe Rose’s reduced role was inevitable given the sheer amount of characters that needed to be juggled, plus J.J Abrams’ desire to give Rey, Finn and Poe a big adventure as a trio. On the other hand, I feel like she probably had more substantial material that was filmed and was left on the cutting room floor, and that’s troubling since we have no way of knowing if this done in good faith or to appease toxic fans.

Finn/Rose is hinted as a couple -> Finn/Jannah is hinted as a couple

I think that was done because the writing was on the wall in TLJ that John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran have no romantic chemistry on screen, and they work a lot better as just friends. Although honestly, I’m not sure we’re meant to totally buy into Finn/Jannah either. Finn is pretty much a bachelor the whole way through and he has the best chemistry with Poe.

Poe develops into a leader -> Poe develops into a leader again

I think this is similar to a compliant people made in TLJ that Finn backtracked on his development in TFA about not running away from fighting. Except that was not true: in TFA Finn stopped running away but was only willing to fight for and with Rey, the Resistance meant nothing to him. TLJ was about him learning to shift his primary allegiance to the Resistance, to a cause rather than a person. Likewise, Poe developed into a leader in TLJ, but his arc in TROS is about him developing as a leader; there’s a difference between the two. Becoming a leader as Poe did in TLJ isn’t going to erase all personality flaws and hurdles to overcome any more than Luke becoming a Jedi did for him. He still has much to learn.

Snoke was never given an origin -> Snoke is given an origin

Good. TFA and even TLJ built Snoke up as a character who needed to have at least one line of dialogue explaining who he was and where he came from, there needed to be something.

Snoke is dead and Kylo Ren is the new Big Bad -> Palpatine's back as the Big Bad

I’m sorry, but there was no fucking way that the majority of the audience was going to buy Kylo Ren as the Big Bad. He was humiliatingly defeated by Rey in TFA and then humiliatingly defeated by Luke in TLJ. I liked him as the new Supreme Leader and all, but we needed a truly formidable Big Bad to be the Final Boss, and Palpatine was the best one we could get.

Kylo Ren broke his mask -> Kylo Ren repairs his mask

Because he was going back on the field with the Knights of Ren, who all wear masks.

The Knights of Ren aren't there -> The Knights of Ren are here

Yeah, their presence is really just perfunctory. Nothing bad, nothing special.

Kylo Ren slides towards irredeemability -> Kylo Ren is redeemed 

Either route would have been valid, and you’re entitled to your preference. With that said, I feel his redemption was handled exceptionally well, adding such emotional weight to the film.

Hux is set to have a major role going forward -> Hux is killed and replaced by Pryde

Similar to Kylo Ren as the Big Bad, Hux was no longer believable as a threat due to being made a fool of too often, so he was replaced by a more competent villain. With that said, killing him off so abruptly was lame. He had potential as an uneasy ally to the heroes.

Rey's parents were nobodies -> Rey's parents were somebodies

Yeah, just like how TFA blatantly foreshadowed that they were somebody of some kind of significance to the Force. And Kylo Ren only saw a brief snippet of them lacking context, and we didn’t even see it; we only had his word for it. How exactly is this change any worse than changing “Vader killed Luke’s father” to “Vader IS Luke’s father”; or “Leia is Luke’s love interest” to “Leia is Luke’s twin sister”; or all the blatant retcons done in the Prequels?

Also, the Skywalker Saga’s first two trilogies were about Anakin and Luke respectively, so why should the final one heavily center around someone who has no connection them whatsoever? Her being a Palpatine, since Palpatine is the one who created Anakin, is a brilliant way to tie things together and helps give the Skywalker Saga some cohesiveness.

Rey being OP has no explanation -> Rey being OP is explained

Good. “Anyone can use the Force” should not mean that anyone should just hit the Force jackpot from birth and be automatically more powerful than most other people who can use the Force, even those who have been using it longer. And the Force being stronger in some families has nothing to do with bloodlines or midichlorians, it’s a spiritual thing that was literally mentioned in the OT (”the Force is strong in my family”.) Plus, Rey as a Palpatine is what gives the resolution where she chooses to become a Skywalker its power: the spirit is stronger than blood, and who you are biologically related to doesn’t dictate your destiny.

Rey doesn't need much training -> Rey undergoes full training

Idk, I think part of the original “Leia is the Last Jedi” thing was always going to involve her completing Rey’s. I mean, it just seems like a natural f3miNeest ajehnDA! thing to do.

Random Force-sensitive children may be important -> They're not

They can be important in future stories beyond the Skywalker Saga. It was not their time yet.

The conflict might move beyond the familiar -> The conflict is a familiar one

For one thing, this is the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, so no fucking shit the conflict needs to be familiar. It’s a curtain call for the film series as it’s been since 1977, this “fanservice” should be expected. And for another thing, TLJ didn’t move things back toward the familiar? Rey stayed good, Kylo Ren stayed evil, the Jedi were not going to end, we were back in a Rebellion vs. Empire situation. If Rian Johnson really wanted to move things beyond the familiar in the following movie, he did a piss-poor job setting that up. 

