#I guess I just feel like tlj had more of the same musical themes as the other Star Warsmovies?

[mirdaniaa]

@ohmytheon replied to your post “also one of the things I loved about tlj was how you could tell John...”

I am a slut for michael giacchino so I was happy with rogue one's music. Lmao

omg so for some reason I was convinced Michael giacchino did the score for tfa (I guess bc he and jj Abrams always work together) but that’s NOT the case I feel an utter fool 

[unexpectedreylo]

Yes, It’s Been Half A Decade Since TFA Was Released

Five years already?  Geez!

If you’ve been following my humble Tumblr blog since the beginning, you’ll know I was not truly a Reylo until I saw TLJ.  Before then, I was dealing with a movie that left me with a lot of mixed feelings.  Why?  I missed George Lucas for one thing.  He has an indelible style that few can match and few really cared about that universe and its characters as much as he did.  I was very unhappy to hear a month before TFA’s release that Disney tossed out his story and came up with something he didn’t really like very much (as later confirmed in Bob Iger’s memoir).  As a long-suffering prequels fan I didn’t like either the vaguely anti-prequel tone the pre-release hype took.  Whatever you do in life, don’t disrespect the man who created the GFFA. 

The post-release hype probably annoyed me even more.  Remember the doofuses screeching on t.v. that it was the best SW movie since TESB?  LOL.  (No, that would be ROTS and the only thing that came close since was TLJ.)  I hated that a movie I felt was flawed not only got passes from the media that really trashed Lucas and everybody who worked on the prequels, but also got lavish Best 10 lists and award nominations.  I was one bitter chickie for a while and later got a good laugh out of the backlash.

I thought it would be funny to post what I thought at the time, with added commentary:

Oh yes, the movie. My mother called it…it’s good, we all enjoyed it and were entertained, but Lucas’s touch is definitely missing. The romantic epic sweep of Eps I-VI, the goofy and whimsical touches, the feeling of being immersed in another galaxy, and Lucas’s gift for aesthetics aren’t there. The visuals don’t have that beauty and some of it is kinda ugly. The creature designs just aren’t as good. It’s not the kind of movie you watch dozens of times to catch little things. Even John Williams doesn’t have a knockout track like “Duel of the Fates” or “The Imperial March.” But it’s hard to think of how this was ever going to live up to any of it any more than I’d expect Suzanne Collins to write a Narnia book as good as C.S. Lewis. We lost those things when we lost Lucas.

I like the visuals a lot more now but TLJ’s cinematography rules the ST.  Still feel the same about creature design; I see better aliens and creatures on The Mandalorian.  One weird thing about the ST is how the filmmakers seemed to have avoided putting in anything at all that we’ve seen before.  No Jawas, no Togrutas, no Twi’leks, no Zabraks, no Quarren, etc.. Just Chewbacca and Admiral Ackbar.

The music didn't leave much an impression on me at the time but now I love “Rey’s Theme,” “Kylo Ren’s Theme,” and “March of the Resistance.”

As long as we’re on that note, I’ll get to the film’s flaws first. The movie has a lot of snappy, arch, and funny dialogue but you can tell the script was cranked out in a hurry. It lacks the careful structure of its predecessors and cribs a little too much from ANH. Poe disappears and you are led to believe he’s dead then he suddenly shows up healthy and hale with no explanation. Abrams’s first Star Trek film was riddled with unbelievable coincidences and unfortunately this movie has some of those too, such as when Han and Chewie just happen upon the Falcon in space. The film does very little to set up what’s going on and why, such as why the hell is the Republic fighting the same a-holes after all of these years. Abrams prefers instead to keep the action going instead of doing much exposition, which is pretty much what he did with the Trek films. Those little moments in Lucas’s Star Wars films don’t happen much here. Things must always be occurring, which dumps all of the responsibility for character development and world building on Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow. I have no idea why they decided to be all teasy-weasy with who Rey’s parents are instead of just telling us. (I suspect Luke is her father.)

LOL!   I guess the adoption by proxy thing at the very end of TROS proved me right or...did it?  Yes, my first assumption after seeing TFA was that Rey and Kylo Ren were cousins.

As for the rest of it, I still feel the same.  Rushed script, borrows too much from ANH, precious few explanations/set-up, not as good structure but still full of humor.

BB-8 is a charmer, Finn and Rey (who are so going to hook up) HA!  But remember I thought Rey and Kylo were cousins! have some charm and potential growth as characters, and it was great seeing our old crew again even if not under ideal circumstances. (Personally I would’ve preferred NOT to have broken up Han and Leia.) Hux had some mustache-twirling moments and Abrams was at least smart enough not to kill off him, Ren, or Snoke just yet. Finn and Poe have a good rapport (maybe they’re going to hook up).

Stormpilot definitely pinged the slash-dar.  It was completely unsurprising to find fans shipping them.

Abrams seemed to have avoided the mistake James Cameron made in “Avatar” when he killed off his most threatening villain while planning sequels. As you might have guessed, I was really shocked at Snoke’s death in TLJ.  I wasn’t expecting that until IX.  I was also really shocked at the casual, quick-get-rid-of-him ways both Hux and Ben were killed off in TROS.

The most compelling aspect of TFA for me was the Skywalker family drama, which made me wish it was more up front rather than a subplot. Ben Solo/Kylo Ren is a conflicted guy with a huge chip on his shoulder and it makes you wonder exactly what happened to him because I think he may have mental issues. Leia knows there’s still good in him but can a guy who commits patricide be saved? (RIP Han…I so knew this would happen because I figure it was the only way Ford would’ve done another film). Can his cousin/half-sister or whatever Rey save him? Would she want to? With Luke back in the picture and Artoo activated again, what will happen next? Even though they split up Han and Leia I liked the banter between them; it’s sad because they clearly still loved each other.

