#it’s tragic we never got to see him go from stormtrooper to full on Jedi fighting against the corrupt system he was raised as a part of

[thevoidremembers]

Looking back on it Finn really should have been the protagonist in the Star Wars sequel trilogy

[ponett]

i was finally able to see the bad star war that everyone said was bad. as it turns out, it was bad. here’s a read more post with my thoughts on it so that i don’t spam my twitter with spoiler tweets

for a baseline: i like the original trilogy, but i don’t think any of those movies are perfect. i think the prequels had some good ideas but i were mostly terrible. i love the clone wars (both versions) and rebels. while i admit that tfa was extremely similar to a new hope, i thought it was executed great and had a wonderful new cast that showed a ton of promise. i liked rogue one, although i found its first act really sloppy. and i have some quibbles about tlj, but it had an incredibly strong vision and actual themes, and i’d consider it my favorite in the series

i’m exactly the kind of person who was always going to hate the rise of skywalker, because it’s basically a bad fanfic written by someone who didn’t like tlj and wanted to “fix” the story. like that bizarre story treatment jenny nicholson read for this movie. the bad one. it was like that

it wasn’t all bad i guess. here are the small things i liked:

some of the new environments were cool. there was cool imagery and practical effects work

i appreciated that the moon of endor where the death star wreckage was wasn’t just the one with the ewoks, and thought the vibe there was cool

zorii bliss’s armor was really cool

the image of the fleet of star destroyers all lined up was striking

i liked that the ghost showed up for the final battle

i liked that ahsoka was one of the jedi voices rey heard, even though that kind of implies that ahsoka is, uh... dead?

while extremely fucking trite and dumb, i’ll admit the closing scene on tatooine got me. yeah, rey has no real connection to this place and it’s just a nostalgic throwback, but i’m a sucker for full circle endings like that

uh. that’s about it

this movie kicks off in the middle of an action scene and just kind of keeps jumping to new setpieces nonstop until it’s over. new characters and locations get introduced and then moved past in the blink of an eye. there’s no time to let any of it sink in. it feels like abrams crammed two movies worth of shit into this one to make up for the the fact that some people didn’t like tlj, and as a result none of it resonates. i just felt so empty throughout most of the film. events were happening on screen and none of it mattered

thoughts about individual elements:

LEIA

putting the scenes with the recycled footage of carrie fisher at the beginning of the film completely took me out of it. it was so obvious that she wasn’t really responding to what was being said, and the conversations had just been built around the limited leia lines they could use

the dialogue scenes with leia felt like a space ghost interview

C-3PO

was in this movie a lot for some reason? i guess abrams wanted to make up for how little c-3po there was in the last two movies. they tried to have that emotional moment where his memory is wiped, but then they just turned his memory loss into a big joke?? and then he got most of his memories back anyway

in general, the movie is afraid to let the audience be uncomfortable for long. 3po’s memory loss. the supposed deaths of chewbacca and babu frik, that sort of thing. you’re not allowed to be sad. after tlj so effectively built tension throughout the film and really pushed the heroes to the brink, this is a disappointment

LANDO

is here because he needed to show up, and because it’s a throwback to have him pilot the falcon again. he’s just kind of there with little to do and no arc

FINN, POE, AND ROSE

before the movie came out, i had low expectations. all i really wanted was to get one last fun adventure with the new characters. when i started to hear about the spoilers, my expectations sank even lower. but maybe i would still get this

nah! rose gets like two minutes of screentime because redditors hated her, and finn and poe are barely even characters. they don’t have arcs in this film, they’re just sidekicks on rey’s journey

finn really hurts. prior to tfa’s release, finn was framed as the new star. this was, of course, a bait and switch, as rey was really the new jedi. (finn apparently IS force sensitive according to this one, but hey! we can only have one big jedi hero, so like leia before him, i guess we’ve gotta wait for some EU novel to give finn a lightsaber)

but finn was still a central character in the last two films, and he had so much potential. he was a stormtrooper who defected! that’s something new! that’s interesting! it complicates the black and white morality of the series. but no. that’s been all but abandoned at this point

many have complained about how tfa establishes that basically all the stormtroopers are people who were kidnapped as children and brainwashed by the first order... but then they still have no qualms about gleefully killing them. in the first two movies i was like “yeah, it sucks that they have to kill those guys, but if it’s to prevent genocide, it’s understandable. that’s just war. maybe they’ll touch on it in the last movie.” so in this one, they kept reminding the audience that the stormtroopers were enslaved as children. jannah is even introduced as another stormtrooper who defected like finn. but then... it goes nowhere. finn doesn’t get any first order troops to defect. they don’t care about the other stormtroopers. how many hundreds of thousands of enslaved soldiers did they kill when they blew up those star destroyers

it was nice to see finn and poe take the charge as leaders in the end, but it also feels like they didn’t take the lessons from tlj to heart. the whole point of that story was that one-in-a-million shot heroic suicide missions aren’t worth it, and that they’re more useful to the resistance alive than they are as martyrs. but then in the climax of this film they take like 30 ships to go fight a fleet of a hundred fucking star destroyers

on the subject of that final battle: i thought that the ending of tlj was so powerful. the resistance was decimated, but they still had hope, because they knew there were others out there who could help. people like rey, or the broom boy, who came from nothing but had good hearts. in this one, though, they say that apparently nobody responded to the leia’s call for help in the entire year since the last film. everyone only shows up during the climax after lando’s like “no, but for real guys, we need help”

and i did think that that sequence was cool. and i did like seeing the ghost among the ships. it was fun. the message that fascists like the first order rule by making people feel isolated, and that they’re defeated by realizing that good people are never alone? that was good. i thought that was a strong message. but it’s such a minor footnote on a movie that’s so bad in so many other ways

oh and they made the latino dude a drug dealer. okay. thanks for that

KYLO REN

i hate that they redeemed kylo and i hate the way they did it

yes, him being coerced to turn to the dark side by snoke (who was apparently just a puppet controlled by palpatine all along (UGH)) as a kid was tragic. but that doesn’t excuse his actions. kylo was given infinite second chances throughout the trilogy, and every time he responded with violence. he killed so many people himself, and willingly took part in a fascist regime that killed billions. yes, his story is sad, but he’s not some poor little boy, he’s thirty fucking years old and he vents his trauma by slaughtering innocent people

literally the entire main trio of the original trilogy died because of this asshole. han tried to talk to him in the first movie, and got stabbed and dropped into a pit. luke died astral projecting to face him in tlj. and now leia just kind of arbitrarily died to flip the switch in his brain from bad to good from across the galaxy. it’s literally as simple as that. he doesn’t have a personal journey here. he just stops being evil because his mom made him through the force

like, again. all those enslaved stormtrooper grunts who had been brainwashed since they were kids? gunned down. but giving kylo endless second chances is the most important thing in the world

and then they end the movie by having this creepy abusive stalker genocidal asshole sadboy kiss rey, retroactively framing their dynamic as a romantic one. just, gross as hell. even in this one, for most of the film, all he does is threaten rey and boss her around

i dunno. i thought the first order were interesting as antagonists. yeah, they were just the empire 2.0. but i thought it was appropriate! the idea was that just because palpatine was dead and gone didn’t mean that fascism was gone. there were still hateful people who wanted to rule the galaxy via genocide. like how we still have nazis in the 21st century. except, oops! palpatine was actually alive and pulling the strings the entire time, so now that theme’s out the window. we just have to kill him again FOR REAL this time and now the galaxy will actually be safe

people wondered where the first order would go after snoke died in tlj. but it was so obvious to me? kylo was in charge. kylo was always the most interesting bad guy. just let him call the shots and be the final adversary. but no. that wasn’t good enough. we had to bring back palpatine as the jrpg final boss to have an epic conclusion

REY

oh, poor rey. youtube critics got mad that a girl could be a strong jedi without being related to some other powerful force user from the old movies, so now she’s stuck being a palpatine forever

i will admit, the protagonist of the new movies being related to palpatine but still being a good person in spite of her heritage... that could have been something. but it’s so clearly not what they had in mind from the start, and it spits in the face of the last movie’s themes. it turns out greatness CAN’T come from anywhere. it has to come from one of these select few Special Bloodlines

oh! and this ALSO reframes rey’s parents abandoning her and selling her into slavery as an act of kindness, because they had to hide her from her spooky evil grandpa. so THAT’S fun. (edit: OH! and luke and leia knew about rey the whole time!!! and didn’t go out and look for her!!!!)

it’s just. it’s so bad what they did to rey. i don’t know if i even have much to elaborate on there, everyone’s already said how stupid it is

---

overall, i still wouldn’t say it’s the WORST star wars movie. it’s more watchable than the phantom menace, that’s for damn sure. the actors put in effort. the sets and practical effects are nice. it’s just so... empty

tros possibly feels the closest to how i imagined the new trilogy would be when it was first announced, but in a bad way. a movie built entirely on established ideas of What Star Wars Is with nothing new to bring to the table. it’s like a bad eu novel. just recycled imagery, cameos from characters we already know, palpatine coming back from the dead, that sort of thing. it’s a movie made by committee to appease reddit. it’s nothing

now i gotta use that free trial of disney plus to watch the mandalorian and wash the taste out of my mouth i guess

[servinglemonade]

The Mandalorian Season 2 Review

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 1 AND 2

Hi everyone, it has been a while since The Mandalorian finished up its second season, and to be honest, I kind of miss waking up at 9 AM on Friday to watch this show. Now, I loved season 1 and have watched it multiple times already. I was so excited for season 2 and to see more of Mando/Din and The Child and where their story would go. I never would have thought season 2 would go the way that it did. It was incredible and even better than I thought it would be. This Is The Way. Keep on reading to find out my opinions for every episode this season!

