#“hopefully Darth Vader is nobody's dark father!”

[david-talks-sw]

Bit of a random post, but…

The name Ben came up with as a child is "Kylo". If I had to guess, his train of thought was:

Skywalker + Solo = Kylo

I genuinely love that The Rise of Kylo Ren hints that it's not some eldritch moniker but just a "cool name" that a kid came up with. Like, this is probably how JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan came up with the name, and years later: boom, it becomes lore that's tailored to the character's personality. Pretty neat.

[writing-is-my-guilty-pleasure]

Patient || Kylo Ren/Ben Solo x Reader ~ Part 4

A/N: Part 4! Thanks for everyone’s patience (lol) with this part - Uni has been incredibly time consuming and I’ve just been too tired to write anything - so I’m trying to write a few things in advance on my Christmas holiday! I think there should only be one or two more parts in this series, and feedback is always welcome :)

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 

Main Masterlist

Star Wars Masterlist

“What’s your reason?” Your eyes flickered up to meet Kylo’s after he spoke, trying to make sense of his question as your eyes unintentionally trailed over his face.

“My reason for what, Sir?” You eventually replied as you gave up trying to figure out what he was talking about. Why did he have to speak so cryptically? “You’re going to have to give me more than that – it could mean anything knowing you.” You smiled cheekily at him from your position at the end of his bed; this time he’d called you with a deep gash stretching up the side of his left leg. It looked incredibly painful, and you couldn’t comprehend how he was purposefully putting himself through this much pain just to see you – at least, that’s what you hoped he was doing, otherwise you were completely misreading this whole situation.

“You reason for joining the First Order.” Kylo spoke bluntly. “You’ve been fixing me up for months now, and yet I feel like we are still strangers to each other.” If you hadn’t just averted your gaze back to his leg, you might have noticed the corners of his lips twitch up into the slightest shadow of a smile – but it was gone as quickly as it came.

“Oh! Oh, right, of course.” You smiled. “Well, my father was the Chief Medical Officer when he was in the First Order, and on his breaks he’d always try and teach me as much as he could about medicine before my mother caught him teaching me things that were too gory or troubling for my ‘young eyes’.” You huffed out a laugh at the thought of your parents. “So I joined because I wanted to be a Doctor and to hopefully be the Chief Medical Officer myself one day – I love my father and I’d be proud to follow in his footsteps and be as half as successful as he was.”

“And I wouldn’t say we’re strangers – I mean I’m pretty familiar with your body by now.” Your eyes widened at the realisation of what you said, and you continued in slight panic. “Not like that! I didn’t mean it to sound like that at all, Sir, oh dear.” You sighed, deflated. “I look like such an idiot now.” You muttered under your breath, as you returned your efforts to applying some soothing balm to Kylo’s wound, and preparing the equipment you’d need to give him stitches.

“It’s alright.” Kylo peered down at his leg to try and see what you were doing. “I’m used to your tongue-tied manner of speaking by now.” You raised your eyebrows in surprise.

You let out a giggle at his attempt at a mild joke, and the rest of your visit was spent in friendly silence, dispersed with the occasional small talk.

 “Y/N!” You jerked upright in your seat, blinking rapidly as you came to your senses, the memory of one of your favourite interactions with Kylo fading from your mind. Yasmyn was staring at you in slight concern. “Are you alright? I’ve been trying to get your attention for a minute now.”

“Oh yes, sorry!” You sighed, running a hand through your hair distractedly. “I’m fine thanks, just a bit tired I guess.” You adjusted yourself on Yasmyn’s bed; the two of you were having your weekly girl’s night – or as girly as it could get aboard the ship.

“Something on your mind?” Yasmyn asked sympathetically as she finished braiding her long, dark hair. “Or someone?” She grinned at you, wiggling her eyebrows. “Maybe someone tall, dark and mysterious?”

“I wasn’t thinking about Kylo.” You chided firmly, trying not to let your blush be too visible. At least once every girl’s night the topic of Kylo Ren would be brought up, as Yasmyn was always eager to hear about what the you and Kylo had shared with each other, because ‘even though he’s practically the leader of our fleet, nobody knows anything about him, and the gossip on this ship is so dry, your relationship with Kylo is the only thing I have going right now’.

“I never said you were thinking about Kylo.” Yasmyn grinned triumphantly. “I only said you might be thinking about someone tall, dark and mysterious. I never said it was Kylo, Y/N. I never said-” She was cut off as you threw a pillow at her face in retaliation.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Another two months had gone by since Kylo’s incident with the ‘scavenger girl’ – although it was never too easy to tell the time in space, and you had gone from being someone relatively quiet and unknown except to those you worked with, to someone whose name was slowly being passed around the entire ship. This wasn’t your fault – you hated having more attention than was necessary – no, the only person you could blame for this sort of attention was none other than Kylo Ren.

Over these two months, he’d managed to amass a mysterious amounts of injuries – when you compared the sheer amount of times you’d been called in to the times he was off the ship or in training, you were finding it harder and harder to believe that Kylo wasn’t getting all these injuries on purpose. But try as you might, you couldn’t really complain about it, as every time that you were called to assist Kylo, the more you got to know him, and the more you opened up to him.

But the closer the two of you grew, the more the rumours started to spread around the ship; and they were very clearly not in your favour. Because the more you were sent to assist Kylo, the more your co-workers noticed, and the nosier they all got; every time you returned from a trip to Kylo’s room you were crowded with questions from those closer to you, and judgemental and resentful glances from everyone else.

By now, whether because of these rumours or not, you’d got a reputation for yourself, and had even been personally called by other high-ranking officers to personally assist them – if you were good enough for Kylo Ren, then you were good enough for them. And that was actually how you got yourself into the situation that you were currently in. You were currently attending a very important meeting regarding a mission that would put quite a lot of Stormtroopers at risk, so you had also brought various medical records and lists of all the medical equipment on-board the ship. You had also had to evaluate the percentages of how many soldiers would either die or be seriously injured, so the rest of the medical team could prepare the right amount of equipment.

When the meeting was originally arranged, it was supposed to be attended by the Chief Medical Officer, however he was needed elsewhere; he had an emergency surgery that he needed to attend, and he trusted you out of all the other medics to cover for him. Possibly because he knew Kylo…favoured you over everyone else.

“So,” General Hux spoke up, finally starting the meeting. “The attack on the rebel base will begin with at least a quarter of the soldiers on-board, as we currently only have a rough estimate of just how many rebel soldiers are hiding out in that base.” You nodded, typing out quick notes on your personal padd for later.

“We’ll most likely be sending about one third or our forces down to begin with – enough to scare the rebel forces and if needed we can send in reinforcements.” Hux moved tiny digital figures about on a screen, illustrating where each group of the forces would be positioned to attack the base. “The rest of the fleet will be on standby in case a new strategy is required and a temporary retreat is needed. I would hope that our forces aren’t pathetic enough for us to even consider retreating.” He turned abruptly, eyeing you haughtily. “Do we have sufficient medical supplies for the foreseeable casualties?”

You looked up nervously from your padd – you’d been making rough notes about this most recent plan so you could report back to your boss and he could begin to prepare everything.

“Yes, General Hux, I do believe that we have enough supplies.” You pulled yourself together, trying not to ‘um’ and ‘err’ your way through your sentence. “But of course, I will send all the necessary figures to my superior as I do not have full access to all our equipment, and in the case that there are any supplies we may be short on.” You added as an afterthought – if there was anything that needed to be ordered you didn’t want the responsibility to be solely yours. “One third of the forces was it? And the rest on standby…” You re-capped while scribbling down extra notes. “And my superior sends his most sincere apologies that he could not be here instead of me.”

“No matter.” General Hux waved away your apology indifferently. “As long as all information gets relayed I could not care less who is here in his stead.” And with that, he continued with explaining the various stages of the attack.

Then, just as you were retreating slightly back into the mass of officers crowded around the main screen, you heard someone speak under their breath; ‘Well, it won’t be long until she does have authority to all our medical supplies, considering she’s been sleeping her way to the top with Ren. And then who knows how irresponsibly she’d use our supplies.”