This is still true for me.  A few days after posting this it struck me just how nihilistic TFA was because I found Han and Leia’s split unnecessary (had Han gone out for Chinese food or on a mission for the Resistance instead of just being a loser smuggler, it wouldn’t have changed anything that happened in the film) and what I thought was Kylo’s certain fate to be a narrative bummer.  TLJ made me think they weren’t going on that direction only to be proven right in TROS (sadly).

I’ll dispense with the stupid Snoke is Plageuis theory and my dad wondering if Finn was Mace Windu’s lost son or something, though I’ll give him half a point for Finn turning out to be Force-sensitive after all.

I don’t know why people have said this takes them back to the ’70s because the film really is a 2015 movie made for an audience reared largely on the MCU, YA flicks, and other staples of contemporary geek culture. It is what it is and we aren’t going to get back the films of George Lucas and his influence. TFA might not be an awesome Star Wars movie but it is at least a good sci-fi action flick.

I still stand by most of this.  Time and TLJ made TFA a better movie in my eyes.

[bethanyeliseart]

Rise of Skywalker, a movie I genuinely loved!

Ok so I've had almost a full day to think about my thoughts on Rise of Skywalker. Right from leaving the cinema, I knew that I loved this movie! Sure it had it's flaws but every single Star Wars movie does and I like to think the positives outweigh them. It had amazing cinematography, the adventure was there, and all the emotions that come with Star Wars.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I think first I'll talk about the flaws because I love ending things on a cheery note. First, Rose Tico was pushed to the sidelines and I wish we got to see more of her character arc. I think after seeing the backlash some fans had for Rose, JJ was afraid to have her in the spotlight. She could've done more. I would've liked to see her interact more with Finn even platonically. And interact with Rey.

Second, I'm a huge Anakin Skywalker fan so part of me feels like they disrespected his arc in this movie with Palpatine being back. I kinda felt like it was all for nothing. But then I did see some other reviews that said he brought balance for a long time, but balance isn't permanent. So that post brought me some peace on that, thanks to who wrote it (I can't remember who, sorry!).

Third, Ben Solo's death. So I'm not sure if I just hate it because I loved his character or if it really wasn't a good decision. Star Wars stuck to their algorithm of redeeming the villain but to only kill him seconds later. We already saw this with Anakin. Did we have to see it again? Then again it was really meaningful that he sacrificed himself for Rey. Maybe he's still alive somewhere, idk I'm in denial still.

Ok so now onto things I liked/loved which is a lot, but I'm not good with reviews so I might not name all!

First I must say that I loved Rey and Ben's relationship and chemistry. There isn't too much dialogue, but you can see how much they care for one another through expressions. Props to Adam Driver for conveying so much in just looks and actions. The way he looked when he found Rey's dead body was so heartbreaking. He looked so vulnerable.

Also the way Rey was so relieved to see Ben after he brought her back. She smiled like he was this bright light. And oh my, my heart fluttered when they kissed. It's probably just me being the huge romantic that I am, but that was one of my favorite parts. From the beginning they had a strong emotional connection. In TLJ we can see how strongly they feel for one another. Ben wants her to be by his side constantly and really opens up to her. Rey does the same. She let's her self open up about her past and desire to belong somewhere/someone to Ben. In my mind, the buildup was there. It saddens me that it had to be a tragic romance, but Star Wars always has that tragedy. Ben also showed that hope leads somewhere. Rey held onto hope that he would return to the light and he did. He was at peace when he died.

Second thing I loved was the trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe in this movie! We have been waiting to see them all in action together since TFA. And JJ did not disappoint. The banter between the three flowed nicely and was comedic. It felt like a family. It was also so nice to see Rey interacting with Poe! You can tell they have spent a lot of time with each other. For those who think Rey is alone, she has these two guys for her family.💛

The scene where all the ships showed up last minute gave me Endgame vibes and I loved it. Especially when the main theme started.

The entire be with me scene in the throne room was chilling and awestrucking! (wow that first part of that sentence just threw back to GoT😨) When Rey looks up into the sky and the lightning fades to the calm and serene stars I too felt so relaxed. The soft music was so lovely, John Williams never fails. Hearing the jedi voices was what had me smiling like an idiot, especially hearing Anakin's voice saying "Bring balance as I once did". (I guess that's proving that his arc wasn't completely ruined). I would've loved to see Hayden Christensen, but I appreciate that we got to hear his voice.

Was anyone else so surprised to see Han even as a memory? It's not even that I was surprised because of how it goes into the plot, because it makes perfect sense for Ben to look back and remember his last interaction with his father. His father would be the key in him returning to the light. It just surprised me because I did not expect Harrison Ford to show up on set of Star Wars ever again😂. It was a very nice and welcome surprise though. From the moment he killed Han, you could tell Ben felt regret and remorse. I also loved that Leia reached out to her son one last time, showing Ben that his family has not given up on him.

LEIA! It was so awesome to see her training as a jedi with a lightsaber! That flashback gave me so many chills. I loved how Leia continued to train Rey even though she knew she was related to Palpatine. It shows that Leia doesn't judge someone based off blood. Leia loved Rey and had faith in her. People can't help where they came from.

It was so sad to see Leia die but we all know it was going to happen. Chewie's reaction was so emotional and made me shed a tear. The galaxy will remember Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher forever.❤

The Ending

Overall, I loved the ending. Sure I'm still devastated that Ben is dead, but looking at the big picture it was good/satisfying.

People are saying that Rey didn't grieve Ben and she moved on too quick. I think she knows that he will always be with her because no one's ever really gone. He is one with the force. (Ngl, part of me likes to believe he is alive out there somewhere or waiting to come back).

Also as I said before Rey still has people she loves! Finn and Poe are still alive and there for her.