And again, beware... SPOILERS AHEAD

Chapter 9: The Marshal (dir. Jon Favreau)

I enjoyed the first episode back in the world of The Mandalorian. The first thing I noticed about this episode was the run time. Its a 54 minute episode, the longest we have gotten so far. I liked that it was so long, since we had been waiting on the second season for about a year and the episode overall was enjoyable. Being back on Tatooine was great since it is one of my favorite planets in the Star Wars universe. I liked seeing more of the Tusken Raiders and loved that battle scene with the krayt dragon. One thing I loved from that was the change in aspect ratio! When the krayt dragon opened its mouth, the ratio changed to IMAX/full screen. That was amazing and such a good choice for it. It just made it more cinematic. And of course, who can forget that Boba Fett tease at the very end of the episode! Fun fact, I never really liked/enjoyed Boba Fett. In the Original Trilogy, he does not do much, he is just kind of there and then ‘dies’. So I never really got the hype. But, oh, I am going to talk about Boba Fett later. In conclusion, chapter 9 was a nice episode. 

Favorite moments: Mando taking out the krayt dragon like a BOSS, Mando talking with the Tusken Raiders in their language, The Child in his little pouch on Mando’s speeder bike with his ears flapping in the wind.

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 10: The Passenger (dir. Peyton Reed)

This episode was more of a side quest but hey, if it is nice, I do not mind. This is a fun episode but those spiders at the end... They just reminded me of those spiders in Rebels season 2/3 and I HATED those things. However, the action scene was very thrilling. I loved the beginning of the episode, where some guys try to take The Child from Din and he tricks them. The Child running into his arms again and Din messing with the guy that took his jetpack was great. The episode mostly takes place on this ice/snow planet, which I always enjoy in anything Star Wars! This episode also introduced us to Frog Lady, who was a nice addition to the gang.

Favorite moments: Din fixing the Razor Crest and then telling The Child he should help him and the final action scene. 

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 11: The Heiress (dir. Bryce Dallas Howard)

This episode felt like a Clone Wars or Rebels episode and I LOVED IT!!! This was so good. I was quite surprised to see Bo-Katan show up here, she was great and I enjoyed seeing her in live-action. The action scenes, on the boat and on that imperial ship, were especially incredible and really well done, so props to Bryce! There was also an important storyline here regarding Mando and his Creed vs. other Mandalorians. Since we know Bo-Katan and other Mandalorians keep removing their helmet and Din never does, I wondered why. This finally gets adressed here and I loved seeing it unfold and how this storyline kept unfolding as the season went on. And of course, at the end of the episode, we got THE ASHOKA TANO NAME DROP! Confirming that we would be seeing her this season. I am a huge Ahsoka fan and she has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I was excited to say the least.

Favorite moments: Mando crash landing the Razor Crest in the water, Frog Lady reuniting with her husband, Bo-Katan, and Mando telling The Child to stop playing with his food

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 12: The Siege (dir. Carl Weathers)

But before we see Ahsoka, a little detour. However, a short, sweet, and fun detour, directed by none other than Greef Karga himself! Yes, this episode saw the return of season one’s Greef Karga, Cara Dune, and the Mythrol (the blue guy from season 1). Nonetheless, the star of the episode was The Child with his blue cookies haha. The beginning of the episode was so funny with Din trying to tell The Child were to put the wires in and then them eating together. Din even showed a little bit of his face, with The Child trying to take a peek, so adorable. Additionally, I really liked being back on Nevarro and seeing how Greef Karga and Cara cleaned up the town. Once again, the action here was fantastic and Carl Weathers did a great job. The final action scene was amazing and showed how great of a pilot Din is. In this episode, I also really felt the bond between Din and The Child and how much it has grown over time! OMG, almost forgot... We learn more about Moff Gideon wanted with The Child, he used his blood and the midi-chlorians to create what looked like clones?! Crazy, AND they put a tracker on the Razor Crest, which got me very anxious about the next episode.

Favorite moments: The Child and the wires (aka me in Among Us), The Child in school and stealing blue space macarons, and the trio from season 1 back together and kicking ass

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 13: The Jedi (dir. Dave Filoni)

This was magical. Purely magical. Dave Filoni... Oh my goodness, what a legend. He understands Star Wars in a way no else but George Lucas does. From the action, to the samurai and western infleunces, to the emotion, everything was perfect. So, in this episode Din finally finds Ahsoka Tano, one of the few Jedi that are left. The episode wastes no time to introduce Ahsoka. Her entrance in the forest was amazing, the way she uses the force and her lightsabers, just ugh, amazing. Now, I really like Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka but it took some getting used to since Ahsoka originally is an animated character. However, she looked great here. I loved the scene where Ahsoka was communicating with The Child through the force and we learn his backstory!! His name is Grogu and was trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by many masters and was hidden during Order 66. The way we learned all of this was so natural and I really did not see it coming. It was great. I really like the name Grogu, it fits him haha. The little training session with Grogu was fantastic and showed how much Din cares about Grogu. Ahsoka tells Din she cannot train Grogu because of his attachements and how that can lead him to the dark side. She even references Anakin!!!!!! Omg, the feels. Mando and Ahsoka team up to fight the Magistrate of the town and this fight was fantastic. Manda and Ahsoka are both so cool and have some great moments. Then, when we thought this episode could not get any better, Ahsoka teases what is to come as she name drops GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN!! Now, if you have not watched Rebels, this might mean nothing to you. But I gasped so loud when she said it, good stuff is coming for the Ahsoka show!!!! When Mando had to say goodbye to Grogu, I thought no... They are not going to do it, are they?! But Ahsoka sticks to her gut and says she cannot train Grogu. Instead, she sends them to the remants of an ancient Jedi temple where Grogu can choose his path. And so Mando, Grogu, and Ahsoka part ways. I just loved this episode. Also a special shout-out to Ludwig Göransson’s score. He has been fantastic for season 1 and 2, but the score at the very end of this episode, just captured the magic and beauty of this one. He is so talented! 

Favorite moments: all of Ahsoka’s action scenes, Ahsoka vs. Mando, Din learning Grogu’s name and he keeps saying it, the Trawn name drop, Ahsoka referencing Anakin, and Din and Ahsoka traing Grogu

Overall: 9.5/10

Chapter 14: The Tragedy (dir. Robert Rodriguez)

This was a short but action packed episode, oh my goodness. It just kept going at some point, which was very thrilling to watch. This episode saw the return of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, which was surprising. Now, like I said, I have never been a fan of Boba Fett. However, we was a badass in this episode with some very cool moments! I also loved that in the bts of season 2 Temuera Morrison talked about how he brought in some of his Maori traditions into Boba’s fighting style, which was very awesome to see. Okay, back to the rest of the episode. So, it starts out with Mando messing with Grogu and his name a little bit on the Razor Crest. He actually laughed, which is something we had not seen yet. He then trained with him for a bit and told him how proud he was of him and how he is special... Sooo soft! So then, they get to the seeing stone and of course Mando is an actual rookie and has no clue what any of this Jedi stuff (as he calls it) means, which is understandable of course. But I just thought it was very funny to watch. Boba and Fennec show up, a lot of Stromtroopers show up, and they have to fight their way out of that nasty situation. It was really cool!! All of them had awesome moments.  Then, when everything has calmed down a bit, Moff Gideon’s dark troopers show up and take Grogu from Mando. I just- I can’t... Another thing that happens is the Razor Crest getting blown up! Holy shit, I was shocked. So Mando is left with no ship, no Grogu, and has to get him back. So, Boba and Fennec promise to help him. Very action packed, and tragic episode.