"Kill the past" is the message -> "Honor and celebrate the past" is the message

I’ve brought this up before, but it needs to be said again: that was NOT the message of TLJ!!! I cannot believe how many people who both love and hate TLJ got this so wrong! The guy saying this is Kylo Ren, the fucking villain. He’s not supposed to be listened to! Rey doesn’t, and while Luke starts out with a similar mindset, he changes his views following the scene he has with Yoda, he realizes that the past, even the ugly parts of it, is valuable and should not be killed, it should be remembered and learned from. Rian Johnson’s message was a debate as to whether Star Wars’ past was all that good and that maybe it’s worn out its welcome and should be torn down so that the franchise can start anew, and the answer he concluded that debate with was no, that should not happen, the way forward is to always keep the past in mind but never get stuck in it: instead build from it and seek to improve from it. As the saying goes, “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it”, and “killing the past” is like saying “don’t learn from history”. It’s a bad message from a bad person, so don’t believe it.

And again, it’s the last installment of the Skywalker Saga. Honoring and celebrating all that’s come before is kind of a requisite for big finales like this; just look at Avengers: Endgame!

That’s everything, unless “explaining why the Holdo Manuever won’t work again” is also something that critics are complaining about, and if it is actually is then, well, I give up.

[achingforthestars]

some things i liked and did not like about the rise of skywalker ***spoilers***

now having seen it and having had the time to sit and talk and collect my thoughts, i have a list of the things i didn’t enjoy and, amongst all this negativity, the things i did. 

contains spoilers of course!

things i did not enjoy:

finding out about palpatine off-screen

so stupid! this was one of the things i disliked the most because of what a cheap, lazy writing choice it was. i wanted to see the characters have to put it together, have to work for it and then when facing palpatine, have it be on their terms instead of his? instead we get him announcing his presence and kylo meeting him in the first 3 minutes. 

treatment of characters

i made a post about this. just so much wrong, so many deserved better, most of all rose, rey and ben. a lot of the characters were treated as afterthoughts. 

implied finn having feelings for rey

dumb. overdone. tired.

knights of ren

felt cheap and underused. learned nothing about them, it was something i was waiting 3 movies for and the final chance to show them was wasted. 

the resistance is back to perfect! 

i understand that this was due to the timeskip, which i guess was necessary, but i felt that it was kind of cheap to not show any sort of struggle. a year has passed and BAM they’re right where they were in TFA. the losses faced in TLJ very much felt erased. 

the pacing

awful. just awful. things felt too rushed or too slow pretty much through the entire movie. 

the visuals

much less well-done than TLJ. the use of colour and light was much weaker in my opinion, the locations more generic, and the imagery lacking. that said, palpatine’s lair was so fittingly creepy, and the reylo moment on kijimi/kylo’s ship with the black and white juxtaposition - those were nice. 

irrelevant or convenient plot elements

zorii bliss was not a necessary character. chewie was conveniently on another transport. d-0, while super cute and funny, was also just a deus ex machina. hux being a spy - could have been entirely removed but oh, finn and poe need to get off the ship somehow. rey’s return to ahch-to was rushed, her interactions with luke could have been on any other planet. she did not need to pilot luke’s x-wing specifically but they forced it. lando - lando was basically a consolation prize for chewie with little relevance. pryde literally could have been replaced with hux and made for a more interesting narrative. 

snoke clones

what the fuck was that?

the fleet

somehow the entirety of the fleet was magically stored, 100% operational and with fully functioning crew, under the crust of some random planet? and every single one of those ships has planet-destroying capabilities? 

the other “fleet”

where the fuck were these allies in TLJ, huh? i get that it’s the last stand and maybe more people showed up because of that but damn. 

leia’s absence was felt

i understand this was not in the control of the creators but truly, i felt like there was a gaping hole where leia should have been. 

the Trio

i enjoyed their banter but it felt inconsistent through the movie. rey and poe didn’t get along one minute, the next they’re fine. if this had been introduced and pushed in previous films, it would have made more sense and felt less hollow. as it stands, it felt like a forced attempt to call back the OT vibes that just fell flat.

rey palpatine

ugh. let’s reduce strength to a bloodline and in the process ignore what was set up in the last movie. yay! also, palpatine fucked someone at some point and that is utterly disgusting. 

rey skywalker

felt forced. she did not need to take the skywalker name.

kylo’s transition to ben.

before anyone jumps on me, i want to clarify that specifically i am referring to the speed of his transition from ruthless supreme leader to full on ben. i loved his redemption, i just wish i could have seen him do it more gradually and with a bit more struggle? he just goes from “i will find you rey and turn you dark like me” to “i am ben solo” so quickly that i found it a bit jarring? 

palpatine’s constantly changing plans. 

kill rey, no wait, take the throne rey, no wait, let me kill you both and take the throne myself. pick one you crusty fuck. 

force dyad

honestly why establish it if you’re going to ignore it in about 2 seconds?

inadequate expression of star wars main themes

the ideas of hope, of redemption, of love and of family - all central to star wars, and none properly delivered on. 

ben’s death. 

heartbreaking. he deserved love and happiness and a life. that’s all i can say about that. however, in a transition to things i liked: if he had to die, i’m really pleased that it was with an act of love. he chose to make a sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, for his soulmate. i don’t like that he had to die, but i can find peace in the way it happened - on his terms, on the light side, in the arms of the woman he loved.

things i did enjoy (a lot actually):

babu frik

was so fucking funny. that is all. 

c-3po.

also surprisingly funny for a droid i’m usually annoyed by?

