#Luke was the only one who could inspire Anakin to redeem himself because he was the only one who didn’t get caught up in the cycle himself

[marvelstars]

Star Wars and Codes of honor

I believe it would do fans well to remember George Lucas took inspiration to built the Jedi Order from old Samurai inspired movies in which bushido was practiced by the Samaurai in ancient Japan, as well as the fact that the one character who talks about compassion being central to a Jedi´s life is Anakin himself, while other Jedi give more importance to their alingment to the lightside, lack of attachment and loyalty to the republic.

I say this because the story is more clear that way. I don´t belive given the way the Jedi were pictured, that they seek to redeem Anakin/Vader at any point while he was alive, Yoda´s exact Orders to Obi-Wan post Anakin´s attack on the temple were to execute him "take him out of his misery" and Obi-Wan didn´t left Anakin burning alive on Mustafar out of compassion, he did it because he saw that as a fitting punishment and he truly believed Vader would not survive it. Their words in relation to Vader also confirm this in the OT, he is an inhuman half machine/man who needs to be stopped and when Luke told them he wasn´t going to kill his father they didn´t deny those were their intentions when they trained Luke and the reason why they keep hidden his father´s identity from Luke to make it easier for him to kill him.

All of this doesn´t make much sense with Anakin´s words about compassion being central to a Jedi´s life but it makes all the sense in relation to bushido, which is all about the samurai code of honor which asks for the Master to deal with their pupil in case those use their knownledge to walk a path outside this code of honor. In this instance Vader´s death was Obi-Wan´s and Yoda responsibility as masters of their school technique from which Vader was a member, responsibility they passed on to Luke.

Vader´s reaction to Luke being weaponized to kill him and his master is total acceptance, Vader wasn´t surprised at all by the fact his old Jedi Masters tried to kill him using his own Son, he only thought that was a good strategy on their part, a strategy that he needed to dissolve so he could make his own alliance with Luke to bring down the Emperor.

Sith and Jedi are like two opposed Samurai schools from this pov so confrontation, kill or be killed mentality is central in the interactions between alive Obi-Wan/Yoda and Darth Vader/Palpatine across the saga.

Luke is the one who brings back the idea of compassion(which Anakin believed at first, compassion = "unconditional love") aceptance and the oportunity for another choice for his father, which Vader took when Luke´s life was on the line and he accepted his own death as an honorable way of trying to make up for some of what he did.

But outside of fanfic, I dont see an alive Obi-Wan/Yoda making peace with a redeemed Vader and viceversa, because Anakin may understand their logic in trying to destroy him but their manipulation of Luke would be something harder for him to forgive as good as their reasons or as big as their desperation were.

[d3sertdream3r]

Final Thoughts on Mons(TROS)ity

I’m not even just upset that Ben died. That’s the rotten cherry on top of how every single character in the entire Skywalker Saga was fucked up in this film.

As much as I love Rey, the fight against Palpatine was most certainly Ben’s. This man has been mentally torturing him and manipulating him since he was in the fucking womb. He poisoned his relationships with his family. He convinced him that he had to kill his own father in order to ever be or mean anything. Yet he gets yeeted off a cliff in the final fucking battle. He doesn’t get revenge for all that’s been done to him and the past two generations of his family before him. Not to mention he only holds the legacy saber for all of 3 minutes at most. He doesn’t even set foot on the Millennium Falcon or talk to Uncle Lando and Uncle Chewie. He doesn’t get to hear the real voice of his hero/grandfather. He’s a mentally ill abuse victim that ended up killing himself. That leaves a really shitty taste in my mouth despite the fact that he did it for the girl he loves.

Am I really supposed to believe that Rey being sold into slavery to an extremely abusive guy on a desert wasteland is a good thing??? And what about the message that she made herself who she is and the Force chose her to be powerful because she is strong and compassionate despite how terribly she’s been treated her whole life? That she didn’t get her power from a legacy bloodline, but from herself?? Nope. She’s powerful because she is a Palpatine. And despite surviving in the desert all her life so that she could someday have a family, she ends up all alone in a different desert. Exactly where she began, but now she has trauma and the loss of her soulmate to deal with. Fuck everything.

Why didn’t Leia train Ben herself if Luke had trained her? She gave her son away when he was a kid because she just didn’t have time to deal with her only child while he was struggling with depression and anxiety? His powers reacting to his inner turmoil was just too inconvenient to her career?? Yeah, sure, totally sounds like Leia Skywalker Organa Solo to me.

Finn being a former stormtrooper that’s defected to the resistance is more of an after thought than a real plot line?? This is something we’ve never seen before. We’ve seen desert kids become powerful Jedi. We’ve seen powerful Jedi fall to the dark side and “redeem themselves” through death. We’ve seen Palpatine be defeated and killed before. Finn’s story was fresh and interesting and in the end all he does is make eyes at Rey and provide occasional comic relief.

What the hell is the point of Poe’s story? He doesn’t really have one. He was supposed to die in the first film and it shows because he hasn’t served much purpose at all since the first 10 minutes of TFA besides being attractive and acting like an ass most of the time. So inspiring.

Rose barely exists in this movie. She’s more of a cameo than anything. Her beautifully heartbreaking story about her sister, her kindness in the face of evil and destruction, her strong will and determination to do the right thing, her passion for justice, and her inspiration to a whole new generation of rebels and Jedi are all thrown out the window.

Luke, Han, and Leia all died so that Ben could live and finally feel light and happiness in his life. Well that didn’t work. He died. And why would Rey take the name Skywalker instead of Solo? She was in love with Ben Solo, her personal hero is Han Solo, and her real Jedi master was Leia Organa Solo. The Millennium Falcon is her ship and her best friend is Chewie. But she goes with fucking Skywalker?? Ok.

All the Jedi rushed to the aid of Rey in her moment of need but not a single one of them could be bothered to ever help Ben throughout his entire life despite being the grandson of the Chosen One. No one ever raised so much as a finger when he needed help, not even his grandfather that he loved and admired deeply to the point of following him down the path of his mistakes.

Anakin couldn’t talk to him and convince him to stay good or return to the light, but he gives his power to Rey and tells her to Rise?? A girl he doesn’t know at all??? Obi Wan “BEN” Kenobi couldn’t help and teach the child named after him?? A name that is synonymous with HOPE in SW. What a joke.

The Chosen One means nothing. The Skywalker bloodline means absolutely fucking nothing even though this entire universe was built around them. They aren’t the Balancers of the Force. They aren’t super powerful Force demigods despite having the Force literally woven into their DNA because of how Anakin was born, not just in midi-chlorian form. They’re all dead. The “Rise of Skywalker” indeed. Cruel irony at its finest.

In conclusion, this is how I feel about the movie. Take it away George:

JJ singlehandedly ruined an entire lifetime of lore and storytelling for who the fuck knows or cares why. Rian is the one who truly respected SW and handled the lore beautifully while also introducing new concepts to the franchise.

I will always love Reylo, Star Wars, and the Skywalkers. I hope they get Ben back in canon books or something, but I’ll always be bitter about the awful way every single fucking character in the Skywalker Saga has been so completely disrespected.

This fandom is wonderful and very inspiring and I can’t wait to see what gorgeous art and fanfics y’all come up with. I’m truly so grateful to be part of something so much bigger than myself; something JJ Abrams will never understand.

[dalekofchaos]

The Jedi are not pacifists

I hate the claim that Luke on Crait in TLJ was the most “Jedi like” in The Last Jedi and I resent the claim that the Jedi are pacifists. 

Pacifism is defined by the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means.

The Jedi believe in diplomacy. But will defend themselves and the innocent by any means necessary. 

Jedi aren’t pacifists. Anyone who thinks they are is deluded. They are like Samurai/Hospitaller Knights. They don’t want to fight but they will and will do what must be done to protect the innocent from evil and tyranny. 

The Jedi prefer to be pacifistic. Mace Windu says in Clones, "We are keepers of the peace, not soldiers," and as others have pointed out, the Jedi at the beginning of Phantom are on a diplomatic mission, and Yoda advises in Empire that a Jedi uses his abilities for defense, not for attack, which is a lesson Luke takes to heart in RotJ when he abandons his weapon to save his father's soul. The movies seem to be saying that violence in the name of good is defensible (and certainly it makes for exciting action) and sometimes the best move, but peaceful acts are the ideal.

A lot of fans seem to think the Jedi were wrong for fighting in the Clone Wars. The problem isn’t that the Jedi fought in The Clone Wars. The problem is that they willingly became tools of the Republic and by extension, Palpatine.

It was more because they became TOO violent and allowed themselves to be weaponized for military operations in war, which Bariss felt distracted the Jedi from the Light. It was not because they practiced violence, PERIOD. She saw how the Jedi's transition from keepers of the peace to soldiers (No matter how much they claimed they weren't) was corrupting their ideology and contributing to the Republic's deterioration. Ahsoka admitted in Rebels that she agreed with this despite not condoning Bariss' methods to address the issue.

People often misunderstand Yoda's quote to Luke that "a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge or defense, NEVER attack". I've seen "NEVER attack" interpreted as meaning a true Jedi NEVER engages in combat at all unless attacked first. This is an overly literal interpretation, however, which grossly oversimplifies Jedi philosophy and leaves out crucial nuance that was present even back in 1977.

"Defense" does not apply solely to Jedi defending themselves. A Jedi's duty is to "defend" others as well, such as those who are suffering at the hands of those who use the Dark Side to oppress the weak. Sometimes, the best defense IS offense, and Jedi must be willing to embrace that paradox so long as they can maintain balance in doing so. The lightsaber is identified by Obi-Wan himself in the first film as "a weapon", and a weapon's purpose (Whatever pretty philosophies we give it) is to do violence. There is no denying that the lightsaber is made to kill. That in itself is established fact.

By definition, it is NOT something a pacifist would have any use for. Remember when Obi-Wan protected Luke from Cornelius Evazan & Baba by slicing off the latter's arm? THAT is a Jedi's meaning of "defense". Obi-Wan tried diplomacy first, only igniting his weapon when he recognized that there was no viable alternative. Had he not fought back (as a devout pacifist would refuse to), Luke could have been killed.

Also. Obi-Wan guided Luke into destroying the Death Star. Luke fought to save Han and his friends from Jabba. The Jedi fought against Sith, pirates, gangs and warmonger Empires to protect the Republic and the innocent.

Also in all films Evil has been defeated with violence from the Death Stars to the Emperor himself. Starkiller base is destroyed in the same way. Holdo saves the Rebels by ramming the FO and killing thousands.

Luke throwing away his lightsaber in RotJ also wasn‘t an act of pacifism. It was him refusing to kill an unarmed, broken old man and thus not turning to the dark side.

The movies portray them as heroic acts and we are meant to cheer. And the fans do cheer and love that stuff. Even the ones I mentioned in the beginning. But then the same fans say the Jedi shouldn't fight. Why? Are we meant to celebrate the violence of every other good guy except the Jedi?

George Lucas inspiration for the Jedi are Medieval Knights, Samurai, as well as Religion such as Buddhism and Taoism. So while Religion does not condone violence, they are warriors by having influence from Samurai and Knights. I mean, the Jedi are LITERALLY called Knights in fucking Star Wars. They are called Jedi Knights, not Jedi Hippies. 

It's almost like they are called Jedi 'Knights' for a reason. Keepers of peace. Of course they would like to resolve things as peaceful as possible, but at the end of the day, They will do what they must to protect the innocent.

And I don't what to hear the “Grey Jedi” argument. The force in balance isn’t having both light and dark like yin and yang. Light Side IS the balance. The Dark Side was a perversion of the natural world, an attempt by others to twist it for their own reasons. This is pretty important. What the Jedi Order call “balance” is not the middle point between dark and light side, its the absence of Dark Side use. Traditional Jedi were keen to keep the Force “in balance”. They attempted to achieve this by destroying the Sith and denying the dark side—essentially “keeping balance” by restoring the Force to its natural state, as they viewed the dark side as “corruption”. The idea of balance of the Force, a central tenet of the Jedi Order, refers to the ideal state in which the Force exists in nature, i.e. as the light side. The presence of the dark side corrupts and destroys this natural balance, and the Jedi viewed it as their duty to restore it. Finally As from Georges Lucas’s intention Many fans incorrectly assume that balance refers to an equal mix of both light and dark side users. However, as George Lucas explains in the introductory documentary for the VHS version A New Hope, Special Edition, this is not the case:“[…] Which brings us up to the films 4, 5, and 6, in which Anakin’s offspring redeem him and allow him to fulfill the prophecy where he brings balance to the Force by doing away with the Sith and getting rid of evil in the universe…"In an interview, Lucas compared the difference between the light and dark sides as being like the difference between a symbiotic relationship and a cancer. A symbiotic relationship is one which benefits both parties and in which neither is harmed, whereas a cancer takes without giving back, eventually causing the death of both parties

According to The Last Jedi, you must let evil flourish and never fight them. But you can only confront evil if you are a distraction and just stall, never fight to defend the innocent. 

To be more specific, it is what they say about Luke on Crait, that he did the "most Jedi thing ever" by not killing people.

But it wasn't. The most Jedi thing would be diplomacy and negotiations to end the conflict for good without bloodshed. What he did merely postponed the conflict to a few days later.

What Luke did was just stall for 5 minutes, allow his allies to escape and then KILL the First Order later. His intentions weren't pacifistic. He just left the hard and dirty work to others. Killing bad guys would be equally and more "Jedi" since he at least contributed something and did some damage.

Hot take. Luke Skywalker physically being there to confront Kylo Ren would’ve been the most “Jedi thing” he would essentially be doing his job. Defending the innocent, stopping a tyrannical neo-fascist empire and stopping the rise of darkness. 

art source

True he would not kill his nephew. But showing Luke as a powerful Jedi Master is what the movie needed. Show him sending the blaster bolts right back at the AT-M6s, show him bring down  the TIES, transports and properly facing Kylo Ren in a duel. They say the same speeches as in the movie. and when they are finished talking, Kylo makes for his dramatic slut lunge and Luke chops his hand off. 

Then Luke would disappear and tell his nephew “see you around kid”

This would accomplice three things

The First Order’s army is in shambles and would take them a long time to recover, thus allowing the heroes to escape. Their new Supreme Leader is defeated, thus giving hope to the galaxy. And Luke will actually be able to pass on what he learned to Rey and Finn. 

Honestly....why are fans so against showing Luke Skywalker as a powerful Jedi Grandmaster? Why was Han Solo allowed to look badass and take names as a seasoned smuggler and general and why is Leia able to look like a somewhat mentor like figure, but Luke suddenly cannot pick himself up, appear in person to Leia, confront Kylo in person and properly train Rey?

The logic of the fans who want to view the Jedi as pacifist is that they want the Sith and all sorts of criminals and warlords to go unchecked and never confront evil. Good people can come and rise up to face this evil, but apparently the Jedi must be pacifists in their eyes. 

The ideal Jedi is like Martial Monks. Like Japanese Soheis.

They should meditate and be peaceful and always try negotiation to resolve conflict. But once conflict is inevitable, they should be able to act and enforce their judgement, violently, if necessary.

You may be asking how is that different from Sith? The difference is that Sith enforce their will upon others, without and indeed unwilling to negotiate first. Also, they need acne medication.

The Jedi have never been pacifists. They are Knights Of The Old Republic for a reason. Stopping the Sith at every turn. I don’t remember them ever being referred to as pacifists. They were “Guardians of the Peace”, that doesn’t mean they were always peaceful. To maintain peace, sometimes you have to fight those that threaten it.

[kavinskhhy]

My director’s cut on TROS

(AKA how I fix TRoS reusing its own plot. If you want to write an actual fan fiction with this just message me).

Prologue

We discover Snoke was amassing a fleet and projecting ships equipped with Star Killer cannons.

He could achieve this goal because he accessed Palpatine’s old “secret fortess” on Exegol, the planet of the Sith

Kylo Ren gets this informations shortly after becoming Supreme Leader. Hux (now first general) knows this too and gets worried about what this could mean for the whole galaxy

Meanwhile the Knights of Ren have come back from the unknown regions (they were destoying all the Jedi temples and killing every possible Jedi still alive such as Ahsoka)

Kylo goes to Exegol to investigate with the Knights of Ren but the spirits of the Siths (the voices in his head) force him to obey them and convince him to bring to Exegol the last Jedi, Rey, to have the order finally destroyed for good and start a new line of Siths through the Knights of Ren

Kylo, being the Supreme Leader, accepts and tells the Sith he will bring Rey to Exegol. Deep down he wants to turn her and make her supreme leader along with him. He plans to get rid of the Sith Arena too.

The Knights of Ren want desperately to be full Sith so tha will do anything to reach their goal

Act I

The resistance gets a message from a spy that the First Order has found (somehow) an additional fleet to its already vast attack forces. They get to now this fleet is kept on Exegol and will depart in a matter of days

Rey, thanks to the Jedi texts, knows a way to reach Exegol: use a Sith wayfinder. She descovers it may be on Pasaana

Pasaana is the last known planet where a wayfider was forged. The forging (happened thousands of years before) made Pasaana a desert but did not erase life.

Rey + Finn + Poe + 3PO + Chewie travel to Pasaana while Leia and Rose try to assemble an attack fleet with the help of Lando Carlissian

They make it to an old hidden sith temple and retrive the wayfinder

Kylo connects with Rey, understands where she is. He is going alone to try to turn her but the Knights of Ren stops him. Helped by the voices of the Sith they extort Kylo the Rey’s position.

Chewie gets cought, Rey and Kylo fight over the convoy and destroy it, Knights of Ren gets the wayfinder

Rey, Poe and Finn flee from Pasaana. C3-PO was damaged in the process. To save him they need to visit Babu Frick and Zorri Bliss

Act II

C3-PO is restored but the Knights of Ren followed them

Rey, Poe and Finn enters the First Order ship. While searching for the wayfinder, they overhear that Chewie is alive. They split to save Chewie and retrieve the wayfinder

Poe, Finn and Chewie get caught but are saved by a bunch of Stormtropper deserters. One of them is JN-2109, one of Finn’s former friend

They escape. But a ploton of loyalists to the first order blocks them. They call Zorri for help

Rey fights with Kylo and isn’t able to retrieve the wayfinder; he asks her to join him another time but she tells him to revert to the light instead. He has almost answered but Zorri and Babu Frick get the MF in the landing strip and save the day

They rescue Finn, Poe, Chewie and the rogue StormTroopers

Rey has no choice but to flee leaving Kylo behind

The Knights of Ren take this all in and doubt Kylo’s true motives (they thought he wanted to kill Rey alone to take all the glory)

Act III

Rey searches on the texts again but can’t find nothing about other wayfinders

Rey calls Leia to have a confrontation on what to do

Finn hears a voice (Obi-Wan) that tells him they need to go to the relict of the Death Star

Finn tells Rey (in private) he is Force sensitive and they travel to the Death Star

Meanwhile the Knights of Ren are not please with Kylo. They tell him he let Rey go on purpose and send him to kill her to show his true fealty to the first order. They do so because general Pryde found a damaged footage of the day Snoke was killed and, even if it is not clear, it seems Kylo was the one who killed their master, not Rey

The Knights sends him away to make sure he won’t ruin the their plan to become full fledged Sith. They now fly back to Exegol and wait for Kylo

Rey&Co travels to the sea moon of Endor. After some searching they find what could be a secret Sith “room” in the throne room of the Death Star. Only Rey is permitted to enter though, cause only Force users can enter there

Kylo, thanks to the Force bond, can sense where Rey is and flies there

Rey actually discovers another wayfinder but has to face the “ghost” (in reality it is only a security sistem) of the dead emperor. She is lead to believe she is his secret granddaughter and that is destined to be the ruler of the Siths. She faces a Dark version of herself but is able to snatch the wayfinder away

Kylo, after knocking Poe, Finn and Jannah (she was renamed by Poe) off, talks with Rey and explains her his true plan: get rid of the Knights of Ren and be Supreme Leader next to her

Rey is shaken because of the vision she had. She attacks Kylo multiple times to get the wayfinder back.

