#and the message within the jedi order that if he was struggling it was due to problems with *him* is like

[whetstonefires]

On the other hand, Luke doesn't have any of that either and he turns out fine. Yoda thought he was too old at 21, but went ahead anyway, because what did he have anymore to lose?

The Jedi aren't wrong exactly, about emotional management being essential and Anakin having elevated risk factors and so on, but they're overly attached to their own current methodologies (historically you could start Jedi training in adulthood) and fixated on the concept that if you just handle 'being a person' the right way, it will turn out well.

And if it doesn't, that's because you didn't apply the method correctly. And if it works out anyway even though you didn't apply the method very well or at all, it's just that you got lucky. Either way, method's still perfect.

There is some definite institutional rot on display here which doesn't make anyone involved bad. But it is a matter of, like--this is a system with so much faith in itself that it can't correct for its own shortcomings or adapt to individual differences very well.

'Trauma' and 'not being raised in Jedi philosophy from a young age' are risk factors for failing at self-regulation and going darkside, in roughly the same ways that 'trauma' and 'being raised by shitheads' puts you at an elevated risk of abusive behavior in just...normal everyday person life, without superpowers.

But a risk is just a risk. A shitty childhood doesn't disqualify you from living in society or guarantee you won't learn healthy emotional management. It means you need more help than other people to learn those skills.

Having a baby in your forties raises the risk of congenital deformities from like 1.5 percent to 3 percent, which is doubling it, but like. People who use that statistic to shame mothers for irresponsible 'geriatric' pregnancies are not being honest or just, you know?

The fact that the Jedi system is so focused around risk reduction via controlling every possible element of a potential jedi's environment and upbringing that they are not equipped to effectively and compassionately manage a newly freed nine year old's needs is very much a flaw in that system.

They should be able to do that! That's doable! It's hard, but it's not hard to do better than this.

And that doesn't change even if we choose to believe that the system training normal candidates into uniformity never failed anyone they started on from the correct age, which neither logic nor any of the many canons supports. There is no one size fits all system of childrearing no matter how early you start.

(That's even more true when you're a multispecies organization! Anakin's easy mode, Humans are dead common so his basic brain chemistry and so forth is broadly predictable. What if Qui-Gon had brought them a sapient emu or some shit.)

They don't have to be wrong to be fucking this up.

You know why the Jedi are right in this scene? Because it's literally how the Force works, this moment is undivorceable from the very basic worldbuilding fact that: The Force works based on their emotions. That is part of everything to do with the Force in the movies, that is the very first layer of the foundation of how it works! If they use the Force while they're afraid, that is straight up a path to the dark side, that's not just what the Jedi say, it's how Star Wars' worldbuilding functions. “Once you become afraid that somebody’s going to take it away from you or you���re gonna lose it, then you start to become angry, especially if you’re losing it, and that anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. Mostly on the part of the person who’s selfish, because you spend all your time being afraid of losing everything you’ve got instead of actually living. [....] So that is ultimately the core of the whole dark side/light side of the Force.” –George Lucas Fear is the path to the dark side. It doesn't matter if the fear is justified or not, it's not necessarily a moral or value judgement, but it just is how the Force works. So, the scene in The Phantom Menace goes like this: Yoda:  "Afraid are you?" Anakin:  "No, sir." Yoda:  "See through you we can." Mace:  "Be mindful of your feelings." Ki-Adi:  "Your thoughts dwell on your mother." Anakin:  "I miss her." Yoda:  "Afraid to lose her, I think, mmm?" Anakin:  "What has that got to do with anything?" Yoda:  "Everything. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you." The Jedi are repeating Lucas' explanation almost word for word in this scene, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, this isn't what the Jedi decided was how things work, it's how the Force works as decided by the guy who created the Force, they're absolutely, 100% correct about it. And that's why it's important that Anakin isn't acknowledging his fear here, that it's not that he's afraid that's the problem or what the Jedi are saying is the problem--the Jedi express emotion all across the movies! that whole "there is no emotion" thing is NOWHERE in the movies or TCW! that is something Lucas himself never put in ANY of his canon!--but that he won't even be mindful of his feelings. Being mindful isn't immediately purging them, it's acknowledging that they're there, working through them, eventually letting them go. "But it's normal for a nine year old to miss his mother! How can they say he's bad just for--" They're not saying Anakin is bad. Nobody is saying Anakin is a horrible person for missing his mother! Nobody is even saying that Anakin is a horrible person for not being mindful of his feelings! Nobody is saying that it's Anakin's fault that he doesn't have the tools for better emotional regulation! But they are saying that he's not a good fit for the Jedi. And they're right! He's not a good fit for the Jedi! Not one single Council member even so much as implies that this is any kind of judgement of Anakin as a person or that he's bad for it! They're saying he doesn't have the rock solid foundation that a Jedi needs because that's how the Force works--and they're right. Every commentary Lucas ever makes about Anakin's fall is that he didn't want to regulate his feelings, he didn't want to let go of things.

The Jedi never once say or imply that that would make Anakin a bad person or that he's a failure because he didn't magically have things he wasn't taught, but they're saying that it would make him a bad fit for being a Jedi and they can already feel--given that they're psychic space wizards who can sense others' feelings--that he doesn't really want to change. ("He's nine! You can't judge a character at that--" Girl, it's a fairy tale meant to illustrate Lucas' personal philosophies about emotional regulation via fairy tale logic, not hyperrealistic examinations of characters, come on now.)

Which doesn't make Anakin a bad person or that he's in the wrong for being scared and not having the tools to deal with it. The Jedi can say "He's not a good fit for what we need to be because of the way the Force works." and not have it be any kind of condemnation of him as a person. His later actions, once he has the training and support to know better, sure. But nobody's saying the nine year old is at fault. They're saying the nine year old doesn't have the foundation he would need, which it doesn't matter that it's not his fault, it's still quite literally how the Force works, that you need that foundation.

[antianakin]

It's really sad that the Jedi Apprentice series and its impact on Obi-Wan's character in fandom is reduced to a combination of: uwu sad Obi-Wan with trauma, Qui-Gon is an abuser, or "this is how Obi-Wan learned to shoot a gun/fight a war."

When there's honestly SO MUCH you can do with Jedi Apprentice and its impact on Obi-Wan that goes way deeper than that and really takes the themes and messages of the story into account. Like all the lessons about attachment and how Obi-Wan was so caught up in wanting to be a Jedi Knight that he couldn't conceive of any other future for himself and saw everything else as inferior and the fear of the uncertainty in his life if he couldn't be a Jedi Knight consumes him to the point of hindering his relationship with Qui-Gon and his understanding of what it means to be a Jedi at all. Obi-Wan learns to understand what being a Jedi is all about because he makes a mistake that ultimately has a lot of unintended consequences that he can't really undo, either by himself or at all. Obi-Wan has to learn to take responsibility for his own choices and accept that life is often uncertain before he can truly be a Jedi. This is what makes Obi-Wan such a GOOD Jedi later on. This is why he can connect so well to Anakin even, because he's felt many of the same fears that Anakin would be struggling with upon joining the Order.

You can look at the impact of different kinds of friendships Obi-Wan makes within his first few missions, from a fellow slave to Service Corps members to the children of Melida/Daan. They're all from very different walks of life and have radically different personalities and agendas, and Obi-Wan learns things from all of them that he takes with him. And none of them are romantic! Because he doesn't NEED a romantic love interest to be interesting or relatable or a foil for Anakin.

And his relationship with Qui-Gon is so interesting because the two of them are suffering from many of the same issues and have to grow through them together. They both see themselves as failures due to the actions of others (Bruck's bullying and the rejection of the other masters for Obi-Wan, and Xanatos's betrayal for Qui-Gon) and only by learning to see each other for who they are rather than the symbols of their regrets and fears are they able to truly connect to each other and move forward in their relationship. It's honestly really beautiful! They are neither of them perfect in their handling of their relationship, that's the POINT. They both make mistakes and screw up and have to deal with the fallout and figure out if fighting for each other is worth the possible pain if they make a mistake again. And it is. Of course it is. They both make each other BETTER because their relationship with each other allows them to see themselves more clearly.

Jedi Apprentice could be a really interesting basis for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's characters if more people were willing to do a more than skin deep analysis of it.

[kylorenisadorkable]

How TROS Failed Rey

These are just my opinions and from my personal perspective, if these things worked for you in the movie then cool, but this is why it was never going to work for me.

A Feminine Power Fantasy

Growing up in the 90s there wasn't a ton of media that had female lead characters. I grew up with strong female characters but they were often relegated to being the token girl of the group (see the Smurfette principle), the story was never centered around them and we never got to experience things from their point of view or really get to know their story. It felt like I was being asked to relate to male characters but boys were never asked or expected to relate to female characters.

Just as young boys see themselves as Luke, leading the adventure I also wanted to see myself as the main character. I wanted to have my own adventures.