This is just the way I saw it, but I don't think Rey plans to stay on Tatooine very long/permanently. Rey didn't start and end the same way. She has a family now (Poe and Finn) and knows who she is. I think she went there to pay respect to the Skywalker family, it is where it all started with Shmi and her son, Anakin. She buried the lightsabers because they are no longer needed (her new lightsaber is beautiful btw) And don't hate me, but I don't mind her calling herself Rey Skywalker. She felt a deep connection to the family and both Luke and Leia took her under their wing. She doesn't care for/need the name Palpatine. It's not who she is. Which brings me to people being mad that Rey wasn't a nobody. I respect their reasons and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I don't think it hurt her character arc. Rey being related to the worst Star Wars villain and still not falling to his dark ways shows how strong she is! She defeated him and brought balance once again to the galaxy despite being his blood.

The ending shot was beautiful and was a perfect way to end the Skywalker saga. The binary sunset and theme was ethereal. It's how the movies started and it's how it ended.

Star Wars is tragic, romantic, and hopeful. This movie showed all of those things. We lost Ben but he felt love again with Rey. Hope was restored with him turning back to the light and Rey defying expectations of a Palpatine. Personally, I loved this movie so much and it did not let me down.

Feel free to add anything you liked about the movie!

[reylo-musings]

Have some teaser music analysis cause I’m back on my nonsense.

I do have more to say about the music of the teaser than just this, but here at least is what has been requested about the very end of it.

This is the breakdown of what is really different about how Kylo’s theme is scored in the teaser as opposed to every other iteration we have heard over the past two films. I simulated the octaves and voicing of the parts other than the “kylo theme” notes as clear as I could, just so the comparison is as stark as possible.

All of the music in the trailer centers around the key of E (some minor, some Major). I’m gonna headcanon that the actual choice of key didn’t matter at all, but the score writer choose “E” for the “End”. (And yes, I said “score writer” because trailers are often not scored by the same composer that scores the film, and frankly I have no idea who orchestrated and scored this teaser music). “E for End” is complete headcanon though, not in any way supported other than the part of me that likes to suffer.

A gross MIDI file for ya.

So yes, in the standard “fall” pattern, the theme drops ½ step, followed by another drop of a tritone (the evil/devil’s interval). The pattern ends in a minor key, and the supporting voices lead us from a Dominant (V) to Tonic (I) authentic cadence. The cadence, though it ends on the tonic chord, does not feel very final. This is due to the melody ending on the 5th note of the scale as opposed to the 1st note.

In the new “rise” pattern, the theme drops the normal ½ step, but then rises back to the original note, eventually settling on the 3rd scale degree of an E Major chord. We have never before heard an iteration or illusion of Kylo’s theme that ends in Major. The actual chord progression of this authentic cadence feels much more finalized, as an end on the 3rd note of the scale establishes the mode (major or minor) firmly. This is in opposition to the cadence of the “fall” pattern, where ending on the 5th note leaves the mode up for interpretation since the 3rd of the triad determines a chord to be Major or minor.

So, why would the score writer not just use the actual “Kylo” theme in its entirety but just change the minor notes to major notes? Something that might look like this.

Well for one, it just doesn’t follow good part-writing, and feels incredibly awkward after having heard the “normal” version so many times, but more importantly...

The reasoning lies in the title of the film. 

Strategically, we don’t see the words “The Rise of Skywalker” appear until the notes themselves “rise”. Take another listen to the ending. 

It’s a double whammy and hits it all home. This is classic text painting, something we’ve seen used many time before with Kylo’s theme. Often the downward spin of his theme shows downward motion on screen (falling to knees, ships descending, etc). Now however, we get the opposite. He is not bringing decline, but rather ascent and growth. Those little words are literally rising up out of the darkness and turning toward the light. (I know, I’m reaching. But, am I really?)

We’re getting two key pieces of information from this music/visual combo.

1. Kylo/Ben IS the Skywalker. This is not new information by any means, but ya know, people are still struggling with that I guess.

2. This film will bring closure to the saga, and not just sad boo-hoo closure, amazing FULFILLING closure.

If you take a listen to the teaser trailers for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, they both end unresolved when the titles appear. TFA is more stable, but the melody just hovers on that 5th scale degree out in the open, where you know it’s gonna find some trouble. TLJ is just a hot mess full of angst and suspensions to the extreme that puts you on edge.

But this? We know EXACTLY what this means. We may have only heard the shape of it, but it is solid and clear (sorry, I had to). It’s powerful. It’s resolute. It’s strong. It’s stable. It’s BALANCED.

Y’all. It’s been a LONG 3+ years, but IT. IS. TIME. 

Is it December yet?

[clairen45]

What do you think of the porgs and their meaning for IX? I saw the cover of star wars insider 2019 special edition with Rey on it and a Porg at the corner. At first I thought this whole Porg stuff is all just for fun but then I read Leia - princess of Alderran and there is a passage (19, I believe) where Holdo speaks about breeding and to resolve a problem between parents and child . . . What do you think could this all mean?

Dear anon, this answer was a long time coming. Thank you so much for bringing up Porgs again, because, you got it all right! Porgs matter! They matter so much, not just like your Ewok novelty. People thinking they were just an excuse to sell cheap toys are utterly confused and missed the whole point.

The reason why Porgs were created in TLJ, after all, probably stems from a very practical reason. Skellig Michael Island, in Ireland, where the scenes for Ahch-To were shot both for the end of TFA and for TLJ, is a famous puffin sanctuary. It is also a place with a heavy spiritual past, which also, besides its gorgeous scenery, might have been why they chose it. But they still had to make do with the massive population of puffins. At the end of TFA we are vaguely aware of birds coming and going. But the little time spent on Ahch-To on TFA meant that we didn’t get enough scenes there to really pay attention on what these birds were. No CGI. No particular intent there. For TLJ they knew they were going to spend more time on the island. Get more shots. And so more probable that the birds would get more obtrusive within the action. So, what to do? This is what Jake Lunt Davies, the creature concept designer of the Porgs had to say:

Rian [Johnson – the director] had gone to shoot this sequence on Skellig Michael, which is the real island location that stands in for Ahch-To, and that island is covered in puffins. It’s a wildlife preserve and everywhere you look there are hundreds of birds dotted around the landscape.