jannah

i surprisingly really loved her character. i thought she might be an addition like zorii bliss, but i enjoyed naomi ackie’s acting a lot. she felt much more genuine. however i do think there was a missed opportunity in working on her and finn’s shared background as ex-stromtroopers.

force healing abilities

i thought were super cool! i really liked healing the serpent, it was a nice subversion of the expectation to be trapped and outrunning a monster through a labyrinth of corridors. loved how when rey healed kylo, she healed his scar too. just also it’s always nice to see new things being done with the force.

force fighting. 

it was lovely to see force techniques being used in the lightsaber battles (as compared, for instance, to the throne room fight of TLJ); and also to see force-aided physical feats like jumps that don’t look like naruto-style ninja backflips. definitely felt more real.

poe’s moment in the x-wing

taking in the damage and destruction all around him. i felt the weight he was feeling in that moment.

rey picking herself off the ground

after palpatine drains her and kylo’s life force. i loved her moment of peace and centering, gathering the strength to do what comes next. while i didn’t love the voices of the previous jedi, it made for a lovely sequence of “i’m not done with you yet” and showcases her strength.

the moment with ben and han

gorgeous scene echoing han and ben’s last interaction in TFA. just an amazing callback with such different emotion and the final turning of ben back to the light. i really loved this bit.

adam driver’s acting performance in general.

absolutely the best, the most amazing, performance of the film. if nothing else, the switch from kylo to ben, despite having zero dialogue, should speak for itself. he managed to convey a completely different personality through his mannerisms, physicality and visuals alone. oh, and the death/ressurrection scene! the absolute desperation with which he crawls to the woman he loves. the infinite depth of emotion adam manages to transmit through only his eyes and his facial expressiveness. he deserves an oscar nomination for this in my opinion. 

reylo kiss

i don’t even need to explain this. the smile. the pure happiness, the tender touch, the moment of just love and joy and letting themselves be together, finally. i could not have asked for more of a beautiful first kiss. we’re ignoring what comes after. 

overall impression

tros fell flat. i lived for ben’s redemption and reylo, but this was not enough to make up for the mistreatment of most of the characters, the poorly coordinated and frankly rushed structure, and most importantly, the failure to deliver on its themes of family and hope. i felt like it tried to do too much and achieved too little. 

[hauntedfalcon]

Happy Christmas, Star Wars Is Over

that was a thing I saw with my own two eyes 

“we have to End the Saga! ... but also leave ourselves opportunities to make more money” you really clearly cannot have it both ways 

there was... so much about that movie that I would have been able to tolerate... if the trio had been together the whole time 

but the instant Rey left the group, it became a terrible movie where stupid things happened for no reason, and there was nothing good going on to balance that out 

the trio interactions were, give or take one uppity Poe, everything I wanted 

they were so good together 

literally I yearned for two whole movies and I finally got what I wanted for a little while 

anyway as for the rest of the movie, you know the trolley problem? 

they had a couple options for tracks to follow after TFA and TLJ 

and instead they just... steered the trolley off a cliff 

what hit me hardest was the moments where Rey had the helmet on in Luke’s X-wing, and the moment where she sleds down into the Lars homestead 

cute moments! recognizable moments! music cues that helped us recognize them 

but the actual takeaway was that she had received absolutely no development since the first time we saw her put on an X-wing pilot’s helmet or sled down a sand hill 

none of them did 

when people kept asking her in TFA who she was, I never took that to mean “tell us your family name” or “which extremely powerful being gave you your powers” but what is your identity and how do you find it for yourself 

which is a theme that could have been explored if they weren’t busy driving the fucking trolley off the cliff 

what did any of it really mean? what’s the plan for the future? in thirty years does it all start over again when another Sith lord turns out to still be debatably alive? 

also everybody saying “we have to do this or the General died for nothing” like by that point? she had already? died? for nothing??? 

she projected herself through space to distract her shitty son long enough for Rey to stab him! that was the point!!! 

that was the death of her son that she foresaw at the end of her Jedi path! coming to terms with that and making it happen herself for the good of the galaxy could have been a thing!!!

all of these plot points are stupid, but there was a coherent way to connect them, and the movie just kept trying to contradict itself instead

disrespectful honestly 

keeping her corpse under a sheet until Kyle faded away was extremely disrespectful 

also not a fan of how they tried to build scenes around the scraps of extra Carrie Fisher footage they had to work with 

I maintain Leia should have been the one to do the jump at the end of TLJ, and then we wouldn’t have had to deal with this bullshit 

Rey should have been a Kenobi

Rey Should Have Been A Kenobi 

but moreover, Rey Should Have Been Able to Forge Her Own Identity Independently of a Lineage

which would have done wonders for the trilogy and put her on equal footing with Finn’s character concept 

if, let’s say, Palpatine was not a thing in this movie, and let’s say she ended up in Transport Tug of War with Kyle anyway, and she still accidentally Force-lightninged the ship and had to deal with that afterward? 

that would have been interesting! grappling with your own capacity for doing evil is interesting! “you have a capacity for doing evil because of your wrinkly granddad” is NOT 

imagine the conversation in the ship after the lightning where Finn says he gets it and Rey says he doesn’t, and Finn says yes, yes he does, because everyone has the capacity to cause harm regardless of the scale of it, but it’s the choosing that counts 

imagine if these characters got to say things to each other that actually mattered to the plot 

what a waste of Jodie Comer

why hire Jodie Comer and only put her onscreen for five seconds 

that’s like hiring Thandie Newton and killing her off after twenty minutes, or hiring Ming-Na Wen and killing her off after one epis--oh wait 

