Author: darksidethinking

Having flirted with several Rey theories; I want to satisfy my own curiosity as to where the story is headed.

The opening scroll of The Last Jedi is going to be difficult if it is an immediate carry-on from the end of The Force Awakens. Apparently almost no time has elapsed and so the need for the scroll is dissipated. I can’t believe there wouldn’t have at least been a few weeks between the two. So what will the scroll then say?

A stab:

“Following the destruction of Starkiller base, the FIRST ORDER Starfleet has struck out from beyond the unknown regions of space, preparing to overthrow the NEW REPUBLIC.

To counter this sinister threat, the remnants of the REPUBLIC fleet have joined with the RESISTANCE under General Leia Organa on XXXXXX to plan their response.

On Ahch-To Luke Skywalker is discovered by the mysterious Rey. Meanwhile on XXXX Supreme leader Snoke is completing Kylo Ren’s training….

Therefore, I think the film will open with one of a few possibilities I’ve ranked in order of likelihood.

Cut to the First order fleet and a massive new Super Super star destroyer – Snoke’s flagship. And from there to an exhausted Kylo Ren being put through his paces.
A reversal of the above with the Millennium falcon leaving Ahch-To and then a cut to the surface and Luke / Rey’s encounter.
An almighty space battle between resistance fighters and the First Order.
The invasion of Crait aka mirroring ESB.
Not that it really matters how it opens – the key magic sauce will be how the plot unfolds over the few hours we’ll all be glued to our seats in the cinema.

For my own part, I think there will be a wonderful juxtaposition between Luke’s training of Rey and Snoke of Kylo Ren. The light vs the dark – obviously a key theme. Perhaps cutting between the two (the Rocky training montages!).

We will also see for why Luke is so aggrieved, beyond the slaying of his Jedi pupils (reason enough some might say) as to want to scurry and hide from the galaxy at large. The Jedi principals specifically warn against fear of loss (his pupils, Kylo etc), anger and desire for revenge, and of course fear. So it would be wrong to think he hides out of fear, but equally he couldn’t remain hell-bent on wishing to destroy Kylo or the first order for that emotion is a path to the dark side. My own take is that for him to be seen cowering would undermine his previous efforts and our view of a much loved character. Instead he must be there seeking something, albeit the insight as to the real nature of the original Jedi – which may convince him that the order was wrong about many things…. perhaps love for instance! It wouldn’t be the first time a film has sought to undermine the foundations of previously rock-solid foundations of religious thought. Or alternatively, the strength and insight to fight Snoke, knowing that the inevitable showdown looms eventually.

But where and what is the core likely story thread from beginning to end. There is a lot of action to squeeze in in those few hours:

A large Space battle between the First Order and the New Republic (maybe even the NR striking at the FO? One would have assumed the reverse).

The action on Crait. Which could mirror the both scenes as being an initial battle between the Resistance fighters based there and the invading First Order, who have located them.

Clearly there are sub-plots aplenty – Finn infiltrating the First Order and his showdown with Phasma. I would have said his mission could have come at the start ala Poe’s to Jakku – however with the director’s insistence that events take place immediately afterwards, that, and it would be difficult to square with injuries sustained at the end of TFA.

Luke and Rey’s trip to confront Snoke and / or Kylo Ren.

And it’s this last one that is the most interesting. We can’t assume that the big plot twist in this film is definitely centred on Rey, but rather on Kylo – after all, Disney does need to keep us guessing ready for Episode 9. It could also be that, Kylo’s hand being offered isn’t actually to Rey but rather to Luke? Could Kylo end this film having fought with Luke?

Could Rey end this film in Snoke’s clutches, setting up a Luke / Kylo rescue for Episode 9?

I have to put some chips down (albeit later to regret them) and so will go with this:

Rey is royalty and whether that means is in some way related to Snoke or that Snoke is the one who killed her parents I simply can’t tell. She is clearly of a certain parentage and that is significant. Her place in all this is that she clearly is destined for greater things and is a force user higher than any of the Skywalker’s. Having her inheriting a throne is probably a bit much for the republican american writers – although one could argue that the only throne worth inheriting would be to be Palpatine’s heir. Or a greater throne / source of power in the unknown regions.

We may learn some of her heritage in this film – but probably not all. It is also distinctly possible that her parents are still alive. But given the strong notions of parental redemption, this theory squares with the other more positive angle of her avenging (not a Jedi trait) her parent’s overthrow. My money has to be on the former and so her parentage is evil.