From what I gathered, Rian, in a positive spin on this, was looking at how can he work with this. You can’t remove them. You physically can’t get rid of them. And digitally removing them is an issue and a lot of work, so let’s just roll with it, play with it. And so I think he thought, “Well, that’s great, let’s have our own indigenous species.”… The puffins were sort of a big influence on everything, really.

RJ put a spin on theme… He knew he was going to make them part of the whole thing. I personally don’t think this was a machiavellian scam to jam down obniouxly cute creatures down out throats. I don’t. I think that right off the bat RJ decided that he was going to use the porgs as a specific vehicle for a very important message… breeding… the power of love and love creating new life… mating and babies…. And lo, how he hammered that point throughout the movie: in Luke’s first lesson to Rey about the nature of the Force, with mama porg protecting her eggs. And with the porgs nesting on the MF.

Now, I did a specific giant meta about birds and mating throughout SW: Bird is the Word- Avian Metaphor and Mating in Star Wars. This is an excerpt from my meta that might sum up what the “bird experience” means to me:

TLJ was meant as Sex Ed class for Rey and Kylo. I should not have to develop the many many sexual symbols on Ahch-To, the caves, wetness, and the glorious nakedness of Kylo, or the smut hut. Remember, I am talking about birds. And what do the birds mean? Birds represent life, mating, nesting. And of course they are much more appealing symbols of reproduction than bunnies, let’s say, because birds are ascensional symbols. They do represent the pressures of biology and reproduction, but their graceful flight gives spiritual value to the deed. Birds are the link between the earth and the sky, the body and the soul, mortals and immortals, humans and gods. Think about Leda and the Swan, or Aphrodite’s dove, and all these cutesy birdies that usually flutter around our favorite Disney princesses, especially when they sing about love or falling in love. Think about Bambi and the spectacle of love-crazed birds. Twitterpatted alright!

Go check out the meta really because it is astounding how much the bird motif is “pregnant” (lol) in the movies and in the ST in particular. The EU brought even more substance with that cute parallel between this Forces of Destiny episode on porgs (Porgs problems) and the Lion King… Further read on this one in this post: More on Porgs …

That:being said, once the tale was told, of course Disney and LF jumped on the bandwagon of selling porgs as the cute novelty toy! Of course they would. It is only fair. But I don’t think for one minute that they were imagined and designed that way. PORGS ARE MEANINGFUL!!!!!

Now, dear anon, you bring up something from Leia Princess of Alderaan which is indeed super important. It does come from chapter 19, p.243 for the hardcover edition. Leia is then falling for her first love, Kier. And as the princess struggles between her feelings and her moral duty, and wonders whether she is entitled to happiness in such dire times,  this is what Amilyn Holdo tells her:

If the young of the species don’t have motivations to leave the care of their parents, they’ll never lead an independent existence, which means they’ll never reproduce. The species would soon die out. Ergo, the last stage of life before adulthood always involve conflict between parents and offspring.

There are many key points for the ST there. “Motivations” is a word that should ring a bell… What are Kylo’s motivations, for one? But also remember that scene in TFA when Rey is trying to fix the “motivator” on the MF, a scene that comes right afterward Kylo’s asking about “What girl?”

And remember how the scene is cut in a way that the characters almost seem to reach out to each other, like a first try at teh Force bond device we get so beautifully done in TLJ.

You also have the paramount importance of leaving the parents to gain independence. That is Rey at the beginning of TFA. She is unable to let go of her parents. She is thus maintained in perpetual childhood and childishness, which are emphasized at the beginning of the movie by the concept for her hair (same style as the one she had as a child), the toys in her At-AT, theme music, and facial expressions when on her own (eating or playing with the helmet).

And then tyou have conflict with the parents. And that’s obviously Kylo.

So, yep, this is all about breeding and need to reproduce. BTW, on Kylo’s Spotify playlist, THIS: Breed by Nirvana. Coincidence? Of course not.

Further in Claudia Gray’s book, on p.245, to be more specific, Holdo adds:

Happiness is our moral imperative. (…)

Great evil can only be fought by the strong. People need spiritual fuel as much as they need food, water, and air. Happiness, love, joy, hope -these are the emotions that give us the strength to do what we need to do.

Interesting cluster of words. Holdo is all about vital force, the reproductive and restorative spark. Just like her famous quote in TLJ: “We are the spark, that’ll light the fire, that will restore the Republic.“  Restorative, reproductive, constructive. Just like Rose’s quote about saving what you love. Which is, very significantly, twisted and misinterpreted by Poe (and rage-fueled fanboys): “We are the spark, that will light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down”, which is destructive.

Also, it is in this book that we find a quote that was -revealingly- removed from TLJ : “the most dangerous substance known to exist (IS…) a pair of pretty dark eyes”. This Jane Austen quote was uttered in TLJ by none other than Luke Skywalker yours truly to Rey after her hand scene with Kylo:

“You opened yourself to Dark Side for a pair of pretty eyes!“

So, in the end what? You can guess where this is all going. Your intuition was correct. Of course it means that there will be a resolution of conflict between Kylo and his parents (even symbolically, because, yes, I know that Han is dead!!!). And of course there will be babies or the suggestion of babies (pregnant belly?) or some lovemaking (or suggestion of love making) at some point or as the endgame. There is no other way to read or interpret all the ST material and the EU canon material. After all this book you very kindly brought to attention yet again is aptly headed “JOURNEY TO STAR WARS THE LAST JEDI”. It is a companion book. It is meant that way. It has to reflect what the main themes are from the movie….

Hope that covered your question. Thanks again for reaching out!