You stop where you stand, feeling a flush creep up your face, turning it bright red in embarrassment. You could see those nearest to you glancing in your direction with obvious distain and disapproval, as if they were imagining a future where you were in some ways their superior. You could hear whispers on every side, many of them agreeing with the nameless whisperer, and you finally opened your mouth to defend yourself, when-

“I hope you’re not insinuating that I, the descendant of Darth Vader, would be capable of behaving like a common whore on my ship.” Kylo’s cold, slightly robotic voice echoed loudly across the room, silencing everyone, including General Hux. Nobody dared to speak, and you stood frozen in a mix of fear and embarrassment. “Because that’s certainly what it sounded like, Lieutenant Kendell.” At this, a few people subtly turned their heads in the direction of the offending statement, and you turned to see a relatively weedy looking man visibly shrink away from Kylo.

“I- of course, no sir, I didn’t mean to offend you-” You watched him backtrack, stammering over his response as Kylo simply stood, watching him. “I-I simply wish to see our forces grow and thrive, and was only remarking that this medic would not be our best way of seeing this happen – I mean she may be far too inexperienced for such a role-”

“So you assume she is using me to gain status? Her family name far outranks yours in any case, Lieutenant, so such foolish thoughts are unnecessary.” Kylo interrupted, and the room seemed to grow darker. “You assumed that I would succumb to any such advances?” He took one single step towards the unfortunate Lieutenant. “You forget your place, Lieutenant. It would be wise not to do so again in the future. It would be unfortunate to lose a member of our staff because of such a foolish mistake.” With this threat hanging in the air, he turned, cape flowing dramatically behind him, to face Hux, who continued his speech.

As everyone began to settle down, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander as you replayed the conflict. You weren’t hurt by Kylo’s behaviour, more confused that he would go out of his way to seemingly defend your honour – you assumed he wouldn’t want people to know that the two of you were even relatively acquainted. You mulled over your thoughts, confusion fogging your mind as you absentmindedly followed suite and exited the room amidst the other officers, heading back to the med-wing.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Later that day, after you’d relayed all information back to your boss, and sent him the notes you’d made, you finally made the journey back to your room. Luckily, it was your day off tomorrow, so you could afford to have a nice, relaxing shower that would hopefully clear your mind of the stresses of the day.

Eventually, when you’d got out of the shower and put on less formal clothes, (not quite pyjamas – these were your own clothes so your evening consisted of leggings and an oversized shirt) you just so happened to check your padd for any messages from Yas, when you saw a message in your inbox that was unread. Upon checking it, your blood ran cold – it had been sent 8 minutes ago, and it was from Kylo himself. Not another officer messaging on his behalf, but from Kylo himself.

You sat bolt upright from where you had been reclining in bed, and double checked the message. It was from Kylo alright, and it had been sent-

“Eight minutes ago?!” You shrieked, hurriedly scrambling to your feet, shoving your feet in your usual uniformed shoes, pulling on a long cardigan and rushing out of your room. It took you longer than eight minutes to get to Kylo’s chambers, but it was a decent enough amount of delay from the time the message was sent to when you actually saw it, that Kylo would be sure to notice that you were eight minutes later than you should have been. He didn’t even set a time; he had simply requested your presence in his chamber, but the underlying message was that your presence was to be requested immediately.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

About fifteen minutes later, you skidded to a halt outside Kylo’s chambers, having run most of the way there. You frantically tried to catch your breath as you smoothed your hair, trying to appear as though you hadn’t spent the last fifteen minutes worrying that your lungs were going to explode. You introduced yourself to the guards outside Kylo’s room, and no sooner than you spoke the door slid open, one of the guards gesturing for you to go through.

“You’re late.” Kylo stated after the door had closed behind you. He was standing at his window, back to you, helmet off.

“My apologies, Sir.” You began, taking a few cautious steps forwards. “I was…well, occupied at the time that you sent the message. Believe me, I would have come sooner if I had seen your request sooner-”

“Occupied?” Kylo turned to face you, his expression impassive as ever; his interrupting statement, rather than question lingering in the air. “I was under the impression that once your shift was over you no longer need to be occupied.”

“Um...” You flushed slightly, subconsciously running a hand through your damp hair. “Occupied…in my shower?” You avoided his burning stare. There was silence for a moment, as if Kylo was trying to determine whether or not he believed you without delving too deep into your mind.

“You are excused of your tardiness this time.” He eventually spoke, and you relaxed slightly.

“If I may, Sir, why did you want me here?” You ventured, rocking back and forth on your heels as you glanced around the (now) familiar room. “If it’s to do with the comments made in the meeting earlier, I apologise if I’ve done anything to-to damage your reputation-”

“If anyone was going to ruin my reputation, it would not be you.” He cut in coolly. “You are not exactly in a position to do so.” He gestured to a chair set out in front of his desk. “Sit. We have much to discuss.” You did as he said, shifting around on the surprisingly soft seat, trying to get comfortable. He too, sat down in a chair he seemingly pulled out of the shadows of his room.

“If you think it is better for not to…run into each other more often, Sir, I understand that.” You started, leaning forwards in your seat. “I feel like rumours about-” you paused, unsure if you could refer to whatever the two of you were as ‘us’, but decided to go with it anyway. “Us, have been following me for almost a week now and it could ruin any chance I have of becoming Chief Medical Officer because everyone thinks I just sleep around and haven’t earned my place because of my family name.” You continued in frustration. “And it doesn’t help that, no offence, you seem to acquire a range of injuries from who knows where, and nobody else seems to want to take up the job because they’re convinced we’re having an affair or something – I’m lucky my boss is sympathetic towards me otherwise I could have lost my job or been demoted by now.” The words seemed to tumble from your lips, unending.

“You think my situation is any better?” Kylo stood, beginning to pace around the room. “I have the power of the Force, I can easily tell what people are thinking, and they do little to conceal their thoughts in my presence.” He spun on his heel, his bulking form towering over you. “I will not be taken for a fool by those pathetic enough to believe such rumours. I will not let them defile my name and my presence, or yours-” he cut himself off as his voice grew louder in anger. You stood as well, anxiously wringing your hands.

“I appreciate that, Sir.” You said quietly. “I know what’s on the line for you, and I’m sorry that it got this far. Maybe it would be better for a different medic to attend to your many injuries.” You felt more dejected than you probably should – after all this was a professional relationship.

“That won’t be necessary. While I am sure your co-workers are capable at doing their job, I know that you are most familiar with what antidotes work with my body and what do not.” Kylo dismissed your suggestion.

“Well what do you suggest?” You asked, a hint of exasperation in your tone. “While I do enjoy your company, Sir, I don’t want our meetings to affect your image.” There was a pause as Kylo took in your words.

“No. I will not be bullied by my insubordinates.” You heard him say, almost to himself. “We shouldn’t even be having this conversation; I don’t need to please the rest of the fleet – I just need them to win me this fight against the rebellion.” He strode to stand in front of you, and you gazed up at him. “I should not have to change my behaviour for them, and neither should you.” You opened your mouth in protest.

“But Sir, I-”

“You are under my protection. If there is anyone giving you trouble, you will report it straight to me.” He stood tall, not like that was hard for him to do, and you swallowed heavily, in awe of the sheer power he radiated. “That is an order. Do you understand?” His voice grew quieter at the end of his sentence; but he was no less grand.

“Yes, Sir.” You replied, suddenly finding it difficult to speak clearly, a smile visible on your face for the first time that day. “Thank you, Sir.”

“I think we’re past the use of such formalities, considering that today you’ve been accused of sleeping your way to power and I have been accused of doing such with someone of a lower station.” He said smoothly, his face as clear of emotion as ever.

“How else should I address you?” You asked, slightly flustered. (And slightly stung by the ‘lower station’ jab but it was the truth.) This must be one of the most bizarre days of my life, you thought to yourself, mind racing.