When I first saw TFA, I went in knowing nothing about the movie. I had seen the OT and the Prequels as a kid and I had thought they were ok but I wasn't a huge Star Wars fan and in hindsight I really think this was due to the lack of female representation, Leia and Padme are great but I never really felt like I really got to know them as people. Not to mention that these characters are 2 women out of a cast that's predominantly male, it just seemed like the message LF was sending was that Star Wars is for boys, yeah girls can watch it if they want to but this isn't a series that is meant for you. So as you could guess I wasn't really expecting much from these new Star Wars movies, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I fell in love with Rey's character during those first 3 minutes of her introduction. During this brilliant example of “show don't tell,” story telling they were really able to convey so much about Rey's character and personality, I really began to care for her and felt like I understood her, as I could relate to her loneliness and isolation in my own way. And I was excited to see a story from a major fantasy/adventure franchise told from a feminine perspective. It felt like I was finally getting the representation I wanted to see.

So what happened? How did we go from Luke's line “And I will not be the Last Jedi” which is essentially him “passing the torch” to Rey, the next generation, to “One day I will earn your brother's saber?” 

As if the saber didn't already choose her in the Force Awakens? Why did they decide that all of a sudden Rey was unworthy? Didn't Yoda say “that library held nothing that the girl Rey didn't already posses?” which yes was a clever way of saying that Rey already took the jedi texts with her but was also implying that she already had everything she needed within herself to be a jedi (courage, humility, compassion etc...). Why did they take a step backwards in the last movie in the franchise? Insisting that Rey needed to train, that she suddenly wasn't good enough?

I can't say for sure what happened to lead up to this point. Was it just that the creative team gave in to the pressuring of a loud minority of alt-right youtubers and bots. Were they relying on Reddit and Twitter for public opinion rather than doing actual marketing research?  While I think that this was definitely a big factor I think there was just a general misunderstanding of the characters on Terrio's and JJ's part to begin with.

What Does Rey Want/Need?

To know where they went wrong, we have to ask ourselves who is Rey? All characters have a story goal, or the thing they want. By the end of the story the character will either get what they want after some struggles of course or learn that the thing that they want isn't what they need. So what does Rey want?  To understand what she wants we have to first understand her wound or past experience that caused emotional pain and interferes with the character's life. Rey's wound stems from her  abandonment. Along with the wound, comes the concept of the false lie. What is a lie that the character believes about themselves that we as the audience knows is untrue? Rey's lie is first, that her family is going to come back for her. 

The other lie she tells herself is the belief that she is worthless because she was abandoned, as she tells everyone she meets “I'm no one“ or “I'm just a scavenger.”

When Daisy Ridley was asked in an interview why Rey says she's “No One.” Ridley says it's because our relationships to people define so much of who we are and without relationships then who are we?  This makes sense considering that our parents are major influences in our development and in how we think about ourselves through much of our lives.

Rey seeks out parental figures, thinking that through them she'll figure out where she belongs. “Whoever you're waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back. But there's someone who still could. The Belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.” 

Rey initially believes that Maz is referring to Luke and when she later sets off to find him. She believe that he is going to be able to give her answers, and provide her with the belonging that she longs for, but Luke ultimately ends up disappointing her but finds comfort in her relationship with Ben.

This goes back to the idea that what Rey thinks she wants, Isn't necessarily what she needs. As JJ stated in the directors commentary of The Force Awakens, “So there was a very powerful idea that what she desperately wanted was belonging, which she’ll get, but just not how she expects.”

JJ and Terrio try to fullfill Rey's need through “found family” the family she finds with her friends and the resistance, but I think there is more to Rey's desire of wanting family that can't be satisfied by this alone. Finn, Poe, Leia are definitely a part of her journey in finding belonging but they're not the final piece to the puzzle. Otherwise she would have felt completely fulfilled by the end of The Last Jedi when she is on the Falcon surrounded by her friends.

I think part of Rey's desire for family, is also the desire to be understood, to be “seen.”  Rey even tells Finn in TROS that “People keep telling me they know me. No one does.” We hear Ben's response in the trailer “But I do...” (which was cut from the movie)

Ben has always been shown to be the person who truly “sees” Rey. He sees even the aspects of herself that she doesn't like to acknowledge. Recognizing that her holding on to her parents is affecting her negatively and that if she really wants to “find herself” she needs to let go.

Which is why when Ben says “You have no place in this story. You're nothing. But not to me.” What is really being expressed is “I don't care about where you come from and I see you for who you are.”  

This is why I believe that Ben was always suppose to be the final piece to the belonging Rey is searching for. As their narratives are intertwined. They both satisfy each others needs as characters, Rey's need to be seen for who she is and Ben's need for reconciliation and healing within his family.

Rey Palpatine

Rian Johnson said that when he began working on The Last Jedi, he wrote out all the character's names and next to them wrote what would be the hardest thing for that character to face. For Rey, this was that she needs to stand on her own two feet and define who she is for herself but JJ and Terrio seemed to have misunderstood this as Terrio states that,

“We also thought that Rey’s arc cannot be finished after Episode VIII. You can leave Episode VIII and say, “Well, now, Rey is content. She’s discovered her parents aren’t Skywalkers, or whatever, and that’s fine.” But so much of her personal story was about where she came from, what kept her on Jakku all those years and the trauma that shaped her. We see quite strongly in Episode VII that something mysterious and troubling happened to her. Although she did get some answers in Episode VIII, we didn’t feel that that story was over. We felt that there were still more questions in Rey’s head about where she came from and where she was going. So, that was the other big idea that we had to address in this film. Rian’s answer to, “What’s the worst news that Rey could receive?” was that she comes from junk traders, and that’s true. She does come from junk traders; we didn’t contradict that.”

Rey's conflict wasn't that she came from junk traders. Rey didn't care about “legacy.” Her conflict stemmed from her abandonment. Rey thinks she's “a nobody” not because of her parent's occupation or lineage but because she feels that she must be worthless because why else would her parents give her up? Rey learning that her parents sold her off for drinking money, that they didn't want her, was already a difficult and traumatic truth to overcome. Star Wars is a coming of age story, in the OT Luke grows from being a boy longing for adventure to discovering what it truly means to be a Jedi (following your principles and having a compassionate heart). Rey's journey is about letting go of childhood trauma and discovering her own independence.

It's also strange seeing as JJ had previously stated during The Force Awakens press tour that “I really feel that the assumption that any character needs to have inherited a certain number of midi-chlorians or needs to be part of a bloodline. It's not that I don't believe that as part of the canon, I'm just saying that at 11 years old that wasn't where my heart was. And so I respect and adhere to the canon but I also say that the Force has always seemed to me to be more inclusive and stronger than that.”

And there was still conflict for her to overcome. The one person who she felt truly understood her is now the supreme leader of the first order, will the resistance discover their connection? Will they see her as a traitor? All of this had the potential for great external and internal character conflict, but for some reason they didn't see this as conflict enough to sustain a whole movie?

Instead they gave Luke's character arc in the OT of having a dark side relative to Rey. “Discovering that you actually descended from your adoptive family’s greatest enemy, the same enemy who corrupted Anakin Skywalker and is responsible for the destruction of the Skywalker family in the first place, felt most devastating to us.” This doesn't make any sense to me as it feel like they just gave Rey Luke's internal conflict of being afraid of his dark side, I don't think this was ever a problem for Rey. In fact, in The Last Jedi  she leapt into the dark side cave to face her darkness (her abandonment). Luke even says “You went straight to the dark and you didn't even try to stop yourself.” 

The dark side cave in The Last Jedi was symbolic of Rey coming to terms with her darkness (the parts of herself she wants to hide).  It relates back to Jungian psychology (which much of Star Wars is based on) that people can only become whole through understanding both the light and shadow aspects of their personality. So it doesn't make sense for Rey to be afraid of who she is in the final movie when she just finished a journey where she learned to accept who she was?

Rey Skywalker

Terrio says that the decision to have Rey take on the name “Skywalker” was a way to show that “you can choose your ancestry.” Which is not true and also a strange thing to say considering the trilogy started with this:

But even if this was just awkward phrasing and what Terrio meant to say was that she considers the Skywalkers her family. Does this make sense considering that she didn't have a great relationship with Luke to begin with?

 I've seen it argued that she took the name as a way of honoring Leia but Leia never took the name or considered herself a Skywalker. Also this is another step backwards for Rey's character as The Last Jedi was trying to assert that Rey does not need to keep looking for parental figures to define herself.

So why  must she be a Palpatine, a Skywalker and “all the jedi” anyways? I think this was done for two reasons, the first was because by killing Ben they were going to kill the last of the Skywalker family and they wanted to keep the name tied to the franchise, in case they need the characters for future projects down the line, so they just pushed it onto Rey. The second reason is that I think they were trying to appease the misogynists' who spent the last 4 years calling Rey a “Mary Sue” so they explained her power away through powerful male lineage. It just feels so weird to me, like the creators are saying that we should like Rey not because of who she is as a character but because of who she is in relation to all these other characters we know you like (Luke, Leia, all the jedi that use her as a vessel etc...)

Daisy Ridley has even expressed her frustration with the Rey's lineage debate multiple times, “I love that Rey is such a great character, they’re like: ‘No, no, she has to be… she has to be-’She’s her own person! Let her be her guys, let her live.