[gillzilla]

A Treatise on the aTROSity, Including How Hope Came to Me in the Form of The Lego Movie 2, Knives Out, and Little Women

I will start out by saying that I have never made a real, detailed post on Tumblr, mainly because social media kind of scares me. But the Reylo community's amazing kindness, strength, openness, and willingness to speak the truth in their writing over the last week and a half is honestly what has gotten me through the heartbreak and depression caused by the stabbing in the chest that was this movie. I am one of the people who loves Kylo/Ben Solo because I have mental health conditions and an abuse/trauma history within my family, which is also why the holidays are hard for me, so a big thanks to the people in charge of the story for TROS for making it even harder this year. After a week and a half of legitimate mourning for the butchering of the themes of Star Wars and of all the characters, but particularly the sequel trilogy characters, I am ready to add my two cents to all that has already been written about this movie.

First off, I have not been a Star Wars fan for my whole life. My parents tried to introduce me to the original trilogy as a kid by taking me to see A New Hope in the movie theater for the 20th anniversary screening in 1997. I fell asleep for most of it and was terrified by the trash compactor scene, so you could say the movie did not resonate with me. It actually wasn't until Phantom Menace came out that I started to get attached to Star Wars. So many older fans love to shit on that movie, and it certainly has many flaws, but a lot of us who were around the same age as Anakin when that movie came out and are now adults have started to speak up about how the movie was a gateway into Star Wars for us. Anakin gave me a window into the Star Wars universe that I could understand and relate to. I could relate to Anakin being a kind-hearted kid who wanted to help others and just wanted adults he could look up to, and I liked the podracing scenes. As with every single other sci-fi/fantasy hero's journey story that I loved as a kid, I empathized with and related to a male hero. Now, the wooden dialogue/acting/directing of Attack of the Clones and the tragic ending of Revenge of the Sith that left me so emotionally devastated that I vividly remember calling my friend to tell her I was so depressed I couldn't focus on studying for my eighth grade English final, kind of took me out of Star Wars again. There had been a spark there, but at that point I figured, eh, I guess it's not really for me after all.

I didn't rediscover Star Wars until the end of the first semester of my freshman year of college. This was a very difficult time in my life, as I was in what I would now consider to be a mental health crisis that unfortunately lasted for five years because I was too ashamed and uneducated about mental health to seek out help. I was very, very lonely during that time. It was close to finals week and I was sick, so as I sat in my dorm room I decided, why not pop in those DVDs of the original trilogy that I got at Costco last month. After watching them, I remember thinking, "Why have I not been watching these my whole life???" The original trilogy hooked me after that point and I started watching the movies every year around Christmas in commemoration of my rediscovery of them.

I was just as surprised as anyone when I found out that Disney bought Lucasfilm and that they were going to make a sequel trilogy. I had thought there would never be any more Star Wars, so I was overjoyed, though tentative, because I knew that though I loved Star Wars, it also had a tendency to make missteps that were somewhat endemic to sci-fi/fantasy hero's journey stories, such as poorly written dialogue, emphasis on ridiculous plot points that took away from the deeper overall themes, lack of diverse characters, and objectification/misogyny against female characters (I do not like watching Return of the Jedi because I hate, HATE the Jabba's palace stuff for what they did to Leia, honestly they gave Leia nothing interesting to do in that whole movie basically, but that's a whole nother essay).

So I went into The Force Awakens not really knowing what to expect. But oh my god, was I blown away. I am not lying when I say that I cried for at least an hour after the scene where Rey and Kylo are both reaching out for the legacy saber and it goes to Rey as the music swells, oh my god. I FINALLY realized what it meant to feel seen in the stories that I loved. My whole life I had been attached to and empathizing with male heroes, because they were pretty much the only heroes out there. To see Rey as this amazing female heroine who was not objectified and was a compelling character with an intriguing backstory that I related to as a child with a trauma history who often grew up feeling lonely, and to see that she was going to be the main Jedi in this new trilogy, I was overjoyed. It gave me hope. And then, on top of that, we got Adam Driver. Need I say any more. So many people have written about what an absolutely incredible actor Adam is, and I swear he is the only actor who could have pulled off the role of Kylo/Ben. The first time I saw TFA I didn't catch all the nuances of the character and his dynamic with Rey, but something about him really intrigued me (and made me want to watch everything Adam had ever been in). My love for TFA led me to start investing time in the online Star Wars fandom, which I never considered myself to be a part of previously, as the fandom had always reeked of being a "no girls allowed" type of zone. I found out about amazing, female-led podcasts that I started listening to every week and whose hosts I value just as much as my friends. I also started following the Reylo fandom on Tumblr. Learning more about the mythology behind the sequel trilogy, including how the creators were writing Rey's story as a heroine's journey and her and Kylo/Ben as dual protagonists, added so much to my understanding of what was going on in the storytelling and gave me the words to describe why I was connecting with these stories so much. I can honestly say that Star Wars and the Reylo fandom generally have been instrumental in helping me to get through the last four years, which have been a very difficult and isolating period in my life.

And now I'm up to TROS. As so many have said, the vast majority of it is a steaming pile of trash. People have done such an amazing job of breaking down why this story and how it treated its characters and retconned the beautiful story and themes that Rian gave us in TLJ was so painful for us. Many have pointed out that this movie is a result of catering to the most toxic portion of the Star Wars fandom, the "dudebros." Going further, I want to state that, whether consciously or not on the part of the cis, straight, white, male writers/director/CEO of Disney, this movie is a reassertion of masculinist ideologies. I want to clarify that when I talk about "masculinist" vs. feminist ideologies, I am talking about how our society and culture defines "masculine" vs. "feminine" ideas, traits, etc. Gender has nothing to with biological determinism and is socially and culturally constructed. Masculinist ideologies include beliefs such as extreme individualism, competition, "us vs. them" dichotomies, and power and value being defined based on hierarchy, which necessitates the use of violence to perpetuate the hierarchy. Feminist ideologies include valuing community and collaboration, connection and empathy, the idea that every person has inherent worth regardless of their productivity, actions, mistakes, class, race, sexuality, etc., respect for all people, and an abolishing of hierarchies. Masculinist ideologies are those of the white supremacist hetero-patriarchy, which, as we can see playing out in various ways all over the world, has been rearing its head in a very obvious and ugly fashion the past few years (though of course it has been around for wayyyyy longer than that).