“You strike me as an intelligent woman, Officer Y/N; surely you do not need me to spell it out for you. Obviously the usual title when others are present.” He said, now walking you towards his door, hands behind his back, his form looming over yours. “Just because I allowed you to address me as such in private, I must remind you I will not be as lenient when we are in public.” He said placidly.

You nodded in acknowledgement. Kylo it is then – that was the only less formal title that you could think of. “Of course. I wouldn't dream of doing any such thing, Kylo.” You saw the left corner of his mouth twitch ever so slightly at your words as he opened the door, allowing you to step through. “I do hope you don't over-exert yourself in training, or do anything to worsen your injuries.” You called as you started to walk back down the corridor. “It would be a shame to meet again so prematurely.” For one of the most feared men in the galaxy, he isn’t nearly as subtle as he thinks, your smile widening as you walk back in the direction of your room, and you could have sworn you heard a chuckle echo down the corridor behind you.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Taglist: @ah-callie​

(also tagging @joscelyn02​ - just in case you wanted to know when the next part was out :) )

[ariainstars]

Rey Palpatine, Kylo Ren or Ben Solo: Who’s Got the Button?

Warning: longer post.

  Who Is Rey?

Sigh. I can’t believe I was this naïve. Really, I can’t.

There are narrative parallels between The Force Awakens and A New Hope, of course. But apart from desert planet and droid, the parallels between Rey and Luke, which many fans took for a sign that she might be a secret daughter of his, are few. 

Rey is a slave on a desert planet who collects and repairs spare parts. Her parents were nobodies. She doesn’t want to leave because it would make her lose the tenuous link she has with her family.

She saves someone she just met in a brave, crazy stunt where she proves that she is a very good pilot even with hardly any training.

She meets a kind elderly man who tells her about the Force. He is a father figure for her because she doesn’t have one, but he gets killed about a day after she met him.

She had barely known about the Jedi but finds out she has talent in the Force, so instead of going home she is sent to train with someone whom she doesn’t know and who is not very willing to do so, and not capable of being a father figure for her either. 

This is Anakin to a T! And Anakin ended up being the bad guy in the end. I’m sure that watching the PT, no one who was unfamiliar with the saga would have believed he would be. 

It is not a coincidence that Ben’s light sabre looked like a cross and Rey’s like a fork: that was another dead giveaway announcing that he would be the victim in this story, and she the perpetrator.

„Show me again the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started.” Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens 

Ben and Rey are a dyad, meaning that in one way or another, their destinies parallel one another. It was he who wanted to “finish what his grandfather started”: but it was she who actually finished what her grandfather had started. Jedi and Skywalker family are extinct; Finn may or may not be Force-sensitive, but he’s not trained. All of this leaves Rey solely in charge. And everybody cheers her, the way Palpatine was cheered when he ended the clone wars. But the dirty work had been done by Anakin; same goes for his grandson.

It all fits together too well: Rey was always meant to turn out evil, while the “bad guy” in truth was the hero all along. If you watch the Sequel Trilogy again and feel annoyed by their development, try to look at it from this perspective. 

“Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!” Palpatine in Return of the Jedi

Palpatine always needed someone young and fresh by his side to give him strength; which could be explained by the fact, finally addressed in The Rise of Skywalker, that he is some kind of clone. Not being capable of living on his own, he wanted Rey to kill him so that all of the darkness inside him would possess her, and he managed. Now he is reborn, and the young woman stepping into his shoes believes that the worst is behind her. The truth is that the Enemy is now an inherent part of her.

The good news is that by this time, Rey has also made the experience of unconditional love: Kylo / Ben saw her at her worst, but he still cared about her. Some viewers thought that Rey would be the key to Ben’s redemption, but honestly: that story had already been told with Luke and his father. The alleged bad guy saving the alleged heroine from herself is a new message in Star Wars; a message so powerful that I still didn’t get over it.

The Heir of Sheev Palpatine 

Palpatine’s role in the saga tends to be downplayed although he is the mastermind behind it all: in the PT he is literally one of the first characters we see. It is easy to say that he was the devil incarnate who wanted absolute power - he also was a sly and influential politician, and after the clone wars he did bring peace to the galaxy reuniting the Republic and the separatists under the roof of the Empire. Anakin and his heirs could not make up for his sins because they were busy with their own and the Jedi’s. 

As the audience, we want to see our heroes happy; yet their failures and unhappiness are often necessary.

Anakin and Padmé had to die so their children could grow up the way they did, two idealistic souls untainted by the Jedi’s sins.

Leia had to lose Alderaan, else the princess would hardly have had a chance to marry the scoundrel.

Luke had to lose his home with his uncle and aunt, else he wouldn’t have agreed to come with Obi-Wan in the first place; and he had to go through the trauma with his father’s revelation to become the wise and strong hero of Return of the Jedi.

And sad as it is, Ben had to spend almost all of his life in a dark place. The few moments of understanding he had with Rey in TLJ were probably the few rays of lights in his whole adult life; no wonder he fell so deeply for her that he would literally have done anything for her; he had to become a besotted idiot who saved the girl he loved although she had literally killed him and usurped his whole heritage. 

Meaning: Rey was always meant to take over. 

This is not only the story of the Skywalker family, it’s also the story of a galaxy in desperate want of balance and peace. And if you want to tell how that is accomplished, you can’t erase Palpatine from the equation. Palpatine is a “clone”, i.e. he is not wholly human; which makes him a parallel to Anakin who ostensibly had been generated without a father. Rey, flawed as she is, is a young woman of flesh and blood. 

The Prequel Trilogy humanized Darth Vader; the Sequel Trilogy did the same with Palpatine. Few viewers expected this because one hardly gets interested in the villain’s bloodline. Vader’s portrayal as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels was also largely disliked because the young man was everything but cold and sardonic like the villain he became later. And as many viewers did not like to see “their” Darth Vader humanized (portrayed as a good little boy and then an ardent, stormy young man), now we don’t like Palpatine coming back in form of a young woman, who for sure is deeply flawed but not by far the monster he was. Palpatine always wanted to use Anakin’s, the Chosen One’s, power for himself; and with his final plan he managed to blend his heritage with the soul of the last Skywalker scion. 

  The Heir of Anakin Skywalker

Vader had to become Palpatine’s ally and to serve him loyally to make the old devil let his guard down enough for him to kill him at last, just like Kylo had to fool Snoke that he was still on his side while in the Throne Room he was silently plotting his demise. Anakin always was the hero of the Skywalker saga, a fact that is largely overlooked. His son pushed him to do the right thing, but the decision was his own, and he paid with his life.

Many fans of the Original Trilogy and also of the prequels dislike the sequels heartily because to them it “retconned” or “cancelled” what had happened before. Which is not quite true; the original heroes did find their happy ending. We witnessed what came after that, which irritates us because it’s something we usually never face once the credits roll or the book covers are closed. That does not mean that the heroes’ accomplishments are obliterated.

My guess: these fans might be right and the Skywalker saga is indeed at its end with Return of the Jedi. The saga was Anakin Skywalker’s story, and he died.

What did not die was his heritage - his sins, his excruciating pain, but also his heroism, and his prophecy as the one who would “bring Balance to the Force.” The mistake of his heirs was having wanted to go back to what once had been. Their links to the past were tenuous, e.g. we never learn how Luke came to know what had made the Jedi fail (the content of his second lesson to Rey); in any case, he must have learned it only after the fall of his own temple, in order to explain why he wanted to give up on the Jedi. Obi-Wan never told about his own faults, the clone wars, the Republic, the creation of Darth Vader; most importantly, he never mentioned to Luke that his father actually was the Chosen One, and that the Force wants Balance. It is not surprising that Luke and his friends could not build lasting peace, not knowing what had caused the conflicts. They had to fail; “failure is the greatest teacher” means that only from understanding and moving away from those failures the galaxy will (hopefully) finally learn to avoid repeating the Empire, the First Order, the Final Order etc. over and over again.