Which really leaves Snoke – who the hell is he? Rax, the inquisitor? Palpatine resurgent? Casterfo? A fallen Jedi? A new character from the unknown regions; the dark lord himself? An ancient Sith? I find him difficult to place. In some ways I think he is more fragile than we know – he looks too human and too damaged to be an all-powerful character, more dreaded than Palpatine himself. Yet, he must be – for the trio of Kylo, Luke and Rey to overcome him, he has to be a supplely powerful being. In some ways I quite like the notion that he was somehow discovered / resurrected. Especially if it was Luke that did it. It makes him responsible for putting him back where found. That said, he doesn’t appear to have the ‘look’ or motive to go on a galaxy-inspired domination; which at least Palpatine had in fulfilling the Sith goal of domination. Also to have sat out vast tranches of time in the unknown regions suggests either regeneration or actually weakness. And perhaps he isn’t as supreme as we think – after all it was Hux that coaxed him into using the Starkiller. So he listens to minions, Palpatine seemed more commanding. The fact he wants Skywalker found and killed suggests he is not more than a placeholder – which suggests in my opinion that Rey is his heir apparent and may well end this film with a choice to make. It would also mean Kylo is going to be enormously frustrated in that he is less powerful than her and if Snoke does indeed train her the dark side, she would be too difficult to defeat. In my heart I believe that Kylo is not totally lost, indeed has been playing a long game of overthrowing Snoke and destroying the dark side – finishing what Vader started with throwing Palpatine down a rather convenient access point to the reactor shaft.

Or of course Maz is the one orchestrating all of this – she is actually Snoke (via a smokescreen) put the wheels in motion and has a much larger part to play in bringing balance to the force… that’s the half time special 500/1 odds option.

Clearly it can’t be overtly complicated because this is a film for all ages and the lowest common denominator – i.e. children and those uninterested in cannon. I.e. the films have to be digestible to those – like my long-suffering girlfriend – who are dragged to the cinema to watch it – a stronger contrast between light (excitement!) and dark (eye rolling boredom) would be hard to find. It means that the films have to be ‘complete’ without cannon reading required. Quite a hard feat to accomplish to cater for hardcore fans who will happily digest every last facet and then those interested only in their toffee popcorn munching.

A gritty ending, with pain, suffering, darkness but that glimmer of hope (light) would cap off the film nicely. like think the ending be Poe’s speech about them being the spark that lights rebellion – the sort of speech that comes after the death of Leia and destruction of part of their fleet. Which sets us up nicely for a two year wait to buy loads more cannon books, try to tie together all the threads, miserably fail to do so and then in five years time – forget we even attempted to guess the outcome since by then it’ll all be known. Fun guessing though!

 

Could it be that Rey is unconnected to the Skywalker / Kenobi clan and is an entirely new character from parts unknown? So many words and theories have been dedicated towards drawing some link between her and the original trilogy’s main characters that one assumes there has to be some truth in them.

If TLJ is to follow the traditional arc of the dramatic familial discovery from the original trilogy, then Rey will have to digest some big reveal at the end of this movie with a further twist to come via the last instalment, in Dec 19. The most obvious would be for her to be in some way connected to Snoke. Obvious I say, because of the liklihood that she as heroine will be the one to finally defeat Snoke, with Kylo assisting and ultimately sacrificing himself to do so. Wether he does so as part of a greater plot which seems him always destined to bring down Snoke or if this conversion comes as a vader-esque conversion, time will tell. Or would Disney allow their heroine to sacrifice herself to bring him down?

The latest trailer clearly points towards her wielding an unusually strong connection with the force and from that is capable of wielding great power eventually. Snoke and Ren will be rightly fear her being trained as a Jedi and like Luke before her – it is possible that she will travel to confront Snoke before she is ready and therefore jeopardise her training. 

Some sort of showdown is inevitable and fromthere the characters are always likely to diverge from our initial perceptions of them. Pressure mounts to act when faced with dire situations. How will Snoke’s treatment of Rey affect Kylo and Luke – will Luke be taken prisoner simply to enable Rey to escape and therefore reemerge in a later film to avenge / release Luke – a rather nice take on ROTJ where Luke did all of the saving.  Or will her suffering help seep some light into Kylo’s darkness?

All told – with the below points in addition I don’t think this mystery will be solved today….

Some points / questions to consider on her origins:

• Jakku is the staging post for the unknown regions of space and so either she was dropped off there as first port of call having escaped the clutches of the First Order –  or placed there on the hope that the force would provide a path.
• Has she any link to the imperial cloning facilities that were on Jakku and therefore was she, like Anakin from an unnatural conception.
• Was she ‘left / abandoned’ on Jakku or simply not taken away from there? The departure of the ship leaving her with Plutt, could also be her being separated from her family / other orphans who were taken by the First Order.
• She understands Chewie!
• Her staff looks to be made of lightsabers – a very unusual looking item.
• Rey means Rax in spanish – king, suggesting a royal connection.
• What was Lor San Tekka doing on Jakku – if he wasn’t hiding in plain sight and destined to bring the First Order to the planet. It would be too coincidental for everything to be happening on Jakku at once – the falcon, Rey, the map to Skywalker – perhaps Lor was looking out for / looking for Rey or willing the force to bring the events on them so that Rey could fulfil her destiny.