Anyone who has been reading the fantastic analyses of TROS by those in the Reylo community can likely see how TLJ and even the story as it was set up in TFA were communicating feminist ideologies. One big example of this is Kylo Ren/Ben himself as a character. As so many have eloquently described, this is a complex character that commits atrocities, but is shown to be a victim of immense abuse and trauma that was failed by everyone in his family when he needed them most. This is a character that, had he been able to have the full and well-written redemption arc that he deserved, would have had an extremely moving story of how toxic masculinity and masculinist ideology is destroying boys and men by keeping them from being full people who can express all of their emotions, be vulnerable, and be open to love and connection. Reylo resonates so much with me not because it is about Rey supposedly doing all the work to change Kylo in some sort of toxic, co-dependent way, but because Rey and Kylo/Ben were always equals to each other. They both pushed each other to be better, more whole people. The wonderful work that folks have put into analyzing the mythology behind the feminine and masculine symbolism in TFA and TLJ (again, to clarify, "masculine" and "feminine" being culturally defined terms), and even the more obvious original goal of the sequel trilogy for the force to finally be balanced by Rey and Ben themselves becoming balanced between dark and light all relate to these gender issues. Balancing the dark and light sides of the force is also about balancing the "masculine" and "feminine" aspects within themselves.

This is a beautiful message that has so many real world implications. In our world, for lack of a better term, everything "feminine" is basically shat on. Patriarchy hates anything "feminine." This is how sexism plays out, but it also has to do with the ideologies that we believe in, down to our basic understandings of empathy and whether or not people have inherent value. The world would certainly be a better place if the "masculine" and "feminine" were better balanced, specifically if "feminine," and feminist, ideologies were more valued. This is what makes TROS feel like a stab directly in the heart. This was a trilogy that clearly did have feminist messages, regardless of DLF's bullshitting about Star Wars being "for everyone." Star Wars has always been progressive, the original trilogy is about rebels taking on fascists for god's sake. DLF's pandering to the most toxic part of the fandom for TROS is therefore representative of a much larger cultural, social, and political battle that is going on around the world right now. We are at a turning point for humanity in which we are starting to face the devastation that has occurred due to masculinist ideologies being the most highly regarded and utilized by those in power, but those in power are also trying to maintain their power by strongly reasserting those ideologies. So I would argue that this is not just about one movie that I and many other people didn't like. This movie is a small representation of a much larger battle that we're fighting.

Now, that reassertion of masculinist ideology that was the stabbing in the heart of watching TROS has made me super, duper depressed for the past week or so because, as others have pointed out, it communicated to me that no matter how hard we fight, the white supremacist hetero-patriarchy will reassert itself and win in the end. It even re-triggered the pain I've felt over the past few years since our current president came into office in the U.S. However, as I near the end of this long treatise I would like to share the stories that gave me hope over these past few days. I re-watched The Lego Movie 2 the other day, and that story gave me hope. The "bad guy" in that story is a literal embodiment of toxic masculinity/masculinist ideology, and it ends with the male hero realizing that he doesn't need to sacrifice his humanity and connections to other people to be a hero, or even just to be a man. How to Train Your Dragon 3 also told a story about a male hero/leader that rejects masculinist ideology. Additionally, I was given hope by Rian's amazing movie, Knives Out, which I went to see solely because people on Tumblr recommended it (thank you folks!). Rian had a clear theme and vision for this story that was about exposing and dissecting what I would call "toxic whiteness," and what it does to a family and those around them. And lastly, I saw Greta Gerwig's incredible adaptation of Little Women today, and that gave me hope because one of its main themes is about the struggle that (cis, heterosexual) women have in asserting themselves as full humans with talents, dreams and goals for their lives outside of being in romantic relationships, but also wanting to have romantic relationships at the same time. As has been said by so many, "STRONG" WOMEN CAN FALL IN LOVE AND HAVE ROMANTIC/SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. Feminism is about giving all people the chance to be fully human, and for heterosexual women that includes being able to have a relationship with a man and still be valued and respected for everything that we are outside of that relationship. The above mentioned stories, and others (She-Ra, Dragon Prince, AtLA & Legend of Korra, I'm sure there are others) give me hope that there are creators out there that are communicating feminist themes, even in big-budget movies that lots of people go to see. We need more of this. Tied to this is that THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY OF THE SEQUEL TRILOGY SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN/DIRECTED BY A WOMAN/WOMEN. Folks, we need the opportunities to tell our own stories. All of the diverse folks out there, if you are a creator, please keep on creating! We need you out there and we value all of the beautiful, integral work that you do!

So in sum, I'm not going to let what happened with TROS ruin my love of Star Wars or of the sequel trilogy. The story belongs to the fans now, and there are so many of us out there to care for it. You better be sure that I will never stop speaking up about how wronged we were by TROS, that is the hill I will die on. But I am not giving up hope and I hope that you will also join me in not giving up hope. As Poe stated so well in TLJ (with one minor adjustment), "We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the [patriarchy] down." End of treatise.

[blyedeeks]

Hi! I'm new to Reylo shipping.. I felt it in TFA but with the shitstorm that ensued in the fandom after that I sort of tried to stay away. After seeing TLJ though I can't help it, I'm won over 100%. I just wanted to tell someone lol and I followed you very recently and I think you're pretty awesome so I guess I am directing my Reylo confession to you! There is this song "Come To This" by Natalie Taylor and it's so Reylo (esp. post TLJ) I want to die... I'd love to know your thoughts.

