The Force Awakens - Thoughts and Reactions (SPOILERS WITHIN)

[Dunbar Snackbar]

@Saul I actually agree with that theory with Kylo Ren being a good guy 100%. I read that theory and then went and watched it again yesterday and wholeheartedly subscribe to the theory that he is actually good. There were SO MANY THINGS that support it that I hadn't seen before. I see it that Snoke kills luke in Ep 8 and that is when we see that Kylo is actually good and then episode 9 he and Rey (who I wholeheartedly believe isa Kenobi) team up to finally defeat Snoke.

 

[Vulpes]

Observation; Poe & Rey don't interact in the entire film. Intentional for a plot twist, or...

Could they possibly be siblings? We meet Poe's parents in Shattered Empire, and Shara Bey [His mother] and Luke do meet each other. Is there an offset chance? Did BB-8 see something in her, maybe that they're relatives?

It's probably nothing, and unintentional, in all actuality, but the possibility exists they're more relevant to each other than we realize.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Shara died 7 after Return of the Jedi and Rey was born 11 years after, so the timing wouldn't work. Though I do admit I had that thought too before Shara's fate was revealed.

 

[Phil]

I find the whole "Kylo Ren is being evil to destroy Snoke" very hard to believe after he ran his saber through his own father, and I really hope this does not do a repeat of Return of the Jedi.

By the way, is there an official name/designation for this badass?

 

[Brandon Rhea]

It's a common trope that a secretly good character has to do something terrible in order to gain the trust of the villain. Snape killing Dumbledore in order to gain Voldemort's trust comes to mind. So it's not that far-fetched, if the theory ends up being true.

 

[Loco]

I find the whole "Kylo Ren is being evil to destroy Snoke" very hard to believe after he ran his saber through his own father, and I really hope this does not do a repeat of Return of the Jedi.

By the way, is there an official name/designation for this badass?

FN-LOYALTY

 

[Marcus]

By the way, is there an official name/designation for this badass?

Finn's BDSM master now.

It's a common trope that a secretly good character has to do something terrible in order to gain the trust of the villain. Snape killing Dumbledore in order to gain Voldemort's trust comes to mind. So it's not that far-fetched, if the theory ends up being true.

Man, it's only been 10 and 6 years since that book and movie (respectively) were released. SPOILER ALERT, sheesh!

 

[Dunbar Snackbar]

After watching it again after reading the theory, one thing that came to mind in that death scene was there didn't seem to be a real struggle from Han. It was almost as if he was going along with it. There was no "Ben don't!" or really even that much of a struggle. We do know that there was a little struggle with the lightsaber but it very well could have been Han pulling the lightsaber toward him and activating it and Ben fighting his dad from doing it. This is Han Solo we are talking about, he could have pulled out a blaster, punched him in the face or have done something more to have tried to live and fight another day.

I'll be honest, I could be just looking for things here and molding events to fit the theory but I think there is no better way for Han to go down than sacrificing himself so Ben can help defeat the Sith. I think there is more to this death than we know right now.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

I wouldn't read too much into the lack of struggle. He wasn't Han Solo the legendary smuggler in that scene. He was Han Solo the father, who desperately wanted to save his son. Having him try to fight back would have been a terrible decision on the part of the writers.

 

[Jetzt]

It's certainly worth pointing out that the movie cannot simply be watched once to be appreciated. On my first showing it felt a bit rushed to me. I came out of the cimena on opening night frustrated by the fact that there were so many unanswered questions; "why has Maz got Luke's lightsaber?", "who is Rey?", "How can she be so powerful without training?", etc, etc... But after reflection it became so glaringly obvious that this was a return to classic Star Wars story telling. Being born in the late 80's meant that I had always been brought up on a completed trilogy. There were no unanswered plot questions for me. There were no cliff hangers. Likewise the prequels only ever had one conclusion - stick Anakin in the Vader suit. The prequels spent too much time trying to tie up loose ends that didn't need justification (e.g. What is the force/midichlorian nonsense) while forcing us to change our ideas and reassess how we imagined the Galaxy before there was a point of reference.

What the force awakens does so brilliantly is that it leaves you wondering not only about the future by leaving us on numerous cliff hangers (what happens between Rey/Luke?, will Finn be alright?, did Kylo, Phasma and Hux get out alive?, who is Snoke?, etc) it also hints at the past and forces you to speculate (what is Lor San Tekka's relationship with Luke?, why did Luke go into hiding?, who are Rey's parents?, etc.)

It was when reflecting on these points that I wondered what it must have been like to be a kid in the 70's after watching the original Star Wars. I watched JJ do a speech on the "mystery box" which I found extremely interesting. The original Star Wars asks so many unanswered questions. It has a habit of saying things in the script without elaborating on the subject. It leaves you with questions like "what is Tosche station?", "What are power converters?", "what we're the clone wars?", "what is the force?", "what is the Kessel run?". These are all questions that occur in the first act of Star Wars. Many of these questions aren't answered but by having your characters discuss them or mention them allows them and their universe to have enormous depth while allowing your audience to speculate and use their imaginations to tie up loose ends while being immersed in the story. Let's be clear, Star Wars is not science fiction, it's fantasy. Star Wars doesn't need to tell you how things work, it doesn't need to elaborate on everything, it doesn't need to make sense. It just needs to be interesting.