I also did not like very much what the sequels did to the heroes of the original trilogy, honestly. But had they survived, found together again, and or proven more heroic and less flawed than they were this time around, the general audience would never have stopped pestering the studios with wanting more of Han, Luke and Leia. And that’s not how it’s supposed to be. They’ve done their time; they had their happy ending. They had their hero’s journey. They ended the Empire the way they wanted, their achievements were completed. It is up to the next generation to learn from the past and build something new and better. We, in our everyday life, also have to bring the people we once looked up to (parents, teachers, mentors etc.) down from their pedestal and to acknowledge the good they did but also see their failures and limitations, if we ever want to get on with our own lives.

In this light, the Sequel Trilogy is indeed not part of Anakin Skywalker’ story. If Ben is brought back and stands good on his promise of finishing the Chosen One’s work, then it will be a new saga - his. Not his grandfather’s any more.

Though a Palpatine, I believe Rey does have the potential for finding balance and unite the galaxy. If Ben, her dyad, comes back to do his part, the galaxy will be again under the rule of two powerful Force users the way it was when the OT begin; but this time they need a chance on something united and positive.

  Balance At Last?

The authors repeatedly stated that the sequels would be “very much like the prequels”: not incidentally. The prequels also were the story of a usurpation, where at the end everything that was good seemed forgotten or turned into the hand of the wrong person.

This sheds an interesting light on the next trilogy: by this logic, it ought to mirror the original trilogy.

Whatever you can say about the Star Wars saga, it never repeated itself. It has recurring themes, which do not run in circles but in spirals; like in any family, or political system, the lessons not learned always demand their price.

All of this is not to say that I like this ending. The Rise of Skywalker mostly is so dissatisfying because being Episode IX it ought to have been a definite ending, but it does not feel like an end. It feels more like a new beginning, or an interruption of a story that was largely not yet explored. The new heroes have wrapped up the past, but what about the galaxy’s future? A future that has maybe already begun with the Mandalorian’s mysterious adopted Child, who symbolizes faith where Yoda was all about (avoiding) fear?

Rey and Baby Yoda both are two younger and more innocent versions of someone we are very familiar with; and they are both paired off with someone who becomes a redeemed version of a familiar villain - Rey with Kylo Ren / Ben Solo, who is reminiscent of Darth Vader, and the Child with the Mandalorian, reminiscent of Boba Fett. Also, the Child knows Force healing, the way Rey does.

It seems to me that this must be announcing a continuation that fits to it all and brings the loose strands together. If the Force is at work, then it knows what it’s doing.

Luke was always one to give people a second chance: in A New Hope, we see him befriend literally anyone who is willing to go along. Star Wars is all about getting another chance. Are we really supposed to believe that Ben Solo is gone forever, and worse, that he deserved no better than dying after sacrificing himself for the girl he loved? Did Luke Skywalker in person come to Crait, sacrificing his life in the process, to give his nephew a second chance only for him to disappear never to be seen again? 

Ben and Rey being a dyad means that they mirror one another, in every way: what happened to one will happen to the other too, eventually. The iconic “You’re not alone” is so powerful because it comes from a person who knows damn well what loneliness means. If Rey finished what her grandfather started, then so must he. When the Republic fell everybody also believed Anakin to be dead; he wasn’t. and when Han left Luke and Leia towards the end of A New Hope, they did not count on him coming back; but he did. 

The next trilogy is not yet announced but it has been known for years that it’s in the cards; thankfully it’s in the hands of Rian Johnson, who already proved that he can tell a masterful Star Wars story; and who reintroduced the subject of Balance again. I still hope that this image was a foreshadowing, not an empty promise.

The ST doesn’t really make sense - not yet. That doesn’t mean it won’t make sense when the rest of Rian’s story is told.

“Hope is like the sun… If you only believe in it when you see it, you will never make it through the night”. Let’s keep our hopes up, fellow Reylos and ST fans. 😉

[dexi-green]

Rise of Skywalker was good. Rant/Appreciation, spoilers ahead. Super long and rambling. This is all personal opinion, if you disliked it, thats fine. If you disagree, great.

First some quick points, then the longer stuff.

I loved Babu Frik and D-O

We finally got to see the Knights of Ren in action!

Also all those Star Destroyers?? Like those things are gotdamn huge... and that many of them? Actually scary honestly.

LANDO LANDO LANDO! LANDO AND CHEWIE IN THE FALCON!!

WEDGE!!!

CHEWIE GETS HIS MEDAL!!!

Also not gonna lie.. I wanted to see a gungan. Put some respect on Jar Jar. Or confirm the Darth Jar Jar theory you cowards.

We got to see a proper version of Rey’s version of Luke’s Dark Side cave vision (The TLJ one just wasn’t it for me. The mirrors..okay...)

Storm Troopers fly now... Did they steal stuff from some Mandalorians. Mandalorians are like..the only ones ever to have jet packs like that (that I’m aware of). Maybe the Mandalorian show will see some leftover imperials stealing Mandalorian armor, which they will replicate (obviously badly, because there stuff is no beskar).

I was so happy to see the interactions between Leia and Connix, because I just loved to see Billie with her mom <3 I’m so glad they gave her a role and just kept expanding it.

Hux... I love the back and forth between him and General Pryde, (I was hoping Richard E Grant would’ve played Thrawn but alas...) wondering who the mole is, and OF COURSE ITS HUX! Because he just wants to see Kylo lose. We love it.. I’m kinda sad he was taken out so quick, but it was good while it lasted.

How they tried to push Poe into some kind of.. not relationship, but not too subtlety trying to tell the audience, no he’s not gay, in like...just a bad writing way, like okay gosh, he’s straight (Also Poe was a drug runner...). That LGBTQ “representation” was trash, but definitely better than Endgame’s so-called representation.

I also wished we woulda got more (legacy) cameos, especially in the final battle when all the ships arrive. Maybe the Ghost Crew (I think you can see the ship though), or a character from the Mandalorian show (I was hoping for more tie-in’s in general (baby yoda), but The Mandalorian did sorta set up the force healing ability). My foolish soul was hoping for a super old old clone or a super old and scarred up Mace Windu, or just super old Ahsoka, but this film 100% confirmed no going back that they are totally dead with their voices amongst the other dead jedi :/ I can’t have everything and thats alright. I’m just glad they were in there in some capacity.

JJ has said that the thing Finn was going to tell Rey was that he was force sensitive (none of the good ships flew sadly imo) but that is still...amazing to me. I love it so much. Especially with that exchange between him and Han in TFA “We’ll use the force.” “That’s not how the force works.”. Hopefully he got or gets the chance to tell Rey because then she could train him and <3 Also I think that now makes it go back to no non-force sensitive people have used a lightsaber in the films (aside from Grievous). I loved the inclusion of Jannah and the other storm trooper deserters. Not only because of the kinship with Finn, but also... They are on a moon of Endor... So moon of the Endor system inhabitants, with slightly primitive techniques and tools and things come to help in the final battle? I love it. Putting some respeck on the Ewoks (also we see Ewoks?!?! Specifically Wickett <3) (Also I noticed a Fire, Water, Earth theme. The final battle in the prequels was in fire/lava. The final battle in the original trilogy was on the forest moon of endor, and while not the final battle, Kef Bir is the ocean moon of endor)

Palpatine doing what we all knew he was, using bodies to live through. I mean thats why he always had apprentices, just so he could skip over to them when his body got gross and weak, or at the very least work through them. I definitely wanna know more about the whole Snoke operation. We knew it was insane for some rando to be that powerful to be whispering and seducing Ben to the dark side from birth. And the cloning? like please, tell me more. I loved Palpatine’s exclamation of “Return of the Sith!” as an obvious nod to the films Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, but also the fact Return was going to be Revenge of the Jedi.

I LOVE LOVEDDDD the small scene of Luke training Leia. Yeah the CGI on their faces wasn’t the best but just being able to see it and knowing that he did go forward and train her as well as other students was everything to me. I’ve always wanted Leia’s force abilities to be more acknowledged outside of the comics, so you know I went crazy in the scene from TLJ (for multiple reasons). Leia training Rey?! Rey referring to her (and Luke) as her jedi masters?! we love to see it <3 Rey going back to Tatooine, back to the moisture farm (I could just hear Aunt Beru calling out for Luke (but also him calling for her and uncle owen when they got disintegrated..oop)). Calling herself a Skywalker, AND SEEING LUKE AND LEIA’S FORCE GHOST!! WE LOVE TO SEE IT (but hate it because it’s the end). THE TWIN SUNS AS THE SAGA ENDS WHERE IT BEGAN!!