They fight (Rey is trying to kill him while Kylo defends himself). Kylo has the high ground, he has almost vanquished Rey but he stops: he has gone too far and does not won’t to hurt her

Leia connects with him through the force. He sense her and lets his saber go.

Rey snatches the red saber and hurts him. She senses Leia’s death and the light in Kylo Ren.

She is shocked about her actions. She heals him and takes the wayfinder; using Kylo’s ship, she flies to Exegol

She doesn’t know that the Knight of Ren are waiting Kylo there and are going to slian her

Kylo finally redeemes himself, sees Han, and goes by Ben Solo again

Ben calls for another ship, but not before telling Jannah (that stood up to confront him to save Rey) that the Knights of Ren went to Exegol to launch the new fleet and try to achieve full Sith powers.

Act IV

Poe Finn and Jannah flies back to where the resistance is to inform them of the new plan.

Leia is dead and practically everyone has lost hope

Rose gives an inspiring speech with the help of Poe

Lando comes to them saying he has gathered a modest number of ships

They think about a strategy to block the fleet on Exegol

Meanwhile Rey has gone to Ach-To to have some answers from Luke

Luke appears as force ghost

She asks him why she and Ben are connected

We get a satisfying explanation of the heck a Dyad is

Rey now knows she can truly redeem Kylo and uses Luke old ship to fly to Exegol. She gives the route to the resistance

The Knights of Ren meanwhile have managed to rise the fleet. They ordered Pryde and Hux to come and bring the full armada on Exegol to unite the two and assemble the Star Killer cannons on the old ships

Rey goes inside the cube because she senses a dark presence there. Here the spirits of the Siths try to enter in her head

Rey is found by the Knight of Ren. Sensing she is hanging in the balance between light and dark, they try to revert her to the Dark Side.

She has almost given in when Ben arrives

The Resistence has come to Exegol to stop the First Order Fleet

Pryde tries to destroy them with a Dtar Killer cannon. Hux fights with him to stop him. It is reveled Hux is the spy.

After the resistence successfully enters Exegol’s atmo Hux contacts them and tells them how to destroy the first order ships

Pryde regain consciousness and fires him. Hux dies in a satisfying and not ridicoulus way

Lando comes with others ships from all over the galaxy

Ben and Rey fights the Knight of Ren. The Sith spirits try to overcome them.

The jedis speak to both Rey and Ben and give them the strength they need to kill the Knight of Ren and destroy what remains of the Siths spirits

Rey dies, Ben brings hat back. He is almost dying to but we see Leia’s corpse fade away. Ben hears his mother voice one last time: she gave him enough living force to not stop breathing

The resistence wins and destroys the whole first order fleet

Rey carries Ben to the ship and they reach the base of the resistence

Epilogue

Poe-Finn-Rey reunites and hug each other

Rose gives Chewie his medal. Maz Kanata tells her she will surely be a great general, as Organa and Holdo were.

Ben gets out of the ship

Everyone wants to kill Ben. He says the first word as Ben solo:”I am a monster. Do as it is right.”

Rey explains them that he was manipulated by the Siths all along, since he was a child

There is trial. Ben is exiled on Tatooine & is forbidden to use the force ever again

Rey goes with him. They bury Leia’s and Luke’s lightsabers.

Anakin ghosts shows up and tells them they are the true legacy of the Skywalkers

Poe and Finn gets medals, they officially becomes leading generals.

They ententes the Falcon and before the door closes they share a kiss. Here’s the lgbt kiss we were all waiting for and, if someone has issues with it, they can cut it out in their country but it is still canon.

Senator Rose and senator Janna watch as the Falcon departs through the sky

Zorri and Babu frick giggles as they load a ship to go back home

Rey and Ben watch the double sunset on Tatooine (no yellow light saber because both the Jedi and the Sith orders are now unexisting).

End of the Skywalker saga

Here. I fixed it.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Emperor Palpatine

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

There are villains. There are memes about villains. There are villains who are memes. And then, high above all of them, sitting on a lofty throne all his own, is Emperor Sheev Palpatine, a character so insanely incredible that it’s frankly quite baffling that even George Lucas at his worst still couldn’t make him awful… No, that was good old J.J. Abrams. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Palpatine is pretty much the archetype for the evil emperor in modern fiction, a mysterious evil sorcerer in dark robes who commands the main villain from afar and contains power beyond anything thought possible. But what’s interesting to note is that Palpatine really has three distinct eras to him: the original trilogy, where he was basically an outside context last minute threat who only had a presence in the third act of Return of the Jedi; the prequel trilogy, which is his best showing and where the Sheev we’ve all come to known and love really got to spread his wings and fly; and finally, the sequel era, the worst showing of Palpatine hands down, where he is randomly slapped into a film with no foreshadowing or buildup to pander to nostalgia.

So let’s take a look at our old pal Sheevy and see what makes him one of the greatest villains of all time, and one of the worst.

Motivation/Goals: Palpatine is motivated by one thing, and one thing only:

He spends the entire prequel trilogy building this up, working behind the scenes and manipulating both sides of the Clone Wars to his advantage so he can be given more and more political power. This works out beautifully for him, allowing him to dispose of his pawns like Dooku, take over the senate, seize absolute power, amass an army of clones, and of course execute Order 66. But most importantly, he is able to manipulate the frustrated and hurting Anakin to his side, mostly because the Jedi are a bunch of bumbling, archaic morons who put so much restrictions and belittle him so much that this creepy, predatory man is able to feed into his insecurities and send him tumbling to the Dark Side.

In the original trilogy, Palpatine is pretty content with letting Vader handle the affairs of the Empire, at least until Luke shows up and the Rebels become a substantial threat. Once the time comes, he has Luke and Vader get together and puts them up against each other, thinking the outcome is either that he gets a new apprentice/keeps his old one in check, or corrupts Luke somehow into killing his father and joining him as the new Sith. He didn’t count on Vader turning, but ah well.

The thing is that throughout these six films he remains remarkably consistent in his goals. He wants power, and if he can’t keep that power he’s going to make sure as many people suffer on his way down as possible. He’s almost cartoonishly evil in the best way possible!

And then came the sequels.

His motivations in the sequels are, quite frankly, impossible to discern, because they seem to change every scene. If he’s behind Snoke and the First Order, it’s easy to guess that he probably wanted Rey dead, right? Because that’s sure the vibe Snoke gave in The Last Jedi. But no, after it seeming like he wants her dead for most of The Rise of Skywalker, as soon as she shows up his plan is suddenly for her to kill him so he can transfer into his body. And then he changes that a short time later to “I am going to suck the life out of Rey and Ben so this shitty clone body can be great.” It’s like they’re cramming three or four different Palpatine plots into the twenty-five minutes of screentime Palpatine has in this film, and there is just absolutely no thematic cohesion anywhere. It’s just a mess.

Performance: If there is one thing that is always consistent with Palpatine, it is that Ian McDiarmid is absolutely fantastic as him. This man is able to take the most cliché, generic evil overlord archetype imaginable and transform every single line of dialogue he spouts into a meme, and even when he’s the absolute worst version of this character possible and strapped to a giant Sith dialysis machine on some Sith planet where he makes Snoke clones and verbally berates Adam Driver, he still finds time to be hilariously awesome.

Final Fate: Palpatine seriously underestimated Anakin, and ended up chucked down into the Death Star, where he died. He certainly didn’t have a poorly-explained clone backup of himself anywhere that would rise up decades later to completely override any victories the heroes ever had by ensuring that the entire lineage of the Skywalkers was destroyed and then usurped by his own spawn.

Best Scene: In a scene that justifies the entire existence of the prequels, shows off McDiarmid’s acting chops as he pulls off some actual subtlety as Palpatine, delivers some great background lore, and helps make Revenge of the Sith as awesome as it is… well, have you heard of the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?

Best Quote: Look, I could put just about anything he says in Revenge of the Sith here. I could put just about anything he says here. This man is an absolute meme machine who spits out only the finest quotable soundbites you will ever here. But look, I’m tired of not singling out great lines, so let me give you the one I quote the most. It’s one of his greatest quotes, and yet it is unbelievably simple. Two words and a ridiculously hammy inflection is all this man needs to be a meme:

Final Thoughts & Score: Sheev Palpatine is a man of extremes. Every aspect of him is so large that when he does something, he does it with the full force of his entire character. Revenge of the Sith will eternally be his best showing in the entire franchise, because he just spends the entirety of his screentime being the most insanely impressive scheming, manipulative bastard imaginable while somehow managing to cram in time for a sick spin through the air or a monologue about his former master at the space opera house. He manages to singlehandedly redeem the prequels if only by existing in them, and he helps elevates Revenge of the Sith into being the only one of those films that is generally accepted as being legitimately awesome. And while he is absent for much of the original trilogy, seeing as he wasn’t exactly conceived of right off the bat, he manages to make the most of his appearance in Return of the Jedi by being just as delightfully malevolent as ever, goading Luke and Vader into a duel and shooting lightning from his fingertips.

There are few villains who are just this completely basic and cliché that could ever hope to be great, but thanks to McDiarmid’s portrayal, he has gone on to be one of the single most iconic villains of all time, and one of the most iconic characters of all time. The guy is practically a living meme, from his name to his actions in the prequels, and he has certainly inspired many an evil overlord after him. For a character so seemingly unoriginal, it can be hard to believe he probably deserves an 11/10, but he most definitely does. He’s just become a staple of the franchise, to the point where some people feel it just ain’t Star Wars without him…

...Including, unfortunately, J.J. Abrams and a few other writers. Palpatine managed to be shoehorned into the prequels by being a surprise twist villain for The Rise of Skywalker (and as we’ve all seen from their recent animated movies, out-of-nowhere twist villains are great!), and it is without a doubt the most stupid and embarrassing showing one could possibly imagine for a character of this caliber. His motivations seem to change every time he opens his mouth, a lot of his dialogue is just uninspired, and while he does get a somewhat striking design here it’s hampered by the fact that his entire existence and role are really unexplained in the film and he feels like he was slapped in for the sake of being there. 

There’s also the fact that his mere existence and the fact he ends up being responsible for Ben Solo’s death means he completely overrides the entire franchise, comes out on top with his granddaughter usurping the Skywalker name, and succeeds entirely at wiping out the Skywalker lineage. This entire nine film series was just buildup to Palpatine ultimately winning, and just when things couldn’t get worse, Disney decided to take away the one thing that made this Palpatine hilarious – the idea that, with his hideous scarred face, he was able to bang a woman and conceive a child – and completely toss it out the window by saying this Palpatine was actually a clone. Not in the movie, of course, because that would make way too much sense, no; it was confirmed on Twitter.

I think it goes without saying Clone Palpatine gets a 1/10. And this is through no fault of McDiarmid; he’s still genuinely great in the role, even if the role is stupid, his character’s actions are stupid, and just everything about the character’s existence is stupid. He’s certainly not phoning it in at all, and ignoring everything else about the film Clone Palpatine is at least somewhat amusing on his own. There’s also the fact that this Palpatine most definitely has an incredibly striking design and looks really cool, despite the unbelievable lameness of what he actually is:

But how he is utilized within the franchise and what he ultimately accomplishes and represents is too much for me to actually forgive in the context of Psycho Analysis. When the most redemptive thing I can say about Clone Palpatine is that his actor is at least trying and his design is cool despite the awful writing and story relevance, that is not the sign of a great character. That is the sign of a great actor desperately trying to salvage a trainwreck.

But it’s like I said earlier; Palpatine is a man of extremes. If he’s gonna be a great villain, then by god is he going to be one of the greatest villains of all time. And if he’s going to be a crappy villain? Well then he’s gonna sit among the worst ever. I kind of respect that about good ol’ Sheev; he just can’t do anything in half measures. I guess as a Sith he really does deal in absolutes, be it absolutely amazing or absolutely awful.

UPDATE: I stand by all my criticisms of Sheev Clonepatine, but dammit, there’s just too many hilarious memes, and I can’t really hate Ian McDiarmid’s performance. Yes, I’ve come around quick, but I guess it is true: when Palpatine succeeds, he succeeds epically and hilariously, and when he fails, he fails epically and hilariously. His role in the story and the stupidity of him being here at all is a 1/10 for sure, but I think he’s just hilarious enough to edge into the “So bad it’s good” category of 3/10 alongside his bouncing baby boy Snoke. 

Just remember: No matter what Disney tries to tell you, Palpatine fucks.

[disregardcanon]

i did some star wars sequels rewrites today! i’m not going to sit here and say they’re good enough to make a whole new trilogy of movies around or anything, but i like them.

a few major changes include: kylo has some more consistent characterization and is the big bad, rose tico is a former stormtrooper (insert fic rec), and the stormtrooper revolution.

So, one important sequels change is that Snoke is his own character. He was a Palpatine sycophant who was eighteen years old when the chancellor became the emperor, and watched from a close advising position, studying how Palpatine managed to manipulate those around him and his use of the force. Palpatine figured him out quickly, of course, but Snoke’s ability with the force was far beneath him and at the time, his primary goal was keeping Palpatine in power. 

He studied the best tactics for keeping storm-troopers in line, the best ways for lording power over those with some and those with none, and he undertook extensive study on Darth Vader. He was able to figure out exactly who Darth Vader was, and he studied all available information on Anakin Skywalker. He figured out exactly the ways that Palpatine manipulated this man into becoming his guard dog, and took notes. Someday, he would need one of his own. Snoke was never exceedingly powerful- only smart. If he was powerful enough, he might have struck the Emperor down himself to get that power. 

After the fall of the Empire, he tracks down imperial loyalists and sets himself up a stronghold far enough out in the outer rim that no one from the New Republic is going to come to its rescue. He offers a spot of honor to Brendol Hux for implementing a stormtrooper program with stolen children. 

Then, he starts bribing territories to join them. He starts conquering. The First Order is becoming a small, but mighty force. By the time that Luke Skywalker’s Jedi school is gaining traction, he has his own small country. He goes to visit, claiming that he will be on the look out for force sensitive youths in his area. Luke does not trust him, at all, but allows him to stay a few days out of curtesy for a fellow force sensitive who isn’t an enemy combatant. 

Snoke’s strongest force power, similar to Ahsoka Tano, is reading force signatures. He is able to pick up on the the frustration and entitlement radiating off of young Ben Organa-Solo in waves. He whispers in the boy’s ear about the good old days, when he could have had a place of honor and power instead of a life of living in his mother and uncle’s shadows, without being able to utilize the full power of the force. 

He comes from the line of Darth Vader, after all. Most powerful man in the galaxy- able to have whatever he wants. Why should he be restricted to a children’s summer camp where he is only allowed to wave around wooden sticks? 

Little Rey, daughter of no one of importance beyond the love they gave her, feels something is wrong. She runs to Master Luke’s room and says that Ben feels wrong. Luke follows her to the door of Ben’s room, and feels the anger and resentment radiating off of him in waves- strong enough to kill. Strong enough that it means he will kill. 

Luke tells Rey to run to the room with the other children and then run to the ship to fly away. Then, he opens the door quickly and quietly. Luke tries to kill his sleeping nephew who feels like murder, and is instead knocked out with a force choke. 

“Master Snoke warned me that you would try to kill me,” Ben says, clamping his hand down so hard that it nearly ruptures the arteries in Luke’s throat. 

Rey hears the sound of children’s dying screams so close behind her that she’s too afraid to try to wake the other children- she just runs. Runs and runs and runs towards the ship that Luke was helping to teach her how to fly recently, and she runs until she can run up the stairs. 

She hears heavy breathing coming from behind her, and turns around. 

“Little Rey,” Ben says, smile quirking on his lips, “it figures you’d be the one to survive. You were always stronger than the others.” She feels her breath hitch in her throat. 

“I don’t think that I’ll kill you,” he says, “I think I could use an apprentice.” She pushes sideways, hitting at the button that closes the hatch. He rips out his lightsaber with a hiss, crystal corrupted to a bright red, and slashes at the door of the Millenium Falcon. 

Rey hears the hissing as he grinds at the metal, and she rushes through the halls to the pilot’s chair, gearing up the ship. Then, she pushes the button forward. She flies and flies, adrenaline coursing through her veins- before she lands on the deserted planet of Jakku. 

She blocks out her memories of the temple, and makes a home of her ruined ship as she tries to get it flying again. 

She eventually gets it back to the point where it’s functional, but she’s afraid enough that she doesn’t fly it- until Finn shows up. 

That’s how they get the Falcon. The rest of the plot doesn’t change for the rest of the first movie. 

Cue Beginning of the Second Movie

Finn has been in a coma for three months, Page Tico is returning to the Resistance after a few months of shore-leave with a sister that no one knew existed, and Rey has been training with Luke and now is Good At Lightsaber Force Ways.

Kylo Ren is caught in a depressive, angry, tantrum funk because lo and behold, killing his dad didn’t magically make any feelings go away. It just made him feel gross and angry and it didn’t get him any closer to his goals. He monologues at his burnt to a crisp Darth Vader mask. He destroys First Order property. He force chokes some guys. 

Snoke is like. Okay. We gotta channel this into something productive. The goddamn primadonna is destroying all my plans. And he notices that Kylo is obsessing over this one girl and is like. Okay let’s channel that into a Padme Amidala thing. Sew the seeds of Darth Vader’s obsession with one woman who led him to the Dark Side and how this is a perfectly normal, dark side thing just as long as he GETS HER. This will keep Kylo focused on one, small side quest and away from that Maybe I Should Just Kill the Old Bastard And Be Done With It thoughts that Snoke has been feeling coming off of him. 

I don’t have the whole plot thing down, because I doing this for fun and free on the internet, but the main things are

1. Rose is a former storm trooper who was inspired by Finn to desert the First Order and help the Resistance. She just lost the girl who took her in and called her sister, and she is angry and frustrated with Finn that he’s not immediately the person that she wants him to be. 

2. Rey doesn’t believe that Kylo needs to be redeemed, but that he needs to be confronted. She goes with him to beat Snoke, then he tries to convince her to come with him because she is a “nobody” who was left with Luke to train, and if Luke had bothered to track her down after she escaped with the Falcon instead of fucking off to exile she wouldn’t have grown up alone. He is “the only one who understand her” and the “only one who loves her” and Rey doesn’t buy into it and gets tf out. 

3. One of the most important conversations in the film is between Rey and Luke, as he tells her the true story of Anakin Skywalker, and how his love for Luke finally brought him back from evil. 

4. As the newly appointed Supreme Leader, Kylo decides that his goal is to get rid of the people who still hold claims to the legacies he wants solely for him (his mom and uncle) need to die, and that he will get Rey and rule the galaxy. 

5. Rey and Finn reunite with the Resistance base, and they talk about some Revelations and hug tf out of each other. They lose the base and Luke dies, checking off one of Kylo’s to-do list. 

6. Leia moves the base to a new location, and says that soon, she will face her son herself. She brought this terror into the world, and she’ll take it out of it. 

The next one opens with Finn, Rose, and Poe leading an assault on a storm trooper training facility, where they free children and convince an older battalion led by Jannah to desert and join the cause. 

The climax comes when the protagonists break up into 2 groups- the ones who will infiltrate the ranks of the stormtroopers and turn them against the brass, and then Leia and Rey, who will allow themselves to be captured and take down Kylo Ren themselves. They allow themselves to be dragged to his new chambers and he like, shows off all the opulence of Rule ™. 