This is what I mean by a return to classic Star Wars story telling. The force awakens does this spectacularly.

It's only when you return and watch the film for the second or third time that you notice little hints dropped into the script or a prop that explains something to you. There are a few very strong examples of this in the movie that I didn't pick up on the first time I saw the film. The first is during the Rey/Kylo interrogation. Kylo quite clearly tells her that he can see the island that she imagines. This is a very strong indication that she has foreknowledge of Luke's whereabouts, perhaps she's been there before or perhaps the force is simply providing her with a visions that she wouldn't understand (don't forget, she only knows Jakku, Rey would have no idea what an island is). Then after her escape, Kylo tells his stormtroopers to find her quickly because the longer she's out there the more powerful she'll become. It's almost an acceptance from Kylo that his interrogation has unlocked memories and feelings inside Rey which will ultimately mean that she will become a threat... And then there is Lor San Tekka, who ultimately, I believe, plays the Obi-Wan role in this movie. It's far too much of a coincidence that an ally of Luke and Leia, who has a map to Luke, would be on the same desert planet as Rey. Although the the script never mentions the connection, it's not hard to put two and two together. Also, and I don't think this is getting much attention online for some reason, BB-8 tells Rey that where he comes from is "classified". Her response is extremely odd and very telling : "Classified? Me too - big secret". This is surely the biggest hint that Rey knows something. As for props, there are a few things that I found interesting. The rebel pilot helmet that she puts on has the name 'Raeh" on it in Aurebesh. Coincidence? I doubt it. Was she nameless when she was dropped onto Jakku? Probably not but if her memory was wiped perhaps she took the name on this helmet as her own. It's a theory.

Shit, I could speculate for days... And that is the magic of this movie. This is the magic of Star Wars. This is what we've been waiting for for all of these years.

Was it a perfect movie? Of course not. The biggest criticism is that the plot beats are too similar to a new hope and I can see that. Did we need another Death Star? No. Could Phasma have put up a bit of a fight before lowering the shields on Starkiller? Yes. Does R2's reactivation feel odd and out of place? Certainly, but I challenge anyone to point out a single plot hole in the entire film. They don't exist. Sure there are unanswered questions but there are no plot holes. It was exceptionally written, directed and edited. But ultimately this script has left the flood gates wide open for Rian Johnson to come and write something completely different for episode 8. It will allow him to fill in the gaps and push through a story narrative that will take new and unexpected directions.

This is a very exiting time for Star Wars.

 

[Ser Gregor]

It's a common trope that a secretly good character has to do something terrible in order to gain the trust of the villain. Snape killing Dumbledore in order to gain Voldemort's trust comes to mind. So it's not that far-fetched, if the theory ends up being true.

Not to mention that was Ulic Qel-Droma's plan in the KotOR comics. He pretended to go rogue in order to infiltrate the Krath before being seduced to the dark side by Exar Kun.

So there is a precedent in Star Wars. Personally I don't believe it's the case.

 

[Jetzt]

I think it worth pointing out that Dumbledore's death was a single selfless sacrifice. Having Ren slaughter dozens of Jedi and be a ruthless arsehole throughout the whole film (ordering the villagers to be killed,etc) to gain Snoke's trust doesn't fit that narrative.

Plus, the monologue with Vader's helmet wouldn't make sense... And we know that his one and only goal throughout the whole movie is to locate and destroy Luke Skywalker. Seems like a very extravagant plan to eventually betray Snoke.

 

[Wit]

By the way, is there an official name/designation for this badass?

TR-8R :D

 

[Saul]

I find the whole "Kylo Ren is being evil to destroy Snoke" very hard to believe after he ran his saber through his own father, and I really hope this does not do a repeat of Return of the Jedi.

By the way, is there an official name/designation for this badass?

They're calling him the Loyal Stormtrooper of Sick Spins in the meme world. He's famous now. TR8-T0R. Also known as the Spintrooper.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tr8-t0r-the-stormtrooper-tray-tor

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

They're calling him the Loyal Stormtrooper of Sick Spins in the meme world. He's famous now. TR8-T0R. Also known as the Spintrooper.
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tr8-t0r-the-stormtrooper-tray-tor

All I know is he is the example we all needed, the standard we should all strive to reach.

 

[Saul]

All I know is he is the example we all needed, the standard we should all strive to reach.

He was loyal when everyone else was a traitor.

 

[Saul]

 

[K-97]

A good theory I found on who TR-8R is:

 

[Marcus]

So my second go was just as good, if not better to me. An interesting note is that I really started to thing Rey was NOT a Skywalker but someone else. Interactions with Maz and others just hinted at it too much. But as soon as she grabbed the saber from the snow and Luke's music played, I knew it had to be her. Music plays a key role in Williams' world and I cannot imagine that was an accident. Same argument could be made for who Snoke is...

Of course maybe Luke's theme is more of a Jedi one, but anyways...

 

[The Captain]

Since there are over 350 some comments on this thread and I am FAR too lazy to look through them all, does anyone else think Finn should have had the Force and not Rey?