I was listening hard during the Every Jedi Talks At Once bit and it did my heart good to hear Qui-Gon again 

no Chirrut Îmwe though. see? disrespectful 

my beloved Finn 

my beloved Finn 

my beloved Finn is finally confirmed Force sensitive, and there is no time to build on that afterward 

my beloved Finn meets more people who broke First Order conditioning and refused to fire on civilians, who escaped and lived free, and we get a thirty-second conversation about it and it’s never mentioned again 

that should have been the A-plot 

my beloved Finn held. Poe’s. hand. and it was clearly a thing they do regularly 

my beloved Finn was so competent 

my beloved Finn was a GENERAL 

and that’s it. that’s all I’ll ever get of my beloved Finn 

Lucasfilm is not going to mention him ever again 

I am getting emotional now, back to things that made me angry  

what the fuck are they trying to pull with Poe 

a spice runner? a spice runner??? 

no nope no you’re not making him the Han of the sequel trilogy Abrams 

and then the whiplash of him being given command and wishing he had Leia’s guidance again and getting guidance from Lando instead and immediately acting on it? there’s actual Poe! right there! 

I don’t understand who it is they keep trying to convince us he is, but the real Poe always comes through in the end, thank you Oscar Isaac 

the hug 

the hug and the focus on Finn holding both of them and crying with relief 

I sure did miss Rose 

introducing just enough new characters for everyone to have a ~safe~ potential love interest was so transparent

there’ll be a comic book or a novel set decades down the line where some background character will be mentioned in passing as Finn and Jannah’s kid, and that will be that 

that being said now that we have Jannah you can pry her from my cold dead hands 

the fact that they didn’t even talk about why Lando left the fight??? 

the leaks I read were from an earlier cut of the movie where Lando told them he had a young child who was kidnapped by the First Order

he didn’t get to say anything about it this time??? it was implied to have been Jannah but they didn’t even get that much? they want us to believe he’s been hanging out on One Party Every Forty-Two Years Planet just because?????

hyperspace gets more and more watered down with every consecutive movie

it’s to the point where even the purrgils don’t seem that special anymore

the disposability of all the ships was almost as irritating as all the planet-hopping 

ships, just like lightsabers, are entirely renewable resources, there is one around every corner  

my “the Force is really just the ghosts of dead Jedi intervening for the living” theory is still going strong, especially now that Luke could lift his X-wing 

Yoda had to do it in ESB because Yoda had more dead Jedi friends  than Luke :) 

I legit squealed “WEDGE” when he appeared for 1.9 seconds

afterwards my best friend was like “what’s a Wedge? was it that Mike Pence guy” and I lost it 

Leia’s lightsaber was so pretty but I’m sad the blade wasn’t red in this canon 

Disney hopes you enjoyed 1.5 seconds of lesbian representation in a Star Wars movie, now never ask for anything again 

Dominic Monaghan was also there for some reason 

I’m running out of things to say, everything else in this movie was too fucking stupid to even talk about 

especially That 

we’re not talking about That 

at least we’ll always have The Mandalorian (pending any fuckery in the finale) 

[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.

[poesreyofsunshine]

My Thoughts on TROS

I’ve been wanting to write my thoughts on episode ix but i’ve been busy and i’ve gotten the chance to watch the film 3 times now.

SPOILERS AHEAD

(pretty long post)

I’m going to start with what I LOVED/ENJOYED 

Chewie/ Poe/ Finn Falcon- I loved this scene so much well any scenes with Poe and Finn because of the beautiful natural chemistry John and Oscar have with each other. I loved how they both know wookie now. The light speed skip was fun getting to see other planets.

Rey Meditating - My baby girl and her floating rocks, she’s come so far. I love how BB-8 keeps her company during her training. He really loves his Mom. Leia is her master (cried when she called her Master). I love the relationship between Leia and Rey.

Rey Training- Rey doing the training course was EVERYTHING!!!! Her saying that she will earn Luke’s saber like she wants to be worthy to earn it. Never underestimate a droid. (My heart)

Falcon Arriving-  Rey reading her Jedi Text Books she’s so cute and i loved how the other resistance members their reaction to the Falcon coming back and the pilot letting her know the Falcon is here and how she runs to go see her friends.  ugghhh my heart.

THE TRIO !!!!!!- OMG THE BICKERING WITH POE AND REY WOW WE’VE BEEN BLESSED. TO TALLY HANLEIA VIBES. YOU’RE A DIFFICULT MAN. FINN BEING THE MIDDLE MAN. JOHN BOYEGA HAS THE BEST FACIAL EXPRESSIONS EVER !!! OBVIOUSLY THEY’VE BEEN BICKERING SINCE AFTER TLJ AND I WOULD PAY BIG MONEY TO SEE THAT. OK SO BACK TO THE TRIO  IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY THAT THIS IS THE ONLY DAM MOVIE WE SEE THEM AS A TRIO. I’VE BEEN EXPECTING THIS TRIO SINCE TFA WAS ANNOUNCE AND WELL TLJ (don’t even get me started on that movie) YOU CAN FEEL  THAT TIME HAS GONE BY.