“Don’t you think that I’ve done well for myself, mother?” 

“You’ve certainly done something,” she mutters. 

“I am the heir to the legacies of Vader, Skywalker, Organa, and Amidala,” he says, haughty and entitled, “who better to rule the galaxy? With my own queen by my side, of course,” He sends Rey a look, and she rolls her eyes at him. 

“I taught you nothing, didn’t I?” Leia asks. 

“Considering that you were never around, yes,” he says. He goes onto claim that he was a self-made man, all the while calling claim to the legacies that he’s “entitled” to. 

“I wasn’t present enough, I will admit,” she says, “but you’ve outworn my sympathy. And my regret.” 

“Leaving me with an uncle who treated me just like any other student,” Kylo Ren seethes, “you only did what a mother should, right? Ignoring her child.” He was special; why didn’t anyone treat him that way?

“I wasn’t perfect,” she says, “but I didn’t cause this, Ben. You did this yourself. Just like your grandfather.” Kylo takes out his lightsaber, and he stabs. He twists it, and he brings the blade back in. Leia falls to the ground, dead.

Rey lets out a scream, because this monster- he thinks that he can just kill everyone because they didn’t treat him enough like a king. He’s killed both of his parents, people that Rey is sure she loves far more than he ever did.

Rey struggles against the hold of those stormtroopers and lets out a growl. 

“You are a monster,” she hisses. 

“One that you’ll come to love,” he says, and there’s a smile on his face. He’s run his mother through and he’s smiling. 

“I will never love you,” she spits. He shakes his head indulgently, and walks towards her. He puts a hand gently under chin, tilting it upwards to look him in the eyes. 

“Once I destroy that stormtrooper,” he says, “you’ll have no other choice. There will just be me, the only one who deserves your love.” Rey has been a feral, desert creature for most of her life, and she leans forward, mouth bumping against the fragile skin of his inner arm. 

Then, she leans in and chomps down in a devastating bite. This time, it’s Ren’s turn to howl in pain. 

He reaches in the force for her blue lightsaber, and clutches it in his hand. 

“This was my grandfather’s, you know,” he says, “it’s finally back in the right hands.” Rey smiles, big and wide and nasty. 

“He would hate the man that you’ve become,” she says, smashing the red blade into his blue one. Then, as they fight, she goes on to spin the story of Anakin Skywalker, a loving man who fell down a dark path to try to save the one person he felt hadn’t betrayed him and his unborn child, who spent years an emotionless husk before he finally saved Luke’s life, defying his master for love and love alone. 

“You killed the people who loved you for power,” she says, “Anakin Skywalker would be so disappointed in you.” Kylo hisses, and he misses her blow for one that cuts her along the arm. 

“I love you,” Kylo says. Rey shakes her head.

“You don’t know what love is,” she says. This is where the “team turn the stormtroopers against the brass” come in. Finn, Rose, Poe and their stormtrooper brigade has been working through the ship, culling the officers who were children of imperial officers who thought that it was alright to steal other people’s children to mold into the soldiers to fight the wars keeping them in power. 

Finn bursts open the door to the throne room, and Kylo and Rey both turn their heads to see him for a moment. 

“Oh,” Kylo Ren says, “it’s just your stormtrooper.” 

“His name is Finn,” Rey hisses, but Kylo just keeps laughing. How insignificant. Nothing but a stormtrooper- a nameless, worthless soldier designed to keep those worth more in power. Rey growls, and continues their fight. 

Finn can tell that he’s being completely ignored by Kylo, and runs in close. He sets off a blaster bolt in Ren’s direction. 

Though Ren is perfectly capable of stopping a bolt mid-air, he doesn’t even notice it coming until it cuts into his back. 

He falls to the ground in excruciating pain. He starts screaming, and tear-drops fall down his face. 

“The stormtrooper did this?” he squeals. Rey smiles down at him, and nods. Finn walks up beside her, and takes her hand in his. 

“But you’re nothing,” he says, “you’re not force sensitive, not royal-” Finn puts his boot to Kylo’s chest, and pushes him down. This stormtrooper doesn’t even have the gift of Kylo’s love that makes Rey special. He’s nothing.

“I’m not,” he says, “I’m just a stormtrooper.” He’s wearing a jacket that looks all too familiar- and Kylo’s breath hitches as he realizes that’s his father’s jacket. Nobody, smuggler Han Solo. 

The troopers that restrained Rey look between themselves, then they throw down their guns, and rip off their helmets. 

“We’re with you, FN-2187,” a woman with medium brown skin and black hair says, smiling widely. Finn nods at her, and smiles. 

“No,” Kylo says, shaking his head even as he feels the life leaving him, “this- this can’t be. I’m special. This was all supposed to be mine.” The new Empire- the legacy- the stormtroopers- the love and devotion of the most powerful force user of a generation. 

They were supposed to be his. How has this Finn taken everything from him?

What Kylo doesn’t understand is that Finn and Rey looked at each other, and decided that they were worth something; they were the first ones who ever did that for each other, and there’s a bond there too deep for anyone to wrest from their hands.

Rey smiles, and kisses Finn on the lips. Then, she kicks Kylo in the head. He doesn’t ever wake up. 

After that, Finn and Rose start a program that helps match former stormtroopers with job opportunities and lives in the new republic, that runs adjacent to Rey’s home for wayfaring force sensitives. Poe collaborates with both of them, flying new recruits back and forth from where they’re coming from to when they’re going and starts campaigning for the importance of a proper air force in the nascent new republic, and other people- politicians, start building it. 

The heroes of this war are going to work more from the ground to try to undo the damage that was already done. Someone else can try to make sure that governments happen and don’t collapse.

[soulfood-fics]

Oreo - Chapter 3

Here is Chapter 3, I hope you enjoy it!

Hopefully, I added everyone from chapter 2 in the tags.       

Just in case you missed it, here are chapters: 1, 2

mood boards: John Boyega  

Pairing: John Boyega x Black!OC

Inspiration: John did an interview where he said a girl broke up with him after seeing him on a Star Wars billboard, this story is a variation of that but with my own little twist.

“Are you going to sit or do I need to bring the table to you?”

She didn't hear John come in nor did she realize how close he was standing. Akida could feel his chest pressing against her shoulder and when she turned her head to look at him, their lips were so close she could feel his breath. 

“Hi, Kiddie.” 

“Hi, John.” Just to be safe, Akida took a step back to put some distance between them. 

No romance. She was on a mission to get some truth out of him. 

“Before we sit, I have a few questions.” 

Her assertiveness caught John off guard, the first time they met and last time they spoke she was timider. He wondered what had changed between that morning and now.

“Alright, but I have one request.” looking Akida in the eyes he says, “I want you to eat.”

“What?” 

“I want you to eat. Get whatever you want, this is my treat. If I wanted to eat with a stick, I would've ordered Chinese food.”

Before she could respond, Akida’s stomach growled reminding her that she’d worked through lunch. Her hopes of getting by on a salad and a few breadsticks were gone. 

“Fine.” Resisting the urge to cross her arms, she walked to the table. 

John got to the table first to pull out her chair, then sat across from her. 

“First question?”

“Why did you reserve the restaurant for a private dinner?” This time she didn't stop her arms from folding in front of her. The interrogation had begun. 

“Well…” John paused, He could lie and say he just wanted some alone time with her, or tell the truth, he was afraid the date would go bad and paparazzi would see. “I’m a messy eater. It’s really embarrassing.” 

Good job, not a lie but not the truth either, He told himself. He laughed and Akida laughed along with him. He thought he was safe.

“So we're lying?” uh oh, John wasn't as convincing as he’d thought and Akida could see right through him. 

There was no way out of this situation for him. Either way, he’d end up ruining their evening and messing up any chance he had with Akida. She was staring him down, waiting for an answer for what felt like a lifetime. He went into a panic and said the first thing that came to mind.

“What made you change your mind?”   

Akida already had her purse in her hand and was mentally halfway out the door. “Why does it matter? I'm here arent I?”

“You seemed pretty set on not seeing me again. Something must’ve changed.”

He had his doubts that Akida only changed her mind because she found out who he was. Now she was the one being interrogated, and John knew he must’ve upset her when her hand tightened into a fist.

“Maybe I should leave then.”

As she got up from the table, a woman came out of what must’ve been the kitchen. 

“Akida this is Chef Faith Adeyemi. She -”

“She won the Jollof festival in July.” Akida was there when she’d won but Elijah had insisted they leave. Since she wasn't Ghanian, he felt she must've cheated.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Faith brought Akida into a hug, putting pressure on her shoulders to force her to sit back down. “I’ve prepared something very special for the two of you this evening.” 

Several waiters approached the table carrying plates and placed them in front of Akida and John. The chef explained each dish in detail, but Akida only had her eye on the Jollof, happy that he’d kept his promise.

John knew Akida was already on edge and could tell he’d made things worse. Once he knew they were alone, he tried to redeem himself.

��Just to clarify, it wasn't a lie. Honestly, I eat like a horse.”

“I know.” Akida smiled up at him. “You had sesame seeds on your cheek when we met.”

“Why didn't you say something?” 

Akida shrugged in response. She thought it was cute that he didn't care how he looked and was actually enjoying his food. She thought he was cute in general.

“So you just let me walk around with food on my face?”  John laughed as he spoke. 

She really liked the way he laughed with his whole face, eyes shut tight and mouth wide open. But she couldn't let him know, so she just shrugged again and focused on her food

“Oh, what is it now?” John asked using a thick Nigerian accent. “ Why are you so quiet?”

“Nothing.  Just thinking.” She didn't look up from her food

“What are you thinking about?”

“Are lightsabers heavy?” Akida’s question made John choke on his food.

He didn't realize she’d already found out about him and wasn't sure how much she knew. Fame changed the people around him and once he got some clout from Star Wars, John lost a lot of close friends and family.  

“They're actually pretty light. Hence the name.”  

“Also, who is Luke and why doesn't he know who his father is?” 

“What?” 

“You know ‘Luke I am your father.’” 

“Have you ever seen Star Wars?” She clearly didn't know much about the franchise.

Akida shook her head no and continued to eat. 

“... Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are brother and sister.” John spent the rest of the evening trying to explain the films to Akida. “And Darth Vadar, who is Anakin Skywalker, was their dad.” Most of the information went over her head.  “His name means dark father…” He could tell she was trying to keep up but got lost when he started talking about galaxies. 

“And where do you come in?”

“My character comes in a little later.”

In his attempt to explain the battles between the resistance and the first order John accidentally knocks his empty plate onto the floor.  

“Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.” They both bent down and start picking up the pieces of the plate.

“No you're good, I enjoyed listening to you talk. You’re very passionate about what you do.”

“Acting has always been my dream and now I get paid for it.” As John stood he let out a deep laugh and helped Akida up. She placed the broken pieces on the table.

“We probably should've left that for the staff.” 

“It’s getting pretty late, one less thing for them clean.” He played with the broken pieces and tried to put them back together. 

Akida hadn't checked the time since she had gotten there, so when she looked she was a little shocked to see that it was 10:30 pm.

“I still have some time before I should head back home, do you want to get out of here?”

“Oh, sure! I’ll be quiet so you can tell me about you this time.” John put on his coat and reached for Akida's hand. 

“Don't we have to pay?” Private dinners were very new to Akida and she wasn't sure how they worked. 

“I already paid for the night, love.”  

Oh, he got money. Akida still wasn't comfortable just leaving so she left a tip on the table.

While Akida had her back turned Johns phone rang. 

“I've got to take this. Give me a second.” John held up a finger and stepped into the lobby.

Akida didn't want to eavesdrop but couldn't help herself so she took a few steps closer to the lobby. She couldn't hear the full conversation but was able to make out some of what John was saying. 

“I know, I know. Daddy will be home soon. Be good for me, Okay?.... I Love you too.” 

Then the conversation was over and Akida wanted the night to be over also. There was no way for her to process what she’d just heard. 

“I gotta go.” She pushed past John and ran through the lobby. A lump had formed in her throat and she was afraid of what else would come out. 

“Where are you going?” He asked. Akida didn't answer so he ran after her. “What's going on?”

She didn't stop running until she was outside. The cold night air hit the wet lines on her cheeks. Before she turned around, Akida wiped her tears. Then she looked at John and put her hands up in surrender. 

“I don't know what type of game this is but I don't want to play. You and whoever that girl is can find someone else to mess with.”  She left John at the restaurant and walked to her car. 

Once she was inside with the doors locked, Akida let all the tears fall. 

“I knew this was a mistake. ”She whispered repeatedly banging her head on the steering wheel.

Regret and betrayal stung her heart and she was mad at no one but herself. 

That's All Folks! Thanks to the BWWG for their help

@ghostfacekill-monger @l-auteuse @twistedcharismaaa 

@honeychicana @chaneajoyyy @chasingsunlight @raysunshine78 @notsomellowmushroom

[irinapaleolog]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had raised the hopes of Reylos, fans who longed for Rey and Kylo Ren to end up together in the end, healing the wound inflicted on the galaxy two generations earlier by Emperor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker. The marketing certainly hinted at such and, at least for less-invested viewers, the film delivered on its promise of romance: Reylo (and Bendemption) did occur, and Rey and the redeemed Ben Solo shared a passionate kiss, which is why it may be so perplexing for the general audience that Reylos hated the ending. Two weeks after the release, they're still mourning on social media, and demanding for Disney to #RealeaseTheJJCut, a reference to an edit that would have delivered the conclusion they wanted, and purportedly what director J.J. Abrams intended. So, what happened, exactly?

While romance is certainly not a new concept to Star Wars, it was never depicted from the perspective of a woman. However, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi made moves to remedy that: The camera stays with Rey when she interacts with Kylo; the lighting, music and the chemistry between the actors drew in many women. The trope being trapped was "enemies to lovers," a classic of romance literature. In The Force Awakens, Kylo is infatuated with a "lowly scavenger," despite himself and his training. In The Last Jedi, the two characters establish a connection that goes deeper than their pasts, ripe with wedding imagery from around the world, before separating again.

The comparisons with the doomed romance of Anakin and Padmé popped up. If the tragic lovers of the prequel trilogy married in the second movie and died in the third, surely the sequel would turn it around, allowing the last descendant of Anakin Skywalker to fix what he had broken and to triumph where he had failed.

It's easy for a certain segment of the audience to dismiss the power of romance, but it remains most lucrative literary genre in the world. Romance writers master the art of the promise and the delivery, which is a happy ending for the main couple. There are tragic romantic novels in which one or both of the lovers die, but that's not what Disney was promising with Episode IX. From that perspective, The Rise of Skywalker punishes the male lead by killing him the moment he chooses to save the love of his life. Abrams and his co-writer Chris Terrio were going for a parallel with Return of the Jedi, but that movie was never promoted as having romance at its core, and Darth Vader didn't have his entire life in front of him.

The Rise of Skywalker then goes out of its way to show how little Rey really cared for Ben, to the point where, after watching the final scenes, it's difficult to assess what impact he had in the plot. The film also does that to Hux and Rose, but in the case of Ben Solo it's particularly egregious because he's the last of the Skywalker bloodline. If they were going for Return of the Jedi parallels, they could have included either a funeral or a Force ghost, but the audience is denied that, which is a strange and cruel narrative choice.

Even worse, the ending broke the promise made in the promotional material. Yes, there was a kiss, but it's swiftly punished: The heroine ends up alone in a barren planet; the Byronic hero is never mentioned again. The other side of fandom might argue that Star Wars should have never catered to romance, but they would be the first to complain if a film advertised like Fast & Furious turned out to be a family comedy; false advertising elicits the same kinds of reactions in everyone.

Ben Solo's death, isolated from the romance, is also problematic because he was coded as a conflicted, groomed, abused, abandoned and brainwashed child soldier fighting to break from his programming. The ancillary material supports this, and in Marvel's The Rise of Kylo Ren, it's shown he never attempted to kill Luke Skywalker, he didn't burn the Jedi temple, and he didn't attack his fellow students. It was a set-up designed to turn his family against him and place him within the First Order. Han, Leia and Rey work  for two entire movies to try and bring him back. By killing every single character that even attempts to turn around, the film confirms their worst fear -- that the only way out is death.

There'ss another horrifying message lurking in The Rise of Skywalker, however, if you are coming to the film from this perspective: that your family will disown you and forget you the moment you misbehave, replacing you with a "good child." That's exactly what happens to Kylo Ren; despite his efforts to come back as Ben Solo, neither Luke nor Leia nor Anakin help him. Ben has to imagine a conversation with his father to move forward, and in the end, his mother and his uncle replace him with Rey, who becomes their "found child" and assumes the Skywalker name.

But Kylo was filling a different role too -- the monster boyfriend, whose most famous example is Beauty and the Beast. While the original purpose of tales like Beauty and the Beast was to prepare girls for marriages in which they would be under the authority of their (potentially monstrous) husband, the tale evolved, and the monster became a focus for those that society had misunderstood or repressed. It's the grown-up version of little children, who feel powerless most of the time, preferring the Hulk over any other superhero, only with romance, darkness and danger thrown in; it's a way to explore a problematic aspect of reality through fiction. Unfortunately, instead of allowing fiction to play its role for women, the monster boyfriend trope is incredibly policed ("it's toxic!"), a criticism that doesn't extend to monster girlfriends (see Mara Jade's murderous origins and her eventual marriage to Luke Skywalker in Legends).

Many women in Star Wars fandom identified with Kylo Ren for those reasons, and the more the character was attacked on social media ("he killed his father!" "he's ugly, unworthy of being a hero!"), and the more stories about what really happened to him were published, the more affection he drew.

And while we are talking about ancillary material, The Rise of Skywalker contradicts almost every single narrative thread about Kylo published to date, which were hinting at redemption as far back as 2017. Most Reylos engaged with that material wholeheartedly. Despite the amazing talent involved in its creation, those fans view the ending of Episode IX as a slap in the face, and many women feel like they have wasted their time buying into a franchise that ultimately never cared about fulfilling its own promises about happy endings, telling a complete story, or even offering hope and compassion to the characters that needed it the most.

However, all of that might have been better received had the film been generous with the heroine, the first woman to be the primary protagonist in the Skywalker Saga. For two and a half movies, it even looked to be a story in the fairy-tale tradition, with a poor orphan discovering her inner power, defeating an unspeakable evil, forging friendships and, ultimately, finding the love of her life and becoming the leader of her people.

Instead, The Rise of Skywalker leaves Rey effectively where she started, on desert planet, taking with her someone else's droid and someone else's name. She doesn't grow, and she doesn't even confront or integrate her inner darkness. Rey, who had been wonderfully feral up to that point, becomes a creepy Stepford smiler.

That, in a nutshell, is why Reylos are angry, despite getting their space kiss. For many, The Rise of Skywalker felt like a bad punchline after a long con from Disney, and Star Wars has the bitter taste of a franchise that accidentally tapped into women's interests but had little interest in them as intelligent viewers engaging with the material.

[ariainstars]

Star Wars vs. Pride and Prejudice

Mr Darcy’s famous proposal scene from Pride and Prejudice, here taking place in the rain for further emphasis of his desperate love for her.

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Ever since Kylo’s clumsy attempt to convince Rey to stay with him, in the infamous Throne Room scene, I must have stumbled at least a hundred times across the above-mentioned quotation with the assumption of both scenes being parallel to one another, leading to the conclusion that Kylo and Rey also will be together.

How many times, to you think, was I confronted the parallel scene - the one where Elizabeth has to confess that she was prejudiced against Darcy, that she knew too little to judge him, that she felt superior to him although she had no actual justification?

…

…

…

That’s right. Not once.

“Did Luke tell you what happened that night?”

“I know everything I need to know about you.”