Yet even at the end of the final film poor Rey can't seem to catch a break as she's once again asked for her last name. She once again has to justify herself for just existing. Why are surnames suddenly so important in Star Wars now anyways? Shouldn't the correct answer be “just Rey,” now that she's come to accept who she is and where she's come from and shouldn't that be good enough? What happened to the message of anyone can be a hero? That you don't have to come from or align yourself with a powerful family legacy. That we all have the power to make a difference?

TROS seems to be constantly asking Rey to prove herself. And weirdly enough it reminds me in a strange meta way of my own experience being a woman in the fandom and being constantly asked to prove that I'm a “True fan” (whatever the f@#% that means...) to prove that I'm worthy of consuming and participating in this content that male fans feel belongs solely to them.

In Conclusion

So what did our heroine gain in the end? Did she find family and belonging? No. So what does she have in the end? A yellow lightsaber (for merchandising purposes) and a surname of a dead family?  I guess she finally has an answer to give all the nosey nellies, obsessed with ones pedigree that have suddenly popped up all over the galaxy.

It's not a satisfying ending for her, as she's basically right back where she started. Alone, in a desolate desert, once again staring face to face at an old woman (an old woman which at the start of the Force Awakens symbolized her fear of growing old and wasting away her life on Jakku).

Terrio states that  this is not meant to indicate that Rey plans to stay here, “The very last thing Rey would do after all that is to go and live alone in a desert.”  but when that is the last shot you chose to end the movie on then what is the audience suppose to think? The bigger issue however, is that Rey's ending holds no significance to her or her journey. Terrio says that “In our thinking, Rey goes back to Tatooine as a pilgrimage in honor of her two Skywalker masters. Leia’s childhood home, Alderaan, no longer exists, but Luke’s childhood home, Tatooine, does. Rey brings the sabers there to honor the Skywalker twins by laying them to rest — together, finally — where it all began.” Tatooine, the Lars homestead and the twin suns, don't mean anything to Rey.  You know who did mean something to Rey? Who was the one person who understood her, who she had an intimate relationship with, who she explicitly states she wanted to be with? Ben. But he's gone too. But clearly a light saber and surname are more important. Again this all comes from a lack of caring for what Rey wants.

I just wish that the Sequel Trilogy had stayed Rey's trilogy, that she got to be a heroine in her own right not because she was a skywalker, or a palpatine or from some other powerful family. I will always love Rey but I will always hate what they did to her and I'm tired of people invalidating my feelings and telling me that it was a good ending or that it was empowering. I just want heroines to be taken as seriously and to have all the same privileges as male heroes. Let them stand on their own without connecting them back to every male hero in the franchise, let them be their own character, and finally just let them be human, let them fall in love and have relationships if they want to. Male heroes are never considered to be less of a hero for having a love interest, so why are female heroes? Basically what I got out of the Rise of Skywalker, was that it was created by a couple of guys that loved Luke and the OT and could care less about Rey and that's truly heart breaking.

[siennahrobek]

Initially, Obi-Wan thought that sleep would assuredly allude him.

Perhaps he underestimated the trust and affect his troops had on him and how exhausted he really was because he slept fairly soundly through the night.

He was still surrounded by troopers by the time he woke up, although he was fairly certain that there significantly less numbers of them. Although it was a bit of a challenge with position, Obi-Wan tried to meditate a little before the next disaster would inevitably occur. It was only a tad successful as he kept going back to thinking about Anakin. And right now he just…couldn’t.

Afterwards, he got dressed, complete with his old armor pieces and left the barracks to get to work.

“Greetings, Master Kenobi,” Cin Drallig nodded at him as Obi-Wan walked onto the bridge. There wasn’t many present; it was mostly a skeleton crew, but they paid him little heed. Next to the battle master stood a clone trooper from the meeting before, one of Obi-Wan’s 212th boys, Menace.

“General,” Menace welcomed.

“Master Drallig, Menace,” Obi-Wan nodded at the both of them.

“The boys and I have encrypted and encoded a way for you to get a message to the other Jedi generals that are scattered across the galaxy,” Menace explained as he pulled up a map of the galaxy, planets already highlighted. Obi-Wan presumed that was where jedi and their troops had been positioned. “As long as we know where they are stationed, we can get it to them and encode it so only a Jedi would be able to access it. We made this option just in case there are any activated chipped troopers around or natborns who are loyal to the Empire.”

“That was rather fortuitous of you,” Cin glanced at the trooper, curiously but he projected gratitude, something a little odd from the battlemaster but it was no less appreciated.

“Just precautions sir.”

“Alright, we have to figure out exactly what information we need to send to the others,” Obi-Wan said as he followed Cin and Menace down the halls which ended up being to an office. Was it his? At this point, he wasn’t really paying attention and most of the office rooms looked virtually all the same. This one had been recently packed with communications equipment and a holotable for good measure.

“The basics will be key,” Cin replied with a hum as he closed the door behind them and tied back his longer hair. “We will have to divide it up between what to do when running from activated soldiers or what to do when communications have been shut down so they can’t receive the orders to active the chips.”

“Constrain natborn officers, no communications aside from jedi, which will come up in about three days,” Obi-Wan listed.

“That is a fair chunk of time,” Menace admitted as started to open up and turn on the machinery around the room, as well as the data blockers for outside communications, just incase someone would try to butt in on the networks. “Can they avoid the Empire for that long? We don’t know which forces that the emperor has now or how quickly they will go after those they cannot get a hold of.”

“If they come across conflict, leave immediately,” Cin suggested as made his spot off to the side. “Getting too close to activated chips will active any clones they are around. But we did warn many jedi. The Empire Forces have to be fairly diminished if they understood those warnings. I can’t imagine the new government is completely on it’s feet yet.”

That was true. Even though the Republic had been slowly shifting into something less democratic over the course of the war, it was still a fairly big change, and a lot of things would have to be restructured. There was also the issue, for the Empire, of those who would fight back against its creation or not agree with it. That may buy them some time, he mused.

“But we do need to plan quick, because I’m sure it won’t be long before they are organized and mobilized enough to chase us,” Obi-Wan added, sitting down in one of the chairs next to Menace. In front of him was a little desk area. “If they haven’t realized that Kamino specifically isn’t responding because of this, they will figure it out soon.”

“How about we make a list?” Menace suggested, his gaze flickering between the two masters.

Obi-Wan nodded and his hand shuffled around the desk to find a data pad. Putting it in front of him, he grabbed a utensil and created a list.

“Alright, so first and foremost, the clones are chipped, proximity to activated chips activates others. Activation can also be verbal but only from the Sith. Block all communications available to clones,” Cin started quickly as Obi-Wan immediately wrote down the thoughts on the datapad.

“We can send Healer Che’s information on where the chips are as well, if anyone has the equipment or skills to start taking them out,” Obi-Wan added, the pencil flipping around his fingers to momentarily point at the battlemaster. They both nodded in response.

“Two; the Republic is gone, an Empire has rose. We are being hunted and killed as we are claimed to be traitors. Confine any officers loyal to the Empire until further notice,” Cin continued

“If you have inactivated clones, keep them away from conflict with others, due to the proximity thing,” Menace included, flicking on a few more nozzles and switches.

“If you are around activated clones, get away as quickly as possible, stay low or get away from them if you can,” Cin added, eyeing Menace, carefully. The clone’s presence filled up with a moment of quiet grief and disappointment.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault sir,” Menace swallowed harshly but shook his head. “We can’t save anyone yet without a real plan.”

“Contact,” Cin started up again, a little hesitant to keep going as he looked between the two. “Contact will be reestablished within a couple of days, once we get to Kamino. If you have a long range holotable, use it, but keep your comm on you. There will be a coded message to indicate if communications come from us.”

They paused.

“I think…I think those are some good basics, hopefully they can survive until then,” Obi-Wan sighed, jotting down the last of the notes.

“Battle master Drallig and I can get these coded and sent out fairly quickly,” Menace said, gently taking the datapad from Obi-Wan’s hands.

“It’s a start,” he echoed.

***

“I believe it is about time we talk,” Padme said, her face flat with one hand rested on her stomach. Her greeting was desperate and although not exactly unkind, it wasn’t very patient either. Obi-Wan glanced around and let out a silent sigh. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation. One that he didn’t particularly want to have.

He had been working with the other masters and clones to figure out where to go and what to do next for some time. He knew this conversation was coming. He was just dreading it.

Obi-Wan just swallowed and nodded in defeat as he turned to face the pregnant woman. “Alright. But I think it would be best if we would keep this conversation rather private. The 501st survivors and much of the 212thhave been following me like ghosts and they certainly don’t need to hear this.”

Padme’s expression was something of confusion, but she consented, and they found themselves in Obi-Wan’s former office. It was still technically his office, he supposed, but others had been using it since the evacuation. One could tell by all the paperwork and things that cluttered it more than it already was, the things that he knew were not his or Cody’s. He locked the door behind them and let Padme sit on the cot in the corner. He dragged a chair over to her to sit himself, although he could not find a position that was comfortable.

“I suppose we can start with what happened with Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, a bit quietly. He did not want to talk about this right now, not at all. He wasn’t ready for this; he was hardly wrapping his own head around what had happened. His heart clenched harshly in his chest, and he was sure his throat would close up. Taking a shaking deep breath, he tried to continue to speak. “What, exactly, do you already know?”