The voices of the Jedi at the end?!? I cried. I mean there was Anakin, Obi-Wan (both old and young), Qui Gon, Mace Windu, Yoda, and Luke of course, but also Aaayla Secura, Luminara, Adi Gallia, KANAN JARRUS (who is voice by Freddie Prinze Jr. aka the best Fred Scooby Doo could ask for) , AHSOKA TANO!!! Nothing I want more than more Ahsoka <3 I would’ve loved to see them all show up as Force Ghosts at the end ala the ghosts of Harry’s family in Harry Potter Goblet of Fire/Deathly Hallows but I understand why they opted for voices only. Also no Ki-Adi-Mundi because while everyone was saying, “Rey, You can do it! We are with you!” he just woulda been like, “But...what about the droid attack on the wookiees?”

Han!! Han!! When he appeared to Kylo, after Leia pulled him back as much as she could, and Rey healed him and inched him further, and then of course, Han finished the job. Leia asked him to bring him back and he did in the end. The person he seemingly hated the most (maybe thats tied with Luke. I honestly would’ve liked to see some kinda of thing between Luke and Ben, some reconciliation). The famous Solo “I know” which we all know means I love you. like come onnnnn <3 AND Ben and Leia’s bodies becoming one with the force... but Leia only after Ben... like she was holding on, waiting for him <3 This really made me like Ben/Kylo a bit more, obviously the light side Ben more, because Kylo is actual trash imo.

I cried when Chewie cried for Leia. Her death was sad on it’s own, but Chewie just broke me. He had a happy family, then Ben went bad, Han and Leia split, and Luke left, then when he thinks everything is coming back together, He lost Han, then he lost Luke, now Leia? If you actually watch him he just collapses to the ground, throwing his arms, sobbing... AND HAVING TO SEE HIM IN SHACKLES!?!? And not like “oh we gotta trick these guards” but actually captured and shackled, After all the wookiees being captured and enslaved and he how he had to deal with that...come on man....

I cried when Luke pulled his X-wing out of the water. We all saw it submerged in TLJ, waiting for that moment when someone would do it. The fact that he does it, when he couldn’t back when it happened on Dagobah. It shows how much he’s grown, showed him stepping into Yoda’s role even more fully. He never got to leave that island in it, but Rey did. Plus Rey wearing his Rebel helmet like she wore the helmet in TFA?! Honestly... Two “nobodies” from nowhere sand planets who become the hope and saviors of the galaxy (you could include Anakin in that as well, but he just...kinda sparked the hope in Luke and was his savior so...indirectly the hope and savior).

The only thing I didn't like was the Ben and Rey kiss at the end but luckily it wasn't drawn out and he died right after. Cause you really expect me to believe that within the same movie of him pushing her to her limits and making her believe she killed a friend that she gone be like...oh but you still cute tho?  Also while re-watching everything and watching the prequels last month I remembered how Palpatine influenced the midichlorians/force to make Anakin in Shmi (it might not be canonized though, I’m not sure...). Obviously he’s not a biological father but...he is responsible...so that in a way makes him Kylo's grandfather in a sense. Rey is Sheev’s biological granddaughter so...big yikes. To me Kylo/Ben and Rey have a much better dynamic as brother and sister anyway.. I think a brother and sister bond suit them so much better. A rhyme of Luke and Leia, and the forged sibling bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin. It has pieces of both and would have been beautiful for it to play out that way. About Rey pulling her family in Ben Solo back to the light. I mean she even thought of Han, Leia, and Luke as parental figures... but luke and leia kissed so :/  guess just a family thing. 

Running themes in all of star wars is hope, family, and who you are. In this, the prequels were the darkest. They end in a family divided, hope seemingly lost, and giving into the worst parts of yourself. The original trilogy was about finding the hope in the darkest times, becoming more than you think of yourself, and that family can overcome anything together. This trilogy was about clinging onto hope that you can find and making it a beacon for others, becoming more than what you and others think of you, "subverting destiny", and the fact that family isn't blood, not always. Just because someone tells you you're a monster, just because you started to believe it, doesn't mean you are. Once you have hope you hold onto it with everything you have, no matter how many times you fail or slip.

Rey being a Palpatine isn't "the bad guys bloodline living while the good guys die out". It isn't about bloodlines. Sure Kylo and Vader's terrible deeds will live on in infamy, but so will the entire rebellion's. Instead of being like, "oh well by blood I'm a Palpatine so I gotta use that last name" she made a conscious choice to go by Skywalker, because of what the Skywalker family meant to her and the galaxy, so that their deeds live on and not Palpatine. He will become a bad memory, a scar on history, while Skywalker’s, the positive idea of them, will continue to live and spark hope year and years into the future. Her blood isn't tainted and her grandfathers nature isn't hers, if it was she really would be the empress on the sith throne after Palpatine's death. She would've took Kylo's hand and offers before. Its the same with Kylo. He succumbed to what Rey was actively fighting against. Its the idea its harder to be good than bad.

Palpatine's bloodline living on means nothing unless Rey decided to make it mean something. But she didn't. As far as I'm concerned the only thing the bloodline might've impacted is her connection to the force and how strong it was naturally (like Kylo because of Leia (maybe Han..debatable, i like to believe he’s a little force sensitive) and her and Luke's connection to it because of Anakin). Her parents also actively fought against Palpatine as far as we know, Luke and Leia fought against Vader like... To say oh your parent was like this so you are gonna turn out the same? Yikes. Also Finn and the other stormtrooper deserters? Literally brainwashed from such a young age to be killers but they said no? It seems like the theme was you can fight against your destiny or like Yoda said about the future being hard to see because its constantly moving so "destiny" is kinda just a trash idea, be who you are or the person you want to be, not what others tell you.

Also I see some people saying it destroyed Anakin's legacy, and I have to disagree. To the fan's Anakin's legacy was never killing Palpatine. Sure that was the action, but the act was saving Luke. It was coming back from the dark to the light to save his son and in a way, the rest of the galaxy, at least for a time, it was betraying his master. It was the why he did it, not the how. Not only did he save Luke's life, but he fueled Luke to go forward and continue down the path of hope and light as long as he could. Anakin's true legacy lives on in Luke and Leia and the Rebellion. Palpatine's return doesn't diminish Anakin's sacrifice. Because it wasn’t about just destroying Palpatine. Anakin/Vader's thoughts went to Padme and Luke, and the prophecy of bringing balance, he knew he had to do something. When Luke takes off his helmet when Anakin is dying he thinks, “The boy was good, and the boy had come from him–so there must have been good in him, too. He smiled up again at his son, and for the first time, loved him. And for the first time in many long years, loved himself again, as well.” (coming from the novelization of Return). As long as Luke lived, and Luke's legacy lives on, so does Anakin's and so does Anakin’s return to the light. Anakin's legacy and impact, the good and the bad, will continue. Maybe the people of that galaxy won't know of the person named Anakin compared to sith lord Darth Vader, but his impact will always be there.

Yeah they aren’t always the most perfectly written stories with the best effects and yadda yadda, I know there are some missteps and less then stellar things in this films, but they are here to entertain, and I’m entertained. There is probably so much I’m missing, and I really want to go see it again, and can’t wait till it’s out on DVD or streaming services... 

It was a beautiful film that did the best it could to end a saga thats bigger than anything ever, thats been going on for years, something that is unheard of and never been done. I just want to honor the history, the memory, and the work it all took. I just love these films so much. <3 Also, always remembering Carrie, Peter M. and Peter C., Christoper, and Kenny, and all other actors and crew who have passed who lent their time and effort to all of these films and this entire franchise <3 

[anghraine]

“the jedi and the sith lord” - chapter eleven

>_>

Last chapter:

“I’m not listening to this,” she said, backing away.