To me the revelation of Dark Rey in the second TROS trailer was not in the least surprising. The moment I heard Palpatine’s laugh at the end of the first trailer I guessed he was after her. (My husband’s comment was: “Of course Palpatine wants her, not Kylo. What is he supposed to do with that daydreamer?” 😊)

Honestly: I would have been surprised, even affronted, if Rey had never been tempted by the Dark Side. Every Force user is tempted to misuse his powers, in one way or another. And despite the many claims I have read and heard to this issue, though there were a few clues that might have justified calling Rey a Mary Sue, there were at least twice as much already indicating that she, like her equal in the Force, is fragile and immature.

But for some reason - naivety? Wrongly understood feminism? - for years it was widely assumed, in particular among female Reylo fans, that Rey would be the one the save Kylo (alias Ben Solo); that she is good and pure and flawless and that her love would redeem him, or at least push him to redemption due to his desire to be with her. Few seemed to consider that Rey has her own weaknesses to overcome, too.

Personally, I see nothing “romantic” in the idea of a woman redeeming a guy. I don’t know why a girl is naturally assumed to be better than a man and that it is her task to save or inspire him, morally. Nor do I believe that it is a case of “true love” if the man ends up doing everything the woman wants him to do. It would make her his pet, not an equal partner. I know, it is a mistake that women often make, believing they must “help” the man they love: but no one can be saved from himself.

I do wish Ben and Rey to have a future, and of course they cannot be together if they are on the opposite sides of a war: but that must not necessarily mean, as a matter of fact, that Ben just has to see the righteousness of Rey’s and her friend’s cause and switch sides for everything to be wrapped up. The Force needs balance, which meaning that both sides, each in its own way, have a right and a point to exist. The greatest weakness of people who believe to be - and are universally believed to be - “good” usually have a tendency to be in denial. Rey lived in denial almost all of her life, since her parents left her. When Ben confronted her with what she already knew, i.e. that they would never come back, it was very painful for her, but he immediately added that her being “nobody” did nothing to change the fact that to him, she is much.

Even the fans who called Reylo Reverse Anidala often did not want to see that Padmé had believed she could save Anakin with her love, and failed. Of course she failed: because for a balanced relationship, both have to learn from one another. They must influence one another and grow together. The relationship between Anakin and Padmé always was unbalanced because she was not aware of his inner turmoil, and he always felt inferior to her - an ex slave who had married a former queen. And in a dramatic context as the Skywalker family saga, people have to save one another. The team that was glued together in the classic trilogy always did so, that’s why things worked out.

Ever since The Force Awakens we have often been confronted with Rey’s aggressiveness and judgmental attitude. And she ends her last Force connection in The Last Jedi literally looking down on Ben.

There is no reason at all, except wishful thinking, to assume that Rey has nothing dark inside her, or not enough to make her evil. (Yes, in The Last Jedi she kills a few Praetorian Guards, but in self-defense.)

Even most of the fans who kept stubbornly pretending that Rey is secretly Luke’s daughter did not come to this conclusion. But Luke was never 100 % good and pure himself.

When he met Vader for the first time face-to-face on Bespine, he was welcomed with the sentence “The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet.” Luke immediately proved him right by igniting his light saber first, although Yoda had repeatedly taught him that a Jedi fights only in defense and that violence is not a solution.

Luke paid a high price for his conceit and sense of entitlement: on Bespine all hell broke loose. He came away barely alive, crippled and severely traumatized. But that terrible experience on the long run had done him good: he was much more calm and collected in Return of the Jedi. Luke had learned his lesson. Rey hasn’t, as of yet.

Now I am not saying that Rey is a bad person, and I am not trying to justify Ben’s atrocious deeds. But he was isolated, manipulated and terrified since childhood and then let down by the one person in the galaxy he would never have expected it from - his uncle, whose all-encompassing love for his father, forgiveness and pacifism had made him a legend before his nephew was even born.

Rey was in no position to understand the depth of pain and despair that made Ben kill Han, in an insane attempt to overcome the inner conflict that was tearing him apart. As they say, don’t judge someone unless you’ve been in his shoes.

Snoke, a powerful Force user, knew its mechanics very well: “Darkness rises and Light to meet it.” As Rey had “risen” from Jakku while Kylo did more and more evil, so it was to be expected that since he has freed some of the light that still was in him, she will now go down the opposite path.

I am positive that Rey will not remain in the darkness, that in some way or another she will find out again. But the plunge into the Dark Side is extremely important for her because she must understand that she has no right to judge the man who is her equal in the Force.

Ben and Rey have an important task: they have to bring Balance to the Force and thus lasting peace to the galaxy. But they can’t cooperate if they don’t have a common ground, and they will never have a common ground as long as one of them believes he has the right to make choices for the other. Both are convinced of doing right; which is why the darkness is all the more tempting to them. They have not yet matured the sense of responsibility a Force user needs in order to employ his powers the right way.

Though it contains many tropes, this is not Pride and Prejudice or Romeo and Juliet or Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. It’s Star Wars. Like a royal family in former times, the fate of the Skywalker saga always echoes through the galaxy. They must find peace at last, and for good, for the sake of everybody. The saga won’t be done by Ben and Rey kissing and making up.

And apart from that: it was about time that the saga got its own female villain. I’m all for female empowerment - it must not necessarily be through virtue. *cough* 😉

[poetonthemoon]

You know what, I'M STILL FRUSTRATED

I'm trying to do my own TLJ rewrite, while changing as little as possible about the overall trajectory of the story. It's... difficult not to go overboard but here's a few key points

Luke never tried to kill Kylo Ren in his sleep. Instead, after sensing the darkness inside him, he doubled down in training, hoping to prevent it from taking hold. He believed he could save Kylo the way he redeemed Darth Vader. Obviously, it didn't work.

Because of this, Luke doubts his abilities as a teacher and a Jedi. He is world-weary and uncertain, but still obviously his kind-hearted self from the OT. Although he is reluctant to officially train Rey, he holds no bitterness toward her and guides her in uncovering the island's secrets (he, too, came to Ahch-To in order to learn about the early Jedi in hopes of bettering himself).

No more Ghost Yoda Lightning Yeet. Ugh. Instead, after Rey leaves with the texts, Luke has a conversation with the ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin(!) about failure and choice. Maybe...

Luke, to Obi-Wan and Yoda: "I couldn't stop Ben Solo from turning to the dark side. I failed my students."

Anakin, stepping out from behind the other two ghosts: "No. Ben Solo failed himself."

Also, PLEASE give him a touching moment where he reunites with Chewie and learns about Han's death.

Keep Luke's final moment with Leia intact. That was the best part of the original film.

Ditch that whole "let the past die" crap. Or at least, tone it down. Make it more, "the past is behind us, but we can use it to guide us in the future."

Time on Canto Bight is drastically reduced (more on that in the next point).

Rose Tico is no longer a nobody janitor whose only purpose is to lecture Finn. Instead, she is a stormtrooper who is doubtful after her sister's death in a pointless battle. Inspired by Finn's desertion, she runs into him on Canto Bight and offers to help him infiltrate the First Order ship. This is the biggest change I made, but I'm passionate about it.

That DJ hacker dude no longer exists. Bye, byotch.

Finn and Rose are still caught, but they give a speech to the stormtroopers tasked with guarding them. It's clear the soldiers are tempted to switch sides, when Phasma shows up and kills them before they can defect. Finn still gets to beat her up, but she escapes and survives. TRoS arc hook incoming?

The Snoke that was killed in the throne room was clearly a force projection. The real Snoke is still out there. Spooky.

Kylo Ren doesn't tell Rey "YOU'RE A NOBODY BUT NOT TO ME LAWL." Instead, he offers to tell her who her family was in exchange for joining him. She shuts him down, saying that who she chooses to be is more important than where she came from. This ticks him off.

The Poe/Holdo plotline was a gigantic mess and uh... I'm open to suggestions on that one. It might just need to be completely redone.

These are just my ideas and they aren't perfectly polished, but if anyone has other input or ideas I'd love to hear them.

[benperorsolo]

Why do so many people think a happy ever after is possible without the last Skywalker getting redemption + hope? Do you think they could still pull it off if he got redeemed but died or got put in jail or exile and/or didn’t have a positive relationship with Rey?

I think it’s a collective case of selective hearing on a lot of antis’ parts. This is usually the same group of people who think Kylo Ren is just some random bad guy to be used for righteous-ending fodder instead of, you know, Han and Leia’s only son, Luke’s only nephew, Padme and Anakin’s only grandchild, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s namesake, etc. I feel like it’s not a coincidence that Reyskys overwhelmingly hated Ben and put Rey up as the ‘Good Skywalker’ to justify why Ben could therefore just be shot out of an airlock with impunity and we could still have a happily ever after. And once TLJ made it clear that Ben was the last Skywalker, then the discourse shifted to why the Skywalkers are an evil who have done nothing but harm to the galaxy and how they need to be eradicated, or how TLJ was actually about how Force dynasties like the Skywalkers were a mistake. It’s always been about what interpretation of the story can keep Ben out, not about what interpretation of the story is faithful. Because if we’re talking that, then the only way out is for Ben to have a HEA. I think antis’ goalpost moving when it comes to the Skywalkers’ role in the story is pretty indicative that they know the deeper implications of Ben being the last one, and they don’t want to admit it. 

Re: if a HEA could happen even if they sent Ben to space jail/killed him off/broke him up with Rey— no, not in my opinion. Star Wars is a fairy tale. It operates on much broader and more universal themes than the intricacies of war crime tribunals or exile. The implications of the Dark Side are much more spiritual than they are political; it’s about the impact they have on your soul, not your standing before a court of law. Ben’s redemption is a spiritual victory. To then take Ben and put him in jail and go through the intricacies of crime and punishment is not only way too realistic and nitty gritty for SW but takes away from the whole point of the metaphor of the Force, which is really more about overcoming the personal struggle to choose good than it is about how if you literally commit war crimes, x happens. It’s about how deciding to do good makes you whole, not how it cripples you or exiles you.

Light is never more than one choice away. It isn’t something you have to claw your way to and it’s never something you’ve done ‘too much’ (I hate seeing this line of logic in fic) to be a part of again. It’s an inspirational metaphor for how choosing good starts with a single step. To put Ben in space jail or space exile after he has redeemed himself in the Force’s eyes would just subvert the whole message. And to have Rey hate him after seeing that goodness, that humanity, within Ben, and taking the true path of the Light side by fighting to love it instead of destroy it would make just as much sense (read: it wouldn’t).

[the-far-bright-center]

Anakin Skywalker, a tragic hero

a compilation by @the-far-bright-center

Recently, I was asked to write about ‘Anakin as a tragic hero’, and rather than attempting to tackle such a broad topic from scratch, I decided to compile a masterpost of excerpts from (and links to) my previous posts on the subject.  

In my personal view, ‘Star Wars’ (as in, the Skywalker saga) is, at its heart, Anakin’s story, and as such, his tragic fall and ultimate redemption forms one of the main, underlying themes of most of my SW analysis in general. And so, the selections below include everything from in-depth character analysis, to overviews of Anakin’s role in the saga as a whole, to explorations of themes of slavery vs. freedom, death vs. immortality, personal attachments, fear of loss, and perhaps most importantly, unconditional love.

***Please note: the majority of the following excerpts are from posts written in defense of ‘the Skywalker saga’—aka, Lucas’ six films that tell the story of Anakin’s rise, fall, and redemption. And as such, any and all mentions of the so-called ‘sequels’ in the posts linked below are likely to be of a critical nature (since I wholeheartedly reject them as valid continuations of the main saga). Having said my piece on that subject, however, these days I prefer to ignore the existence of those films entirely (so, please do NOT ask me about the sequels or mention them in the notes!) and focus instead on upholding the meaning of the Prequels and Original Trilogy as one complete, mythic story. (Some of these excerpts may also include references to the Lucas-era TCW series, which functions in large part as a meta-commentary on Anakin’s story in the context of the saga as a whole.)

◇ from ‘The Chosen One, the Hero’s Journey, and Breaking the Cycle of Enslavement in Star Wars’:

(or, why the theme of slavery/enslavement in Anakin’s story is so important to our understanding of Anakin’s character and to the overall message of Lucas’ saga):

excerpt 1:

“ There is something incredibly unique about Anakin Skywalker as a character: this fascinating blend of hero, victim, and villain, and how the interplay of fate, destiny, character flaws, divided loyalties, tragic decisions, and the machinations of others leads to such great pain, loss, and evil…for himself, and for an entire galaxy. How he, as Vader, becomes both physically and mentally enslaved, suspended in an almost carbonite-like stasis and cyclical mindset for decades, until his final act of free will, spurred on by his latent, powerful love for his son, sets him—and them all—free. ”

excerpt 2:

“ There is a reason why George Lucas devoted three whole films (AND a good portion of two animated tv series) to the story of Anakin Skywalker. He obviously felt that Anakin’s motivations, his relationships, his strengths and weakness, his successes and failures, his positive traits and negative traits, his childhood, and even his later socio-political milieu and military context—basically everything about him—were important enough for an entire prequel trilogy (and supporting on-screen material) to cover in-depth.

For all the supposed faults of the Prequels, the story presented therein—the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, and, along with him, the apocalyptic destruction of the Republic and the entire Jedi Order—is undeniably well-thought out….and extremely compelling.

And yet, this story is compelling not simply because it is’ tragic’, but because it is tragic in a very specific way.

Here is someone who starts out his life as a slave, a young boy simply wishing to fly away….yearning for the freedom of the stars. A young boy with fear and anger already inside him due to the hardship and injustice of his circumstances (and later, his constant worry for his mother), but still largely innocent.  A young boy supposedly taken away from slavery (and, at the same time, his mother)…only to end up serving a corrupt Republic in an unwinnable war, and a Jedi Order that had by this time become overly dogmatic and blinded to certain dark realities in its midst. A Jedi Order that had lost its way by becoming embroiled in the political happenings of—and subservient to—the military ‘needs’ of the Republic. A Jedi Order that was doomed the moment they allowed themselves to become soldiers instead of protectors. Supporters of perpetual war, instead of keepers of the peace. A Jedi Order that allowed itself to become slaves of the Republic, subject to the Senate’s every agenda and the Chancellor’s every whim, instead of free agents.

Anakin’s tale is so tragic because he believes he is going from (literal) slavery to freedom, to then fighting *for* the (physical and ideological) freedom of others during the Clone Wars…when in reality he is merely exchanging one set of chains for another, until he becomes fully imprisoned once more in the form of Vader.

In the Star Wars universe, it is stated that slavery is a primary tool of the Sith—for controlling one another, and also for the subjugation of the entire galaxy. And thus it stands to reason that if Anakin is truly the Chosen One (and this is confirmed by Lucas’ canon), then he is also the one who is destined to destroy the Sith….and by doing so, it is implied, break this seemingly-perpetual cycle of slavery (and mental/ideological enslavement).

This is why the climactic and emotionally cathartic ending of RotJ must herald an end to this cycle. What does destroying the Sith mean, if not that?

Without this, there is little point to Anakin’s otherwise wholly tragic story.

Without this, I would argue, there is little point to Luke’s story, either.

Because, what has always elevated Luke’s hero’s journey above, well, just another hero’s journey, is that he completes it not by defeating a villain, but by helping bring his father back to the light. By helping set his father free. I’d even go so far as to say that Anakin’s redemption forms the most crucial part *of* Luke’s hero’s journey. It is the ultimate triumph of gentleness, surrender, forgiveness, and compassion over brute strength, domination, anger, and revenge. Feminine virtues, over toxic masculinity. How important that, after so much war and violence, these values are finally embraced by two of the main male characters of the series.

And it is made all the more poignant by the fact that Luke is both the physical and symbolic embodiment of Anakin and Padme’s love—and of the Truth that Padme spoke with her very last breath, even after the attempt to silence her—now returned to face down Vader’s darkness and help him finally destroy the Emperor (as he was always meant to). It is Luke himself who inspires Vader to in turn save him….symbolically saving the embodiment of that very love that Anakin had tried so hard and so tragically to save in the first place. ”

excerpt 3:

“ By the end of [Return of the Jedi], it is made crystal clear that redeeming Vader is the *ONLY* thing that would actually work or have a lasting, positive effect. Meeting power with power would not work. Nor fear with fear. Nor anger with anger. Nor hate with more hate. That is what sent Anakin down that spiral to begin with. And when Luke duels Vader the first time, this is what causes him to lose. By the time of RotJ, Luke has come to understand the Truth, and knows what he needs to do very well, hence his actions.

In my opinion (and in my understanding of the original intended message of the story), the *only* way the Emperor could finally be defeated was by an act of sacrifice based on LOVE. Anakin/Vader’s final act is an act of finally embracing his own mortality, acknowledging his True Self, and setting himself free, it is true. But most importantly, it is an act of protection, done out of compassion, which Anakin himself once defined as “unconditional love, essential to a Jedi’s life”. This is why Anakin in this moment is the embodiment of the ‘Return of the Jedi'—he *protects*. He saves. He defends.  And this is what the true role of the Jedi was always meant to be.

Luke’s decision to turn himself over to the Emperor and appeal to that ‘barest flicker of persistent light’ within his father was necessary—not just from a thematic perspective, but also from a plot and story standpoint as well. Already by the time of The Empire Strikes Back, we were shown that the ‘true’ villain (in the sense of who has the most agency and is pulling all the strings) is the Emperor, and that Vader is, in fact, his servant/slave. (And of course, the Prequels and TCW only hammer home this fact.) The Emperor *had* to be defeated, or else the Empire would never have been stopped. The galaxy (like Vader himself) would never have been freed. For as we know, the Rebel Alliance had already attempted to defeat the Empire by blowing up the first Death Star, but of course the Empire just kept going and ended up building a new one. Blowing up the second Death Star was therefore never going to be enough to win the war against the Empire. (And there was no guarantee that Sidious would not have pulled a General Grievous on us and escaped the second Death Star at the last minute before they managed to blow it up, either.)

So, the Emperor had to be directly destroyed….and I think it’s pretty obvious that, however powerful Luke had become by this point, he was never going to be able to defeat the Emperor on his own. Only Anakin/Vader had the power to stop Palpatine/Sidious. Only Anakin *EVER* had this power. This is one of the reasons why Palpatine targeted and ‘groomed’ Anakin in the first place: he knew that Anakin was foretold to be the one who would ultimately destroy the Sith…..so what better than to bring him to the side of the Sith, instead?

But the beauty of this is that, through Luke’s presence in Vader’s life, and then his intervention in RotJ, Anakin is finally able to fulfill the very destiny that Palpatine had tried so hard to avoid by enslaving him to his will. Anakin *IS* the Chosen One, and no  matter how far he had fallen in the meantime….it is undeniable that, in the end, he fulfills his destiny and destroys the Sith. Both the outer-Sith that is Darth Sidious….and the inner-Sith within himself.

But after everything….after being imprisoned by Sidious for so long, he needs Luke there, as a reminder of his True Self, in order to be able to accomplish this. There is that line in RotJ where he says sadly to Luke, “it is too late for me, son.“ But Luke never gives up on his father, and finally Anakin/Vader sees this….and comes back to the Light via the act of saving Luke himself.

One act of compassion inspires another—and in doing so, achieves more than decades and decades of war and even the most noble of rebellions ever could.