PASAANA- MORE TRIO SCENES YES YES YES !!! I loved loved how Poe was getting down to business right away and Rey is taking everything in, she’s like a little kid. That scene with her and the child was so sweet. LANDO’S INTRODUCTION i’ve missed him. THE CHASE SCENE, POE DOING THAT SWERVE THING UGGGHHHHH the NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A DROID  part and Rey’s little smile.

CAVE SCENE- Poe catching Rey and calling her name out first (MY DAMEREY SHIPPER HEART) C-3PO “You didn’t say my name sir but i’m alright” . Poe being jealous of Finn & Rey. “You mean when poe’s not here?” Poe using his flashlight after Rey takes out her lightsaber such a cute funny moment and again Finn’s face. They find the dagger and Rey healing the snake was cool because we can see how advanced she is with her jedi training so that was cool to see.

CHEWIE’S FAKE DEATH- the force lightning (i predicted that in one of my awful fan fics i wrote after tfa so jj i’m waiting for my credit) 

FOR CHEWIE/ D-O- I loved the hand holding scene. Finn is so comfortable with human touch and Poe not wanting to hold his hand then C-3PO joins in and Poe looks annoyed. D-O Rey being so comforting to that droid because she knows she’s been hurt before and now she’s with great people in her life. ugghhh my heart.

KIJIMI/ BABU FRIK- TRIO WEARING THE JACKETS ALONGSIDE C-3PO we stan. When Poe warned Zori and her crew and Rey just kicked everyone’s ass. Zori and Rey moment i loved. Zori sacrificing something that was going to get her out so Poe can help his friends was a really sweet moment. BABU FRIK i’m obsessed. Rey fixing D-O’s wheel so it won’t squeak again. C-3PO sacrificing his memory so he can help Rey. I was so happy how much C-3PO was used in this film.

RESCUING CHEWIE- AGAIN MORE TRIO. JJ REALLY SAID TRIO RIGHTS. I really enjoyed the scenes with Poe Finn and Chewie.

REY IN KYLO’S QUARTERS- I hate reylo but i have to admit this is one of the strongest scenes of these two. Daisy’s acting ugghhhh *chef’s kiss* It was so good. I liked how she was trying to ignore him while grabbing chewie’s belongings.

JANNAH- I had a feeling she was First Order, i loved how she reacted when Finn told her who he was. He really inspired other stormtroopers to leave the First Order. This is the Finn content we’ve been missing.

DARK REY: That was really cool. The teeth. SCARY. I wanted more of her lightsaber duel with Dark Rey.

REY KILLS KYLO- That moment was so powerful to me. She killed this character who has been tormenting the Galaxy. She was scared of what she did she left like Luke did.

BEN/ HAN SOLO: I Know part that hit me uggghhhh i loved that we got to see Ben reborn and at this moment I knew that he was going to sacrifice himself because of what Han said about Leia always fighting for the cause. t was a beautiful moment.

LEIA’S DEATH: Rey & Kylo feeling her die. Well Ben lost his mother and Rey lost a mentor so that was nicely done. CHEWIE’S REACTION TO HER DEATH wow that broke my heart into a million little pieces. I couldn’t stop sobbing.

GENERALS POE/ FINN: Poe asking Lando for advice and Poe asking Finn to command with him and they’re both generals. It was such a cute moment. 

REY/LUKE & LUKE/LEIA JEDI TRAINING: THIS HAD TO BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES. The Luke that we saw was the Luke I wanted in TLJ. From him giving her Leia’s saber and the small scene we got to see of Luke and Leia training like can we get a series of that PLEASE. Luke using the force to lift his x-wing from the water. His little smirk when he finished, yes YODA would be proud.

REY FLYING LUKE’S X-WING: She gets to fly an x-wing after watching them from jakku and putting on the helmet. Rey deserves the world.

BEN SOLO- I WANTED MORE BEN SOLO AND WE WERE ROBBED. He’s such an interesting character and I wish we would’ve seen more of Ben Solo before TFA. He’s very much like Han. The shooting without looking and when Rey passed him the lightsaber through their bond i was shook. That scene was so powerful. She finally got to see Ben who she’s been seeing in this visions that we never see. Ben & Rey teaming up was awesome. That fighting sequence against the knights of ren was amazing choreography.

THERE ARE MORE OF US/ WEDGE ANTILLES- That moment of poe losing hope it broke my heart we had that moment when he was talking to Zori about he feels like no one is going to help them. He’s apologizing to everyone uggghhhhh and then Lando to the rescue with the main star wars theme song playing in the background. *chef’s kiss* and wedge antilles’s small cameo my heart. I almost fell out of my seat lol i got way too excited.

REY’s & BEN’s DEATHS- I know people hated the fact that she killed Palpatine but I really liked that scene. She used both Skywalker sabers to defeat Palpatine and she had all the jedi with her. It made sense for her to die in that moment. Because Ben rose and wow that scene when he was holding her again this is Adam’s best acting. Again i’m not a reylo but i felt his pain. He finally did what Anakin never did he saved someone he loved and that was so significant. His death made sense to me. Honestly they wouldn’t have accepted him in the resistance because of everything kylo did. He sacrificed himself do Rey can carry the Skywalker legacy. Leia giving him the strength he needed to save Rey was beautiful and both disappearing. He gets to reunite with his family as Ben Solo.