“Ahsoka called me, telling me there was an attack on the Jedi Temple,” Padme confessed, shaking her head in disbelief. “She told me that Anakin had turned to the Dark Side, that he was killing younglings and leading brainwashed clones to kill everyone.”

Her tone was incredulous and unconvinced, not that Obi-Wan could exactly blame her. He was not even sure if he believed it, and he was there. It seemed impossible. He knew Anakin struggled with some of the jedi tenants, especially that of attachment, which Obi-Wan had tried to talk to him about, to reach out. But Anakin had been closing off more and more as of late. That didn’t mean he could have ever have seen this coming.

Perhaps he should have. Was he so blind?

“That…that would be accurate,” Obi-Wan choked out but did his best to keep his voice constant and steady with as much as patience as he could lacing it.

Padme stood up suddenly but then wavered and leaned against the wall for support. He leaned forward, ready to catch her if she should fall. She steadied herself and straightened her back to stare down at him. “That is absolutely ridiculous,” she announced with such confidence even he almost believed it. “And you know it, Obi-Wan! He is your friend, and he would never do such a thing; the Jedi…”

“If you start blaming my people while we are fleeing for our lives, please refrain,” his own voice continued to be soft but there was a steel bone underlaying it, that made no room for challenge.

“Anakin would never do such a thing,” Padme repeated firmly and shook her head. He closed himself off to her in the Force, he didn’t want to know what she was feeling. He wasn’t sure if he could handle her feelings along with his own. “He has been worried and stressed but that is only because of…”

“Because of what?”

“He’s been having nightmares…” she started slowly, eyeing Obi-Wan as if that would give her some insight, some answers on what was happening. “About me, dying in childbirth.”

“Nightmares,” Obi-Wan repeated numbly. “That is what he was so worked up about? He didn’t come to me or anyone else about them. And he knows how dangerous pregnancies are in this sort of situation. He should have known to talk to the healers about it.”

He should have talked to the healers. At least doctors, someone. Generally speaking, people didn’t just die in childbirth, not on Coruscant, certainly not a prominent senator. No one would ever deny her prenatal care, no matter who the father was.

Even if the father was a jedi.

“He was probably afraid,” Padme glanced away.

It was as if Anakin didn’t know anything of the Jedi at all. The Jedi would have never turned Padme away for pregnancy care or information, Force around, the Jedi wouldn’t turn anyone away who came to their steps in need of help with pregnancy. Force sensitive or not.

“We are getting off track,” Obi-Wan shook his head with a small sigh. He ran a hand through his hair. He just wanted… honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted. He supposed he wanted this to all be his own nightmare, one he could just wake up from. One where none of this was real. “Padme, I don’t know how to convince you of what Anakin has done,” he continued. “He led an attack to kill everyone in the Temple, he led an army of brainwashed clones. He murdered Temple Guards and younglings just trying to escape the battle. He fought mewith the intent to kill, rambling about the failings of the jedi,” Obi-Wan stressed, leaning forward. “Master Drallig said he called himself Darth Vader which let me tell you, is a Sith name. All I could feel in him was desperation and fury.”

“You’re wrong,” Padme insisted, her eyes blazing into something so passionate, it nearly hurt to look at. Her loyalty, although her perhaps commendable to an extent, was difficult to work with. Difficult when she wouldn’t believe the truth. He knew it was hard to swallow. He was still in that process. “He is good, there is good in him, of course there is. Something else must be at play.”

“Something else?” Obi-Wan asked, his own voice echoing confusion. He couldn’t imagine much else being at play, his former padawan, his brother, had intended on murdering everyone in the Temple, all those that thought he was their family. All those that thought he cared about them. He had nearly succeeded. If Cody’s chip hadn’t been activated when and where it was… Obi-Wan nearly shuddered at the prospect. He sighed and shook his head again. “I love Anakin. And even after all that he has done I still love him; I will always love him. But I am not blind to what he has become now. I was blind before, not seeing it; only seeing what I wanted to, the good person I thought he could be, the person I thought he was.”

“He is that good person,” she persisted with a sound not open for debate.

Obi-Wan was tired, even the several hours of last night’s sleep would not erase all of the time he had been awake, active, fighting for his life and the lives of those around him.

“Tell that to the younglings that he cut down in front of his former padawan,” Obi-Wan’s hand waved out in emphasis. He hated bringing Ahsoka into this but Padme cared about the young Togruta, probably nearly as much as Anakin used to as well. “Or the 501st troopers who were forced to lead an attack on the Temple, on the Jedi, against their own free will.”

The young woman just stared at him, and he knew that she didn’t believe him. He didn’t think she would ever actually believe him without seeing it for herself.

The fact that Anakin, of all people, would lead a forced brainwashed army to fight people they never would have in their right minds seemed ludicrous.

“Okay, we are at an impasse,” Obi-Wan slumped back a little in his chair. He took a commlink out of his pocket and let his fingers sweep over it, absentmindedly. “Perhaps a break from this line of conversation may be beneficial,” he said slowly, giving Padme the time to sit down on the cot once again. “I think…we need to also talk about your pregnancy,” Obi-Wan added slowly. Padme placed a hand on her belly, protectively.

“You mentioned…you mentioned I could die from this,” Padme replied slowly, her eyes meeting his in a massive flurry of concern and fear. The conversation was not over about Anakin but for now, for now what he had said would have to do. He didn’t know how much longer he could try to help her in that scenario. “So, Anakin was right, I’m going to die in childbirth.”

“It’s not that simple. There is a lot that is included,” Obi-Wan shook his head. How to explain something that he only knew the basics of? Perhaps a professional was best to be in order “Look. Let me call my friend Bant. She is a healer, and she will be able to answer most, if not all, of your questions.”

Without waiting for an answer, he sent his friend a message who near immediately contacted him back, relieved that he had found their wayward patient. Apparently, Padme was not supposed to be out of the medbay. Obi-Wan imagined they would want to monitor her, considering her pregnancy and situation. His comm beeped again.

“We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

Obi-Wan didn’t know who the other side of the we was but at this point, he would take all the help he could get.

Those few minutes were the most awkward ones Obi-Wan could remember.

The Mon Calamari walked in with another healer trailed in behind her and Obi-Wan could not even help the sigh of relief. At last. “Hello Obi-Wan, senator,” Bant greeted, giving them both a nod, her large dark eyes brimming with sympathy and kindness. Obi-Wan would forever be baffled and astounded at the amount of love and compassion his friend could hold. “Senator, my name is Bant. I am a healer. This is Healer Jayden; she specializes in pregnancies.”

“You have special doctors for pregnancies in the jedi?” Padme asked, a little taken back.

“Of course,” the doctor nodded as Obi-Wan got up to give them both seats. He ended up standing off a little to the side, often finding himself leaning against the wall for support. “Believe it or not, the jedi are not celibate,” she pointed out, even though Padme’s glance looked a bit skeptic. “And although it isn’t extremely common, jedi can and do get pregnant.”

“They do?” Padme echoed.

“Of course. Force Sensitivity isn’t always passed down, but it is more likely if one or more of the parents have it,” Jayden explained, her voice smooth and calm. It could not be said that Jedi didn’t know when they were supposed to be healers. He could only imagine how determined they must be in such an art. “Pregnancies involving force sensitivity in general can be quite difficult, but we should really talk about your case specifically.”

“Is it…different?��

“I have been briefed on a few things,” Healer Jayden said, giving Bant a quick glance as if for confirmation. Obi-Wan wondered how much she had been told about the situation, about the father. “The father of your children is former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, is it not?”

“Current Jedi Knight,” Padme corrected, her voice laced with bitter undertones and eyes narrowed. Something she had picked up from Anakin, he supposed. “Unless the Jedi have kicked him out for loving someone.”

“The Jedi do not typically, kick people out,” Bant continued, her voice just as relaxed and mellow. She was taking this very well. Obi-Wan nearly felt like shaking Anakin or someonewho should know better for all the things misinterpreted, deliberately or otherwise. “Not for loving anyone or getting people pregnant.”

“Yes,” Padme confirmed, her voice subdued. “He is the father.”

“Alright. So, the father has an incredibly high number of midiclorians in his body, which is how one can determine how force sensitive an individual is. He is a very high number, more than anyone else and is very, very strong in the Force,” Jayden explained, patiently. She spoke in chunks, probably to better allow Padme to follow what she was saying.

“What does that mean for the baby? That it will be force-sensitive?”

The healer nodded but her expression was a bit grave. “In your case, certainly. Because if they hadn’t, you would probably be dead already.”

And… Obi-Wan hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. Padme stared wide-eyed.

“Skywalker is so strong in the Force that it is killing you, not to mention the darkness that is practically permeating you,” the healer continued and although Obi-Wan could feel a tad of concern with it, she did not show it outright, rather keeping a cool presence of security. “The only reason that you are still alive and as strong as you are, currently, is because the two babies inside of you are also extremely force-sensitive and are keeping you alive. It is…very complex and seems a bit paradoxical, and difficult to explain when it comes to the specifics, as well as the ins and outs of what is happening in your body.”