My more outlandish thoughts on her potential story:

• She has some connection to the royal family of Mandalore and possibly to either: A) Kenobi and Satine or B) Ezra and Sabine. This would make her royalty and furthermore a product of a famous Jedi and a warrior people – a formidable adversary.
• She is a pure force creation like Anakin. An entirely new being.
• She is Annakin’s sister – left frozen / in carbonite or simply a clone from Jakku – which lacks romance and possibly throws the timeframes out.
• She is Palpatine’s granddaughter or in some way related to him – providing her with an imbalance like Luke – which could threaten to turn her either way.
• “There is another Skywalker…” Perhps the other wasn’t Leia to whom Yoda referred but rather Anakin’s sibling or another relative that is in some way connected to Rey.

 

As I said in the previous post, this note will be totally redundant in years to come. We will eventually have the answers, and the great mystery will be solved. The time devoted by fans in trying to pre-guess the outcome will have been wasted, save for satisfying their own inner sleuth. Only time will tell if any of us guessed right. For my part, I have not exhaustively researched this and write this only out of fascination and excitement at the impending release of The Last Jedi. 

Following the release of The Force Awakens fans were left with several key questions that remained unanswered:

–       Who is Rey?

–       Who abandoned her on Jakku?

–       Who are her parents; is she a Skywalker, a Kenobi, a Palpatine, Snoke’s daughter or   of an entirely new linigae?

–       Who is Snoke?

–       Where did the First Order come from? And how did Snoke come to lead it?

–       Why did Luke Skywalker disappear?

–       Is there something more to Kylo Ren (Ben’s) dark path?

–       What is the significance of Jakku?

My own belief is that whilst Disney is a great commercial machine and keen to make good on its $4 Bn investment in the franchise. The motive behind stringing out potential new story arcs and teeing up Christmas releases for years to come, is outweighed by the gatekeepers who have an undoubted passion for wanting to finally make good on the promise of the Star Wars universe and the potential for an explosive expansion in the number of films, series and other mediums it can deliver. That team will have – I hope – taken the best of the old Extended Universe and carved out an exciting new path for the future of the story to take. And whilst elements of The Force Awakens were dissappinting, there is hope that with enough loose ends created and mystery surrounding some of the key questions above – they have left sufficient space for some startling revelations and some bold story initiatives going forward.

 

 

 

 

It’s been a long two years to wait for the next instalment. Two years that have seen fans devote countless hours trying to solve the riddles surrounding the likely story arc going forward. Somewhere out there on You Tube  someone has cracked it, and they will rejoice to the hilltops that they got there first. The other theories will wither in cyberspace until some insomniac dredges them up and creates ‘the ten worst theories’ for us all to mock.

But mock I can’t bring myself to do. Part of the joy of this period of flux is that none of us, save the guardians of the story squirrelled away in Skywalker ranch or wherever Disney has them locked up, actually know for sure where the story is going. We have likely made some inroads in guessing where the story threads are pointing to, albeit having devoured (at great expense in terms of treasure and time we could ill afford) the countless additional books and other trinkets Disney has saturated the market with.

What is wonderful is for those of my generation – the kids born in the mid eighties – who first saw Star Wars a decade too late, usually on some unsuitable TV with a grainy VHS copy over-borrowed from Blockbuster, we now have some inkling as to what it was like to wait…and wait…and wait (a bit like Rey!) for the next instalment. Yes we had the prequels, but they arguably didn’t generate the same hype or excitement as the originals or this new trilogy.

Over the coming days, as a way of escaping the encroaching horrors of work towards the year-end (the busiest period in my industry) I am going to use what little spare time I have to embarrass myself thoroughly. Poor spelling and grammar aside – I will make a stab at guessing where I think the story is headed. Cue much potential embarrassment, which will sit here on cyberspace for eternity (or until the Ruskies pull the plug on the whole thing). However, if I do guess right, I will have the satisfaction of being able to point to this here, humble blog and demonstrate my insight forevermore and then surprise myself pleasantly at how few people care and invite a whole new level of mockery for geekery and big headedness. The risk is embarrassment either way, but what is life if we don’t take the plunge and embrace risk. A topic for another day I’m sure…