“Hide from the truth all you like,” said Vader. “That won’t change it.”

“It’s not true,” she insisted. “You’re trying to—you’re just trying to turn me to the Dark Side, aren’t you? I’m not fooled.”

“Yes, you are,” he said. “By Obi-Wan.”

This chapter:

“My Jedi teacher—Obi-Wan Kenobi—told me that Darth Vader murdered my father,” she said. “Vader says that he is my father and that Obi-Wan tried to burn him alive.”

His eyebrows rose. “Not quite the usual behaviour of a Jedi.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant Ben or Vader.

chapters: The Adventures of Lucy Skywalker– prologue, chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven, chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter ten; The Imperial Menace–chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven; The Jedi and the Sith Lord—chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven, chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter ten

-

Vader had not, it turned out, been joking about the restriction on Lucy’s movements. Not that Lucy thought he had, but she’d grown used to her comparative freedom. For the rest of that day, however, she was confined to her locked bedroom except for meal times, when Ellex marched her to the dining hall and loomed while she ate, before all but dragging her back.

Lucy knew the consequences of her escape could be worse, but that just made her think of why she’d been let off so lightly, which made her think of Vader insisting he was her father, which sent her thoughts spinning off into uncertainty and anger at all involved. She simmered all that day, and that pulled the Light Side out of her reach until she managed to scrape together some calm that night.

She drifted off to sleep under Ellex’s unrelenting sensors, and opened her eyes to the half-familiar city in the desert.

Oh.

Lucy made her way over to the oasis where the monk customarily sat, and sure enough, found him there.

“Hello again,” she said.

“Good evening,” said the monk, as serene as ever.

Lucy paused, then added, “I don’t know your name. Leia—Princess Leia of Alderaan—told me, but I can’t remember, sorry.”

“It’s Chirrut Îmwe,” he replied.

For no particular reason, she’d expected some resistance, or even a denial. She nodded.

“Chirrut. Okay. Did you call me?”

“No,” said Chirrut. “It’s a relief to encounter you alive and well, of course.”

She hopped up onto the rough bench beside him and pushed her loose hair back, anxiously running her hands through it before dropping them in her lap.

“Then it’s me doing it. Sorry, I just … I’m not sure I am well.”

Concern passed over his face. “Have you been harmed?”

“No,” she said, then thought about it. “I mean, I was, but I did it to myself—I snuck out of the fortress and got poisoned by the fumes. I’m fine now.”

“It sounds like a charming place,” said Chirrut.

She gave a startled laugh. “Oh, definitely.”

“How are you unwell, then?”

Lucy lowered her gaze to her hands, not knowing what she expected to find. Something in her not-quite-human blood, or … something.

“My Jedi teacher—Obi-Wan Kenobi—told me that Darth Vader murdered my father,” she said. “Vader says that he is my father and that Obi-Wan tried to burn him alive.”

His eyebrows rose. “Not quite the usual behaviour of a Jedi.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant Ben or Vader.

“I guess not,” said Lucy. “I just … I don’t know what to think, or who to trust.”

“What does the Force tell you?” said Chirrut.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “It’s all tangled up here. I feel like it’s true—I was pretty certain at first—but I don’t know if that’s the Force or wanting to believe it.” She frowned. “I mean, I don’t want to believe it. It’s just that it explains some things.”

He considered this.

“Were you close to your father?”

“I never knew him,” said Lucy. “My uncle and aunt said he died around the time I was born. But they talked about him as my real father, and everyone’s said I’m like him. I always wanted to believe it, and hear stories and—and—in a way, I guess I was close to him. Not like people whose parents are there, though.”

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip.

“Hm,” said Chirrut.

“And I admire him for what he did,” said Lucy. “I used to, anyway. He was born into slavery on Tatooine, but he got out and became a Jedi.”

She remembered asking, Are you kavashti?

And Vader had said, No.

It might not mean that he came from free folk. It might, horrifyingly, mean that he’d been a slave himself. But the idea seemed as impossible as the rest.

“Not to be morbid,” Chirrut said, “but do you know if there was there a body?”

She shook her head. “Nobody ever said.”

“Then it’s possible,” he said simply.

“If it’s true—” Her voice broke off. Her throat didn’t bother her here, but she had to clear it, anyway. “If it’s true, what should I do? I can’t just act like it means nothing! He said he wants to rule the galaxy with me!”

“Do you want to rule the galaxy?” said Chirrut, imperturbable as ever.

“No!” She bit her lip again. “But I do want to bring down the Emperor. I just don’t want to replace him with more of the same. Vader’s awful.”

“Not many people would disagree with you there,” he replied.

She hesitated. “He hasn’t been what I thought, though. I wouldn’t say kind, but—not cruel. Not to me.”

“You think you’re receiving special treatment?” said Chirrut.

Thinking of Tuvié, Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. “Yes. I just don’t know if it’s because he wants my help or because I really am his daughter. It’s hard to think of him as sentimental.”

“Very hard,” said Chirrut. “But I don’t exactly know him personally. I hardly know you. I can’t tell you what you should believe or do.”

Her stomach sank, but at the same time, she wasn’t really surprised. She nodded.

“What I can tell you,” he went on, “is that the Force is with you. Trust it. If your choices serve its purposes, it will carry you through anything.” Then he smiled. “So make sure they do.”

“But I don’t know what it’s saying,” she protested. “Everything is mixed up here. How can I make the right choices if I don’t understand what’s going on?”

He looked thoughtful. “I can’t help you with that. But perhaps—yes, I might find someone who could.”

“Like Captain Andor and Jyn Erso?” she said hopefully.

“No,” said Chirrut. “It took all our strength to bring them, and I doubt they’d be of much help in this situation. Remember their advice, though.”

“Be ready. And—” She swallowed. “And remember who I am.”

I don’t know who I am anymore.

“That’s right,” he said. “Now, rest. I think you’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“Is something going to happen?” asked Lucy.

But he was gone, and his city with him.

-

The next day passed very much as the first had, with added anticipation of what might occur. It seemed unlikely that it would actually occur in daytime, shut up in her bedroom, though Lucy constantly checked for some change or sign. Ellex seemed even more suspicious than usual, though she had yet to stun her. Thank the Force for small blessings, Lucy supposed.

The hours seemed to creep by, and she was so keyed-up by the time she crawled into bed that she couldn’t sleep. Tense and frustrated, she lay awake for a good two hours before she finally drifted off.

She woke—or rather, didn’t wake—to Chirrut’s city, and swiftly made her way along the usual path to his bench. As she approached, Lucy saw him standing with another man, one who had his back to her but appeared rather elderly.

“I couldn’t do it on my own,” Chirrut was saying. “Though, of course, neither could she.”

“Extraordinary,” the man said. “Quite extraordinary.”

Lucy knew that voice.

“Ben?”

The old man turned around—and sure enough, she saw the familiar face of Obi-Wan Kenobi. It looked particularly unreadable at the moment.

“Lucy, it’s good to see you.”

“I—” She held herself still, trying to understand, then took several steps forward. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I, wholly,” said Obi-Wan. “I’ve tried to reach you, but could only sense that you were surrounded by the Dark Side. We feared you were lost.”

Lost could mean a lot of things. But Lucy thought she had a pretty good idea of which one he meant.

“I’m surrounded by the Dark Side because Darth Vader captured me and locked me up in his castle,” she said indignantly. “I haven’t turned—I wouldn’t.”

At that, his stiff shoulders relaxed. Dead though he might be, he exhaled.

“Good. That is … an inexpressible relief, Lucy.”

She could only nod, unsure what to say with so many fears and questions whirling around her brain, and Chirrut sitting idly by.

“I hope you have not suffered too much,” Obi-Wan added.

“Not much at all,” said Lucy. She thought of her days of blindness, and almost suffocating on toxic fumes. “I mean, it could be worse.”

“Vader can always get worse,” he said grimly. “I won’t ask what he’s done to you, but be very careful.”