“So, I will not survive this birth,” Padme realized.

“The odds are not fantastic,” Jayden replied truthfully with a small frown. “But the only way you can survive is with a Jedi Healer’s help. If you stayed on the planet, you would not have survived the birth and I doubt anyone would have understood why. But we can and we will help you, Padme,” she said, taking the woman’s hand gently, curling her partially translucent fingers around the younger senator’s. “You can trust us that we will do everything in our power to make sure that you survive to see your children grow up.”

“What are the odds?” Padme whispered, staring at her hands.

“It is difficult to say,” Jayden admitted, candidly. “We’ve never had a child from someone as powerful as Skywalker before. Best case scenario you will be out of commission, maybe even comatose, for some time while your body regenerates its strength.”

If it can, went unspoken.

With her free hand, Padme brought it up to cover her mouth, letting out a shaky breath, tears starting to slip down her cheeks.

“I think you could use some rest, senator,” Bant advised, speaking up for the first time. Although Healer Jayden did most of the talking, Obi-Wan was still grateful for his friend’s presence. “I think we have a small room near the medical bay that we can use for you,” she added and glanced at Obi-Wan. “Would you mind getting her there?”

He didn’t think, just nodded. With a second thought, he didn’t really want to, he didn’t want to talk with her right now. He was just so tired and there was much to do but he knew it was right. Walking over, he helped Padme up and walked her out of the door. He led her through the halls towards the medical bay, appreciative for the silence.

He didn’t need an argument right now.

As they got to the small room, he unlocked and opened the door. “I will have some of my handmaidens come and bring things from the ship,” she whispered.

He hadn’t realized that she had brought anyone. Oh, he hoped she hadn’t brought Jar Jar. He didn’t mind the Gungan, almost liked him really, but he had a tendency to get into trouble and that was the last thing they needed.

He was about to leave when she pulled him back to look at her. “There is good in Anakin, Obi-Wan,” she announced, although her voice stayed rather quiet, just firm. “You must see it. And I will prove it to you,” her tone reflected her eyes, something fiery and passionate.

This was always going to be a tragedy, he realized suddenly.

There was very little he could say to that. He didn’t believe her but then again, he was trying hard not to think of Anakin right now. His thoughts were dominated with the survival of his people, both jedi and clone.

He had to put them first.

“Okay,” he croaked.

And then whisked himself away as quickly as he could without making it seem like he was literally running from her.

He was entirely exhausted.

The talk with Padme had last longer than he had anticipated and honestly, all he wanted was to sleep. Could he though? How much was there left to do? Then again, at this point, he wasn’t sure if there was anything specifically, he could do, aside from perhaps trying to research? Maybe?

His brain just felt full. He wasn’t entirely sure if he would be of any help.

“There you are sir,” the familiar voice and tonal individuality of Boil registered to Obi-Wan’s ears nearly a beat too late. He turned to see the clone walking up to him, a small youngling on arm.

Waxer was the one who was outspoken about loving little ones but anyone who knew anything about Boil knew he loved being around them just as much.

The thought made Obi-Wan smile and his chest warm.

Presence of people that he cared about, that perhaps cared about him, ones that he didn’t constantly have to fight tooth and nail with, were something of a relief. Just a presence to fall into that wasn’t consistently looking for lies or secrets or to tear his head off.

“How are you, Boil?” he asked, trying for a smile.

It must not have worked very well because the clone gave him an odd glance but, in the end, he just shrugged. “I’m alright, just taking this young’in to the modified creche,” he explained, gesturing to the young jedi child on his hip. “He accidently got lost and I’m bringing him back before my allotted hours of sleep.”

“Allotted hours?”

How late was it?

“Sir, it’s quite late,” Boil pointed out, answering his unasked question for him, and gesturing lightly for the general to follow. He did so without pause or thought. It was interesting, he believed, how easily and unthinkingly he would follow them. Perhaps it was foolishness but perhaps it was just trust and faith. He was in a rather short supply of that these past few days. “The daytime officers and workers are getting ready for sleep. The Jedi are hunkering down in the creche places and barracks along with the children and troopers. I never realized how cuddly Jedi could be when they sleep together,” he added with a bit of a half laugh.

The child laughed alongside with him, although a bit louder and fuller.

“We slept in piles a lot,” Obi-Wan replied.

“We like to do that too,” Boil shrugged to keep a hold on the little one hanging from him. “It’s good that your sleeping arrangements are around the men, it’s good for morale, especially at a time like this. Everyone is a little freaked out, I think it helps there is someone they can trust around during those times.”

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. Who taught Boil manipulation tactics?

He paused, nearly tripping at the realization.

Oh right. Hedid.

Accidently, of course. It wasn’t like Obi-Wan was giving lectures or classes on how to manipulate or negotiate yourself out of situations. But still, his behavior would be seeming to be biting him in the butt now, as his troopers were now using it against him.

Part of him almost felt impressed.

“Right,” Obi-Wan muttered.

The child hanging off of Boil, giggled knowingly. As the two of them dropped the child off at one of the places set aside for the children, Boil offered to escort him to the barracks for sleep. Obi-Wan tried to back out of it but Boil was rather adamant and then….

And then Rex showed up.

And Obi-Wan knew he was completely was doomed.

He couldn’t say no to Rex right now, not with what his troops had gone through.

“Hello, general,” Rex greeted with a bit of a wavering smile. He was trying hard. Obi-Wan suspected he had spent most of his day with the survivors of the 501st. He knew it wasn’t pretty and they were trying very hard to make sense of what had happened to them. “People have been wondering where you have been.”

“Is that so?” Obi-Wan hummed in response.

“Yes, the 501stsurvivors have been curious to know if you are coming back tonight,” he added in, thinking himself rather sly. Survivors; wasn’t that what they all were now. Survivors of a genocide, survivors of brainwashed slavery, survivors of being unmade into a vacant body.

“As a matter of fact, Boil was just escorting me to the barracks,” Obi-Wan shot back. He kept falling into this trap, he knew it. But at least this time he would not be caught floundering like the day before. “It has been quite the day, full of… colorful conversations.”

“Oh? Who did you talk to?”

“I had to have to talk about Senator Amidala and her pregnancy.”

Obi-Wan could practically just feel Rex’s stomach drop. “You…you know about that sir?”

“I probably knew about it before you did,” he muttered under his breath. As if Anakin could keep a secret like that from him, as if Padme could. Any Jedi that came across her would have known; would have sensed her pregnancy. He, of course, was the one who knew it was Anakin’s child because honestly, who’s else could it have been. But louder, instead he tried, “Yes. I’ve known about Anakin and Padme for quite some time. It is not difficult to sense her pregnancy. I do not know why Anakin thought he was being subtle or discreet. And you, captain, well, I think you could work on your acting skills a little.”

The captain just blushed hard. “My apologies sir.”

“No worries. It hardly matters,” Obi-Wan shrugged. “But talking with her, about what we had to, was rather exhausting and I will, quite frankly, be a bit glad to get some rest before the next day comes about. Because soon, we will be at Kamino and a whole new situation will arise.”

“We don’t know how much time it will be before the Empire comes after us,” Boil realized with a deep frown.

“So, we should get as much rest as we can until then,” Obi-Wan nodded at the two of them as they neared the barracks. “Because who knows how much real rest we will get once the new conflicts arise.”

***

It was the middle of the night when he had heard it.

Obi-Wan had been stuck in the near middle of a pile once again, surrounded on all sides by mostly clone troopers, the main force being the de-chipped 212th and the 501st survivors, with a few others they had rescued within the Temple before and during the siege. He could make out Inkspot somewhere, leaning against Trapper and Gearshift.

Many of the survivors, mostly those of the 501st specifically, had horrible nightmares, even so soon after the events. He couldn’t blame them; it was a horrible ordeal they had gone through. He tried to shield them the best he could, to help them sleep with less nightmares. He did his best. He didn’t dare take a look into what they contained, he feared they would just feed into his own.

For some reason or another, the scratching woke him up.

Shifting his body up carefully so he wouldn’t awake the troopers surrounding him, he glanced around at the barracks for the sound. No way he was just hearing it in his mind.

There. Some movement in the corner.

Carefully he cleared himself of snuggling troopers and got up.

Obi-Wan moved through the bodies, making his way to the edge of the pile of clone troopers until he found one of the 501st in the corner, frantically trying to scrub his armor. Not just his armor, the jedi realized, but the blue paint off of it. And there was quite a bit of it.

The trooper nearly jumped feet in the air when he realized Obi-Wan had sat next to him, his eyes wide in fear and panic.

“At ease,” he assured quietly but it did very little to ease the trooper’s anxiety. Obi-Wan reached out into the Force towards his presence.

Calmpeacesafe

It helped more than words had.

“Are you alright, Graffiti?”

The trooper looked at him, a little surprised. “You…know who I am? Y-You remember?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes. Would you like to tell me what is going on?” he asked gently.

The trooper swallowed, staring down at his armor before tearing his eyes away. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes on it for more than a moment.