This is extremely redemptive in so many ways—it even wholly vindicates Anakin and Padme’s love. For, without Luke’s actions at the end of RotJ, and Vader’s response to them, we would be left instead with the message that love = death and destruction. Instead, we see that love (even secret, forbidden love) is not entirely destructive, but is also creative, enduring, and can bring about hope and redemption, and, ultimately, freedom—on both a personal level, and to the galaxy as a whole. ”

excerpt 4:

“ …when it comes to the character of Darth Vader, the theme of the cycle of slavery/mental enslavement is imperative to understanding both why and how he has become what he is by the point of the Original Trilogy. Anakin lives much of his childhood as a slave. He is himself ‘freed’, but goes from physical enslavement straight into a scenario in which he must nevertheless still refer to his Jedi superiors as ‘master’. He later loses his beloved mother whom he’d so reluctantly left behind to a violent (imprisoned!) death that he feels he could have prevented if he had only listened to and acted upon his prophetic dreams sooner. He is in love with Padme and wants to be with her—something that is forbidden to him because of the Jedi Code. (Again, in this manner, he feels ‘un-free’.) The Clone Wars begin, and he marries her in secret, and goes off to fight for what he believes is the freedom of countless systems, becoming embroiled in constant warfare—along with increasingly divided loyalties—which takes a heavy toll on him. He wants nothing more than to end the war. To bring ‘peace’ to the galaxy. To be able to come home, and maybe, just maybe, finally make a real life for himself and Padme…and later, their unborn child(ren).  He is pushed further and further to the brink of doing ‘whatever it takes’ to end said war. Until his growing mistrust of the Jedi Council, along with his prophetic dreams of Padme’s impending death—and the subsequent machinations of Palpatine—all push him fully over that precipice.

Until, finally, he becomes the Emperor’s lethal weapon and unquestioning servant of his will.

And then, perhaps most significantly, after he is horrifically maimed in his fight with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, he becomes physically imprisoned within his life-support suit.  This suit, designed by Palpatine, is almost akin to a walking torture chamber, and at first causes Vader almost constant physical pain. Vader is kept ‘alive’ only by the suit and mask combination (or perhaps, rather, in a state of ‘half-life’).  The important thing to remember here is that he did not choose to be put inside this suit, it was done *to* him. And once he is inside, it is like he is frozen into this (seemingly) never-changing mindset and state of perpetual torment. Sealed thus, Vader becomes resigned to his imprisonment, to his anger and hatred-fueled existence…and to being one of the Emperor’s primary tools in bringing this same twisted form of ‘peace’ (aka, subjugation) to the rest of the galaxy. ”

◇ from my responses to comments on my DW account, pt. 1 (on a post about Anakin’s role in the saga):

excerpt 1 (Anakin’s need for a father-figure and a family as one of the reasons he struggled in the Jedi Order):

“…it's pretty clear that what Anakin needed (and wanted) more than anything was a *family*. (A father figure, his mother, Padme, his own family, eventually, etc. I could go on.) And this is the main area where the (old) Jedi Order fell short—for him, especially. We are always meant to see Qui-Gon's death as this fate-changing tragedy (hence the title of the scene, 'Duel of the Fates'), because Qui-Gon is one of—if not the only—Jedi in the Order at the time who could have been the father-figure *and* mentor that Anakin needed. Others had the capacity to be great mentors and teachers, but it is clear that Qui-Gon's level of compassion and his ability to demonstrate it openly were rare qualities amongst the Jedi at that time, indeed. Also, Qui-Gon had a much less rigid interpretation of the Code than others did, and would likely have been able to assist Anakin in his eventual struggles with certain aspects of said Code. (Amongst many other things!)

I think we are meant to see that, if Qui-Gon had lived and been able to teach and mentor Anakin, that perhaps even he and Anakin might have become agents of positive change within the Jedi Order. Together, perhaps some of the rigidity of the Jedi's adherence to certain aspects of the Code might have been able to be reformed. It's of course just speculation on my part, but I think this is hinted at. (Also, Qui-Gon is someone who never would have stood for the Jedi's participation in the Clone Wars. In TPM, he was very firm about his role. Recall what he said to Padme: "I can only protect you, I cannot fight a war for you." This is what the Jedi Order's *true* role is, to be protectors and keepers of the peace, and it is no surprise, therefore, that it is the Order's participation in the Clone Wars that leads directly to its eventual destruction, just as Palpatine/Sidious had always planned.)

While Obi-Wan most definitely stepped up to the plate and then some when it came to teaching Anakin, and while the two them eventually grew close as *brothers*, Obi-Wan was never able to provide Anakin with the father-figure (and father-son dynamic) that he so desperately craved. (And this is where Palpatine so coldly and calculatedly stepped in—Palpatine is characterized much as a child-abuser in this regard, and one that, imo, the Jedi Order failed to protect Anakin from.) Also, there is the fact that, because Anakin was brought into the Order later than others, he did not grow up even with the communal group of younglings of his age group, so even *that* sort of 'adoptive sibling' dynamic was lost to him. Add to that the fact that he was not allowed to visit his mother during the intervening years between TPM and AotC, and we start to see how all of the heart-breaking tragedy surrounding this character begins to unfold.”

excerpt 2 (re: the Jedi Code and the forbidding of romantic/familial attachments):

“…I personally feel that the part of the Code that forbids all romantic attachments (and thereby familial attachments as well) is a later addition and/or interpretation of the Code. Because the Jedi are a religious Order, they obviously need to have a Code of some sort, but as Qui-Gon said, Codes should not existence solely to govern *behaviour*. They should instead merely act as a guide or roadmap to understanding the Force. In other words, what is truly important about any rule is the *spirit* of the law, rather than the 'letter' of the law.

The Jedi believe in non-attachment, or rather, in practicing *detachment* on both a spiritual and material level, but imo, eschewing these types of relationships is not actually necessary to achieve this. These things are not mutually exclusive. In some ways, never allowing the Jedi to experience these sorts of relationships merely attempts to remove any form of 'temptation' towards attachment from their paths. Whereas, it's more difficult, perhaps, to find a level of detachment in one's outlook and actions while one has actual 'attachments' in form of loved ones, but ultimately this would help Jedi achieve a truer and more lasting form of 'non-attachment' (if that makes sense), if they could likewise find balance in all aspects of their own lives. And while there are of course some risks inherent in allowing Jedi to have relationships (and families), imo, there are just as many risks in forbidding this…as we know all-too well.

This is just my interpretation, but I feel sometimes like we are meant to see the 'no romantic relationships' thing as a sort of 'forbidden fruit' scenario with the Jedi, and an element that was not always inherent in their beliefs, and which was perhaps tacked on to the Code later (and this quote from A New Dawn supports this theory) It seems like a fear-based rule, rather than something totally necessary. Sure, there is an element of practicality in preferring that warrior-monks not have their own families to worry about so that they can focus their attentions and loyalties to the Order itself, but again, this does not automatically equate to 'no romantic attachments at all'. But by the time of the Prequels there also seems to be an attitude amongst the Jedi of 'oh no, but what if'—worrying about the consequences, etc., as though it were an inevitable conclusion that *all* romantic attachment leads inherently to disaster…which is itself a 'fear of loss' based way of looking at things.

I also cannot help but think of George Lucas' very first film, THX 1183, about a sci-fi dystopian world controlled by 'robotic police' where love/desire is outlawed. The two main characters come to an awakening and stop taking their medication that suppresses such feelings/desires. While of course this is not exactly the same situation as the Jedi Order on Coruscant, it is interesting that, in the Prequels, Lucas decided to make the romantic attachments something that is so strictly forbidden by the Jedi at this time.

All I'm getting at here, is that I feel that we are indeed meant to see this as a flaw of the Jedi Order, in the sense that perhaps this part of the Code had become overly rigid by this point, and thus the Jedi's inability to see beyond the 'black and white' in this matter is intended to be viewed as a failing on their part.”

excerpt 3 (Anakin’s powerful emotions, the Jedi Order, and his susceptibility to the Dark Side/Palpatine’s machinations):

“...Anakin experiences SUCH powerful emotions, and it is heartbreaking that, from the start, he is made to feel as though these emotions are inherently bad or wrong. His 'fear of loss', especially. This is a normal human emotion, especially for a child who has only just come from a difficult life situation and has left behind the only family member he'd ever had. It's not a trait that in and of itself leads automatically to darkness. It is, as you say, only Anakin's emotional isolation, in the sense of how badly he needs (and lacks) a deeper sort of guidance about his often frighteningly intense prophetic dreams, as well as his equally intense emotions—both the positive and the 'negative' emotions that he experiences on a daily basis, that leads to so much pain later on. (In part because, the judgmental attitude that he was met with from the start seems to have only made him less likely to seek this deeper sort of assistance directly from his fellow Jedi in later times.)

And this brings me to another thing—the way these interpretations of the Code have developed by the time of the Prequels-era seems almost as though the Jedi had become…I don't know…afraid, perhaps, of 'the Dark Side'. I say this because, in my opinion, it is probably an extremely natural thing for every single Jedi (or Jedi-in-training) to have a brush with the Dark Side now and then, even perhaps frequently. But the problem arises when these experiences are treated as something that 'taints' the one who experiences it. As something to be ashamed of, rather than something that is just part of the normal journey of being/becoming a Jedi. (Or even just part and parcel of the life of *any* Force-wielder.) Not only is this an unrealistic expectation of all Force wielders (aka, to never ever give in to darker emotions), but it also leaves them more open to the suggestions of those who *would* use these darker emotions to their own evil purposes (*cough* Palpatine/Sidious *cough*).

Instead of trying to make themselves into 'robots' who never experience and/or exhibit any sort of strong 'personal' emotions, the Jedi should be trying to figure out how to balance and channel the emotions they do experience, and to be understanding and compassionate of the fact that some will fall into darkness at times, but that this doesn't mean they are totally lost or 'damaged goods', but simply that they have experienced something that will, hopefully, only make them stronger and more able to handle such intense emotions or emotionally difficult situations (such as personal loss, etc) in the long run.”

excerpt 4 (the downfall of the Republic and the Jedi Order as orchestrated by Palpatine, regardless of Anakin’s precise role):

“Regarding your point about something devastating happening to the Jedi Order regardless of whether or not Anakin had turned, oh my gosh, YES. I totally agree. This is strongly, strongly hinted at all throughout (both the Prequels and TCW). I get very frustrated when people view Anakin as somehow solely responsible for what happens. I don't deny his role in all of it, of course, but it must not be forgotten that it is Palpatine/Sidious' machinations that a) cause the Clone Wars, and b) lead the entire Republic and the Jedi Order along with it to the point that they are perfectly primed and ready to fall as of the end of Revenge of the Sith. Order 66 is something that Sidious had planned for long, long time, and something he was merely waiting around and biding his time before carrying out. He had actually tried first to start a galactic war over a decade earlier, as of The Phantom Menace, and if he had succeeded, this would have sped up his intended process. (Ironically, it is Anakin and Padme who prevent him from succeeding in that instance, but I digress…) Which brings me to another point—Sidious already had an apprentice all the way back then, and was always *going* to have an apprentice to carry out his will, no matter what. He just couldn't believe his luck when the Chosen One himself basically fell into his lap and he seized his opportunity to prey upon Anakin's fears, etc.”

excerpt 5 (The Jedi Order’s approach to ‘the Dark Side’ and to dealing with darker emotions, as related to the importance of familial bonds):

“I think you're right as well in saying that the Order wasn't necessary fearful *of* the Dark Side itself. I mean, most of the Jedi are not cowering in fear of the Sith and are courageous in standing against darksiders in general, etc. Rather, their reticence seems to be more in regard to freely *exploring* the Dark Side, in the sense of using it/tapping into it. Which is understandable, given that that Jedi Order is dedicated to the Light. But at the same time, this reticence or even fear of allowing this type of exploration seems to have lead the Jedi to the point of not even knowing much about or truly understanding the Sith and/or Dark Side. And if one doesn't even know or fully understand one's 'enemy', then the enemy will always have the advantage. Which is precisely what happens.

You are also spot-on about how there are many ways of achieving inner-peace and calm, and many ways of 'holding back the darkness'. And the fact is that, for some Jedi, this might take the shape of being allowed to have an outlet for their stronger emotions, or to even be allowed to have the emotional support of family members/loved ones. For, as you say, some people just *need* something (or someone) to fight for, alongside their more general role as 'protectors of the galaxy'. The greater good can be adequate motivation for some, but maybe not the 'be all and end all' for everyone. After all, *family* is the building block of any civilization, however advanced, and if those who are supposed to be the protectors of civilization have forgotten the importance of this essential element, it is no surprise that the whole thing can so easily come tumbling down.”

◇ from my response to a comment on my DW account, pt. 2 (re: the PT in relation to the OT, and the purpose of the concept of Force Ghosts):

excerpt 1 (how I came to appreciate Anakin and the Prequels):

“…I grew up on the Original Trilogy, and Luke was always my fave …my childhood ‘hero of all heroes’, and much of my admiration for him stemmed from the way in which he manages to save his father, instead of destroying him, as everyone had encouraged him to do. Back then, I already really loved the father-son dynamic in RotJ, and was always deeply moved by Vader’s redemption at the end of that film, but I never really thought too much about Anakin’s overall storyline. And even after the Prequels were released, I, like so many others, dismissed them on a surface level for a long time, and didn’t really take the time to understand what they were trying to convey. So, believe me, yes, I am well aware of their various supposed ‘flaws’ and whatnot, but over the years (and with the assistance of additional supplementary material like The Clone Wars animated series) I have been able to gain a deeper appreciation of the *story* that is being told in those films, and of the overall purpose of Anakin’s arc.

Many dismiss Anakin as a character simply because of his evil deeds during and after his downfall, without understanding that the Skywalker saga...is intended to be viewed, overall, as a myth. Infused as it is with elements of heroic epics and greek drama, it is a distinctively older type of tale, played out on a galactic level. There is, therefore, something beautifully Romantic about this story that many miss, especially in the current climate of tumblr-fandom that is so myopically focused on concepts of ‘social justice.’ The more I thought about it, the more I came to love this extremely misunderstood character—this deeply loving, tragically flawed, all-too human god trapped inside a machine.”

excerpt 2 (the importance of Coruscant as a location, symbolically and in relation to Anakin’s fall):

“So yes, the…Prequel story is meant to show that the Jedi Order was not entirely ‘blameless’, and was, by its blind participation in a Sith-run war (amongst many other things), at least partially responsible for its own destruction and downfall. The location of Coruscant itself is meant to symbolize the deep levels of corruption already extant in the Republic as a whole, and to show that the Republic’s veneer of ‘civilization’ in fact is built upon a decaying foundation, one that is, by this point, being steadily and secretly ‘devoured’ by the Sith from within.”

excerpt 3 (Death vs. Immortality as a thematic link between Anakin’s fall and redemption):

“…when it came to the Prequels, there had to be a way of explaining [the concept of Force ghosts], because it was kind of a complex issue. There had to be a reason why Anakin/Vader was not previously aware of the possibility of this happening (his confusion in ANH at Obi-Wan’s disappearance makes it clear that he had never really encountered anything like it before), and so it was something that could not have been widely known or understood as of the Prequels-era. This is where Qui-Gon Jinn’s character comes into it (‘Jinn’ meaning ‘spirit’). This part is a little bit… confusing, admittedly, as there wasn’t really enough time to cover it in the scope of the Prequel films, but there *are* some further little hints scattered throughout the TCW series regarding this (such as Qui-Gon appearing briefly in ghost/spirit/vision form to a surprised Obi-Wan and Yoda, at certain key points).

What I find interesting here, is how this entire concept ended up being integrated into Anakin’s storyline. Because one of the biggest overriding themes of his story is this concept of mortality, or rather, his struggle to *accept* mortality—from which stems his extreme Fear of Loss, and eventual downfall, after which point he, ironically, becomes the embodiment *of* Death to the entire galaxy. In the RotS novelization, there is this evocative and incredible powerful recurring imagery of ‘the dragon of that dead star’—an ancient voice inside his head that whispers, “all things die, Anakin Skywalker, even stars burn out.” Anakin is himself compared to a dying star throughout the course of RotS, and then later, in the OT period, as Vader, it is almost like he has *become* ‘the dragon of that dead star’ (ie, of the ‘Death Star’). In other words, he feared Death…and so Death he became.

This is a huge part of Anakin’s arc, and is one of the main components of the Jedi Code that Anakin struggled with for almost his entire life. This concept of ‘Death…yet the Force.’ Anakin’s struggle with the concept of mortality is therefore a struggle with his own faith. During the Prequel-era, he is never able to fully *believe* in or accept this reality. And this aspect of his struggle makes a lot more sense if his story is taking place in a context where actual visible ‘proof’ of life and/or existence after death via the Force is not currently known (or has perhaps been long-forgotten). So, for this reason alone, it make sense that Obi-Wan would learn how to ‘become’ a Force ghost (or whatever) during the period between RotS and ANH, and would do so via the assistance of his own ‘dead’ master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

The technicalities of how all of this is supposed to occur don’t really concern me, as I am more interested in the symbolism of it all. And what is so beautiful about it is that Anakin’s return to his True Self occurs, at least in part, because he finally accepts his own mortality, and gives up his own life to save his son. Before removing his father’s mask, Luke says to him, ‘but you’ll die’. Anakin’s reply, ‘nothing can stop that now’ becomes even more poignant when we consider that he had struggled to accept this fact his entire life (first with his mother, and then with Padme). It’s beautiful and symbolic and oh-so fitting to me that, in finally *accepting* his mortality and sacrificing himself to save his loved one, he is redeemed, and is also granted this sort of ‘immortality’ in the Force.

To me, *THAT* is what the final scene in Return of the Jedi is meant to signify—anything else is just a technicality, and one that I prefer not to concern myself with too much. My view of the PT and the OT is as forming together a ‘magnum opus’—aka, the ‘great work’ as defined in alchemy. And one of the intended results of the magnum opus is to discover and/or bring forth the ‘elixir’ or ‘philosopher’s stone’ that leads to eternal life, via a ‘Union of Opposites’. In the context of the Skywalker saga, this Union of Opposites is none other than Anakin and Padme’s forbidden love, the result of which is Luke (and Leia).

And so, what matters here is that Anakin Skywalker has finally, finally regained his faith and thus become a ‘True Jedi’ (as opposed to what the Jedi Order had defined ‘being a Jedi’ as during the Prequels-era). Because, in being saved by his son’s love, and by saving and demonstrating his love for his son above all, he has proven, once and for all, the Truth that he had long denied (because it had been so long denied *to* him)—aka, that ‘love (and thus personal attachments!) CAN save you’. And what is more, he has accepted that final aspect of his faith that had likewise eluded him for so long… Death…yet the Force.”

◇ from ‘Not just nostalgia’ (my response to this tumblr post):

(or, why a positive view of the Original Trio is of utmost importance to the message of Anakin’s story and the saga as a whole)

“ The tragedy of the Prequels seems to have perhaps lead some people to conclude, erroneously, that ALL of Star Wars (aka the Skywalker saga) is meant to be viewed in a similarly tragic light. This could not be farther from the truth—the Prequels, as the first half of the magnum opus, were given the structure of a greek tragedy in order to complement and enhance the emotional catharsis of the pre-existing Original Trilogy (the second half the Opus). The darkness of the beginning of the tale is not meant to overshadow the redemption at the end of it, but rather make it shine all the brighter. Lucas intended *his* Star Wars to be, not a tragedy, but one of the ‘divine comedies of redemption’. (If you don’t believe me, just read anything ever written by Joseph Campbell, one of Lucas’ most formative mythic influences.)

And so, the tragedy from which the second half of the story is born, is NOT, I repeat, NOT meant to insinuate that the Skywalker family is ‘doomed’ or ‘fated’ or ‘cursed’ to suffer constant, repeated ‘family tragedies’ no matter what. And it is certainly not meant to suggest that they (Luke, Leia, Han) will inevitably make the same old mistakes or meet the same fates as those who came before….. As I’ve mentioned before, Anakin’s tragedy is inextricably linked to his particular milieu and to his cosmic role and status as the Chosen One—it cannot be easily replicated, let alone repeated ad nauseum. Luke and Leia are likewise ‘of’ their own era, and are freed from the myriad restrictions and machinations that so ensnared their parents. When it comes to their role in this particular myth, they are thus meant to rise above the tragedy that came before, rather than repeat it.