Favorite moments: Din knowing nothing about the Jedi, the whole bit in the Razor Crest with Din and Grogu being cute, Fennec being a badass, Boba being a badass, Grogu beating those Stormtroopers in his cell, and Moff Gideon being as vilanous as ever (gotta love Giancarlo Esposito)

Overall: 8.7/10

Chapter 15: The Believer (dir. Rick Famuyiwa)

I LOVED this episode. Rick Famuyiwa did it again!! Okay, so Mando, Boba, Fennec, Cara, and Mayfeld (from season 1) go to this Empirial base to get the coordinates of Moff Gideon’s cruiser so they can get Grogu back to his dad (yes, I said it, because it’s true!). So they want Mayfeld to come because he knows stuff about the Empire and I did not really like him in season 1. However, I thought he was really nice here. He even had some funny lines. I loved the action scene on the transport with Mando fighting those pirates they encountered. It was really weird though, not seeing him in his Beskar armor. So they inflitrate the base and Mayfeld’s old superior is sitting where they have to get the coordinates, so he cannot go in, Mando wants to go but here is the twist... It is a facial scan (insert suspenseful sound). So, he goes in, tries it with his helmet on, and that obviously does not work. So he removes his helmet. This was so powerful, he was willing to let other people see his face to save Grogu. It just shows how much he cares, and I loved to see it. The whole scene without his helmet was so suspenseful. I was stressed while watching it. Pedro Pascal is such a good actor, he was selling it! Mayfeld was so cool about it though. He had been messing with Mando having his helmet on the entire time and when he eventually took it off, he was really respectful about it. Another thing I thought was fantasic this episode was Mando treathening Moff Gideon with a little message. He basically used the same message Gideon told him last season when he was looking for Grogu, but now Mando used it on him. He even said that Grogu means more to him and Gideon will ever know. Oh my gosh!!! In conclusion, after this episode, I could not wait for the finale. 

Favorite moments: Din removing his helmet, Din realizing his blaster was jammed so he just yeeted it to the pirate instead, Mayfeld and Din talking to the Empirial guy in the cantine, Mayfeld calling Din ‘Brown Eyes’, and Din’s message to Gideon.

Overall: 9/10

Chapter 16: The Rescue (dir. Peyton Reed)

Where to begin?! Oh my goodness, SO MUCH happened during this episode. Mando adds Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves to his crew to get Grogu back. They agree, since this is Bo-Katan’s chance to take back the darksaber from him. So Boba Fett distracts Gideon’s people for the rest of the crew to sneak on board. So we had Cara, Fennec, Bo-Katan, and Koska just kicking these stromtrooper’s asses and it was stunning to see. Mando goes to look for Grogu but encounters the dark troopers and they were ruthless. I honestly thought he was going to get hurt or something. Thank goodness he had that Beskar speer, so he yeeted them out of the ship and made his way to Grogu. Only to find Gideon standing there with the darksaber. He is like just take him, I got his blood. Of course, it is a trap and he attacks Mando. We get an epic fight between Gideon with the darksaber and Mando with his speer. It was so cool and Mando wins! He then walks back to the crew with Gideon in handcuffs, wielding the darksaber, and Grogu in his hand. Bo-Katan sees it and looks shocked since she now cant get it from him since it needs to won in battle as Gideon reminds everyone (he was obviously enjoying this), which I completely forgot. Then just says I yield, take it. She cannot just accept, which makes Din the rightful ruler of Mandalore (CRAZY!!!). This was left with no answers, so I am hoping that this will be explored during season 3!!. The dark troopers get back to the ship and they need a miracle now. Out of nowhere, one single X-Wing shows up. I knew it was a Jedi, but who? Of course, Luke crossed my mind, but I was like, NO WAY. So I thought, it could be Ezra from Rebels (he also has a green lightsaber). However, there was no way someone that powerful was Ezra, it had to be Luke. I will never forget it, my heart was beating so fast, I was crying, and the suspense was just, oh my. The hallway scene was fantastic. Then the jedi reveals his face, and it is Mark Hamill back as Luke Skywalker in all his glory. The CGI was impressive, although when he started talking, it looked a little off. Anyway, now Din has to say goodbye to Grogu and he lets him see his face. This was such a beautiful moment, it made me cry even more. This show is incredible, however this just proves that when you strip away all the cool stuff and guest appearances, this show is about Din and Grogu’s relationship, which in the end, is my favorite thing about the show. It was so emotional. Grogu then leaves with Luke and R2 (!!!), and that concludes season 2! This finale was just incredible, and what made it even more emotional was Pedro’s perfromance. He is fantastic! Again, the score this season was so good but in the finale, Ludwig outdit himself! So beautiful and emotional. 

Favorite moments: the whole thing, not even going to try to pick just a few

Overall: 10/10

So that is season 2 of The Mandalorian!! I have to say, after the shit year 2020 was, Mando Fridays made it a little better. I cannot wait to see it continue. I think it will be after The Book of Boba Fett with Boba and Fennec (looking forward to that!). This ended up way longer than I intended, oh well. I hope you enjoyed reliving Mando season 2 with me! Now I kind of want to watch it again...

This Is The Way.

XO

Yenai

[thirst-order-confessions-renewed]

The Two Tragic Times Fae Met Kylo Ren at Disneyland

Okay so I figured I had to tell these stories here because there are a lot of people who were like “YAY I MET KYLO” and I am just...flabbergasted because I was like “am I the only person in the world actually traumatized by Kylo Ren” The answer to that seems to be ‘yes absolutely’ and I will tell you why.

So, some background about me, I never really liked character meet and greets. I’m awkward, I never know what to say ESPECIALLY to characters who can actually speak to me. I cannot converse with people in real life, why the hell could I converse with people getting paid to LARP with me. I just...cannot do it. I will not. But Goofy? Sure, I’ll give that big dorky bastard a hug.

Fast forward to the first time I met Kylo Ren. @imagines-in-a-galaxy-farfar-away was visiting me and we went to Disneyland like the DAY AFTER The Last Jedi came out. She had a Polaroid camera and she wanted me to take a picture of her and Kylo with the camera and I was like “hhhhhhhh sure”. KNOWING I was gonna be incredibly nervous. So I sucked it up and we went in there and of COURSE Kylo was a massive bully. He got in my face, stared me down, VERY invasive shit which I DONT DISAGREE WITH. I was like “yeah, you know what? Kylo IS a massive dick so I’m okay.” THAT DIDNT STOP ME FROM FREAKING OUT THOUGH. I was literally shaking holding the camera. The cast members in the room were like “Would you like to be in the picture?” and I’m like “N-N-N-NO I-I’M G-F-GOOD IM J-JUST GONNA T-TAKE THIS -P-P-P-POLAROID” So I did, the picture is Hailee’s favorite and everything was fine. I needed to take 30 minutes to lower my heart rate, and I was okay.

BUT THE NEXT TIME.......you guys need to buckle up because this is where it gets UN. REAL.

Fast forward to 2019. Hailee is back in town with her whole family and she wants to meet Rey because she was new that year. And I was like “eeehhhhhh” and Hailee was like “dude, Rey’s a good guy she’s not gonna be a dick” and I’m like “EHHHHHHHH” so I was like “Fine, you know what? You’re right, Rey would NEVER be a dick to me.” (I was kinda wrong about that, but that’s not important lmfao. She was VERY Resistance and did NOT appreciate my Stormtrooper backpack.)

Then, as we were coming out of the Rey room, we were walking about the Landing Bay and she noticed that Kylo had no line. And it was at that moment, we realized the entire Landing Bay was practically deserted. Hailee, being the regular, fully functioning individual she is wanted to see Kylo and she’s like “I’m not gonna make you go in there, but I’ll be right back.” and I was like “great, cool, I’ll sit on this bench.”

Now, I need to set the scene. The Landing Bay, if you’ve ever been inside is a circular building where Innoventions used to be (for all you Disneyphiles). There’s a staircase that goes up to a second level that was, before it was Launch Bay, was a Marvel section that even featured Disney Infinity 3.0 (I worked on that game!) So at the ground floor level of this huge, solid wall stair case are benches that face into each unique area of the Launch Bay. The Dark Side meet and greets are directly adjacent to one of these benches about 30 yards away give or take . This bench looks directly towards the empty lines for Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. And if you’ve ever been inside those meet and greet rooms they are basically a set-dressed photo studio, but a VERY small space with a waiting area where the character comes to you and then brings you in to interact with you and in Kylo’s case, be an absolute dick to you beyond reason. More on that later.

So the Landing bay is currently empty. I will see two people in the next 5-7 minutes, none of which will witness what’s about to happen. 

I’m sitting by myself on this bench, and my legs are SHAKING. As an anxious person, I’m imagining all of the possible scenarios happening inside. The FIRST thing I thought of was “I bet you anything Hailee outed me as being a weenie about meet and greets” (which she HAD done with Rey. Hailee I love you and the embarrassment I bear from that will never leave me) So I immediately text the group chat of my coworkers about it and as I’m texting frantically, my phone starts ringing.

It’s Hailee.