“Everyone has nightmares, it is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I do, sometimes,” Graffiti admitted, hesitant with his voice choked on tears. “It’s not even the fighting or the war or anything. I just see blank faces, marching blue, so much blue. People…people always think when terrible things happen, when blood is shed, everything is in a haze of red because blood is red. But for me…for me it was a haze of blue. Not just any blue. The 501st blue. It’s…its supposed to be something proud of, a color we should be proud of.”

Obi-Wan just waited patiently.

“I woke up shaking this morning,” he continued, his voice quivering with tears already accumulating in his eyes as he shoved the piece of armor that was in his arms away. “It was so bad I couldn’t even put my armor on. One of my brothers had to do it for me. But even then, I…. I felt so awful. I kept making excuses to go to the head and then my brothers kept making excuses for me, just in case.”

“You do not have to wear it if you do not wish to,” Obi-Wan replied gently. “Things, I imagine, are going to be different now.”

“It’s…it’s not the armor itself,” he confessed, staring down at the piece that he was holding. “I don’t think it is the armor. It’s…it’s the color,” he looked confused when he glanced at the jedi, as if he wasn’t entirely sure why he was saying this or even the reasoning behind it. “Every time I see it, I keep getting sick. I keep remembering when we were marching towards the Temple, all the blue of the amor, creating a sea of soldiers, all in time and not even…not even hesitating on what we were going to do.”

“You couldn’t move.”

“I couldn’t even think until afterwards,” Graffiti admitted the quiver in his voice growing. “I just wanted to scream. Even after we got into the Temple, I remember everything but…it’s all in this horrible blue haze that I choke on. Something I was once proud to bear, a color that I was proud of, was twisted into something horrible and evil. I know it doesn’t make any sense but…”

“Sometimes things like this don’t make sense to others or even ourselves,” Obi-Wan’s voice was quiet and calm as he looked over at the trooper. The latter had a difficult time meeting his gaze, but he finally had, tears welled up in his eyes, certainly obscuring his vision.

“I think I would rather have no paint, just be a blank set of armor like a no-name shiny again before I wear something that has been so twisted,” he whispered, running a hand along his helmet, half scrubbed of blue paint. “And isn’t that awful? I was brainwashed into being no one and now, I want to go back to being a no one again, just…slightly different type of no one.”

The jedi’s heart shuttered in his chest.

“Would you mind waiting here for a moment?” he asked, placing a hand gently on the soldier’s shoulder. “I will be right back. I think…I think I have something.”

Graffiti looked quite confused but nodded.

Obi-Wan stood up and made his way through the maze of people, towards the door. As he got to the halls, his pace quickened. There weren’t particularly many people around, but a few had caught him gliding through the halls quickly, often giving him looks that made him want to shrink back into the pile in the barracks.

Some did not seem happy to see him out and about.

He got to a storage room and opened the door. Upon finding what he was looking for, he grabbed it and hurried back. Obi-Wan came back, worked his way through the maze of sleeping men again, and set down a large can on the ground as quietly as he could. The trooper just stared at it, wide-eyed, a bit confused and certainly a lot speechless.

“It’s yours, if you want it.”

Graffiti took a moment to realize what it was. At first, he didn’t look entirely sure, like it might be a trap, but it took only a minute before he burst into a quiet sob, covering his face with his hands.

“It may not stop the nightmares,” Obi-Wan explained quietly. “But know that you will always have a place with us.”

Eventually, when he got a little more control of himself, Obi-Wan could make out a nod from him.

“I think I might need something new,” Graffiti rasped out, just barely.

“Perhaps you should make a visit to one of the creche groups,” Obi-Wan offered, shooting him a quick, warm, glance. “They are full of ideas. And they would love to see you.”

Graffiti met his gaze, his eyebrows scrunched together. He didn’t verbally reply but the jedi master had a feeling he would anyways.

Obi-Wan spent the rest of the night with him, quietly scrubbing off the blue paint and replacing it with shimmering gold.

[danguy96]

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Rewrite - Story Outline

Since a lot of you liked the set-up I had in mind for a “redo” of the sequel trilogy, I was thinking of finally laying the basic, rough outline of the first “movie”.

I decided to make this its own post, because it turned out to be pretty long, and would likely take up a lot of space in messaging on either Tumblr or Discord.

As I said before, the universe this takes place in is a mash-up of both old and new canon stuff, with some events happening different than others.

I hope you all like it, and if there’s any questions about this planned story, feel free to ask me them, because there’s a lot I have in mind beyond this.

Also, it’s best if you read the original set-up post I created, since it covers a lot of background surrounding the setting of this story. You can find it here.

With all that out of the way, let’s begin, and start off with a familiar phrase:

We start off our story with a small spaceship landing on a mysterious planet, in front of what appears to be an ancient Jedi Temple.

A hooded figure emerges from the ship, and soon is accompanied by another hooded figure, with this one being female.The male figure says “I apologize if I’m late. I came as soon as I heard”, and asks where the others are. The female figure says that the “Master” has already given his instructions to them, and that they are the only two left to receive the orders from the one who summoned them.

We cut to another hidden figure, meditating and chanting in a long-forgotten tongue. We do not clearly see who this chanting figure may be at first, but I think savvy audiences could guess correctly. Anyway, we see this hidden figure continue meditating, until we cut to his point of view. We see that in the middle of meditation, he is suddenly met with visions.

We see familiar locations, such as the desert world of Tatooine, the volcanic planet Mustafar and a large fortress which towers above everything on the planet, and a mysterious, snow-covered forest, where another figure lights a red cross guard lightsaber. We also see visions focusing on a single Stormtrooper out of all the rest, and visions of young scavenger/mechanic.We then see a dark aura consuming all in its wake, as what sounds like a horrifying voice of legion cackles horrifically.The mysterious man suddenly breaks out of his meditation with a start, and looks around as he breathes heavily.The man turns around, and his apprentices ask him what is the matter.

The old master calms down, and says that he senses a great disturbance is rising within the Force, as his visions become worse and worse with time.The two figures ask if there is anything they can do to stop whatever new dark force is threatening the Galaxy.The old master says there is one chance. He says he has seen figures in his visions. While one of them he cannot reach, the others must be found immediately.The old master says that the two must go in his stead, along with other Jedi Knights he has already sent out into the galaxy, as he senses whatever dark force is out there wishes to see him come out of seclusion.The two pupils bid their master farewell, leaving the master alone with his thoughts about this new threat to the Galaxy.

Of course, the old master is revealed to be Luke Skywalker, now a full-fledged Jedi Master, and currently one of the most powerful wielders of the Force in the galaxy, if not the most. And the two apprentices he spoke to him are his niece and nephew, Jacen and Jaina Solo.

We cut to Poe Dameron receiving vital information, only this time it’s not a map to Luke Skywalker, but info which reveals the connection between those within the Coalition and the First Order, and plans of attack with their new battle station, the Starkiller Base, and the planet he’s currently on isn’t Jakku, but Tatooine itself.

In this version, the Stormtroopers are being led by two members of the Knights of Ren; Kylo Ren, of course, and his rival/teammate, Zayla Ren (and yes, it’s revealed a bit later that Zayla is actually a woman early on, and her personality was inspired by Azula’s from Avatar, only Kylo and her aren’t related).

We go through the song and dance of the Rens and the troopers laying waste to the place, but in this version, Kylo, while appearing threatening, is a bit more reserved than how he was in the OG film, with Zayla being the one to kill San Tekka, and giving the order to shoot any villagers who do not wish to cooperate.

Also, Zayla’s lightsaber would be two-headed, like in that Teen Titans episode where they went into the TV world:

Poe is tortured out of the info by Zayla and Kylo, but as Kylo makes his way out, Zayla tells him that he “hesitated” and she sensed weakness in him. Kylo says that he only took what information was “necessary”, but she reminds him that their master does not accept hesitation or weakness, no matter what. Kylo continues walking down the hallway, but Zayla just continues as he goes, saying that at the rate he’s “improving”, it would “just be awful” if their master soon announced that the Knights of Ren were to have a new leader, chuckling to herself as Kylo resists the urge to practice his Force powers on her.

Anyway, Poe’s droid, BB-8 encounters Rey, much like in the film, but here it’s established that not only is Rey a scavenger, but she’s also a mechanic of sorts, and, as seen in the details of room containing bits of memorabilia from the days of the Rebellion, giving a sort of meta thing of her a fan of the tales and legends of the Rebellion and the Jedi, but she doesn’t have the money to ever leave Tatooine and go on her own adventures. Also, it’s explained that she didn’t know what the Millennium Falcon looked like, due to her hearing it looked much differently than it actually does, as sort of another meta joke about how the Falcon was supposed to look differently in the original draft. And her lineage does get explained, but both sides of her family are explained better, and she struggles with one of them in not just the last part of the story.

We then have a disillusioned Finn free Poe, and they’re shot down, but this time, instead of implying Poe is dead or actually having Poe die, both Poe and Finn make it out, and both travel across one of the many deserts of Tatooine until they find Rey and BB-8. The newly established gang of Finn, Rey, Poe, and BB-8 make off in the Millennium Falcon, but this time Poe is the main pilot, while Rey is the co-pilot, and Finn puts his marksman skills to use by manning one of the Falcon’s gunners.