“He hasn’t done anything, hardly,” she replied. “Except—”

Obi-Wan looked at her inquiringly, managing to exude sympathy despite his neutral expression. Unable to think of any other approach, she steeled herself.

“Except,” Lucy said, “he told me he’s my father.”

His eyes went wide, the neutrality replaced by shock—enough shock that she could almost think her hopes didn’t mislead her. But every instinct warned her against it.

“Is it true?” she demanded. “Is Darth Vader my father?”

As quickly as it had come, Obi-Wan’s shock faded. He walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking down at her in his quietly kind way.

“This is unexpected,” he said, and sighed. “I’m afraid that he is, in a sense.”

In a sense?

“You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father!” cried Lucy.

Even in the dream realm, or whatever it was, Obi-Wan managed to look older.

“Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force,” he told her. “He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true, from a certain point of view.”

Chirrut, who had withdrawn into unobtrusive observation through all this, said, “Hmm.”

“A certain point of view?” Lucy said incredulously.

“Lucy,” said Obi-Wan, “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”

He could wrap it in whatever fine words he liked. He’d lied. It really was Vader who’d told her the truth. Lucy shrugged off his hand and turned away, her fingers curling.

Then Obi-Wan said,

“I don’t blame you for being angry. Anakin was a good friend.”

She faced him again, struggling for some sort of composure. He could tell her the real story—but it might just be more lies. How would she know?

Dità juradiiyad echoed in her mind.

“When I first knew him,” said Obi-Wan, “your father was already a great pilot, but I was amazed at how strongly the Force was with him. I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi.” He shook his head. “I thought that I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong.”

Her feelings had been right. She shouldn’t have convinced herself to doubt them. Now, she knew she had to follow where they led her.

“I don’t understand him,” Lucy admitted. “There’s … I don’t know. Something that doesn’t fit.”

“He’s more machine now than man,” said Obi-Wan somberly. “Twisted and evil.”

He meant something by that, she thought. More than he was saying.

“I don’t know,” she said again.

Out of nowhere, apparently, Obi-Wan asked, “How often do you face him?”

“Everyday, when he’s here,” said Lucy, startled. “He always sends for me and talks about turning to the Dark Side. I was scared at first, but it’s mostly just boring now.”

“Your opportunity will come,” Obi-Wan told her.

It could have meant any number of things. But with that, it all became clear. She went cold.

“I can’t do it, Ben,” she said.

“You cannot escape your destiny,” said Obi-Wan.

She was really tired of hearing that.

“I can’t kill my own father!” she insisted.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “Then the Emperor has already won.”

Vader said the same thing when he talked about turning to the Dark Side. She hadn’t abandoned what she believed when he did it, and she wouldn’t when Obi-Wan did, either.

She pressed her lips together, and said, “That’s not all he said. He told me that you left him to burn alive. Is that true?”

“He may have left out some details,” said Obi-Wan. “We fought a duel on Mustafar after he’d slaughtered dozens. I defeated him and he fell into the lava. Then—you have to understand, Lucy, that he was only a child when I took on his care. I thought of him as a younger brother at the time and afterwards, as I saw him growing into a fine Jedi. Even when he turned to evil, I couldn’t bring myself to kill him.”

“So you left him there,” she said.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again and met hers directly. “Yes. I have regretted it every day since.”

She guessed her father did, too.

“You did what you felt was right, just like you told me to do,” Lucy said at last. “I will, too.”

“Lucy—”

“She can’t maintain this much longer,” Chirrut said suddenly, turning towards them. “She needs her rest, and so do I.”

Obi-Wan paused, then bowed. “Of course. Farewell, Lucy. I hope that we’ll meet again.”

“So do I,” she said, managing to conjure up a smile from somewhere.

“Goodbye, Master Jedi,” said Chirrut. “And goodbye, little Starkiller.”

-

Lucy didn’t remember any other dreams from that night. Perhaps she didn’t have any. But the interchange with Obi-Wan and Chirrut remained bright and clear.

Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.

He is more machine now than man—twisted and evil.

She rubbed her fists against her eyes, avoiding Ellex’s red stare.

Anakin was a good friend.

“Morning,” Lucy said, her voice rough. “Is Lord Vader back yet?”

“No,” said Ellex. Predictably, she offered no further information.

Lucy sighed. She supposed she’d better get ready for another fun-filled day of doing absolutely nothing. Maybe this was supposed to make turning to the Dark Side more appealing—it was at least something to do.

In the wardrobe, she managed to dredge up another tunic and set of trousers, these ones deep red (and, she suspected, made of velvet). There’d be no escaping notice even if she did somehow managed to slip past Ellex’s scrutiny. Not that that would happen.

She had just carried them into the fresher when the flash of red in the mirror caught her attention. Lucy couldn’t have said why, but she stopped to examine her reflection, anyway. She’d certainly looked better; she was pale, with shadows under her eyes, and a good portion of her hair had been pulled out of her braid in the night. She untied her hair-ribbon and started to braid her hair again, then stopped.

She always wore her hair in braids of some kind, ever since the day on the Falcon when Obi-Wan said that Jedi apprentices had them. It was a little thing, but it had mattered to her. Everything Obi-Wan said about the Jedi had.

They’d lied. Ben had lied, and Yoda had lied, and however they might justify themselves, she knew the real reason was that they meant her to kill her own father. It would be one thing if they presented her with full knowledge of the choice and pushed her in one direction or another. This was altogether different. She wouldn’t have known.

Once again, Lucy thought of her mother. What would she have wanted? Had she known what Anakin was, or what he’d become? Had Padmé loved him and been loved by him, or was it something different? Would she have joined her voice to the others pushing her daughter to patricide?

Maybe she’d never know.

Feeling almost as if she watched herself from a distance, Lucy dressed and shook out her hair. Then she tied it back, strode into the bedroom, and said,

“Am I allowed to go anywhere else?”

“That depends on the location,” said Ellex.  

Lucy took a calming breath.

“The practice room?”

Ellex’s circuits gave a low hum. Then she said,

“Yes, that is permitted as of yesterday evening.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” demanded Lucy.

“You did not ask.”

Lucy reminded herself that Ellex was an upgraded super battle droid with several blasters on her and perfect willingness to use them. Gritting her teeth, she said,

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Ellex, with a total unconcern that would have put Vader to shame, unsealed the door and ordered her through. Two other, smaller droids stood on either side of the door, both armed with heavy blasters.

Okay, then.

“This way,” said Ellex, pointing.

“I know where it is,” Lucy replied.

Even so, she followed obediently enough, not willing to jeopardize her small amount of freedom. Remembering Ellex’s comments on her talkativeness, she stayed quiet half the time, her thoughts more than enough to occupy her. Despite the horror of her father’s identity, having one at all felt—well, strange. She’d always thought of herself as an orphan, and now it turned out that she’d never been one at all. When she imagined a glamorous pilot father as a child, he’d actually been up there.

Killing people, probably.

And what about the lightsaber he’d taken from her—his lightsaber? Ben said Anakin had wanted her to have it, which was obviously another lie, but … he’d said, too, that he tried to give it to her earlier, but Owen wouldn’t let him. Had he wanted her trained from childhood, like Anakin? What would have happened? Had Owen and Beru known what happened to his stepbrother? Was that why he’d forbidden Ben, or had he simply known Anakin as a dead hero, and feared the same for Lucy? How long had Anakin known about her, anyway? Had he thought of her as a valuable tool, or a possession, or what? And when she escaped and nearly died, what—

Her mind kept spinning faster and faster. Lucy forced herself out of the whirl and spoke without thinking.

“Doctor Izahay said that I could have died out there.”

“Do you require affirmation of that judgment?” said Ellex. “Yes, you were extremely foolish.”

Lucy took a deep breath. “She said that Lord Vader could have died, too. How come?”

Ellex clomped on, then said,

“That is not restricted information. Very well. He is a humanoid. The air is also toxic to him.”

“Right,” said Lucy, “but doesn’t his helmet have filters for that kind of thing?”