FINN FEELING REY’S DEATH-

TRIO REUNION- Poe and Finn reunion was so cute the way Poe reacted to seeing Poe. Both of them looking for Rey and her looking for both of them.THAT FUCKING HUG WAS EVERYTHING BETWEEN THE 3 OF THEM. FINN BEING IN THE MIDDLE AND HIM CRYING MADE ME SO EMOTIONAL. THERE EACH OTHER’S FAMILY. POE AND REY HAND HOLDING.

TATOOINE- Full Circle, ending where it started was a perfect ending. Her coming in the Falcon and sliding down the sand just how she did in TFA. She buried the skywalker sabers in luke’s home. And ending with her saying she’s Rey Skywalker like yes you are going to carry that legacy and her walking with BB-8 and the twin suns was just in my opinion a good ending. NO SHE DID NOT END UP ALONE. SHE HAS FINN, POE, CHEWIE, ROSE, LANDO, C-3PO, D-O, SHE HAS A FAMILY. THAT WAS SOMETHING SHE HAD TO DO ON HER OWN !!!!!!!!

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE .....

OPENING- With Kylo i hated the way it was show the slow motion it was just unecessary. Exogol was really scary I liked where Palpatine was it just seemed very Sith like. There wasn’t really a clear explanation on how he survived (maybe i missed it) but like how has been alive?????? It would’ve been great to see little clues of Palpatine since TFA. That delivery line of Poe “Somehow Palpatine is back...” was just like okay he’s back accepted without an explanation. Where did all the people for the final order come from. They’ve been inside those star destroyers all this time ?

REY LOOKING AT ? - Um maybe im dumb but what was Rey staring at before they left to Pasaana and Poe asked her what is it and she said nothing.... like okay what was it???? PLEASE SOMEONE EXPLAIN !!!

ROSE?/ CONNIX/ SNAP/ DOMINIC MONAGHAN/ BLACK SQUADRON - So Rose was given like 3 lines um JJ WTF her character deserved better and what about that scene with Rose & Rey why was it cut ???? Same with Connix i really enjoy her character and was disappointed there was barely any Connix. SNAP DYING HURTED SO MUCH. I am a huge fan of the Aftermath series and knowing Wedge was there ugghhhh im so mad he had to die. Dominic Monaghan was a pointless character who had more lines than Rose why was he in this movies he served NO PURPOSE AT ALL !!! AND WHERE WAS BLACK SQUADRON ???????????????????

Lando/ Luke- We should’ve seen them together in TLJ or TFA trying to find the wavefinder or whatever it’s called. Or at least Luke mention it to Rey that he was in search for something or he’s heard rumors about palpatine being alive and he went looking for clues. Why did Luke want to go find it ? Was this after Ben became Kylo Ren? 

REY’S NECKLACE- WHY ARE REYLOS ROMANTICISING KYLO YANKING THE NECKLACE OUT OF REY ???? THAT’S NOT ROMANTIC OR WHATEVER THAT’S LIKE WHAT ABUSERS DO .... 

Finn’s Secret- Poe is one of his best friends and also Rey like why does he want to hide that from Poe. I know Poe would understand and if we were given a scene with the trio and Finn explaining him being force sensitive that would’ve been *chef’s kiss* they would be so supportive and Finn deserves the world.

Chewie’s Fake Death- Rey had a way stronger reaction to his death than Poe and Finn they were kind of like we have to go and didn’t really comfort Rey or seemed afraid or confused it was just kind of ignored like let’s go... idk it was very weird to me the way it was handled.

KNIGHTS OF REN- I WAS SO EXCITED TO FINALLY SEE THEM ACTION TO REALIZE AGAIN THEY WERE A WASTE. I WISH WE COULD’VE SEEN MORE OF THEM. DISAPPOINTED.

FINN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND REY- Rey was starting to piss me off when all Finn was trying to do was understand her and for her to talk to him. The fact that Finn’s story arc in this movie is all about Rey and him chasing her all the time. FINN DESERVED A BETTER ARC

POE BEING A DRUG DEALER- I’M BEYOND PISSED OFF ABOUT THIS !!! YOU’RE TELLING ME THE SON OF 2 REBELS BECAME A DRUG DEALER. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS UGLY BACKSTORY. HE WAS ON A SECRET MISSION THAT WOULD’VE MADE MORE SENSE !!!!!!

FINN NOT WANTING TO SHARE HIS SECRET YET AGAIN- FINN NOT TRUSTING POE ABOUT HIM BEING FORCE SENSITIVE LIKE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE THAT’S HIS BEST FRIEND !!!!

HUX BEING THE SPY/ DEATH- THIS WOULD’VE BEEN MORE SHOCKING IF THIS WAS BUILD UP SINCE TFA BECAUSE HONESTLY I WASN’T SHOCKED WHEN IT WAS REVEALED. HIS DEATH WOULD’VE MADE MORE SENSE.

FINN/POE ARGUMENT- I get it friends fight but that was kind of low. “You’re not Leia”

FINN RUNNING AFTER REY- YET AGAIN, I know he cares but at this point I was over it.

KYLO/ REY DUEL- It started off good but it became too long I became bored.

ALL THE JEDI- FORCE GHOSTS OF ALL THE JEDI WOULD’VE MADE THIS SCENE MUCH MUCH BETTER. I loved hearing the voices but just think of the impact if we would’ve seen the past jedi.