And they do. In his climactic confrontation with his father and the Emperor in RotJ, Luke breaks the cycle. He throws away his lightsaber, and refuses to succumb. Unlike his father, Luke Skywalker is NOT a tragic figure, nor was he EVER intended to be. (Luke = Light. That’s what is name means, and that is what he is meant to represent, through and though. Luke is the Galahad to Anakin’s Lancelot.) And neither is Leia, for that matter. Yes, the Skywalker twins both suffer great loss, face great darkness, and have their own inner and outer struggles through the course of the OT, but overall their stories are intended to have an entirely positive (and restorative) outcome.

It is important to point out that, because Luke and Leia are the result of Anakin and Padme’s forbidden love (aka, the Union of Opposites of the magnum opus, which is meant to bring forth none other than the elixir of life itself), the hopeful, positive, and successful nature of their respective stories is absolutely crucial to the validation of it. After all, Luke and Leia’s very existence is the biggest ‘f*ck you’ ever to the Old Jedi Order. Love and family were something that was forbidden to the Jedi of old, and yet this is what brings hope and restores peace to the galaxy. This is the entire point of the story.

When viewed in the context of the PT and OT together, the Trio’s role is clear: by fully and openly embracing the LOVE and support of their family and friends, Luke and Leia are able rise above the tragedy of their parents. Their combined heroism, fueled as it is *by* their (positive) personal attachments, breaks the cycle and brings about Anakin’s redemption….restoring freedom to the galaxy, and vindicating Anakin and Padme’s love. An unequivocally positive view of the Original Trio’s relationship is therefore an essential and intrinsic element of the redemptive message of Lucas’ saga. To negate that, and to turn the Trio into tragic figures themselves, is to negate the entire purpose of the story—not just of the Original Trilogy, but of the saga as a whole. ”

And finally, one of my favourite excerpts…..

◇ from @muldertorture’s excellent post, ‘STAR WARS: The Creation of a Modern Myth: Cultural Influence, Fan Response, and the impact of Literary Archetypes on Saga Perception’:

(***please note, I DID NOT WRITE THIS ONE, I’m just including it here because I wholeheartedly agree with it)

“ Anakin…exists relative to the state of the galaxy. He is not Luke, he is not the youth of western literature on a journey; that is Luke’s role. Anakin’s role is that of the demi-god of Greek and Roman origin. When Anakin rises, the galaxy rises with him, when Anakin is in turmoil, the galaxy is in turmoil, when Anakin falls, so falls the galaxy. Anakin is intrinsic to the galaxy because Anakin, like so many other mythological demi-gods, is an avatar for the gods or, in the case of Star Wars, the Force. Regardless of any one person’s views on the Force (which are extremely disparate and widely varied, so we won’t broach that subject here), this fact is indisputable. Anakin, as the Chosen One who will “bring balance to the Force”, is its avatar. When Anakin is claimed by the Dark, the Jedi Order’s zenith is reached, the Balance is tipped, and the Order descends into darkness with Anakin, just as his return also signals theirs.

The title ‘Return of the Jedi’ doesn’t just reference Luke becoming a Jedi, but Anakin’s return to the Light, and with it, the ability for the Jedi Order to once more flourish. In this he is much like Beowulf, when the Geatish hero sacrifices himself to defeat the dragon at the end of the epic poem. Failure would spell ultimate destruction for Beowulf’s people and country, just as, had Anakin failed to destroy the Emperor, the Jedi and the galaxy would truly have been wiped out. Anakin himself has to die, however, because he is what tips the scales. Once he dies and becomes one with the Force, only then is balance restored.”

my commentary:

This right here is absolutely fundamental to understanding the entire purpose of the Skywalker saga, as Lucas so painstakingly told it. The destruction of the old Jedi Order that had ‘lost its way’ and forgotten its true role in the galaxy, and the founding of the New, heralded by Anakin’s return to the Light, and Luke’s essential role in reminding him—and us all—of what it means to be a True Jedi.

In closing, I’ll leave you with a selection of a few of my favourite fan vids that beautifully illustrate Anakin’s role as a tragic hero:

Krwling by YlvaJo

The Hand of Sorrow by Damsel In Damnation

Hurt by Matt Kowynia

Simple Math by SmokeyFizz

Eventually, I would love to write more meta-analysis on this subject (as it is near and dear to my heart), but in the meantime, I hope that this compilation will be of some use. :)  

[roxannepolice]

Help me, Carl-Gus Jungobi, you’re my only hope

[prolonged deliberation on Goethe’s Faust effing up his task of achieving symbolic individuation equated with redemption by inserting himself for Paris with Helen I would love to know what CG would have to say about self insert fanfiction] 

This is probably the deeper reason why Faust’s final rejuvenation takes place only in the post-mortal state, i.e., is projected into the future. [Psychology and Alchemy]

Taste that. Rejuvenation in the post-mortal state

Projected into the future

Hi, this here is Anakin’s son, daughter and future father of his grandson in one shot while Anakin appears as a force ghost.

Anakin’s redemption did not take place, it is taking place through his offspring – his future – and I’m afraid Ben is very much a part of it.

I’d argue that the main reason why the frequent belief that Anakin’s redemption needs a counterbalance in form of Ben’s ultimate fall is based on the fact that the redemption story most influential in western culture – that of humanity through death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – does have an unredeemed counterbalance – Judas (and a disclaimer: I do not refer to The Second Testament for any sort of religious agenda, I treat it as an influential cultural text it is – and a manifestation of collective unconscious, that’s why I can compare it to ancient mythologies). But that assumption is based on a false belief that Anakin’s redemption was complete rather than projected into the future. Redemption of humanity through Christ is complete as Christ’s resurrection is in soul and body.

Let’s take a look at two other mythical resurrections/redemptions – though I’ll allow myself to omit most of the context (I’m still sticking to the western world, because I believe it’s the most influential for most of SW audience but also because, confessedly, I cannot claim proficiency in other myths, if someone can share some themes, please do). An example of future resurrection balanced by damnation is Baldur vs. this handsome fella

For causing Baldur’s death Loki is condemned to lie under venomous snake’s fangs until Ragnarok and it’s only thanks to Sigyn, definitely the most underappreciated character of any mythology, that we don’t have permanent earthquakes. Now, this isn’t a damnation of the same kind as Judas’s, since Loki’s actual fate is the same as all other gods’ – to be destroyed during the Ragnarok you have to give it to the Nordic people, coming up with a mythology and ending it with everyone killing each other. BUT Baldur’s resurrection also isn’t as complete as Christ’s as it will only happen in the renewed world after Ragnarok, right now he’s sitting underground with Cate Blanchett. So, maybe Osiris vs. Seth? I would argue that’s the best parallel to Star Wars – Osiris is resurrected but stays forever in the underworld, but Seth also doesn’t suffer any eternal damnation. He’s an ambiguous deity in the fact that despite being an “antagonist” to Horus, after their fight is over he supports pharaohs’ rule and helps Ra keep away the monster of chaos (a hundred StarKillers anyone?). Granted, he becomes infertile in the process (attractiveness of force deprivation theme?) but that’s for trying to kill Osiris’ son, would make little sense if he was Osiris’ only offspring (btw, I’d argue that’s exactly why old EU gave Han and Leia two children, a good one and a bad one).

One could argue of course that Anakin’s redemption through the future can be done on the ideal level only – he saved Luke and Luke has now passed on the jedi tradition onto Rey. Yeah, that sounds attractive. But it wasn’t a jedi knight Anakin saved, wasn’t it? When fried by Palps Luke didn’t call upon Anakin’s jedi code only yelled Father, please. What’s more Anakin had two children. Luke has a sister Anakin asked him to tell he was right about him. And I believe Luke told this to Leia. But did she accept that? Confessedly, she had every reason not to. Oh, she could detach Anakin Skywalker from the sith lord who mind probed her and held her in place to watch the destruction of her home planet, but to accept Luke was right about Darth Vader? 

In a way, Leia did the most epic Nooooo in Skywalker story.

Meme should continue through a meme and only can through a gene, but gene needs to continue through a gene, something the Skywalker twins did not accept and thus ended up with galaxy and their family again in turmoil. Luke – for it was Luke who’s the original Vader fanboy of this saga albeit unknowingly, not Kylo – badly wanted to continue the jedi meme (in its simulacric form, btw) through his nephew, the mighty Skywalker blood, which could be, can still be, but never had to be. Leia, on the other hand, thought she can have a child of Anakin’s meme and not Vader’s gene, which simply can’t be as it’s based on a lie.

So what, Anakin can get a redemption and other characters not because, what, he had children? Well, yeah. That’s a redemption through love at its symbolic best.

To cut a long story short, Ben Solo doesn’t have a husk of legacy to upkeep (that’s what he thinks, you know!), he has grandfather’s redemption to make real.

 Master Skywalker or how I learned to nourish meme and love a gene

Battle of Crait is one of the most epic moments in Star Wars and I’ll fight anyone who’ll tell me otherwise. It is the most Luke Skywalker thing that could have happened, as it is Luke doing for himself what he has previously done for his father, if only temporarily – reattaching the meaning to the simulacrum, thus resurrecting the symbol. And symbols have great power, as they give us inspiration, hope and strength when we fall down. Luminous creatures we are, not that crude matter and to erase the symbols or identify them with simulacra is to make everything material only.

But there’s an extremely important thing – Luke could only rescue the Resistance and symbolically inspire new fighters, bring back the inspiring legend, because he reattached this legend to the man who failed his nephew – and that by admitting this failure, not denying it, as he tried to just a day earlier. To all out there who believe Luke was right to consider killing Ben, that the darkness he saw in him was a decided plan – why would he lie about it, to himself much more so than Rey? If he knew that what he considered was right and faltered by the softness of his heart, why not just come clean about it? But he knows that what he did was wrong and therefore, just for a moment, believes the only way for him to go back to rescuing the galaxy is to base it on a lie and hope for the best. Only Rey has already learned that what he told her wasn’t the truth and confronts him about it – notice that Luke is aggressively sending her away even though he wanted to go with her a moment earlier, precisely because he realises he’ll have to come clean. Now, Rey has no problem reconciling what he’s done with what she believes him to be, unlike both Luke and Ben – because they believed in a simulacrum and she believes in a symbol. Failures happen. But when she stretches Luke’s ls to him again – and remember right now she’s decided to go to Kylo, so I’d say what she’s actually doing isn’t asking him will you rejoin the fight? only will you go and confront him about what happened? it’s his legacy she’s stretching out to him in that moment! – he still can’t do this. In his eyes, he now gave up on the legend completely, it’s time to let the old things die, so he’ll go and burn the jedi tree along with the texts. But because his anger directed at the jedi simulacra is simply overclinging to them gone sour he can’t bring himself to even burn the tree. And it’s a nice tree isn’t it? So Yoda has to effing call a thunder from the afterlife to do that for him – but don’t forget, the books aren’t there already! It’s highly symbolic that Luke never bothered to read the texts, as exhibited by the most realistic padawan moment in the saga as he channels a student who was too lazy to do his homework for six years of having nothing else to do, he was sorta expecting them to have magic powers of their own?

But, in the end, he understands that his legend isn’t something inherently wrong but also that it doesn’t have to be infallible. His failure towards Ben and the way he apologised for that failure are his legend and legacy – just as the legend of Anakin’s fall and redemption he let start all those years ago. But again, Anakin’s redemption isn’t complete – and neither will be Luke’s (he dies in that moment after all) if his apology will have no influence on Ben.

Allow me to draw a timeline of Star Wars message:

after ot they become an inspiring story of hope and redemption

after prequels they become an overly selfconscious myth of redemption as the fall has been tailored exactly for the payment

right now they are a simulacrum of redemption as it became clear Anakin’s redemption was half-assed

It can be argued that the message can be carried on despite being false at a core. And does that sound like Rey growing to be a healthy good person basing on her denial of the truth about her parents? Yes, I think it should. There are characters like Galen, Bodhi or, again, according to some idiots, Finn – but they’re all incomplete too. Finn... really, his story isn’t a redemption, he’s not an evil man in need of paying for his sins, he’s a goddamn hero whose moral sense wasn’t killed by years of indoctrination and I want to punch anyone who thinks this beautiful jewel needs to get redeemed for anything. But Galen’s and Bodhi’s “redemptions” aren’t complete either – they both die, in Galen’s case so does his daughter, their redemptions are purely ideal in helping destroy the Empire. And complete redemption is in life, in soul and body. To say those other diamonds of souls needed redemption is a result of lie around Anakin, thinking his redemption was complete.

And that’s why I think there’s epic – though far from permanent – fall in store for Rey. But also that the sand castle of lies Snoke built around Ben can’t last.

The message of hope and redemption Star Wars are associated with doesn’t have to be carried by a Skywalker. But only a Skywalker can give them the message of hope and redemption, make it true. Meaning needs to be reattached to the simulacrum, gene to a meme, light to dark, ideal to matter and I could b*tch for hours about how they’ve been associated to male and female for thousands of years and their unison by marriage.

 A rose is a Rose is a Tico – some reflections on symbolism in postmodern era

Sequels are also a great occasion to reflect on use of symbolism in modern epic (pop)art. Symbols have become so widespread, so conventionalised, that – again – it seems the right thing to do is throw away symbolic language as a dead husk or leave them be only as empty conventions. Now, there are some things which are conventional enough to be purely conventional and throwing them away gives them more value than they’re worth – think French revolutionists trying to do away with a seven day week or ask yourselves how many people you know still worship thunder on Thursdays watching Thor doesn’t count. But those are pure conventions of everyday life and epic storytelling should appeal to deeper levels of our psyche. There’s a danger in overreliance on symbols – for example, violence in the originals was symbolical to the point of seeming banal – but they’re still a useful way of expressing that which in conceptual terms would be too difficult or plain impossible. Nowadays there are loads of symbol dictionaries so it’s easy to think of them as something to be decoded – but symbols aren’t to be decoded only to be interpreted, depending on their context. “A bird” can’t mean a lion but it can mean swallow, sparrow, pigeon, eagle, vulture, etc. alike. TBH, that’s why I’d say reylos seem like we’re “reaching” – we’re interpreting, debating with the text, asking it questions rather than decoding separate elements I don’t want to be indiscriminate of course there are non-reylos who do interpret and many reylos just see two hotties to be together, but  the latter aren’t accused of reaching. Intrepreting means asking a question of the meaning, not thinking the meaning is obvious. I don’t want to make another huge elaboration, so I’ll just take some examples of use of symbolism in Star Wars and how they should and shouldn’t be treated, as well as two simulacric husks which still need to be dug beyond.

Names and pseudonyms – a name is always symbolic of identity, though it should be remembered that they aren’t given like eye colour, they belong to the order of meme that becomes one with our identity as we grow. I think it’s pretty clear that Han has been literally baptised by the Empire and more importantly, never had a problem with that. He accepted this surname as it was an abstraction of what he was – alone, he didn’t have to throw it away because of being given by the bad guys I also think it’s not insignificant the imperial official is actually a pretty human character but that’s another matter. What I want to focus upon though, are the characters with two names, one for their selves and one for their shadows: Sheev Palpatine – Sidious, Dooku – Tyrranus, Anakin Skywalker – Vader, Ben Solo – Kylo Ren. I don’t want to delve into their ethymologies, but rather into their use. The difference between the two latter and two former lies in difficulty of switching between the two personas. Vader gets angered when Luke calls him Anakin, Kylo does react when he’s called Ben but doesn’t refer to himself this way – according to the novelization, in the throne room, while offering Rey the galaxy, he reasserts that it’s no longer his name. Now, one’s willing to view this as a manipulative play on his side, they think I should keep those names apart but I’m actually one and okay with it, but, just like with everything else in the throne room, he’s lying to himself not less than Rey, like a good setient simulacrum should. His manipulation is essentially innocent because he believes what he’s saying – compare it to Snoke who knew perfectly well Ben’s family loved him – and when he offers himself to Rey he offers her Kylo Ren, the simulacrum believing itself to be reality, just as he doesn’t say he’ll rescue the Resistance if she stays with him. What would be terrifying is if he wanted to be referred to as Ben, because that would mean his identity is as malleable as he’d like it to be. Such is the case with Dooku, who barely refers to himself as Tyrranus and why the hell should he, he’s a politician first sith lord second and more importantly, Sheev. Palpatine has no problems jumping between Palpatine, Sidious, Emperor and of course he’s all time favourite, The Senate.

Masks – I already explained how I think the bridge scene should actually be interpreted, but I bring it back as an excellent case of decoding vs. interpretation. Removal of the mask is decoded as revelation of the true persona and this is exactly what Kylo Ben thinks he’s doing. And yes, he reveals his true persona – only this persona is one feeling remorse for what he’s done.

Another good decoding vs. interpretation scene is Crait showdown – Kylo Ben is fighting a ghost, a shadow. Decoding is that it’s an expression of how ungrounded his anger is. But neither he nor anyone other than Leia and Rey (and possibly Chewie and porgs?) know Luke to be a shadow and that shadow has very real effect, this time positive in saving the Resistance. I would say Luke letting Leia know that he’s a projection is a symbolic explanation to his sister of what happened to her son. Of course, Leia still doesn’t know that Luke considered killing Ben, but now she knows he wouldn’t have actually done it – and I would argue before the scene is over, Ben himself gets a glimpse of this fact.

There’s also Anakin’s parthenogenesis to be reconsidered. To see that as a simulacrum of divine bloodline is the simplest thing to do – as well as one raising the most resentment, especially among those who think parthenogenesis is culturally exclusive to Jesus. But that’s avoiding the question of what actually took place. An embodied hierophany isn’t an origin of a special hero only an act of divinity’s direct intervention in linear historical time – thus, Anakin stops being the chosen one, one to bring balance to the force, but neither is it a concept to be rejected as some esoteric bs, but rather his birth sets in motion a series of events leading to that balance.

And lastly, decoding Snoke as an abuser isn’t equivalent with interpreting a twenty year long abuse, something which cannot be shaken off by killing the abuser. In this way I could argue Kylo Ben at the end of TLJ could turn out to be symbolic for oversimplified attitude towards stormtrooper rebellion – free them before they’ll want freedom and you’ll end up with them rebuilding the cage they’re used to.

A general rule I would apply is that non humanoids (moons, suns, planets, porgs) are rather reliable symbols. Characters may be trying to deceive each other and themselves but I don’t think creators are trying to deceive the audience. So if a kyber crystal cracks, either because of how difficult it was to make it bleed or because two characters who should be in tune are far from it – there’s a good chance things are not the way they should be. Again, symbolic language isn’t bad in itself.

Evil eyes – one of the arguments most frequently raised for bendemption is that Kylo has never had evil sith eyes. Now, you could say, neither had Dooku and he died but that’s another thing showing Kylo’s death would be a rehash, not his redemption. Another argument could be that Disney simply felt that effect was cheesy and decided to never use it again. But what should be done is to ask ourselves what do those evil yellow eyes actually mean. The way eyes look is symbolic of the way eyes see. Siths have venomous yellow eyes because they see the world through their hatred and lust for power, not because EVIL. Snoke has empty black eyes in TFA because he can see no depth in the world, sees only emptiness, and cold blue in TLJ as everything is coldly subjugatable to him. It has also been pointed out that the closest we got to sith yellow in the sequels is Hux during the destruction of Hosian system.