YOU ARE SO CUTE!!! Thank you for your kind words - and man… you asked for my thoughts i’m gonna give you such a huge text cause…. my thoughts are EVERYWHERE. I hope this is okay.

Would you believe if i told you we’re actually not that different?

Truth is, I came out of TFA shipping both Rey with Finn and with Kylo, cause i saw two directions they could go : the best friend or the enemy (to everyone that knows me these are two kinds of romances I cannot resist).

 I did feel like 1- an arc with Kylo would be GREAT for the story in general (the whole dark and light force and balance and all the things I’m gonna talk about later) but i wasn’t sure if they would GO there because, to me  on TFA, it felt like they were going way more towards Finn and Rey. Which was fine and great , they are best firends and love and support each other each other. Part of me, however, just felt like, for this story specifically…i wanted a romance that would also bring a huge plot arc with it – but i was okay with everything as long as deep and well written.

And yeah when i came out from watching the movie, i encountered a HUGE amount of hostility for everyone that shipped Reylo - even from people that weren’t on the fandom. I wasn’t that involved on the fandom until TLJ (yeah, now) and tbh I don’t think i ever seen a fandom get as much heat as the Reylo shippers - and heck I’ve lived through Jonerys and… well there was a lot of heat there.

So i stayed away from reylo for my own sake, because i wasn’t even sure if they were going to go there (as much as I wanted them to) and I didn’t want any more heat in my life for the ships i had - and i figured IF it came to it, if it came to a moment i wouldn’t be able to hide this anymore, then i would just go for it.

And what do you know, as soon as the The Last Jedi trailer came out….. i realized the moment had come.

*emotional instrumental music*

Now…. man… TLJ… WHERE. DO. I EVEN BEGIN. I have watched this movie two days ago and only today i was able to form coherent text about my feelings over the PLOT, i’m not sure I still can do it over Reylo but lemme try just a bit.

I think…. i think TLJ was epic. That’s a good place to start and when I find a movie deserving of such word I use it as much as I can. The FEELINGS it brought - especially in regards to Reylo. That scene with snoke??? IT DROVE PEOPLE ON MY MOVIE THEATER COMPLETELY INSANE. When he pulled the lightsaber, when they faced each other and swirled in slow motion to fight, when they fought, when she threw the saber to him so he’d kill the guard choking him. EVEYTHING was met with such great cheering and applause that was just YES. All i can feel is YES YES YES.

NOW THIS, THIS is an interesting romance to bring for a show that deals with such huge arcs and themes. Not that other ships and loves aren’t deserving - i’m in no way talking about that. But give me a relationship that SYMBOLIZES the force and how it works, give me two people who have EQUAL AMOUNTS OF POWER (explicitly stated on TLJ) and make them clash, give me enemies that were both wronged by their parents, who were so alone, who don’t know who they are anymore, that UNDERSTAND each other in the middle of all this craziness, give me literal polar opposites and show me how GOOD they are when they put away their differences and work together.

 And give me forbidden love, it’s a simple trope but heck it is so exciting when it’s well written. (Like, imo, a lot of “forbidden love” stories happen cause the parties are from opposing sides that, later, you find out none of them were right and that the fighting became pointless and that balance and compromise is the best thing - well well, ain’t that something we need now?)

TLJ was all that. I never, in my wildest dreams, believed they’d give me in such a silver platter with cherry on top but here we are. I mean… they did THE FREAKING FORCE BOND. THE FORCE BOND. WHAT KIND OF EPIC SOULMATE STAR CROSSED LOVERS PLOT-

And, sigh, all at the same time it was hard. TLJ made and broke my heart all at the same time, and in some ways I’m glad it did because it wouldn’t even be realistic for their relationship to work and for Kylo to walk away from his personal issues all in just one movie.

Part of me is afraid of what happens now - because i can’t help it. I can’t help being scared they’ll pull the rug off my feet, the huge plot driven romance i wanted snatched away from me and all. But Part of me KNOWS this was gonna happen anyway. They ARE paralleling Kylo to Anakin, Reylo to Anakin/Padme, and the prequel arc only HINTED At anakin changing sides on movie 2 but he only committed to it on movie 3.

Not to mention the whole BALANCE message TLJ keep screaming at us, and how everything we used to know (all old SWs) is about to change because THAT order doesn’t work in the new world ( i mean…did it ever work? did they defeat evil? Cause the dark side keeps coming back, if they were truly doing things right they wouldn’t need a third movie franchise to kill it). All these messages lead me to believe Kylo has hope, the dark side has hope (*gasp*), and the light side ain’t always right (*gasp gasp*) cause it’s made of flawed people that can do dark things. And if Kylo has hope, so does Reylo - because as this romance is plot driven, the message of balance and redemption all walk together here.

PHEW. I hope this was good. I’m still too filled with feelings to say everything i want to, but at least something came out.

[karmadash-is-shippingtrash]

A Reylo and Kiara/Kovu comparison

Mostly told in terms of TLK 2 instead of SW

I’ve seen many post going around comparing these and I though it best to add my views coming from somebody who’s been trash for TLK since I was a child. I probably know  more about these movies than I do my own family.

This will contain TLJ spoilers but everything’s under the cut because this is going to be long, so you’re safe until you click that read more. (This post contains pics!)

I want to start off by comparing the difference/opposites between the two, because there are many.

If we are saying that Kovu is Kylo, and Kiara is Rey then the family and living situations are very different and I would say opposites of each other but it’s not like the writers decided to base Reylo on TLK 2 ;)

To start with Kiara is the princess of this story (unlike Rey) she has a good family, and could want for nothing since the pridelands is full of life. Despite having an over protective father (which I wont go into because that’s a whole other TLK meta of its own) and  pair of baby sitter that leave her with hardly any time on her own shes got a very good family structure and constant support.