REYLO KISS- Maybe because i’m anti-reylo but that kiss seemed very awkward and not in the right place. It felt like it wasn’t needed. That’s my 2 cents.

FORCE GHOSTS AT THE END- I know we only get Luke & Leia but what about Anakin and Ben they are also Skywalkers. If all of them would’ve been looking at Rey when she said Rey Skywalker. SHE IS CARRYING ON THEIR LEGACY !!!

Anyways it seems like I was more of a fan of seeing the trio together and that’s that. A lot of unanswered questions that they completely ignored. Like Maz how did she have Anakin’s lightsaber?????? Who gave it to her???? It was never touched again. They left so many plotholes in this sequel trilogy. 

[solerey]

Some initial TROS thoughts, unpolished and rambling. Feel free to come chatter.

So...”Rey Palpatine” is kind of stupid, but also kind of the best option that they had available to them short of just...doing to TLJ the same thing that TLJ did to TFA and just kicking it apart and tossing the pieces out the window. And I guess JJ and the other folks working on this movie weren’t that level of asshole, okay.

How the hell does Poe being a spice smuggler fit his backstory? Was it a Resistance mission and he didn’t want to spill those beans in front of everybody mid-mission? Because seriously, how the hell is that supposed to fit even time-wise into the history we’ve been given, let alone personality-wise? Was JJ just trying real hard to make Poe “this movie’s Han” or something? Because I hate to break it to him but Poe is the new trio’s Leia and he’s the one who established that fact so he really should have remembered it okay. I mean...at least we do have the canon of Han Solo being a spice smuggler, so we can kind of say it’s not as bad of a Bad Racist Stereotype as it would be to pull the equivalent shit in our world...but at the same time, smuggling space under the Empire is rather different from smuggling spice under the New Republic, which is not a horrible totalitarian government...and for that matter, Poe had nice loving parents and a good childhood, unlike Han, so how the hell did he even end up starting that in the first place? It must have been some kind of undercover mission. It must have. Nothing else makes sense.

OH GODS THAT KISS ASJLK:SGOIWEUGHUAKBN:KNSFN WHYYYYY. I legit let out a noise of involuntary disgust and horror that was some kind of scream-turned-into-a-gurgle that I really, really wish I could duplicate but I don’t even know how I got my throat to issue that sound omg. Made half the theater giggle though whoops. Thank every power in the ‘verse that he died then, at least; if Kylo Ren had not only gotten a “redemption arc” but also lived I don’t know that I could have stomached it...

P.S. “I realized that I’ve been a complete monster and have murdered tons and tons of people for bad reasons and now I feel bad about it, so I’m going to go kill some of my old allies now and then give my lifeforce to someone who’s actually a Good Person so they can survive in my place and improve the galaxy in ways that my shitty whiny evil ass never could” is not the kind of “redemption arc“ that actually turns someone into a good person. Just like with Darth Vader, none of the horrible deeds that Kylo Ren did were erased by the fact that he had a last-minute epiphany and actually killed a few of the right people at the end. He is still a villain -- still a mass-murdering monster. He just managed to do one right thing before he died. He is not Zuko. But gosh, am I looking forward to watching the fandom elevate him to Character Sainthood for that. What is it with people and their inability to enjoy a villain without painting him as some Innocent Woobie? In my day, we could look at our Magnetos and our Doctor Dooms and say “oh yes he’s such an interesting character, I love reading about him, definitely a favorite!” without also convincing ourselves that he was a Good Person who Never Did Anything Wrong Ever...I say, grumbling, from my rocker on the porch of The Fandom Elders.

He’s worse than Kyp Duron and tbh I think Kyp Duron should have gone to jail.

Anyway...I kind of hated the Han scene? And not just because it was part of the “absolve Kylo Ren’s horrific crimes” subplot, but because it just didn’t make sense.

SPEAKING OF...what the hell was up with the “we can teleport objects across massive distances with the Force” nonsense? And people were upset that Leia used the Force to pull herself through vacuum okaaaaay...

Oh Leia. Oh Carrie. At least we got something. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who gave us that; to everyone who salvaged that. Thank you.

Also I really really wish that someone writing for the New Canon would go back to watch the first movie and figure out how hyperspace works. Ughhhh...

Not a lot of Rose in this movie, alas -- I guess she was “the Lando” of the films, huh? Shows up in the second movie and is awesome (really the only good thing to come out of TLJ wasn’t she?) but then gets pulled back to supporting-character role in the third... Hopefully the new expanded universe will do a better job of keeping her around and engaged in the further stories than the original EU did with Lando!

Even less Connix, which is sad. I wonder if it was hard for her, coming back to Star Wars without her mom? Oh Carrie. My princess eternal.

What was the point of the new droid? Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t annoyed by it or anything -- I just didn’t get what he was actually there for? Whatever.

THANK THE FUCKING FORCE THEY DIDN’T KILL CHEWBACCA. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO EVAPORATE RIGHT OUT OF MY SEAT WHEN THAT SHIP BLEW UP.

So I’m guessing “Junior” is a baby Ackbar, right? Too bad they didn’t go with Jesmin.

WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE. WEDGE ANTILLES!!!!