We then get the reintroduction of Han Solo and Chewbacca, which is somewhat similar to the actual movie, but with a few tweaks, such as them always being a part of the Resistance. It’s also established that Han and Chewie were already trying to get the Falcon back as part of another misadventure which is practically begging to be told in a hypothetical cartoon or comic, and that they’re not washed-up, and Han isn’t separated from Leia. Han still wants his ship back, and is skeptical about the ex-Stormtrooper and the mysterious girl Poe has in toe with him, but he still ends up taking them on board with him, since Poe still has the documents within BB-8.

And don’t worry. Things start to depart from a lot of TFA’s story soon, given how the New Republic is still standing by the end, and we still have a senator and Chancellor to introduce.

As for the Resistance, in this version, they’re more of a smaller ragtag army fighting the First Order, but they need further help from the Republic, which they’ve tried to get for some time. The Starkiller plans and the data which confirms that the FO is receiving funding from those within the Coalition/Confederacy could be what helps them finally win over the Republic to provide military aid. This is continuing with the proxy war/cold war thing going on.

As our heroes make their way to the rendezvous planet where they’ll meet up with Leia and the other freedom fighters, we cut to the capitol city of the Coalition/Confederacy (I’m going to being calling it the Confederacy and the UGC interchangeably), where we’re introduced to First Chairman Krazvlin (it’s a work-in-progress name, but I wanted something which sounded vaguely Russian, and also villainous).

This scene is mostly based off the scene where we’re introduced to the emperor in the original drafts for “The Star Wars”, though here the Chairman’s speech is to celebrate the anniversary of the unification of the new Confederacy, and how their hard won “peace” will not be deterred by any “terrorist” scum.

After finishing his speech, the Chairman and his generals make their way to another, more private meeting with members of the First Order, to discuss the negotiations of the technological behemoth known as the Starkiller, discussing if it will truly be the deterrent the UGC needs to secure superiority against the Republic.

Among this meeting are General Hux, who used to work for the UGC, but is now the leading military officer of the First Order, and Grand Admiral Prydus, commander of the UGC’s main starship fleet, and a veteran of the old Galactic Empire (you can see I took the character of Pryde from Rise of Skywalker, and made him into something more than just a last minute addition, and I imagine him looking different from Pryde as well, with Jason Isaacs being my headcanon choice as to who would play him). 

Prydus questions why Hux, who seemed like such a promising general for the Confederacy, would lend his support to “a bunch of Sith fanatics”, to which a smooth, yet sickening voice answers back “You’d best watch your tongue, Admiral. You’re lucky the Chairman finds you to be still of use, even after your glory days”, and from the shadows step out the two Knights of Ren, Kylo and Zayla.

After the Rens make themselves known, much to Prydus’ exasperation, Hux answers that he lent his services to the First Order not due to admiration of any “religious cult”, but to prove himself as being the commander of his own military force. A military which he says would be “nothing” without his leadership, while Prydus claims that Hux is merely “standing on the shoulders” of those of the former Empire. Krazvlin silences both of them, and says that they still have the matter of the info on their plans and alliance with the FO are still with the rebels/resistance.

Hux and Prydus reluctantly simmer down, though Prydus still questions why the First Order always sends in their middle men, while their true leader keeps himself in secret, not even willing to share a hologram of himself with the Confederacy. Prydus says that he’s tired of all the secrecy surrounding the First Order and their leader, demanding to know his identity. Kylo interjects, saying that his master wishes to remain hidden, until his plans have come to full fruition. Prydus asks just when will these plans finally come to fruition, so that the UGC can finally get back to handling it’s own matters. Kylo answers back once again that his master doesn’t have the time to deal with such useless questions, and that his wisdom is spent on better things. Prydus says that if the Rens’ master was as wise as they say he is, he would have the guts to show himself, and not hide like a coward behind children playing dressup. But as he goes on, he suddenly stops, finding it hard to breathe. We see Kylo is the one Force-choking Prydus, but Zayla turns to Kylo and says “Kylo, I said he was currently still useful to us”, and Kylo releases Prydus.

Krazvlin, going on as if that didn’t even happen, continues on by saying that it is imperative that the BB-8 droid unit not reach boundaries of Republic territory. He asks Hux if he has any whereabouts of the rebels who took the documents, and if he knows where they’re headed. Hux says that the last his troops saw them, they had just left Tatooine on a Corellian freighter, and are now suspected to be in neutral space. Chairman Krazvlin says to alert any troops and spies patrolling that sector to look out for them, as the future of the stability of the UGC and it’s relationship with the Republic relies on those documents being found.

We cut to our trio of Finn, Poe, and Rey, who are currently on board the Millennium Falcon with Han Solo and Chewbacca (yeah, a lot of the New Jedi Order stories either haven’t happened, or happened drastically differently, so no Yuuzhan Vong just yet). The gang is currently flying through neutral space, and each member of the gang has different interactions between themselves and Han. Rey, being something of Rebel fangirl, asks him a bunch of questions of what was it like with the Rebellion, many of which Han either gives brief answers to, or doesn’t answer (I was thinking we could even throw in some dialogue which confirms the Thrawn trilogy did happen in this universe, at least to some extent). Poe is honored to be in the presence a hero of the Rebellion, and the man who fought alongside his parents. Finn, though, is a bit more apprehensive, considering he’s worried Han may suspect him of being a double agent for the First Order, but Han, despite his misgivings, says that Finn “isn’t the first Stormtrooper to defect”, and he won’t be the last (which is not only a shout-out to his original EU backstory of working for the Empire for some time, but also one to Kyle Katarn, and foreshadowing of later events in this saga).

Also, instead of having the run-in with the gang Han pissed off being just a thing in this movie, I was thinking it could be something that carries over across the trilogy, much like Jabba’s subplot.

Anyway, after Han exposits about how he lost his ship after a spat he had with a crimelord who holds a massive grudge against him for “ruining his business” after working with the New Republic to help bootstrap trade with smugglers, and how Luke has been in isolation to keep himself from being discovered ever since a certain incident Han doesn’t like to talk about, they arrive at Takodana, where they’ll lay low until a group of Resistance members meet up with them, along with some Republic help.

They land on Takodana, and meet up with cantina owner, and secretly a leading member of the Resistance, Maz Kanta. She offers to help hide Han and co. until the Resistance/Republic arrives to pick them up.

Later that night, in the secret quarters where Maz offers the gang to rest before the Republic forces arrive tomorrow morning, Rey is stirred awake by a strange sensation, and is drawn by a strange voice to a secluded vault, where she finds an old lightsaber. She tries to pick it up, but the moment she holds it, she’s visited by strange visions. Some of them visions of her past, and how she was supposedly abandoned as a baby on Tatooine. She soon finds herself standing in the middle of a snow-covered forest, where she see a man whose face is hidden beneath a hood reach out to her, with the calm voice of another man calling out to her (the voice of the second man sounding oddly like Ewan McGregor). However, as she moves to approach the man and the voices, she’s grabbed by the leg by something. She turns around, and what’s grabbing her seem to be this formless mass of darkness, trying to suck her in. Rey tries to run, but the man in the hood seems to keep getting farther and farther away, and soon she’s forcefully dragged into the darkness, as a hideous voice cackles loudly (a voice which strangely sounds like Ian McDiarmid). Rey suddenly snaps back to reality, and looks around, alone and afraid. 

We cut to the First Order’s secret weapon and one of their bases of operations, the Starkiller Base, where General Hux is informing the Chairman via hologram that one of their spies has told them that they have seen the BB-8 droid in a cantina on Takodana, and that they will retrieve it before the Resistance/Republic makes it there. Chairman Krazvlin says that for Hux’s sake, he better deliver it them, and ends the call. Hux, visibly frustrated, calls Captain Phasma to handle the mission, and bring the droid to them. She says that it would be her pleasure, and that she also requests permission to go after the traitorous Stormtrooper who let Poe escape. He grants her permission, and sends her on her way.

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren is busy practicing his Force powers and his lightsaber technique, when Zayla storms in and tells him that he can train later, because their master is calling them right now. Ignoring Zayla’s jabs of telling him not to “dawdle”, Kylo goes off with Zayla, to meet their master, and the true power behind the First Order: Supreme Leader Snoke.

When they make it to the room where they contact Snoke, we first see his form through a psychic link which Zayla and Kylo project, using their Force powers (this is sort of taking that whole Force Projection and Force psychic link we see in TLJ, and actually doing it beforehand by more powerful Force users). Snoke says that he has felt yet another Great Awakening in the Force. This one slower than the one after the fall of Darth Sidious, but still a source of rich, yet untrained power. Snoke orders the Rens to travel to Takodana along with Phasma, and retrieve the ones who have been awakened by the power of the Force, to prevent them from becoming Jedi. The Rens accept the order from their master, but before they head out, Snoke says that he can sense that there is still much both must learn, such as Kylo is still “holding back”, and how he senses “much fear” and “insecurity” deep within Zayla (that bit was inspired by a scene from the Genndy Clone Wars series where Dooku says that Ventress has too much fear to be Sith). Snoke finishes by saying that in order to truly awaken their full power, and become true successors to the Sith, they must negate all feelings of fear, and strike without mercy. Only then will they be able achieve their true potential.