In that moment, I was livid. I was like “really this bitch is going to call me when I KNOW she’s in there with that asshole Kylo, like some friend” and I ALMOST let it go to voicemail, but in a flurry of bravery, I answered the phone and was like “Hailee, knock it off, this is NOT funny. DONT.” and I hung up and then I got REALLY scared because I didn’t hear ANYTHING on the other line. 

And here’s where it gets ridiculous.

Remember, the Landing Bay is empty. At this point, I see the first set of people, a German family with two children happily skipping by me. As soon as they’re gone, the door to Kylo Ren’s meet and greet area opens. And I know this because there’s a light on the other side of it, I can see it as the door opens. Kylo appears in the doorway.

KYLO REN. APPEARS. IN. THE. DOOR. WAY.

I freeze. No movement in every possible inch of my body, I actually cannot move. I’m staring at him, he’s staring at me. The Landing Bay is empty. We stay like that for about ten seconds and he gestures for me to come.

By this point, I’m visibly shaking. I’m now holding my phone in a death grip and my palms are sweating so badly it’s gonna slip out of my hand like a fucking bar of soap. I shake my head. I cannot even speak, I just. NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE.

then he glares at me. STILL! THERE’S NO ONE AROUND. NO ONE IS WITNESSING THIS EXCEPT FOR ME AND MUTHERFUCKING ASSHOLE KYLO REN. So after he glares at me, He does that thing he always does in all the fanfiction where his cape goes woosh and he’s gone. 

So the door closes and then I immediately break down. Full blown panic attack, shaking, soundless crying, tears start POURING down my face. At this point, I see the second soul in the Landing Bay, a very adorably dressed girl with a parasol heading also to the Kylo Ren line, who is promptly taken into the waiting area by the cast member. She did not see this either.

Minutes later, Hailee appears from the exit side looking mildly concerned. She sees me crying and she’s like “oh my god what happened” and I  E X P L O D E into tears like ‘how could you DO THIS TO ME it WASNT FUNNY’. And she sat down next to me and says:

“You are not going to believe what I’m about to tell you.”

According to Hailee, without her Polaroid, she asked the Cast Member to use her phone to take her picture. It was at this point she mentioned, to not my surprise at ALL, that she DID have someone else here with her, but she was sitting outside (me) and that if I were there, I’d be the one to take then picture. 

So here’s where it gets weird because I only have half of this interaction: According to Hailee (who I love and trust with my whole life), Kylo demanded she contact me. Hailee politely declined, however he REMOVED her phone from her hand, DEMANDED she tell him which contact I was, dialed the number, PUT ME ON SPEAKERPHONE.

So. EVERYONE in that TINY ASS ROOM, Kylo’s handler, the photographer, Hailee, K Y L O FUCKING R E N. Heard me HOLDING BACK TEARS saying “KNOCK IT OFF THIS ISN”T FUNNY”

You know the rest, he storms out, stares me down,(threatens me, really), then disappears. He leaves a video message for me, which Hailee spared me from and then released her. 

It took me an HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE minutes to feel myself again after that. Hailee felt SO...BAD about it, it absolutely put a damper on our day.

And that is why if I ever see Kylo walking about Galaxy’s Edge, there will be a Fae-shaped hole in the nearest blast door and I will be G O N E. I am not expecting anyone to believe a goddamn word of this because it’s truly insane, but cross my fucking heart, swear to die this actually happened.

Anyway thanks for coming to my TedTALK

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

**TROS SPOILER WARNING** I saw it and ... 💔💔💔

Well after waiting 2 years, I finally saw The Rise of Skywalker and wow I’m devastated, confused, and angry. The worst thing that they could’ve possibly done they did. They killed Ben Solo Skywalker. I don’t know why screen writers today do this bullshit “bittersweet romance” thing where the two lovers finally have each other, only for one to die when it’s not necessary?!? It’s so cruel. The way the entire ending played out after they killed him, was like the knife they’d stabbed me with was being twisted. I can’t stop crying.

Rey defeated Palpatine, Ben pulled himself out of the pit (lol yes), cradle Rey is his arms lovingly, decided to try to Force heal her (I always had a feeling Ben would bring Rey back to life, because Anakin could never save Padme). Rey is alive again she says “Ben”, caresses him, they kiss, he smiles, REYLO IS CANON, and then shock twist he slumps and then instantly fades away. He’s dead.

LIKE WHAT THE ACTUALLY FUCK IS THAT JJ???? The final Skywalker, the one you’ve been building up as a tragically misunderstood, abuse victim dies sacrificing his life for Rey’s. Han, Luke and Leia all died and hoped that Ben would return to the light. And yeah sure he did, but I would’ve thought that his family would have wanted him to return to the light and LIVE out the rest of his days happily. Doesn’t he deserve that??

There’s so many confusing aspects to this, like A) why did he become “redeemed” then die sacrificing himself just like Vader? I thought that was the problem with the OT and why we have the ST... being that Vader died too soon and didn’t complete the full redemption journey and return to that innocent happy boy he once was and teach his story to others? B) does Rey love Ben? Because the whole movie was framed like she did. But the second he died, I don’t think she called out or even cried???? She goes back to the Resistance and is happy and hugs Finn and Poe. UGH THE “TRIO”. Isn’t she devastated she’s lost her love Ben? And then when she goes back to Tatooine, she sees Force ghost Leia and Luke but no Ben??!???!? A final slap in the face. C) since Ben and Rey were a “Dyad” and were one through the Force, I feel like they should’ve been able to both easily live??? Why bother making them Dyad if it ain’t going to serve the story at all? Is it supposed to just be a cop out and explain the Force Bonds? It’s all so infuriating.

They only reason I can think of why they’d kill Ben Solo is because they wanted to close the loophole of the “Skywalkers” so that they didn’t fuck anything up with the Force’s balance again. But even then that’s seems like a very thin idea, because Rey still exists and she’s a “Palpatine” and is uber powerful? How exactly was the Force finally brought into balance through this movie? Palpatine was defeated and the Palpatine bloodline/legacy “redeemed”? It doesn’t make much sense. GAH I would’ve preferred both Ben and Rey die, since their equals, why would one live and not the other?

They only reason I can think of why they’d kill Ben Solo is because they wanted to close the loophole of the “Skywalkers” so that they didn’t fuck anything up with the Force’s balance again. But even then that’s seems like a very thin idea, because Rey still exists and she’s a “Palpatine” and is uber powerful? How exactly was the Force finally brought into balance through this movie? Palpatine was defeated and the Palpatine bloodline/legacy “redeemed”? It doesn’t make much sense. GAH I would’ve preferred both Ben and Rey die, since their equals, why would one live and not the other?

To be honest, I was enjoying the film for the first half. It opened with Kylo/Ben so that’s a great. And the Force Bond scenes with Kylo/Ben and Rey screaaaaamed Reylo love. But so many of the leaks were right, it was becoming quite comical. And looking back of the film now it was all very clunky and had a lot of convoluted stuff in there that was so illogical and didn’t really serve a strong purpose to the narrative or any character development. When the watery Death Star scene went down, it seemed like (trope wise) that this would be the moment the Reylo kiss happens, but the dialogue wasn’t right it wasn’t angsty. And I thought, “oh no Reylo is not happening”. But then Bendemption happened and I was okay again. And by the time Rey went to confront Palpatine, I’d realised Ben really hasn’t been given enough screen time in this film, he wasn’t going to be the “hero” in this finally showdown, this was very firmly Rey’s story/saga. Which seemed odd, because they’re equals “dual protagonists”??! As Rey defeated Palpatine I was confused as to what the hell, because there was an obvious emphasis on all the Force ghosts telling HER alone to “Rise”, including Anakin. This was deeeply concerning because what about his own grandson Ben Solo??? At this point I didn’t know what was going to happen with Ben. But then like I said before he pulled himself out of the “pit”, very romantically came back for her and saved her and then just D I E D like it was nothing. I repeat W T F.