Kovu on the other-hand is in the outlands where food is scarce unless you count the bugs, he has his mother and half siblings (though this is still questionable) his family aren’t very caring or kind and live their entire loves on the basis of killing Kiara’s father so that can live in the pridelands. (Though this is down to Scar previously ruling it, I feel like its a good comparison to the First Order seeking to rule the galaxy much like the Empire had)

These are two very different backgrounds to how Rey/Kylo grew up, and although we don’t know every detail, I can safely say that Kylo was more likely to have grown up being treated like a prince (up until going to Jedi school) and Rey grew up with practically nothing and surviving on false ideas.

The first Meeting;

Similar to how things took place in TFA, Kovu and Kiara first meet up when they’ve both gone far from everybody else. Kiara was practically running away from her home, much in the same way Rey was running form the light saber and those visions. Kovu makes himself seem like the big bad but he doesn’t actually try to hurt Kiara (especially since she doesn’t exactly lie down and play dead, but unlike Rey she doesn’t try to fight back until he provokes her.)  They then end up falling into a crocodile nest and have to run for their lives which I like to link to the fact that the area where Maz’s castle was is currently being destroyed by the on-going battle. Though unlike Kylo, Kovu still hasn’t received his scar. Also baby Kiara flirts with Kovu.

Despite both of them being reprimanded for this, (although in Reys case it turned into a rescue mission) Zira twists the situation in Kovu using this as a way to get closer to killing Simba (with this epic musical number), like Snoke deciding that Kylo should “bring him the girl”. Unlike in TFA they’re both children and leave unlike Kylo keeping Rey on Starkiller for info on Luke’s map (which i’m still annoyed by, I mean if they had most of the map surely they’d be able to locate what the missing piece was by flying around the galaxy right?)

The “second” meeting

Zira orchestrates a plan to set fire to the pridelands, using all her children to follow her bidding (i’d say these would be Hux and Phasma, but comparing with to Nuka would be mean, Vitani on the other-hand is great) when Kiara is about to taker her hunting exam (I guess there’s no better way to describe it) having set up Kovu to rescue her and win Simba’s favor. And it works.

Kovu saves Kiara and then she gets very mad because he ruined her hunting exam and better yet she doesn’t remember him. So despite the plan working out in this movie, nothing like this happens in TFA, but you could compare this to the force-bond moments within TLJ.

Now this is where my opinion differs from most of the fan-base, since everybody likes to talk about the pond scene (which I’ll cover later) but if you want to split up the new SW trilogy within this movie, than I’d say that the childhood sections are TFA, the bulk of the movie would be TLJ, which leaves barely anything for the next movie other than my hopes for the direction Reylo will take.

So at this point, I’m comparing the entire time Kovu spends with Kiara at pride rock like the force bonding moments, because this is tuning point for Kovu. His head had been filled with his mothers opinions on Simba only for them to all change while he’s with them. This is also when Kiara and Kovu start to fall for each-other. I don’t think I need to say much about this since I’ll just add the pics because they speak for themselves.

This all leads up to the “There is is” moment - the touch. (Simba see’s this and really isn’t happy *cough*like Luke*cough*) But then they get a romanic musical number so its OK. Alternately you can listen to Kylo and Rey’s themes.

Obviously after this nothing goes right. Simba just starting to accept Kovu invites him out for a chat when Zira and her pride of lion (Or the First Order party) turn up and attack Simba sparking the basis for the war. Zira essentialy calling Kovu a traitor gives him his scar.

Where Simba banishes Kovu - Luke breaking the connection between Rey and Kylo. From here the pair don’t really see each-other because Kovu’s run off finding “nowhere” for him to belong, where he see’s a reflection of Scar in the water. Which I like to think would be like Kylo looking at his mask and finally seeing that he shouldn’t be like Vader. Kiara decides to go after him, because love, she re-visits all the places they went together. This is like the scene where Rey puts herself in the pod just to see Kylo and bring Ben back.

Its this scene that makes me think of then Rey looking into the mirror (or whatever it is) because I think in the way that It appears that Kylo is in the mirror before she looks at herself is trying to show us that Kylo’s part of her, and that Rey is only one half of the force.  In this scene Kiara is looking at the water feeling like half of herself is missing, and that half is Kovu.

The “final” meeting

In true movie fashion in TLK the reunion is a dramatic run toward each-other before they embrace. How I wish we had a real hug in TLJ. This leads up to the Reylo fan-favs “We are one” and “Let’s run away together and start a pride, all our own” yup, classic.

Unlike Kylo and Rey, this conversation happens before the fight. But it still has the same impact of Rey telling Kylo they can’t leave, they have to fix the problem and actually unite the galaxy, while Kiara has smaller plans of just uniting both prides. This is where I’d cut off the comparisons with TLJ. Despite the fact that Kylo ad Rey do fight together and take down the guards, I think that the battle at the end of TLK2 could be more fitting for the next movie installment.

Now this section is purely me speculating about the next movie based on TLK2 but I’m just going to roll with it.

I don’t see any reason for Kylo and Rey’s force bond to weaken at all (despite the soul crushing door closing scene) so I think they’ll still be able to communicate which will mostly be Rey trying to bring back “Ben” and Kylo just trying to get her. Now if Kylo can locate Rey she cant stay with the resistance meaning that Kylo could follower her somewhere else for them to have their own version of a reunion (though without a romantic musical number, but love will find a way!) If Rey can truly make Kylo see  that together then can save the galaxy we might just get to see them stop a huge battle between whats left of the resistance and the FO. They could finally end the SW story on a good note, of a galaxy united, with both the dark side and the light in balance.

All images came from DisneyScreencaps, honestly an amazing resource. I sadly don’t have the programs to rip my own DVD/Blurays (because I’m trash and own like 4 copies of TLK2)