“No equipment is perfect,” said Ellex irritably. “It is not designed to protect him from everything, everywhere.”

“But didn’t he have a force field on?”

“No,” Ellex said. As they reached the practice room, she turned to Lucy, sensors flickering. “If you are quite done asking insignificant questions, we have arrived. Do you wish entry?”

“Yes,” said Lucy. She peered up at Ellex. “And—thank you.”

[starwarsstreettalk]

Kylo Ren is Building a Mystery

Kylo Ren is still a mysterious character after two movies. Is he evil?  Is he just misunderstood?   Was he brainwashed by Snoke?  Will he be able to “snap out of it” in time to reconcile with his mother and not destroy the Resistance?  Will he every reconcile with Lando or Chewie, or his mother?

You come out at night That's when the energy comes And the dark side's light And the vampires roam ... (song by Sarah McLaughlan)

Kylo Ren, you’re building a mystery!

The Background Story we need in Episode IX

Ben Solo as a child

I happen to think that we could use at least one flashback of an innocent boy being “seduced” to the dark side by Snoke during Ben’s childhood to remind us of what Leia said to Han in the Force Awakens as the driving force for Ben to become lost and join the Dark Side.   We need to sew the seed that was planted in the first movie of the series.    

Young Ben Solo screams “Come Back!”

I also think we could there be a flashback of Ben of calling out “Come back!” the same way young Rey did on Jakku when he is being dropped off with Luke by his mother and father at the Jedi temple.   The common childhood trauma and sense of abandonment became the common bond between Kylo Ren and Rey.  When Kylo Ren looked into Rey’s mind, he saw a kindred spirit, someone he could actual relate to and actually felt sorry for.  I suspect that they will both realize eventually that their parents didn’t abandon them, at least not out of a lack of love, but to protect them.     

Lor San Tekka Easter Egg?

Will Richard E Grant play a younger Lor San Tekka in flashback?  Kylo Ren tells Lor San Tekka -  “You’ve become so old!”   Wouldn’t it be great if we went back to a scene in the past where they interacted and this somehow had something to do with the overall storyline?

What Really REALLY happened the night of the destruction of the temple

Sometimes, I get this feeling like nobody is giving Kylo Ren a chance to explain himself, like things are never really what they seem.  Like when Luke and Kylo had different memories of what happened in Ben’s hut the night of their falling out. Could it be that the slaughter of innocent Jedi trainees isn’t the only thing Luke got wrong? Luke was trapped in the hut.  Does he really know what happened play by play?  Was it a slaughter or was Ben in the fight for his life?

Will we see another flashback to the night of the destruction at the temple?  Maybe when Ben comes out of the hutt, some of the other students try to avenge Luke and kill Ben and he has to defend himself?  Or maybe the other students (potentially the Knights of Ren) killed them and Ben only burned down the temple?  Does it matter?

Episode IX Predictions

1) How Kylo Ren will “finish what his grandfather started”, as he alluded to in his chambers in the Force Awakens.

possible options:

a.  Destroy the last of the Jedi    (This was Darth Vader’s orders. Why would this be a goal of his if he didn’t even know there were other Jedi at the beginning of the Force Awakens)

b.  Bring balance to the force   (This was a prophecy about Anakin, not his goal)

c.   Defeat the Rebellion and bring order to the galaxy (maybe this is why Kylo thinks his grandfather was after... this may be where he is going in the beginning of the story.  But what did he really know about his grandfather?  Does Kylo Ren see Dark Vader as his grandfather or Anakin Skywalker?  Does he understand the difference?)

d.   Save the ones that he loves   (Sentimentally, this seems like it could end up being the way he ACTUALLY finishes what his grandfather started.   Anakin couldn’t save his mother, he couldn’t save his father, and ultimately he couldn’t save himself.  An appearance by Anakin Skywalker’s ghost or vision, if only to knock some sense into his grandson, could provide Kylo Ren the true meaning of what his destiny was meant to be.  d. is my vote.

2) The Kessel Run less than 12 parsecs

I have this great image in my mind of Kylo Ren/Ben being on the Milennium Falcon again.  They deleted a scene from the Force Awakens where he was on the Falcon.  Could the last movie be a better moment for Kylo Ren to make peace with his relationship with father by flying the Falcon?   Instead of destroying the Falcon, will he use the Falcon to save the day?  I, personally, would love to see Ben actually hold the dice again for real.  We know from one of the novels that Ben played with as a child.   There are happy memories in his past. I also had this idea that he would beat or almost his father’s record of making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. The Kessel Run escape was the most famous and epic accomplishment for the Falcon and Han Solo in his flying career.  Something like this would have driven his father crazy but also made him proud.

3) We see an encounter or reconciliation between Ben and Lando

Lando has been Han’s very good friend.  Ben thinks of Lando as an  “Uncle” in one of the Solo novels. Wouldn’t it be neat to see these two come face to face after so much water under the bridge with Han’s Death?  Maybe Lando pulls Kylo by the ear and gives him a bit of a talking to, asking him “Why, Ben???  Why did you DO IT?”  I can just hear Billy Dee Williams giving him quite the talking to.

4) We can see an encounter or reconciliation between Kylo/Ben and Chewie  

I’m sure Chewie is still pissed off with Kylo/Ben. But let’s think. Chewbacca was Han’s buddy.  He was like an uncle or godfather to Ben, and he is a protector of the Solo family.  He would have been there all throughout Ben’s childhood, bouncing the little baby on his knee when he was a toddler, before he started show signs of coming under Snoke’s spell and being sent to be trained by Luke in the ways of the Force. Maybe there will be a scene where Kylo/Ben is almost going to die and Chewie sacrifices himself for Ben in the end.   This is his best friend’s SON!!   Chewie will not try to kill Ben/Kylo again unless he is about to hurt Leia or Rey. Family is family.  The Star Wars story is about family.

Speaking of Rey, Chewie really likes her and he will protect her too, even to the death if necessary. If Kylo and Rey end up on the same side, will Chewie accept Ben back into the family?   I can almost imagine Ben breaking down in sorrow to Chewbacca and somehow they embrace at the very end.   I can see Ben, Rey and Chewie also together in some scene in this movie.

5) Kylo Ren tries to save his mother

Anakin did not save his mother in time. He consequently slaughtered the Tusken Raiders, women and children included, starting him down the path to the dark side.  What if Kylo Ren is also faced with the same challenge of deciding whether or not he will or can save his mother from some First Order attack?   What if Hux is about to execute some rogue mission and Leia is the target?  Kylo Ren gets to her location just as an explosion goes off and he rescues her in time!  And in this act, he begins his path in the opposite direction, towards the light?

Alternatively, not being able to save his mother could be the catalyst needed to turn Kylo Ren into someone who would turn on the First Order after seeing excessive show of force and death.   I can see Kylo Ren holding his mother in his arms as she dies and touches his cheek and says “I love you” and he says “I know.”  Her death could cause Kylo to rethink his future and also end up in the comforting arms of Rey.

Kylo Ren as Big Bad Dark Villain - a red herring?

Before the Force Awakens even came out, we knew he would be the villain.  The merchandising, the costume, the menacing voice and killing someone in the first few minutes of the movie - before we find out he is THE ONLY SON of Han and Leia.  Is this a trick by the story writers to get us to fall for false stereotypes?  Are we all this gullible to fall for the oldest trick in the book?   Didn’t Professor Snape end up being a good guy in the Harry Potter series?  

More Screen Time for Kylo

I also think we’ll get more Kylo Ren in this movie (= more minutes of screentime) and also the story will be equal focus on him and Rey, maybe even more on Kylo.   We have not seen HIS point of view yet.  We have only see Kylo Ren through Rey and Luke’s eyes.

Summary

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on this character but without really knowing anything about the main plot of the movie, the fate of Kylo Ren is still nebulous.   But I do think there will be a redemption in the end.  My only question is whether or not he survives.  But if we don’t want to see an exact copy of Return of the Jedi - he will hopefully survive, save the day, get the girl, and come back into the Light side of the Force.