And I agree, it was a conscious move. As was this. 

But lightsaber refelected in Kylo’s eyes is red, associated with anger – and anger is but a path to the dark side, not dark side itself. So, do I expect Armitage to get actual sith yellow eyes? No, not really, because it was a bit cheesy what matters is the visual effect, so it could be another light reflection. It could also be argued that force sensitives do perceive the world in a slightly different manner than others, there is a difference in their very souls which finds manifestations in their bodies. What could happen and make me totally flip if the trailers greeted us with evil yellow eyes... by Rey.

One of the husks I think Star Wars still has to shed and why I can see dark!Rey happening is that femininity has become overidentified with good. The only more or less fleshed out female villain in the main story so far is Phasma and she sure has room for improvement. Alternative, and that’s another thing which would make me flip, is epix giving us Rae Sloane, an evil matriarch, an anti-Leia, if you like. Preferably, both. And I want to underline I write that as a feminist, I’m just tired of watching infallible or driven to villainy by men female characters, I’m a woman and I effed up in life, Padme’s patience gave me more complexes than Barbie’s waist ever could.

And another husk to be shed is... democracy. That sounds bad, I know, so let me elaborate. Democracy has become an empty word, on Earth and in GFFA alike. It became an equivalent of good rule, interpretable to preference. You know what is a “Democratic People’s Republic”? North Korea. And if you tell me there has never been a good emperor, I call bs on your knowledge of history whereas if you stammer sth about SW being a metaphor to be abstracted from history then at best I ask you sweetly then what’s wrong with a good Renperor and at worst sue for calling me a nazi apologist over that abstract metaphor. Now, I’m not saying a point should be made that authoritarian rule is anything good – rather, seeing Renperor’s labour’s lost should make us reflect why democracy is the best regime anyone ever came up with though still the worst there is. Rise of sympathies towards authoritarianism (usually going by the name of “enlightened despotism”) is another phenomenon visible around the globe and not always among uneducated people in want of agency only those who see how mishandled democracy can go astray. Again, there have been good emperors, so alternative sounds better than trying to fix the fallible regime. To show such people how their symbols get vanquished by good democrats will only fuel their resentment as they will feel misunderstood (that’s not what they meant by their enlightened despotism) – remember, they’re the romantic rebels fighting globalist empire. To show them how such regime fails at establishing a lasting welfare could actually make them think.

Well, that sure was an experience. I have many thanks to those who have actually gone through all of my ramblings, congratulations on your patience. Hopefully, they provided you with some insight into postmodern popculture and how it doesn’t have to be husk running away from itself only can be actually a living organism

[yeomangamer]

After My Father’s Funeral Chapter 1

Summary: Funerals can be stressful, but so can weddings--especially with a family as effed up as theirs. Unfortunately for Leia, she has both to attend in one go. So much for repression. Modern AU 

Pairings: Leia/Han, Mara/Luke, Jyn/Cassian, Leia&Han&Luke&Mara&Cassian&Jyn, Uncle Owen/Aunt Beru

Chapter summary: Let the past die, bury it if you have to.

Chapter pairings: Mara/Luke, Jyn/Cassian, Past!Leia/Cassian, Luke&Leia&Mara

A/N:  Based on the idea that it would be really traumatizing to be a Skywalker in the modern day.  See Ao3 and FFN versions for full authors notes.

If Leia had learned anything from her albeit limited experience traveling, it was that bureaucracy was a bitch. “Bureaucracy is a lawyer’s best friend, Miss Organa,” her boss, Akbar, had told her. “These people, they try so hard to cover every little crack and crevice, but it’s our job to find where they were wrong.” Today, in-line at the airport, Leia was fairly certain it was the whole idea that was wrong with bureaucracy. After her ticket failed to work, she had to wait in-line to speak with a representative, having already spoken with two other employees and a supervisor. It was as if the universe was preventing her from going home, which she desperately wanted to take as a sign to switch her flight to someplace with tropical beaches. She was even considering Canto Bight, when it was her turn in line.

“Thank you for flying Rebel Air. How can I help you, ma’am?” The smiling woman said.

“Yes, hello, I have a last-minute booking to Naboo, and my tick-“

“We have a policy on exchanging flights for last-minute bookings, ma’am. I’m sorry.” The response was tired, rehearsed, as if countless people had tried to weasel out of the policy of the company.

She sighed inwardly, bidding the dream of the casino goodbye. “I don’t want to exchange, I want to get on my plane, my ticket won’t check me in.”

“How odd, may I see your ticket and some ID, please.” Leia handed both over, and the woman scanned it. “Naboo, huh?”

Leia was not in the mood for smalltalk. “Yep.” The airport had to be the worst place for small talk.

“What brings you there? Big racing down there, I hear.”

“Yeah, yeah, I grew up there. I’m going for family stuff, you know. A funeral and then a wedding.” The representative nodded and smiled knowingly. How ironic, there’s no way she could’ve known.

The computer made a noise, not a good one either, and the rep made a face, and tried again. “Hmmm,” she said. “Odd, let me get my supervisor.”

Leia groaned and laid her face on the counter. She hated to leave her fate in the hands of strangers, without any agency as to getting anywhere. After a few moments, she huffed, trying not to lose her temper. She wasn’t in a hurry per se, but also wasn’t in the mood to spend any more time than she had to with airport employees.

The rep appeared with another employee. “I’m sorry about that Ms. Organa, here’s a new ticket for you, should work now,” the (presumed) supervisor told her, scanning the ticket. There was a happy sounding beep, and she took her ticket with a thanks.

She checked her bags, and sat down at her gate. The tv above the gate was on; she immediately regretted glancing at it.

“…the noted activist, and so-called ‘Champion of Free Speech’ Anakin Skywalker has died. The 65-year old had been battling lung cancer for nearly a decade before passing away at his home in Naboo on Friday. Skywalker first rose to fame as a leader of the Imperialists under the name ‘Vader.’ But Skywalker had moved away from the group in recent years—even calling it a ‘cult’ in one noted interview—to support pro-environmentalist groups. His family asks to make any donations to…”

“Quite the enigma, that man.” The voice made Leia jump, and she looked over to see a man sitting next to her looking at the TV. He saw that she had looked over and continued. “I read his book ‘Anti-anti-‘, and let me say—“ She immediately got up, took her carry-on bag, and moved to sit on the opposite side of the seating area with her back to the stranger. If the man was at all offended by her behavior, she neither knew nor cared.Skywalker certainly had a way of ruining everything, even the flight to his funeral.

The Naboo airport held one of her most treasured memories: when she had parted with her brother, Luke, for the first time since what she had dubbed the Ruling. They who had spent a majority of their formative years apart, only to be reunited at 16 through the worst of all circumstances, left each other for the first time since then in a tearful goodbye at the airport four years ago. At the time, she knew she wouldn’t miss the city, her old college, or even her (recently) ex-boyfriend, but she hated leaving her twin after trying so hard to stay together.

So today it was only fitting that it be Luke’s face to greet her at the gate. Their embrace was tight and full of longing, she hadn’t seen her brother since before they had turned 25. Leia turned and greeted the woman beside Luke with her own tender embrace and a kiss on the cheek.

“Mara, you look so well,” Leia said, gripping her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s forearms.

“Thank you, as do you as always. Thank you for coming sooner than we’d originally talked about, I’m sorry if it spoiled any of your plans.” She blew her red hair out of her face, smiling broadly.

“Well, if they were spoiled it’s how ol’ dad would’ve wanted it,” Leia released Mara and heading towards baggage claim.

“Now, Leia-“ Luke’s voice was a warning, one that she wasn’t about to heed.

“‘Now, Leia’” Leia mockingly repeated. “I promise to keep my comments to myself during the wake and the funeral, but I make no such guarantees about anywhere else.”

She couldn’t hear Luke’s sigh, but she knew it was there. They picked up her bag, and hopped into Luke’s old truck.

“When’re you going to get a new car?” Leia asked. “The windows still roll down.”

“Luke had said something about the end of days, but that is in contention,” Mara joked from the backseat.

Luke only smiled. Leia knew that he wasn’t bothered at all at Mara’s comment, or even at her’s towards Skywalker. Her brother had the most positive temperament of anyone she’d ever met; she resented him just a little for that.

“I hope you don’t mind staying with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru,” Luke said as they crossed over Amidala bridge. The bridge connected the inner city and the boroughs of Naboo, a passion project of their late mother’s. They had named it after her, a symbol of how much she had been universally loved in her local community.

“Of course not,” Leia stated, only lying a little bit. It was difficult to pin blame on anyone for the unpleasantness that had framed the last ten years of her life. Luke was definitely not a candidate, and therefore should not have to suffer her contention. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were contenders as well as her own dear parents. The only person who Leia could surely, 100%, be blamed was Anakin Skywalker. And blame him she did.

They pulled into the drive-way of the Lars’ Farm, and all three each rolled out of the hot car—Luke’s air conditioning had quit sometime in college. Her Uncle and Aunt greeted her warmly, showing her to the guest room, which had, at one time, been Luke’s room. After the Ruling, Leia had sat with Luke in this very room and imagined their lives together growing up as they might have been. The faces of those who would raise them were blurry, but so many of the memories she’d constructed had felt so real, it was bittersweet to think of her childhood without him. Now the walls were bare of Luke’s Ahch-To and X-wing posters and the room certainly smelled better.

She was debating between living out of her suitcase or unpacking when Luke came in with his hands in his pockets and a peculiar smile on his face. Leia knew that look, as she knew every look--every movement even--of her brother’s. Choice words were about to be said, and she was sure she wasn’t going to like them.

“A bit different from when we were 18,” Luke commented.

“Certainly smells better.” That got a chuckle, but it didn’t really reach his eyes.

“Leia…” She sighed, and crossed her arms. “I’ve never been able to tell you what to do-

“Nor will you ever.”

“-but could you at least keep your comments about dad, our dad, to a minimum? Or at least confine them to just between us?”

“Mara knows perfectly well what I think about your father, no sense in hiding from her.” She tried not to be exclamatory, only firm, in her distinction of “your.”

Luke was not having said distinction. “He was your father too.” His tone was matter-of-fact, not loud.

“No, he wasn’t. A father is there for you, a father teaches you how to ride a bike and playfully threatens your prom date. Anakin Skywalker was not my father.”

Luke sighed, exasperated. “What more could he have done to redeem himself to you?”

Leia rolled her eyes. “Well, there’s no use asking that question now as there isn’t anything more he could do. He’s dead.”

“I know that, but what could he have done?”

“Not be a racist? Not inspire god-knows how many to kill? Not left our mother to die? Taken care of us after she died? Oh, and when he didn’t do all those things, how about not putting the fact that we are related to him in the goddamn public record? You know how many opportunities I’ve lost because of him? All a potential connection need do is google my name and right there is ‘daughter of noted activist Anakin Skywalker.’” She stood from the bed, ready to defend her viewpoint in the impending argument.

“You think I haven’t had doors closed in my face too? You really think you’re the only one to suffer?” They weren’t yelling, Luke never yelled. But his voice was firm and contentious.

“No, but you still defend him, he ruined our lives!” Leia didn’t understand how Luke could see the events of the past and come to any other conclusion.

“What would you have done, Leia? If you were in his shoes, what would you have done?” He had always seen the world through their results: Skywalker had brought them back together as brother and sister so ergo Skywalker was good.

“How can you continue to defend him? He’s ruined your wedding!” There were tears in her eyes now, threatening to fall.

“By dying? It’s not like he could choose when-“

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Luke sighed, and she felt the tension drop. Their argument would not escalate further. “Mara and I already live together, and we have the rest of our lives, the wedding is just a day.”

“One of the only days in your life where you have all of your loved ones together in one room.”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, maybe he was comforted by the idea that everyone was going to be here anyway.”

Leia bit back her comment, knowing it was no use to argue with him. She sat back down, her temper deflated. Luke kneeled on the bed beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“You have every right to be angry, and I hope one day you decide to let it go. Either way, I’m glad you’re here.” Leia bit back the tears until Luke embraced her and she let them fall, silently crying into his arms.

“Luke, Aunt Beru wants to know-“ Mara said, poking her head into the room. “Oh, sorry. Is everything alright?”

Leia nodded and wiped her face as Luke rubbed her back. “Yeah, it's just a lot, you know, to be back here, in this room. We tried weed in here, one time, did Luke tell you?” Luke was right, there was no use dragging Mara into her trauma.

Luke didn’t seem phased that she had lied about what was going on, and groaned. “Never again, I will never understand the appeal.” The three of them laughed and Leia fingered the duvet cover. She tried to tell herself it was only the jet-lag and airport that had made her so upset.

The Wake was the next day, and flew by before Leia even noticed. Both the funeral and visitation were closed events, invitation only, with enforcers hired to keep any unwanted company out. There was a slight mix-up that involved a Senator from Scarif but was soon sorted out without much hassle. Overall, the night was full of people wishing both her brother and her well. Though the stream of mourners was steady, there couldn’t have been more than a few dozen. Mara had mentioned something about the event conflicting with the races, and Leia laughed to herself that not even her father’s funeral could compete with this town’s obsession with racing. Most of the guests were also wedding guests, and promised to be there in a little over two weeks under much lighter circumstances.

“I hope they all RSPV’d, otherwise it's going to be terribly awkward to turn them away,” Luke said to Mara and Leia during a small break between mourners.

“‘Sorry great-aunt Myla, I know you said you’d be here two weeks ago, but that was then and this was now,’” Mara mimed Luke turning away elderly potential wedding guests. The three all cracked a smile and greeted another couple, Anakin’s former editor and his wife.

They had chosen a closed casket for both events. Still, Leia couldn’t help but glance at the casket every so often with a sick desire to set her eyes on Skywalker one more time. To see if he was really dead? Would she find joy in knowing he’d finally gotten what he’d deserved: a slow death, probably most of it in pain? She snapped her head away and shook her head. Pretty soon, she’d turn out like him: evil.

The funeral was the Friday after. In front of the mirror, Leia was hoping no one would notice that she’d worn the same black dress to both the wake and the funeral. She only had maybe two black dresses to begin with—white was more her color. And, even then, she’d had to pack for nearly a month and could only take so much with her. Besides, she was grieving, right? Who expected someone to be en vogue while in mourning? To finish the outfit, she wore big, dark glasses so that—hopefully—no one saw her rolling her eyes during the ceremony.

The temple was surrounded by natural beauty, flowering trees and even a waterfall. She was sure Luke had picked out this place. Another receiving line, more mourners. After a dozen or so, she was stifling a yawn and excused herself to get some water.

It was on her way down the hall that she ran into someone she had not expected to, and, from the look on his face, he had not expected her either.

“Cassian?” She said, removing her glasses.

“Leia, its good to see you again.” They awkwardly stood in the hallway. Cassian was with a very pretty woman their age, with big blue eyes and somewhat of a European face. If the rumors from Luke were true, then this must be...

“Leia, this is my fiancé, Jyn Erso. Jyn, this is…an old friend, Leia Organa. We went to school together.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Leia said, smiling and extending her hand.

“Ditto.” So she was English. “Sorry about your loss.” She shook Leia’s hand. It shouldn’t feel weird, should it? To meet your ex’s fiancé. She tried to smile and push it out of her mind.

“Thank you both for coming, but, in truth, I had not expected you to be here.”

“It was more for your brother and Mara-“

“And you, of course,” Jyn interjected.

“Of course. You and Luke and Mara, we came to support you. How are you doing?” She couldn’t make out his tone, and therefore if he was referring to her life in general, the funeral, or the wedding. She said as much. Cassian chuckled and Jyn even cracked a smile. “All three, I guess.”

She addressed each in sequence. “Fine, ehh, and fine.”

“We should get together and catch up, the fo- five of us,” Cassian said.

“We’re having a party tomorrow night to celebrate the wedding,” Jyn said. “You’re invited, of course.”

“Well then, of course I’ll come,” Leia assured. The three of them started back towards the entrance where her brother and Mara were waiting.

“And we’ll have to meet, and catch up,” Cassian reminded.

“Yes, catching up, let’s. It was nice seeing you both, I’ll see you in there, and maybe after. Definitely tomorrow.” Leia talked as they walked. She took her place next to Luke as Mara kissed the cheek of some tall scruffy-looking guy. Leia figured he was probably one of her family as she had never seen him before, but thoughts of the man were quickly put out of her mind.

“Cassian! Jyn!” Luke said, shaking the hand of the two, Mara embraced them both.

“It’s great that you’re both here, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Mara told them and Leia nodded, already turning to the next person in line.

The funeral went by also without a hitch, though Leia had her fair share of eye-rolling and snorts—the latter of which she masked as sobs with the help of an acquired tissue. The speaker carefully skidded over Skywalker’s debatable crimes against humanity by simply referring to them as “dark times.” Leia had to pretend to blow her nose to contain the scoff from that one.

Soon enough they were wheeling the casket up the aisle and headed to the cemetery. Only close friends and family were attending, no more than ten or so people. Luke and Mara rode in Leia’s rental rather than Luke’s truck. They were right in the front behind the hearse.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you for coming early, Leia,” Luke said, and Mara rubbed his arm.

“No need, I wish I could’ve come sooner and helped out with any affairs that needed to be tended to.”

Luke shrugged. “There wasn’t much to sort, he knew it was the end and had already planned with money set aside. He was in the hospital for the last year, didn’t even have a house or many personal items. No, all he-“ Luke must’ve known that she wouldn’t’ve cared if Skywalker had wanted her at his funeral or not, and amended his statement. “All I wanted was for you to be here.”

“Then I’d do it again, one-hundred times over. Anything for my baby brother.”

Luke smiled. “I’m the oldest.”

“Are not.”

“Are to.”

“I can dig up the pictures of the birth certificates again, if you insist.”

Luke seemed to shrug. “Pictures can be doctored, unlike your attitude.”

That made Leia laugh out loud as they pulled into the cemetery, the loud bell proclaiming their purpose for visiting.

There was a small ceremony at the tomb-site, the speaker inviting anyone to come and say something. Luke gave a small speech, as did a few others, but Leia hardly noticed. She was looking over the rise to the group of men wearing all black who seemed to be staring at them. They had shaved heads. One raised a sign over his head that read: “Long-live the Emperor.” That was enough for Leia.

“Excuse me,” she said quite suddenly as she got up and to the enforcer who’d come with them, directing his attention to the intruders. He quickly spoke on a walkie-talkie, making his way in the direction Leia had pointed.

The group noticed the man heading towards them, and some started to run away. Most stayed put.

“Hold fast, brothers!” one yelled so that even the dead could hear. “They can’t stop our free speech!”

“We aren’t the government, you fucking dickhead! It's a private ceremony, and you’re intruding! Go be a waste of oxygen somewhere else, you ignorant, servile scum!” Leia shouted back.

“It’s you who are the scum! Not giving this great man a proper burial as he outlined in his 1986 manifesto!”

“Tell that to executor of his fucking estate with a will from circa 2014! Leave us to mourn in peace, and let the past die before I kill it myself!” Leia’s throat was hoarse, but she would gladly out-shout a symphony to keep skinheads away from Skywalker’s burial. Not for the sanctity of Skywalker’s grave or anything like that, instead for the sake of peace for those she loved.

“You hear that, she’s threatening me!”

By now the enforcer had caught up to them, and most of the group had fled. But the person conversing with her across the cemetery had to be restrained and escorted out. Leia sat down and with a nod, the speaker continued as if not missing a beat. No one seemed too surprised something like this would happen. All Leia could think was it figured that Skywalker could even ruin his own burial.

They lowered the casket and began burying it. As they did this, Leia made her way over to a different plot, placing the bouquet she had brought with her on the tombstone: “Here lies ORGANA Bail and Breha, loving wife, husband, parents, and friends. May the force be with us all.”