Now here’s all the other stuff I didn’t like about the film: - There was zero character development, except for Ben finally turning to the light and then he DIED - SNOKE WAS A PALPATINE CLONE???????? WTF JJ ARE YOU SMOKING CRACK? This was an early red flag that I should have heeded. I feel like all the fanboys finally feel satisfied with knowing Snoke’s backstory. - Where the fuck was Rose? Why didn’t she say like 3 words and get .5 screen time? that was some bulllllllllsshit. Why was she introduced in TLJ just to be sidelined? - Why the FUCK did they bother to make Finn Force sensitive? They hinted at it, and he never even got to tell anyone. It didn’t serve the story at all?!?!? Such a waste of time - Poe got to have a romantic happy ending with Zorri, while Reylo did not. - The C-P30 memory wipe had no lasting consequences, R2-D2 restored him in like 2 hrs? This screentime could’ve been used for Ben. All of Kijimi could’ve been scrapped to be honest. - The Knights of Ren were extremely useless, you could’ve swapped them for stormtroopers and it wouldn’t have made a different. Very disappointing. - Jannah was also useless, this screentime and scripttime could’ve been used for Rose. Her stormtroopers rebellion story was so heavy handed and terribly done. - Same goes for Dominic’s character, why did he exist? - Lando being back was also under-utilised, he had history with Ben why didn’t they use that? - Sooo many of the terrible leaks were true: the necklace grab, Luke/Leia training, Hux being a mole which was confusing and then he just died, Rey thinking she killed Chewie, the Sith dagger and C-3PO blah blah, Ben falling into “a pit” lol, the film finishing with Rey going to Tattooine and saying “I’m Rey, Rey Skywalker.” As soon as I saw Tatooine, I wanted to vomit because I knew that horrible horrible line was coming. - It wasn’t explained as to why Kylo remade his mask - Ben and Rey didn’t say I love you. And tbh, it’s probably good then didn’t since JJ killed Ben. - The finally “war” was very underwhelming and took place on one star destroyer - I was really hoping for some awesome Force Bond “world between worlds” jumping location stuff, and/or awesome new Reylo powers (but it was just healing)... so this was underwhelming. - I don’t know why Ben didn’t kill Palpatine instantly, opening scene? - They really emphasised babies and children on Pasaana with Rey, so I thought this was obvious foreshadowed of her and Ben’s future.... but no. - Pyrde wasn’t that interesting of a character, well acted but one-dimensional. - I really really hated Rey being a Palpatine. It makes no sense? I loved her being a no body and getting her powers from herself. What about her father, Palpatine’s son?? Did Palpatine try to get his son to kill him as well??? It’s so illogical. Also if everyone has to be if legacy blood, does this mean that Finn is a Konobi?! HAHAHA. I also hate how they added the fact that Leia and Luke “knew” she was a Palps all along. BAHAHAHAHA. Terrible. - Palptine wanted Rey to kill him, so he could live through her as a vessel. But then he Palpatine took Rey’s and Ben’s life essence, but they didn’t die? But he was back to his 100%. Then Rey killed Palps with the power of “all the Jedi”, and somehow Palpatine died? I thought he was going to go into her if she killed him? Or is the clause that she has to be angry and kill him with hatred? Boyyyyyyyyyy it’s so stupid. I can’t even.

Here’s the stuff I did like: - The Reylo kiss and Ben’s smile. - Ben offering his hand to Rey again, and all their Force Bonds of them trying to one-up each other with how well they know each other’s fears etc. - Him crushing the Sith wayfinding was hawwwwt. He was like if you’re going there, you’re gonna have to go with me. (Also leaves open a plothole of how the fuck did Ben navigate his way there in the finale) - Rey not killing the snake but healing it, yeah it was really odd but I don’t like how previous Jedi always slaughter animals so this was a plus for me. - Ben Solo in his “redeemed” outfit, he looked soo fine, and it reminded me of Han too which was sweet. - Leia’s death being the prompt to finally turning Ben back to the light. Finally a mother she did something right, looool. - I thought it was weird for Star Wars, but I did like Han being back as a memory, to talk with Ben. And the “Dad....” “I know” killed me. I knew they needed to resolve the one evil deed Ben performed, so this worked fine. - I loved Rey mediating with the rocks at the start of the film, and I loved her and Ben’s prequelsque Force jumping. - I loved that Jodie Comer was Rey’s mum!!!!! (I love Jodie) - I did like how the Luke’s water sunken X-wing from TLJ was used in this film, it was predictable but satisfying somehow. - There was so much FinnPoe tension through the film like Poe was jealous of Rey, it was hilarious. - I liked the queer kiss, even though it wasn’t much.

So there that’s everything I needed to say. I would’ve been sad and confused if Reylo didn’t happen, (because they’d set it up for 2 films), but I’m devastated that they killed Ben. Bendemption isn’t truely complete if he doesn’t get to live. I know he means so much to people, people who connected with him/who faced similar trauma as him. I know they’ll be a devastated as I am and that is what makes it so much worst. I saw someone say on Twitter a few weeks ago that it’s be horrible for Ben to die, who had suffered so much only for Rey to take the name of “Skywalker”, basically stealing his identity.

And yeah that’s exactly what happened. Ben deserved better, the fans deserved better, and the Reylo’s deserved better. 💔💔💔💔💔💔 In a few hours I’m seeing it again with my family this time, and I really don’t want want to rewatch it.... isn’t that horrible.

[jackiestarsister]

My thoughts on “The Rise of Skywalker”

I just saw The Rise of Skywalker with my friend @ewoking-on-sunshine. I’m still processing it, but I have many thoughts. Spoilers below the cut.

It’s not a perfect movie. But I enjoyed it and am, for the most part, satisfied. All I wanted was for it to be enjoyable and make sense and bring some resolution to the story. I think it succeeded overall.

I feel like I can’t complain too much, because the biggest things I wanted to happen did happen: we got Ben’s redemption, a freaking Reylo kiss, and Ben smiling. We even got beautiful things I wasn’t expecting, like Han’s scene, and the revelation that Leia trained as a Jedi for a time. I think it can stand on its own as a story in itself, though The Last Jedi may remain my favorite installment as far as story craft.

Here are my miscellaneous thoughts and opinions:

~ Much of it feels like fan fiction. Whether that is good or bad, I’m not sure. It could just be that the fans were particularly good at predicting possible developments and the general direction of the story.

~ Nothing was revealed about Kylo’s style/method of governing, or whether he did anything to expand the First Order’s power as Rey predicted they would do in TLJ

~ Palpatine’s return could have been set up better

~ The symbolism and significance of Kylo killing his abuser is changed, if not completely ruined, since Snoke was Palpatine’s puppet, and Kylo seems to enter Palpatine’s service after learning that he was the one who manipulated him throughout his life. Maybe Kylo thought if he refused he wouldn’t be able to get away alive?

~ Palpatine’s plans are as confusing as ever. Just how much he controlled, what he was aware of, and what his true intentions were is unclear. In particular,  I’m confused about the fact that Palpatine made Snoke, who seemed ignorant of Rey’s origins and told Kylo to kill her, and the fact that Palpatine told Kylo to kill Rey when it turned out he wanted her to come and kill him. Were Snoke and/or Palpatine using reverse psychology in giving Kylo those orders?

~ Palpatine probably had the means to prolong and/or restore Padme’s life the whole time Vader was trying to find a way to do so

~  It is unclear whether Rey ever told anyone about her bond with Kylo or how he killed Snoke (which is pretty relevant information for the Resistance).

~  It’s unclear whether Rey and Kyko have seen or felt each other through the Force at all in the past year. Each movie shows several Force bond connections in a short period of time (one or two days each), and that would add up to a lot in a year, so I’m guessing they didn’t have any for that interim. It seems that although Rey closed the door, Kylo opens it. I don’t really like what that implies.

~ The beginning revealed so much and moved from one set of characters to another so quickly that I wondered whether the story was going to continue following the hero/heroine’s journey(s). Eventually it did, but it felt like the strangest beginning for a Star Wars movie, especially compared to the brilliant opening sequence of The Force Awakens.

~ Rey and Poe’s bickering was fun to watch

~ They did pretty well using those bits of Carrie Fisher footage and making Leia’s death play a role in the story. I’m sure if Fisher were still alive they would have had more justice for Leia.

~ I wish Rose had played a bigger part in the story, and that her relationships with other characters had been clarified and explored more.

~ I wish Ben had interacted with other members of the Resistance. He and Finn had so many parallels in their arcs, and the two of them actually had a couple scenes together, but they were always distant, with Finn watching as Rey interacted with Ben.

~ What was Finn going to tell Rey? What was their relationship about when it came down to it? They had such a wonderful dynamic and intertwined arcs in The Force Awakens, but in this installment it felt like they were running parallel to each other.

~ Giving Poe a shady past as a spice smuggler contradicts his canon backstory revealed in Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka.

~ Hux’s death was disappointingly anticlimactic. Seemed like a waste of his character. I’m not sure how I feel about the twist of him being the spy. He seemed so much less the crazed man who fired Starkiller or the calculating menace who considered killing an unconscious Kylo. Before TROS, Hux’s motivations seemed more political and ideological, a contrast to Kylo’s motives which seemed personal.

~ In what capacity did Pryce serve Palpatine in the previous war?

~ The fact that Rey is a Palpatine raises all kinds of questions about her family. There could be a whole trilogy about what kind of relationship Sheev and his child had. I wonder if the mother of his child was Mara Jade or someone like her who worked closely with him. But the mention of cloning and other strange techniques for making or passing on life makes me wonder if his child was even “natural” or somehow made.

~ Rey’s Dark Side heritage makes her affinity with the light side even more ironic and miraculous. Or maybe the irony is that someone as dark as Palpatine could come from such an idyllic utopia as Naboo. Maybe they are trying to show that it is our choices, not our origins, that define us.