Thank the Force they didn’t kill Wedge, either. (They didn’t, right? I mean, I was watching, but things were kind of chaotic, and I only found out that they’d killed Ackbar in TLJ because they fucking said it afterward, since there had been nothing to indicate he was there before that...but they wouldn’t kill The Survivor, RIGHT?)

Oh man it was so nice to see Lando. I kind of wish he’d been in it more, but at the same time, the bits he was in were so perfect. I hope we get a book about him helping Jannah and the other former stormtroopers tracing their origins.

So real disappointing that we didn’t get to see Finn inspiring any stormtroopers to defect, huh? When they got surrounded on the Star Destroyer, I was so hoping that the stormies were going to suddenly recognize him and lower their blasters...SIGH.

Still, at least Finn is going to be Rey’s first New Jedi Student now, right? Right?

I did really like the group of defecting stormtroopers in general, though. That was excellent. They make me want to actually read a New Canon book although it’s a shame Aaron Allston isn’t here to write one about them because his style would be a kickass fit for that story, wouldn’t it? Whoever they get, I hope someone writes it.

I’m still torn on whether or not I like that it was Luke who lifted the X-Wing out. I do know that I don’t like the Force Ghosts Can Interact Tangibly With The World idea.

JEDISTORMPILOT hug at the end? HELL YES. That is the only ship I want to see in this movie. Okay no that’s a lie I would have also been delighted with Finn/Poe and happy with Finn/Rey but since they didn’t want to give us anything more than bait-and-switch bullshit in this trilogy, I will just sit back and be thrilled by the lack of (likely heteronormative) Mono Ship Resolution and enjoy the fact that the closest we come to actual canon is this charming polyship. Even though all these of these characters deserved BETTER than the weird quasi-love triangle/whatever the fuck was going on there...and we’re not talking about the kiss again ever yuck.

I really wish they hadn’t opened Zorii Bliss’s helmet. UGH.

Speaking of: disappointed that Phasma didn’t come back again lol. Could have gotten her ass kicked again by Finn...only better this time, like the deleted version.

Also why are all of the main characters humans? Come on man...the Resistance is not the Empire (or the First Order, or Final Order, or whatever they’re calling themselves; it’s just a fresh coat of paint on the same old xenophobia). There should be way more non-humans in the ensemble scenes...and a few more aliens as full characters. Someday we’re going to get someone who actually understands the world building of this universe to write a SW movie... You couldn’t even paint Zorii Bliss a different color? Ugh. All we really got was Chewie and a few background extras/jokes/one-liners...and Chewie was pretty underutilized too, imo.

SPEAKING OF, WHY WASN’T THIS MOVIE DEDICATED TO PETER MAYHEW?

[ewokofknowledge]

Character Profiles- Finn

here’s what we know

Name: Finn, FN-2187, General Finn

Gender: Male

Age: Mid 20′s

Description: Dark skin, Dark hair, Brown eyes. Note: Finn is seen most of the time wearing the jacket Poe gifted him. (See second photo) In tfa Finn wears the trooper uniform for 10 minutes then sheds it because Jakku is hot, why not? He keeps Poe’s jacket for the rest of the film and tlj and gets some resistance fatigues. Tros shows us a vest which is nice and a complete costume change including purple blue pants. Finn’s hair changes in the 3rd film as depicited below.

Home world: Unknown

Parents: Unknown

Status: Alive

Relationships:

Rey: (Best Friend, Ally)

Kylo: (Enemy) They fought like one time.

Poe Dameron: (Best Friend, FN's ride out of the FO, Ally, Co-General)

BB8: (helpful droid from the resistance, Doesn’t really care for Finn at first)

Captain Phasma: (Finn's supervisor, Enemy)

Han Solo: (The resistance general, Ally)

Chewie: (Han’s Friend and Copilot, Ally)

Leia Organa: (The General, Ally)

Rose Tico: (Love interest?, Friend, Ally)

Jannah: (New acquaintance, Ally)

Background: Taken from his home world at birth, Finn has only known the First Order his whole life. Finn was proficient in simulation training and was one of the best stormtroopers of his batch. While on his first mission he decides that he needs to leave, that he doesn't want to kill for the First Order. Enter Poe Dameron. Finn soon finds a place in the Resistance that is trying to take down the menacing First Order. Finn eventually becomes Co-General of the first order.

Weapons: Blaster Pistol, Blaster Rifle from Han, FO Blaster Rifle

Hobbies: Running and Gunning

Memorable Quotes:

“We’ll use the force!” (tfa, to Han)

“Let’s go chrome dome.” (tlj, to Phasma)

“I was raised to fight, for the first time I had something to fight for.” (tlj, to Rose)

“I can do this. I can do this.” (tfa, to himself while gunning the Falcon)

“That’s one hell of a pilot.” (tfa, to himself talking about a rebel x-wing pilot)

“Poe Dameron, spice runner. Runner of spice.” (tros, to Poe)

[mandaloriangf]

It’s not the worst ship in the world but I fuvking hate zorii x rey. It’s just reysma 2.0 they had exactly one interaction but people want to jump on the first white femslash ship they can despite the 15+ year age difference and having been about reyrose or excited for jannahrey before. Yeah they didn’t interact in the movie but Rey and rose are close friends now. If you’d rather ship rose and Jannah fine but don’t push it to the background for helmet hair and serial-killer kisser.

i didnt even know people shipped that but like rose and jannah really are right there......