“Hi,” Leia whispered. “It’s been a minute.”

The wind whispered over the peaceful place.

“Wish you were both here, I think about you every day.”

She laid on her back, head on the flat stone as though it were a pillow, and imagined herself there, forever.

“Practicing?” A voice said and she cracked her eye open to see her brother, his tie untied, and dirt on his pants.

She nodded and closed her eyes. She heard the grass rustling as he lay next to her.

“Do you wanna be buried here?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, it’s so peaceful. You’ll be next to me, right?”

“Of course. I’ll even do you one better and split a coffin with you. Save us a lot of money.” With the private ceremony and unlisted grave, there was hardly any money left for the two of them. Leia had felt bad for Luke what with the wedding three weeks away, and had refused what small amount was left for her, insisting he take it.

Leia laughed. “Go out of this life the way we came in?”

Luke also laughed. “I didn’t even think of it that way.”

“Hey, at least we’ll be together. I never wanna not be together, in one way or another.”

Luke sighed in agreement, and took her hand. They stared at the sky together, watching the clouds.

“You two should move to Coruscant, there’s a ton of writing jobs there. And it's not too far from Ahch-To, which I know you love.”

“We’ve talked about it.”

“You should do it.”

“We’ll see.” Luke was silent for another moment. “We should be getting back.”

Leia sighed and got up. “Any more appearances until the wedding?”

Luke looked pensive for a moment as he got up. “Well there’s Cassian and Jyn’s party tomorrow, and our party that we’re throwing and-“

“Ok, ok, I guess I’ll have to always be on my best behavior.” They started walking towards the cars.

“Thanks for getting after those guys,” Luke said after a moment of walking.

“It was my pleasure, I assure you.”

“Never thought you’d defend dad’s right to have some peace.”

“I was thinking mostly about how much I didn’t want to see you try to have a calm discussion with the skin-head before he reset your clock.”

“I could’ve taken them.”

“Sure.”

They reached the cars where most everyone had left, Mara was waiting by the car.

“There you two are, I was beginning to wonder if you’d fallen into an open grave or something,” she said.

“At least then we’d leave this life the way we came in,” Luke joked.

“Gross, you know, there is such a thing as too close, you two.”

“It was Leia’s joke!” Luke said as he claimed the front seat.

They started driving back Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s, stopping to get a late lunch.

“You met Jyn, right?” Mara asked from the backseat. Leia nodded.

“Yeah, she and Cassian seem cute together.”

“He’s great. She’s my maid of honor.” Leia nodded. “She seems really nice, kinda quiet. But nice.” “Well, we’ve been through a lot, the two of us. I’d like if you two got along. I know there’s some history between you and Cassian, but-” Leia shook her head emphatically. “There won’t be a problem, I swear.” “You’ll have to meet my best man,” Luke piped up.

“Speaking of someone she might have a problem with,” Mara muttered.

Luke looked over his shoulder at her, but Leia didn’t catch it. He ignored Mara’s comment otherwise. “He’ll be at the party tomorrow.” Leia hummed in agreement. “Try not to kill him, will you? Or at least wait to kill him until after the wedding.”

“I make no such guarantees,” Leia quipped, getting a small laugh. “But I promise to at least try to leave him in one piece for the pictures.” She racked her brain and trying to remember if Luke had said something previously about this guy. Did Luke even mention him at all? He kept up with such a strange crowd since dating Mara, who knew a lot of people in the racing scene. Leia groaned internally, praying to god he wasn’t one of those stuck-up racing types. 

[clairen45]

What’s in a Name? Naming Rey and Ren in the New Trilogy- part 2/3

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD: a King and a Queen, a Man and a Woman

 The second main theme induced by their naming is the question of royalty. It should not be a surprise there. JJ Abrams was very explicit in his commentary about Rey searching Maz castle

In this scene, she is drawn to this place, almost like...Cinderella.

and Ren revealing under his mask the unexpected figure of a prince.

And because we used to have Kylo Ren take the mask off in the original version, both in front of Snoke and privately with the Vader mask, and we changed both of those. This now becomes the first time that you see who’s behind the mask. And because of Vader, I think you expect him to need the mask. That, like Vader, it’s some kind of breathing apparatus, some sort of necessity. But when his mask comes off, you see Adam Driver, and he just looks like a sort of prince. And it makes no sense. Why would he wear a mask?

Even though people were anticipating Rey to be a princess in disguise, TLJ makes sure to underline she is a nobody, the shepherdess of the fable. Why some people were outraged is beyond me. The shepherdess after all usually represents high moral values and qualities that make her worthy and thus equal to a prince. Her journey where she has to undergo a series of tests and losses is in itself way more gratifying than that of the princess waiting in her tower. And Rey, interestingly enough, is shaken out of her role of waiting passively on Jakku to a life of action and adventure that puts her forth in the way of a prince (the said prince who ironically set this arc into motion by wreaking havoc on the planet where she was doing nothing at all with her life). So she is the scavenger and he is literally the prince, in his own right, which again comes heavily in his lineage. His mother and grandmother were royalty after all.

But it is a prince of mixed parentage, with a slave boy as a grandfather and a smuggler as a father, which is of high importance in their relationship.

Never does he seem to state that he finds the 'just a scavenger' girl beneath him. In TFA he even changes subjects when he senses that she is embarrassed by her condition, which is surprisingly tactful, and in TLJ, the 'you are nothing' statement leads to him dismissing it altogether and that he does not view her as being 'nothing'. So there is not, so to speak, any status divide between them in his mind. If anything he is even more awed by her, given her background. 

So here we have a prince and a princess of sorts, a boy and a girl, whose journey is to learn how to become a king and a queen, a man and a woman. To know about their place in the world, and not just how to be leaders or rulers over the galaxy and the resistance, but symbolically how to be the rulers of their own lives and fates, and how to behave as fully grown-ups in a couple or partnership. In this case ruling together does not mean sitting on a throne together, it also means being strong together, that out of the partnership could come true power.

But even who gets which name can't be coincidental and foils whoever fears this relationship might be abusive due to our first impressions of them (but since Jane Austen we should know better of first impressions, shouldn't we?). For the king is NOT the boy. Rey is obviously Spanish for king, but I will suggest looking at the old French for "king", "Roy". In this light, Ren is reminiscent of "Reine" or "queen" in French. So we have our king and or queen but the genders have been totally shuffled. What could it mean? Many things... but in my view...

First, it reinforces what has been the current arc of their relationship, which points to Rey becoming the dominant one and Kylo being redeemed through his acceptance of Rey's power over him. After all, there is a pattern so far. Look at the progression in their relationship when it comes to his final proposals, since every movie ends with him reaching out to her with a new offer that would bind them together. TFA: I will be your teacher, i.e., the dominant one.

She refuses and breaks him physically. TLJ: let's rule together, i.e. as equals, which already means he has toned down a bit. She refuses and lets him unconscious and broken psychologically.

Where does it go from here? The clues are all over, right? He has offered her knowledge, he has offered her power, if love is the answer as pointed out in TLJ though the character of Rose, the hidden hearts in the visuals of TFA, and the not so subtle compassion line of TFA which is reminiscent of Anakin's line to Padme (compassion is ‘unconditional love’), at the very least he has to offer something he has not offered yet:  love. The one thing that he feels deficient in and is unable to show to himself or others. Which also means that according to the progression of his character he has to recognize her as the dominant one, which is foreshadowed in the beginning of the interrogation scene, with him kneeling at her feet, in a very submissive, courtly stance.

Secondly, this mixing of gender demonstrates the strength of their bond. They are, or need to be, one with the Force, and being one, like Platonic soulmates finally bound back together, there is no telling where one begins and one ends.

Their identities, even gender identities, become porous. I do not think it means she becomes a she-male and he turns into less of a man, rather it points out to balance, harmony, not just between dark and light (the recurring and obsessive theme) but also between feminine and masculine, like Yin and Yang, an escape from the dichotomous and the duality that normally pervade the saga. This blending of the genders has been played out through the choices of costumes and the sketching of their characters since TFA, with Ren, being draped in long gowns, with a long, sinewy silhouette, and his long hair when he takes off his helmet. These so commented upon lustrous locks and lack of facial hair appear very distinct from Finn and Poe's short dos or our usually bearded Jedi. The look was distinctly boyish, many people calling it EMO or goth inspired. I would not go as far as calling it androgynous but Vader’s square massive shape it is not, nor Luke's boyish wholesomeness, nor Han's roguish and conventionally masculine charm. If Ren is clearly portrayed as attractive in the interrogation scene, there is an unconventional lure to him. Whereas Rey, at the beginning, with her scavenger garb and mask (she is also a creature in a mask after all) also appears undefined in her gender.At first glance (even though the fabric draped around her is tell-tale feminine) she could be an alien, she could be a little boy, a little girl, a man or a woman.

She is also assuming roles that are not distinctively feminine (even though to be fair, SW has always been rather progressive in that realm): a scavenger, a pilot, a mechanic, a fighter, a Jedi. Even the Yin and Yang that seem to be influential in the portrayal of the couple is consciously mixed and blurred. The Yin is traditionally associated with the black, the female, the moon, the dark and water, whereas the Yang is linked with the white, the male, the sun and daylight. So here, we have the male character endowed with all the attributes of the feminine principle of the Yin, and the female character endowed with all the attributes of the masculine Yang.

But this is per their own choice of naming or self definition. Because as viewed through the others they are very distinctively male and female, Ren being the ‘son’, ‘the boy’ that must be brought back, and Rey being called out ‘the girl’ (mostly by Ren) throughout the movie.

As the cycle progresses, the original blurring is somewhat redefined, Ren becoming more and more decidedly masculine and Rey more feminine, moving on from the boy and the girl. As I pointed out before, their journey is also about learning how to define themselves as man and woman. Thus, Ren, who appears as a machine or a ghost (an apparition out of a nightmare in Rey's eyes, the ghost of Vader for us the audience and in his mind), is little by little literally stripped of his disguise and becomes more and more fleshed out, his physicality being materialized onscreen with his bare massive torso and the removal of his glove to meet Rey's hand. Gone are in TLJ the mask, trashed into a distorted shape (ironically like that of Vader’s in TFA), the gowns, the cloaks, and, in its stead, he starts favoring a more conventionally male uniform of pants and short tunic.

Rey, on the other hand, lets her hair down and also starts showing a little more skin, even though her look is still practical for a fighter.

Again, there was some outcry at Ren's apparently gratuitous nakedness. The official statement released was that the naked chest and Rey's reaction to it served the purpose of highlighting that they not just sensed each other presence, but really could see each other through the bond, all too convenient but not very convincing. One could rather point out that it goes towards showing Ren no longer as a monster but as a man, a man and not a boy, no longer ´a child playing with a mask', a man fully grown. And this in itself is actually very canon in SW standards since it has an iconic precedent otherwise known as Princess Leia' s slave outfit, aka THE BIKINI, in ROTJ. As Leia's son it seems only fair that Ren would bring sexy back in a galaxy usually so far far away from such trivial matters, but taking a page from his mother, it also shows the evolution of his arc. Critiques have long justified the skimpy costume of the warrior princess as indicating of the development of her relationship with Han Solo, when she stops 'being just a princess' and 'becomes a woman', as if she was not a woman before and had to strip down to make that obvious. Given that the object of her affection was anyhow too blinded by his time in carbonite to fully appreciate the show, and that she was already in love with her scoundrel before, this was a moot point. Let us take it as it was, in all its glory, for male and female audiences alike, it was eye candy.

In this current blurring of the female/male paradigm that the new trilogy seems to explore, the choice to have the male characters (with even Finn barely dressed in a plastic bubble medical suit) and not the female one is the clever way to go. Eye-candy it was, but contrary to his mother, it was not gratuitous as plotline is concerned. Ren becomes a man in our eyes but also in Rey’s, who is very noticeably flustered by the apparition, and who, during their next encounter, significantly holds out her hand to the one who is no longer just a creature in a mask, but a man in the flesh. Learning how to be a man, learning how to be a woman...

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Darth Vader

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Here he is. The big one. The world’s most famous villain of all time, and this is no exaggeration; even people with only a fleeting knowledge of Star Wars, even people who have never seen it before in their lives, probably know who Darth Vader is. The dedicated an entire trilogy to showing how he ended up this way, and an entire trilogy to defeating him, and even after he’s dead his shadow looms over the new trilogy.

It’s really not hard to see why, either; everything about him just screams cool. He’s an intergalactic dictator wizard monk cyborg with a laser sword who has a castle on a lava planet and a space station the size of the moon that blows up planets, and that’s not even getting into the fact that he has the voice of Mufasa. Darth Vader is an icon, plain and simple, and if you think his status is all surface-level, well, this will hopefully show you there’s more to him.

Actor: There are a lot of people who put in the time to bring Vader to life, but let’s just go over the most notable actors. A lot must be said of David Prowse, the man in the suit during the original trilogy; while James Earl Jones’ voice certainly did a lot of work towards making Vader as intimidating and cool as he is, Prowse’s physical presence should absolutely not be understated. He’s the one who does the movements, who walks into the scenes, he was the one physically there, and it really cannot be said enough that he is a key aspect of why the original Vader worked, even if his voice was nowhere near intimidating enough.

Jones, of course, had a voice that was intimidating enough, and while Prowse brought the physical intimidation, Jones brought the vocal brilliance. Vader’s voice is so oft-arodied and iconic, and it’s all thanks to James Earl Jones’ stellar performance. IT’s just absolutely legendary no matter which way you cut it, to the point where even when he’s portraying a freshly-christened Vader who is still in the mindset of a whiny Anakin and screaming a massive NO to the heavens, he’s still awesome.

Of course, that does bring us to Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Hayden Christensen, and who is the most divisive actor who played Vader, albeit in his pre-cyborg form. I think a lot of the problems Christensen was criticized for while portraying Vader in the prequels was due to Lucas and his poor direction, and not due to any inherent fault on his part, as Christensen is a good actor otherwise. Case in point: any scene in Revenge of the Sith where Christensen does not have to speak and instead has to rely on giving evil glares or just looking intimidating works. I think he does a great job in Revenge of the Sith overall, and his portrayal of Anakin definitely works best in that prequel due to him really selling the frustration of his superiors not taking him seriously or trusting him, which makes his eventual slide into villainy after putting his trust in Palpatine a lot easier to swallow.

Motivation/Goals: Vader’s motivations and goals are not exactly where he shines, as it is pretty standard evil overlord stuff: he wants to crush the rebels, serve his master, and do whatever needs to be done to ensure that the power he has does not get taken away. It’s standard stuff, and even at the time it likely wasn’t a wholly original idea, but part of the reason it probably feels so generic nowadays is that so many people in every art form imaginable – books, TV, video games, and other movies – have ripped Vader off to the point where he almost appears to be a generic doomsday villain if you only look at a summary of his goals. Thankfully, this is far from the case.

Personality: Vader’s personality is where he really shines. Revenge of the Sith paints the portrait of a brilliant, talented young man who is constantly looked down upon and ignored by his peers despite his numerous successes and who is unable to openly be with the woman he loves and who carries his children due to ridiculous rules; is it any wonder he was taken advantage of by a predatory elder and groomed into a psychopath, only realizing far too late what had been done to him? This aspect of his personality has often been criticized by those who hate the prequels, but I think it is important to show that Vader was once a normal, frustrated young man who honestly had good intentions and wanted to protect others, because it helps make his eventual turn away from the Dark Side and redemption at least be a little believable.

Once he truly becomes the Vader we all know and love, he loses sight of who he was and buries himself in the Vader persona. What happened on Mustafar with Padme and Obi-Wan broke Anakin, and so he truly throws himself into the Darth Vader identity. He becomes cold, ruthless, and downright terrifying, with only brief glimpses to the cornier, kinder persona that the man who hates sandf with a passion once had, the moment where he makes a lame pun in Rogue One being the perfect example of the cheesy Anakin of the prequels shining through if only for a brief moment before Vader’s final scene in Rogue One shows that Anakin has once more been suppressed and the terrifying Vader persona is out in full force, with the real Anakin only breaking through in the end to restore balance to the Force.

Final Fate: Vader, in a final act of heroism, picks up Palpatine and tosses him down into a pit to save the life of his son Luke. Ultimately, this means that Vader fulfilled that prophecy from so long ago and restored balance to the Force, redeeming him in the eyes of his son and allowing him to become one with the Force itself and stand beside his former mentors Obi-Wan and Yoda in the final scene. It is a bit cheesy and even a little hard to swallow if you think too hard, but come on, it’s a fun space opera where good triumphs over evil and true love prevails, so just let Anakin have his little redemption.

Best Scene: The scene in which he emerges from the pitch black hallway in Rogue One and mercilessly slaughters a group of rebels with absolutely no effort, washing away decades of diminishing returns and undermining of his threat level in under a minute as the franchise reestablishes Vader as the horrifying threat he originally was.

Best Quote: Can it really be anything other than the (at the time) mind-blowing reveal he drops on Luke in The Empire Strikes Back after Luke accuses him of killing his dad? Say it with me now:

“No, I am your father.”

Some of you probably said it wrong, but I can assure you the line written above is exactly as it was said in the movie.

Final Thoughts & Score: There’s honestly no denying the level of impact Darth Vader has had; I’d say he’s up there with characters like Mickey Mouse and Mario, just an instantly identifiable character anyone off the top of their heads can name. George Lucas struck gold when he came up with this guy, that’s for sure. Is it any wonder that there are so many characters all across fiction who draw inspiration from Vader?

Vader stands tall as one of the greatest creations in pop culture, and though characters that copy him tend to offer diminishing returns – with a few notable exceptions, of course – he definitely is a wonderful source of inspiration, especially when it comes to designing a character who is still interesting and absorbing despite having seemingly simple, cliched motives. And while it is true Vader comes off as a bit cliched these days because he pretty much wrote the book on a lot of the cliches attributed to him and his ripoffs, my point still stands, because even in modern times you’d be hard pressed to hear anyone call Vader a poor villain despite his main goal basically being “kill rebels.”

Vader is a rare breed, and so deserves a rare score. He is the only villain as of now I think truly deserves an 11/10. He is the villain other villains wish they could be. He is the most striking character in the entire cast. He’s so downright cool, is it any wonder his own grandson decided to emulate him by becoming his biggest fanboy?

While Vader does ultimately redeem himself in the end, it serves as a culmination of one of the most profoundly tragic character arcs in cinema, as a wide-eyed idealistic boy full of love, hope, and a sense of righteousness is slowly and surely broken down by the world around him and the very heroes he idolized to the point where he is preyed upon by a predatory authority figure who whispers everything he wants to hear in his ear and offers him something he never got before: respect… and then from there, his life spirals downward ever further, until he ends up being utterly consumed by hatred as he burns alive on an alien planet before the man he considered a friend and a brother, the knowledge that his wife feared him in his mind as he was fried to a crisp; and when he is finally brought back as a cyborg, his first moments awake again are shaken by the revelation his wife is now dead, and he is responsible. And then from his lowest point, we see Vader climb again into the light, extremely slowly, until that final choice he makes where he can either do the right thing as he was always meant to or continue subjugating the galaxy that beat him down and abused him.

The fact he chose to be good in the end despite everything in his life prior, despite all of the crimes he committed, really makes him a far more interesting character than if he had been straight-up evil to the core. Instead, he is the ultimate darkly tragic fallen hero given one last shot of redemption in the arms of death. It’s beautiful in the cheesy, dramatic way only Star Wars can be, and I think that more than anything is why Vader has endured as a cultural icon, because at his core he is everything beautiful, tragic, and cheesy about Star Wars rolled into one awesome, black-clad Sith Lord.