~ The fact that Rey is descended from a powerful established character takes away from the idea that Rey represented for me and many others, that a great person can come from humble, unimportant origins.

~ Finn’s arc was opposite of predicted stormtrooper rebellion. The stormtrooper paradox still holds.

~ The hunt for Sith clues doesn’t make sense. It makes even less sense than the search for Luke in TFA, which was full of holes and unexplained coincidences.

~ The way Ben stands on the Death Star looking out at the horizon was 100% Byronic hero, but also similar to Luke’s posture when looking at the Tatooine suns.

~ Seeing Kylo talking to Han and Rey talking to Luke underscored how Kylo and Rey are co-protagonists.

~ How long did Ben stay at the Death Star ruins contemplating his and Rey’s situation? Apparently long enough for Rey to go to Ahch-To, talk to Luke, and go to Exegol, because he arrives there later than her. Time and distance in these movies have never made much sense, but I wonder if there might be some deleted scenes involving Kylo at this point. Did he realize he had lost control of the First Order? Did he ever think about ordering them not to follow Palpatine?

~ Regarding minor pilot characters: Happy to see Wedge Antilles back, sad to see Snap Wexley die.

~ Poe could have had better resolution for his arc as an emerging leader

~ Finn tries once again to sacrifice himself despite what Rose said to him after he tried to do that in TLJ. (While I don’t think it was necessary, Ben’s death was in keeping with her words because he died to save what he loved.)

~ We finally got a Reylo music theme! If I’m not mistaken, it had the Force theme sort of underlying it but there were other things going on too. I look forward to hearing the What the Force podcast’s discussion on this.

~ Rose was right that they would win by “Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.” Rey refused to even hate Palpatine. Ben came to save Rey and that enabled her to save everyone else.

~ My favorite moments of each sequel involve Rey, Ben, and a light saber passing between them.

~ Everything that was said to Rey and Ben about home, family, coming home, coming back ... it was all leading up to their teaming up. Palpatine was wrong when he said he was Rey’s only family. Ben became her family, and that was part of the reason why she took his family name. Whoever wrote the caption “The belonging you seek is in Ben Solo’s arms” was right.

~ We still don’t know what, if any, ideology Ben held, how he felt about political power and different forms of government. That pretty much reinforces my belief that for him this has never been about politics, it’s all been personal for him.

~  Ben’s death is problematic if he is supposed to represent people who have been abused and made poor life choices. It’s a beautiful sacrifice, but did Rey really have to die and necessitate it? She could have been mortally wounded, and he could have healed her without dying himself.

~ If passing his life force to Rey cost his life, Ben should have died before Rey kissed him.

~ Ben’s death is tragic, but not technically a tragedy in the literary sense, because it’s not about learning how to avoid making mistakes like his. For all his faults (narcissism, anger that manifests in violence), Ben didn’t have a particular fatal flaw. He fell because he was a victim of circumstances and forces beyond his control. He died saving the woman he loved, which sounds like a good thing.

~ I’m surprised the Lars homestead was still standing after it seemed to have burned to ash in A New Hope, and I find it difficult to believe that on a planet like Tatooine someone else would not have claimed it.

~ The title refers to both Ben and Rey, since Rey becomes a Skywalker

~ From a certain point of view, Reylos and Rey Skywalkers were both right, and both wrong.

~ Why didn’t Ben become a Force ghost like Luke and Leia? Can he become one in the future? I find the matter of whether a Jedi/Force-user leaves behind their physical body or fades away to become one with the Force, and whether they become capable of manifesting as a ghost, sketchy and inconsistent.

~ What is Rey going to do now? Was she moving into the Lars homestead? Will she raise a family of her own? I think it unlikely that she would fall in love with anyone as deeply as she did with Kylo, and I think she might be hesitant to have biological children who would inherit her (Palpatine) Force abilities, but I can picture her adopting and/or mentoring children.

~ The theme of IX seems to be “You’re not alone,” the way 8’s was “Failure is the greatest teacher.” It is the lesson Rey, Finn, Poe, and Ben each learn. But in the end Rey does seem alone.

~ Rey’s greatest fears were being alone and being insignificant. Is the takeaway supposed to be that she is okay with being alone? That would go against the movie’s overarching theme. Similarly, Star Wars is about family, and while that theme definitely comes through, it would have been so well punctuated if the story ended with the main characters starting families.

~ Nothing was resolved regarding the government(s) of the galaxy. Is it in a state of anarchy now? Were they able to learn from the mistakes of the past two republics?

~ Did Rey, Ben, the Jedi, and/or the Resistance bring balance to the Force? Is the corresponding rise and fall of the light and dark finally over? Will this peace last? Will Rey be the last Jedi or will she pass on their legacy?

~ What was the point of this trilogy as a whole? What message are we supposed to take away from it? Is it still a Prodigal Son type of story?

Now I’m going to spend time thinking about how this will impact my fan fiction and my essays on the Christian themes of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. I will look forward to reading the (apparently expanded edition) novelization and having good quality screenshots and one more Shakespearean parody by Ian Doescher.

[kianraidelcam]

Written for @earthboundjedi from the prompt: “We’ll see each other again. I promise,” featuring Space Mom and Space Dad, AKA Hera and Kanan!

Oh the sweet agony that is Kanera. Thank you for the wonderful prompt! The rest of the fic is below the cut for those who don’t want to go on AO3 for any reason.

“We’ll see each other again. I promise.”

It was ironic, Hera thought, his diction at the time. The pastel sunset of Atollon glimmered behind them, pulsing with Kanan’s words, as he drew her into his embrace. She fought against a rising desire to respond with some form of snark, her anxiety over his impending departure outweighing the need for levity, and simply leaned into his arms. Ignoring the sense of doom at his promise, Hera smiled and allowed the small wave of comfort to wash over her. The young Twi’lek woman responded with a thought, “I know.”

A promise was a promise, and she knew Kanan never broke his.

So, when her Jedi returned, leaning on their boy with the painfully white bandage around his eyes, it was more than the injury that shocked Hera. He promised, she thought to herself over and over again, night after night, as he drifted out of her orbit and away from their mismatched family. And then came the (rather expensive) medical droid loaned to them by Senator Organa when he heard what had occured on Malachor. No expense was spared, and only the best was sent from Alderaan. After all, Kanan was quite possibly the last rebel-sympathetic Force user after Ahsoka’s death, and Bail Organa was almost as determined to restore the Knight’s sight as the Ghost crew was. It was the most hopeful they had been all week.

Their hope, it seemed, was misplaced. 

Kanan was not a candidate for prosthetics nor would his vision return, was the droid’s final word. “That can’t be right, run the tests again,” she had nearly shouted in that small, bleached room aboard the Alderaanian frigate. She got up from her seat in a rare flash of anger and frustration, normally reserved for certain “servants” of the Empire (and a certain smuggler by the name of Lando), but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her in her mid-rise. “I promised, didn’t I?” His cocksure voice had returned, as did that Force forsaken grin of his, if only momentarily. For a moment, he seemed completely himself, with a hint of that fabled Jedi calm, and all felt right in the universe again. Kanan was her rock; he was always steadfast and always knew what to do, even when things seemed bleak. The least Hera could do was be strong for him. Hera took a breath to compose herself, and then smiled for more her own benefit than Kanan’s. “I know.”

Kanan grinned and then donned a more serious expression, turning his body to face the droid while listening intently to its directions for wound care. Hera drowned out the droid’s ramblings, and instead studied the injury itself. The burn itself was still in the early stages of healing and the angry red stood out in stark contrast to his tanned skin. His once vibrant turquoise eyes were pale with hardly a hint of color while the whites of his eyes seemed bloodshot from both the burn and exhaustion. Hera knew that the exhaustion was more mental than it was physical, and as the droid went on, she saw the frustration return. Oh, he hid it well enough, to the point where Hera doubted the rest of the crew would see it, but she saw right through Kanan.

Kanan Jarrus was afraid.

Time passed on the harsh world that housed Chopper Base, but he slowly came back to her. Small treasured moments at first, until he returned from outside the base, his sensor protecting him from the spiders gone. She had been worried, of course, but it instantly left when she saw how he walked. His gait lacked the hesitant steps it had been after his blinding, and when he smiled, it was with a confidence he previously lacked. His hand held slightly in front of him, as if feeling the environment around him, she was suddenly reminded of what he truly was. A Jedi Knight whose trust and power was in the Force. It was Specter One that held the crew together, and with his return to them, their family fell back in place. It was funny, he later told her before she fell asleep in his arms while he traced the patterns on her lekku from memory, how his blindness made it possible for him to truly see.

Of course, that meant he could return to missions again.

“I need you to come back,” she had said.

The moment he smiled, Hera had to stop from groaning. While it was good (more than good, it was fantastic) that he was back out in the galaxy (had been for some time, actually), she still worried deeply for him. It didn’t help that he was so kriffing arrogant. “Oh, having trouble overthrowing the Empire without me?”

Hera might not have groaned, but she did roll her eyes. Luckily, he couldn’t see it, though she was sure he could sense it in some way. “Our team is an important asset to the Rebellion?” Hera’s tone implied a question, which he of course refused to answer.

“An asset? Is that what we are?” Kanan’s own tone implied he wasn’t talking about the Ghost crew.

“You know what I mean.”

“You know how I feel.”

Hera doesn’t skip a beat, unsure this should be discussed at this exact moment. “Are we still talking about the mission?”

Kanan leans forward, his hands on his hips, “That depends…”

Unconsciously leaning forward to the hologram as well, Hera replies. “On what?”

“You know.”

Chopper’s response sounds suspiciously like an obscene suggestion rather than actual advice. Hera glances down at her droid’s hologram with a sigh, and then back at Kanan, her arms crossed nervously across her chest, “Be careful…. See you soon.”

As she shuts off the comlink, she feels a sweet, tender brush against her mind. There are no words exchanged, although there was no need for them here. This reassurance needed no words, no playful, snide comments. The meaning rang clear, in both their minds, from both the Jedi and his Force.

“I promised.”

It is only when they return to Lothal that Kanan seemed unsure of his promise. He had been up late the night before their return to the planet, meditating on some dream or nightmare he refused to tell her about. He dreamed in color, she knew as much, but what he saw eluded her. When she asked him about it, after waking him from his fitful sleep, he simply waved her off, saying something about a vision and the Force working in mysterious ways. Force be damned, after all of this, she was going to “force” some answers from him. She is tempted to do it in that dark alleyway, hiding from stormtroopers, until he lightens the mood with a soft quip. “Heh, I just realized. It’s been awhile since we've spent some time alone.”

Hera’s tone is almost resigned, “And when we do, it’s in situations like this.” Such is the plight of a rebel, she thinks. It was tragic almost, that their “moments” where few and far in between.

Kanan doesn’t instantly respond, which rings alarms in Hera’s mind. His face crestfallen, he admits with a sigh, “I wish..I could see you.”

Gently, emanating soft reassurances of her own, Hera reaches up to grab his dark visors, revealing watery, sorrowful eyes, maimed by a vengeful menace. Hera’s eyes are different. If Kanan could see them, he would be lost in their viridescent depths, as they conveyed the pride and admiration she felt for the Jedi less than half a foot away.

“You could always see me.”

It was true, Hera knew. From their meeting on Gorse to their current predicament, Kanan could always see her in a way no one else could. It was him who knew how to calm her in her angriest moments. It was him who knew how to quiet the nightmares. It was him who had always been able to read her every emotion. It was him, who knew her better than her own father did. It had always been him. Even now, it was still him who could see her. Both mentally, and physically. It was not the horrible, if beautiful, oranges, purples, and reds the exploding fuel produced that drew her horrified eyes, nor was it the golden cracks appearing in the metal beneath his feet that called her attention. She hardly even recognized she was a foot of the pod, reaching and straining against some invisible force at his command, and she barely noticed when she was thrown back into the ship, into Ezra’s shaking arms.

It was his turquoise eyes, shining against the dark scar across his face, full of determination and peace, that she saw.

They enveloped her, though they did not give her the peace that floated in their depths. The fire came closer to him, and yet, it seemed time had frozen over. She knew what the return of his eyesight meant, beyond the shadow of a doubt, even as they closed one final time while his hands pushed their ship out of the blast range.

“We’ll see each other again.”

‘I promise”

And Kanan never broke his promises

[sleepingobsidian]

Order 66 - Survival lays in your ability of faking your death

Where when Oder 66 is put into action the Jedi put a contingency plan into action. Those who we're still alive would fake their deaths and go into hiding. Where as the most go into deep hiding, there are those who tend to hide into more plain sight.

Like Mace Windu for example. After his fell through that window and the seperation of both his hands feel into the deeper levels of Coruscant was nursed back to health by a blackmarket doctor. Now he's a nursery teacher, has grown an impressiv beard and wears clothes that got out of style twenty years ago, and „he is obviously not Mace Windu, Lord Vader. What are you talking about? That's Maceroy Winter, he's the nursery teacher of my daughter“. Maceroy Windu is followed everywhere by his green furless yappermonkey Yado, the mascot and most beloved pet. „He can't be Master Yoda, Emperor, he's obviously just a green, furless yappermonkey from on of the moons of yavin. See we have his papers right here“. Yado the green yappermonkey was registered with the Coruscanti petpatrol ten years ago. And besides everyone knows yappermonkeys have a long lifetime.

Than there is street and tattoo artistin Shaek Tea which obviously can't be Master Shaak Ti, because „you killed her Lord Vader, remember. In the jedi temple. Besides she has totally different markings and -master Shaak Ti wasn't a mother of ten“. The tattoo studio of Shaek Tea is well known and established two years ago and is frequently visited by Stormtroopers. The tattoo artist seems to have an aversion against the cloned soldiers but that may only be because she's a mother and wants to protect her young.

Than there is nautolan marine biologist Fist Kio, with a natural connection to the animals of the seas of the galactic, who teaches at the Coruscanti community college. He often takes his students through tours of the aquarium of Coruscant. And some of his students swear they once saw him calm down a rampaging Tra'cor. „It was like he used the force“, was heard from one of his students. „If he hadn't been teaching here for over thirteen years he could totally be a jedi, but noway. I saw him flirting and taking that famous tattoo artist from Coco Town home with him. And aren't jedi like celibate?“.

Leaving the Planet she was raised on Billina Dune is on the search for her son Canan, who vanished from Kaller not so long ago. The young designer and self defense teacher has been on the search for her son for two years now and isn't giving up on him. He's out there in the galaxy somewhere. „And how do you know this? May it be because jedi masters have a connection with their students!“. „A mothers intuition“. She's a frequent visitor at Ben's Tea Palace and became good friends with the owner and his young ward. Kanan Jarrus a former small time smuggler from Kaller and son of famus designer Billina Dune, not that he knows of that. Has not a long time ago decided to follow a young woman into war against the emporer and his empire, on the way he acquired a new family. In the knowledge his „mother“ died on kaller not so long ago and so never searching for her. Though there's no picture on his wanted poster knows the whole galaxy his name. But nobody is sure if he even is a jedi or jedi appentice like the propaganda says, because „I swear he's using a blaster not a lightsaber. When someone he knows is threatened he immediatle goes for his blaster and not for some hidden pocket or so. If he were a jedi he would go for a hidden pocket, where his lightsaber is, right?“.

Fulcrum is a young togrutan woman who nurses her partially burnt kel dor uncle Verdict back to health. Verdict was badly burnt during an attack of the CIS on some cargo ships. Fulcrum is the captain of a little fleet of cargo ships which transport some valuable and some not so valuable cargo from the inner core to the outer rim. All the while she raises her human adoptive babysister Lee and cares for her adopted uncle. She often visits a medic sation in the middle rim to get help for her uncle and to visit her long time Lover. „I know you said that Fulcrum may be the Rebelion spy Fulcrum and your former padawan Ahsoka Tano. But Fulcrums cargo fleet had been around before your padawan even became your padawan, Lord Vader“, not to say the man didn't survive after saying so much padawan in one senctence but he didn't survive. And Darth Vader is confused how his former padawan acquired a baby and from where?

The mirialan doctor Barry Coffee and her young son Bonbon Coffee, live on a medic station in the middle rim and treat various injured people. Doctor Coffee is known for never turning away any person who's hurt. Her son Bonbon has a little aggression problem which she's working with but for now it helps her keep order in her waiting room when some patients make stress again. Her son is a deadly shot. And there is an unspoken rule at the medic station. The people that flick you together are allowed to undo their work, so watch your mouth. Doctor Coffee is rumored to even heal the most grievous illnesses and wounds, things other doctor couldn't treat. „It's because your a healer, right“. „I wish. This would be all so much easier but no I had to be born as an ordinary woman with ordinary skills“. Her young son Bonbon is confused why all these interegators allways appear at their doorstep. He was just enjoing his time with his mother and his mothers lovers family. Fulcrum is awesome and no one could ever tell him otherwise. „I don't understand what the relationship of my mother has to do with her skills as a doctor. Yeah, Fulcrum is awesome but her skills as a doctor besides basic first aid is shit“.

Bens Tea Palace is a little tea shop and café in Coco Town, right next to the tattoo shop of Shaek Tea, it's run by owner and tea maker Ben Kenobi. „Obi-Wan Kenobi!“. „Oh you know my fifth cousin thrice removed? Yeah, I allways wondered what happened to him when the jedi took him away“. „No your Obi-Wan Kenobi“. „Don't be ridiculous. We look totally different“, Ben says adjusting his glasses and shifting a baby on his hip. Ben Kenobi is known as skillful tea maker and uncle to little Luke Kenobi, the son of his brother who died in a tragic airspeeder accident. His brother died in the following fire explosion as the motor explodes. His sister in law died due to strangulation from the seat belt. Ben Kenobi is a friendly shop owner who invites everyone inside for a cup of tea, wear sweater vests,with the sleeves of his ironed shirt pushed up, and ties his hair in a ponytail. His nephew visits the nursery under the supervision of Maceroy Winter. When he can he visits the university and takes classes. When ever stormtroopers set foot in his sjop he freezes and ushers his nephew in the backroom, the flat above the shop or to Dex's restaurant, where he is under the supervision of a little blue droid. He looks at the stormtroopers with a freezing gaze and the most fake smile. Strangely those troopers allways vanish a few days after they visit in the Tea Palace.

Jocasta Nu or the Librarian as most people call her is one of the most searched for persons in the galactic empire. Which doesn't stop her to just walk through Coruscant as if she owned the place. She wears no disguise and her lightsaber is in full display. No one knows how she does it but she allways evades or flees the capture through stormtroopers. She often visits Coco Town and the shops or is often seen in the medic station Berry Coffee works at or to board a ship that belongs to the Fulcrum fleet. Sometimes she's accompanied by young children wearing a matching outfit or adults carrying themselves just like her. But everyone who saw her swears she just vanished in a cloud of smoke so as she was never there. One time Emperor Palpatine surprised her and Ben by meeting her in Bens Tea Palace. „Jocasta Nu. Now I got you“. „What are you talking about your Highness? This is obviously my grandmother Jade Kenobi. See I have her visitation papers right here. Signed by one of your subordinates!“. In the end rumour has it that the emperor left the shop dejected and seemingly scolded. And angry, oh so angry that the ground under his feet got cracks.

Bant Eerin and Stass Ali. A mon calamari and a tholothian. They are a duo of known pirates in the whole galaxy and have behind them an army of faceless men. They say the Unnatural Ones were created by the woman to oppose the empire and overthrow it. They are known to kidnap stormtroopers, torure them and than murder them a horrible way. The reality is a little bit more boring. Yeah, they are a duo of pirates but they don't get much around to stealing themselves. The Unnatural Ones as they call them are clone troopers. Brothers that got saved by the two woman. They have a skilled medic with them that takes out chips inside the heads of the clones. A trooper with the designation of CT-6116 called Kix. How they met this trooper or where he came from is so highly classified that only three people know of it and they want it to stay it that way. Their second in command is a trooper with the designation CT-21-0408 or more common known as Echo. He tends to do most of the pirating with his brothers and leaves the liberation of his brothers to the two woman.

Aay and Quin. The idol and her manager. Aay is twilek with beautiful clear blue skin and a mermerizing voice. Wich makes her the perfect galactical idol. The same thought her manager and friend Quin. So he brought her to a photo shooting and this is how her career began. As a model for the new dress line of designer Billina Dune. She wears dresses and clothes that gain more and more popularity throughout the galaxy. In an interview with a corellian talkshow was than her beautiful singing voice dicovered. A voice that would leave others breathless. „Trying to mind trick your fans, Master Secura?“. „What are you talking about, Lord Vader. I'm just a normal idol singing about the empowerment of woman and the loss of love“. As Aay has committed herself to beeing an idol her manager has committed himself to making her a star. But Quin is known as a Ladys- and Sirsman. The two are currently on a tour through the midrim.

It'll be definitely Hondo Ohnakas fault when the whole contingency plan may be thrown out of the window. The first thing he does when he and his little band of future pirates, Katooni, Byph, Ganodi, Gungi, Petro and Zatt, touch down on Coruscant to Lukes birthday is throw their true names around and act as if the establishment of the empire never happened. He causes chaos, let's the children steal something from the emperor and Darth Vader and they leave again. The whole order had been in a constant state of stress. And Ben swears he got the grey hair all from one visit. He hopes this will never happen again. It happens again. To each and every birthday of Luke. Luke thinks it's funny and really likes his crazy enstranged Uncle Hondo. From the reports Ben get's from Fulcrum she has the same problem with Hondo as him. Even if it has gone better after they spent one birthday at the medic station and Bonbon shot the pirate. „Don't worry Ben he didn't kill him“. „Sometime I wish he had“.

To say that the Emporer and Darth Vader are frustrated and enraged would be an understatment, but technically they can’t do anything it would come to galactic wide revolts if the just murdered innocent seeming citizens.

So, this story could either turn out into total crack or angst with a touch of humour

[abubblingcandle]

The Last Jedi Defence

Right here I go, because I am fed up with people slating Rian Johnson for what he did with Episode VIII. 

Lets start with the fact I am a massive Star Wars fan and a massive Stormpilot shipper! Also a massive Poe Dameron fan. Also I do think there were bits I would have loved to see in the film and there were things I would have done differently. But the middle film of a trilogy is so hard to do right as JJ revitalised the franchise with his typical nerdiness and explosions but that wasn’t what this film needed. Everyone wanted something different, that was never going to happen. You can’t please everyone.

1: “Poe Dameron shouldn’t have been demoted” - Lets start here, Poe Dameron is a soldier but in war time you have to follow the orders of your commanding officer. In that first fight Leia knew they would lose their bombers if they continued, she (as the GENERAL) made a hard decision. Yes that may have come and kicked her in the ass later but there is no doubt that she weighed up the risks and made the best decision she could. And looking at the outcome of that mission, they were one second away from losing the fight, what if Paige hadn’t caught that remote? Then they would have all died and it would have been for nothing. Poe took that decision into his hands and had to face the consequences. Later you see how useful the bombers would have been in another fight, it was Poe’s recklessness in not following the chain of command that cost them those ships. If Leia cannot trust that Poe will follow her command on a mission she ordered, then she cannot trust him as a commander. 

2: “Poe Dameron was treated badly”: now I partially agree that if they had just told Poe the plan then he wouldn’t have staged a mutiny etc and may have been able to help but he had just been demoted. In her eyes he was a Captain and all the other Captains would have been expected to stay with their troops and await orders. Poe trusts Leia with his life and he should show that trust to the person Leia chose to lead. It was like they said, hope should be there even when you can’t see it. He should have also brought his plan to the Vice Admiral in stead of sneaking around.

3: “Luke was out of character”: Luke had been through unbelievable trauma; he tried to kill his nephew (in a fleeting moment of fear but still tried) and that set of a chain of events that created something worse than he had fought so hard to destroy. If that was me I would hide so no one else would be hurt by his emotions. Also standing on the top of that hill to throw his lightsaber over the edge was the move over dramatic Luke Skywalker moment ever.

4: “Luke‘s death was unnecessary”: It shocked me too that it was how he had to go. But this is a reset, Mark Hamill had already said he wouldn’t be back for Ep IX and if he stayed then the response would always be “well Luke can always fix it”. Also imagine how much power it would take to hold that projection from the island, he must have known that he wouldn’t be able to keep that up and chose to go out on a high to save his Padawan and sister and keep the hope alive. There’s no better way to die than that.

5: “We need to know Snoke’s background”: Rian’s explaination was what I thought. In terms of the plot, that doesn’t matter. He had a grand total of 30mins screen time and was just a plot device to bring Kylo to the head of the first order in an angry fashion and to show how all the strings were being pulled and how Kylo hated it and took over. It would not fit, maybe a conversation with Kylo? But Rey wouldn’t give a flying fuck who this villain is as it wouldn’t effect her, he’s just a bad guy.

6: “Rey’s parents can’t be nobody”: To me that was amazing, doesn’t anyone else get bored with “oh she’s the daughter of this major character who is either now dead or kept it hidden for mystery reason”? Having her being from nowhere makes her better in my eyes, the force isn’t only in the skywalker family and Rey’s background is tragic enough without adding the fact that Kylo is her brother for some unknown reason? 

7: “Kylo isn’t a good guy and shouldn’t be played with sympathy”: Why should you be sympathetic? It is revealed that snoke was planting the conflict in his mind and as soon as that was no longer being stoked he killed his master, tried to turn Rey to his side, tried to kill Luke and the rest of the rebellion. All the things you may even slightly feel sympathetic for were fake.

8: “Finn shouldn’t have needed to have forced labour explained to him as he is a black man”: He’s a stormtrooper, all he knows is things he worked out for himself and what they told him. In his mind the first order force labour as they are the bad guys. The bad guys are in monochrome and hate fun and pretty things. The good guys are full of colour and happiness. This place is full of colour and happiness it can’t be bad. Rose explained that to him and he got it and made the link. In starwars the ‘racial’ element isn’t in skin colour it is in species and where you were born (outer rim etc.)

SO yeah in general, I would have written it differently and it has its flaws but that doesn’t mean it is a shocking bad film. It had to be subtle and clever and that it was.

Please feel free to reply or comment, I love a good debate and there are probably things I have missed!