We cut back to Maz’s place on Takodana, just as morning starts to break. Finn asks about where Rey is, as he hasn’t seen her all morning. Maz and Han say she’s been pacing outside all morning, and it seems like she doesn’t wants to talk. Finn, however, decides to go and see if he can comfort her. Finn finds Rey staring out into the distance, staring at the rising sun. He asks Rey how she’s doing, but she turns around fast, revealing bags under her eyes, and a worried expression on her face. After calming down, she reveals not only about what happened last night when she found the lightsaber, but also her past on how she was abandoned on Tatooine as a baby and her feelings about her she’s always felt like a nobody, and how she took comfort in hearing the tales and legends of the Jedi, the Old Republic, and the Rebel Alliance, wishing she could be a part of a grand adventure like that. However, now that she is on such an adventure, she’s starting to see it’s not as fun as she thought it would be, and even something inside of her is saying she’s getting in too deep. Finn comforts Rey, saying how he understands what it’s like to not have any other family to confide in, but says that if things do get ugly, he’ll be there to help her out.This helps Rey calm down just a bit, but she still says that she would like to go out and take a walk in the woods. Finn understands, but he says that she should at least take his blaster with her, just in case. She thanks Finn, and goes on her way. 

Rey goes out into the woods to clear her mind, while Finn goes back inside. Han, Maz, and Poe ask if Rey is alright. Finn says that he hopes so, but then he mentions how Rey has been out of it ever since she grabbed that lightsaber, which causes Maz to look up in surprise and worry. Han asks what she’s worried about, and she and the others go the room where the lightsaber is, seeing that its case has been opened. Finn goes up to inspect the lightsaber, feeling almost drawn to it, but when he touches it, he gets visions of his own. Visions of a baby being taken away from his father, and visions of the future featuring a growing army of sinister Stormtrooper-like droids with glowing, red eyes.Finn comes to, and is asked what’s wrong. Something in him tells him that they need to go and find Rey, now.

In the forest, Rey is feeling a bit better, and all seems quiet in the woods. Too quiet. Just then, she hears a roaring sound in the sky. The sound of spaceships. She looks up and sees First Order ships heading towards where the rest of the gang are, and runs back in an effort to help them escape. Unbeknownst to her, a figure in a dark cloak and mask follows her.

We see Zayla Ren and Captain Phasma leading a group of Stormtroopers to search and storm the area for the droid, the traitor, and the members of Resistance and Republic armies. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is hiding away, forming a plan of attack that’ll buy them some time before the Republic’s ships show up. Finn volunteers to go after Rey, but Han objects, saying it’s better if they stayed together as a group. However, Maz says that if Finn feels that Rey might be in danger, it’s for the best that he goes after her. She gives Finn the lightsaber, saying that he must keep it safe, and that he must trust in his instincts to find Rey. With their plan formed, Han, Chewie, and Maz and her forces stay behind to hold the front line of the cantina, while Finn and Poe go off to find Rey.

While on their way, they end up encountering a few Stormtroopers, including Captain Phasma and good ol’ TR-8R. Finn holds back the Stormtroopers with the lightsaber, as they fight in armed combat, with a few troopers using the weapon TR-8R used, while a few have gained a new upgrade, inspired by the original drafts of the first Star Wars; lightsaber-esque swords.

Finn fights surprisingly well, but soon they seem to be outnumbered. But just when it seems like Poe is about to be struck down, an unseen presence suddenly drags half a dozen trooper in the air, and tosses them like ragdolls. Finn, Poe, and Phasma look to see the source of this, and we see a cloaked figure, brandishing a green lightsaber. A Jedi Knight. One of the two Jedi Knights we saw in the opening. The Jedi removes his hood and cloak to reveal a young man with brown hair. Jacen Solo. One of the Solo Twins.

Phasma at first orders her men to attack, but Zayla intervenes, saying that it’s best if Phasma goes off to handle finding the droid. The Jedi is her priority now. Much to Phasma’s chagrin, she follows orders, and leaves Jacen to Zayla. We then get the first half of our first lightsaber duel of this new story.

We cut to back in the woods with Rey, who’s been trying to make it back to the others, but she feels like someone is following her. Sure enough, her suspicions are correct, when she suddenly comes face to face with Kylo Ren. She backs off fast and pulls out the blaster Finn gave her, pointing it at an unfazed Kylo Ren. She trembles as holds it, threatening that she will use it on him. Again, Kylo remains silent and comes towards her. Rey, in a panic, wildly shoots at Kylo, but he merely deflects each blast with a wave of his hand. Kylo approaches her closer and closer, until another Jedi jumps in Kylo’s way, brandishing a purple lightsaber. The Jedi removes her hood to reveal Jaina Solo, the other Solo Twin.

And so begins our other lightsaber fight, which is going on simultaneously as the Zayla vs Jacen fight.

We cut back to the fight over on at the cantina, where it’s become a mini war-zone. Jacen is continuing his fight with Zayla, while Han and Chewie are defending BB-8. Meanwhile, Poe and Finn are fighting their way towards the woods where Rey is. On their way, they’re attacked by flying fighter droids (sort of like speeder bike-sized versions of those vulture droid fighters, only with a new design to fit with the First Order), and run into the forest for protection. As the droids prepare to attack our heroes, Finn puts his hands in front of him to shield himself, but suddenly the droids are Force-pushed back, and crash into the trees. Finn doesn’t know what he just did, and Poe just stands there with his mouth agape.

We cut to Han and Chewie and Maz, who’ve been holding out as long as they can. However, the tide suddenly turns when an X-Wing blasts a group of troopers and fighter-probes. Yes, backup from the Republic has finally arrived, with a few of their starships now hovering overhead, and some carriers starting to land. Zayla manages to match Jacen in skill in their lightsaber duel, but she is reluctantly forced to retreat, saying that Jacen is “lucky” this time, before distracting him and taking off.

We cut over to Kylo, still fighting with Jaina, and while they both seem to be evenly matched, Jaina has been mostly defending herself without intention of doing harm, as she can sense who it is underneath the mask. Kylo Ren demands to know why Jaina is holding back. He says “Is it because of guilt or pity? If so, then you are wasting your time.” Kylo manages to knock Jaina back, and says that she can’t change anything. He continues with saying that it is only through this path that he can truly achieve the power to bring order, and gain the power which the Jedi foolishly fear. Kylo goes on about how it’s too late for him, and that Jaina should just give up trying, but before he can do anything, he receives a message from Zayla to stop fooling around and leave with one of the force-sensitive users already. Kylo stops, and uses his Force powers to distract Jaina, and then Force Jump away from the fight, going after Rey. Rey, meanwhile, thinks she’s gotten far away enough, but is exhausted from her lack of sleep and running for so long. She stops to rest, but then Kylo Ren appears behind her, and he uses his Force powers to put her already exhausted self to sleep. He then takes on board his ship, just as Jaina catches up to him. 

Finn and Poe manage to spot Kylo’s ship, just as it takes off with him and Rey in it. They come across Jaina, and, both being worn out, ask if she could possibly explain what’s going on. She says she’ll explain on the way back, but then she notices the lightsaber Finn has, and asks where he got that from.

Back at the cantina, Republic forces have arrived, here to pick up Han Solo and the rest of the gang in order to bring them to the Republic capitol in order to blow the whistle on the First Order and the Confederacy. Among them are a few familiar faces, including R2-D2 and C-3PO, and, most importantly for Han Solo, Senator Leia Organa, his wife.

There’s a heartfelt reunion between husband and wife, along with Artoo and Threepio, with others soon joining them, as Jacen finally reunites with his mother and father, and Jaina soon makes the reunion complete as she arrives back with Poe and Finn. This family reunion however soon takes a darker turn, as Jaina brings up the news that she saw Kylo Ren, and faced off with him, which worries Han and Leia. It’s then revealed to Finn and Poe that Kylo Ren is actually the son of Luke Skywalker, and also that Finn has been carrying the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, the man who became Darth Vader.

Maz later explains to them how she was able to come across the lightsaber. It was thought to have been lost in Cloud City after Luke’s battle with Vader, but Maz says that some Cloud City personnel was able to find it. Not knowing the Jedi were to be reborn in a couple of years, the staff member sold it off for credits. Luckily, Lando and Maz were able to track it down, and managed to buy it back. They knew Luke wouldn’t want it back, so Han, Leia, and the rest decided that after fixing it up, it would be a gift to Luke’s son after he completed his Padawan training. Needless to say, those were the best laid plans of womp rats and men (I know this seems a bit much, but I wanted to fill in that hole where Luke’s lightsaber came back, and I wanted to give it some weight and meaning as to why it was brought back, besides nostalgia).

After Jaina explains that Rey has been kidnapped by the First Order and we learn of Kylo Ren’s identity, we cut to the Starkiller Base, where Phasma is being berated by General Hux for letting the droid fall into the hands of the New Republic. She assures him that she will not fail in the future, with Hux responding that she had better be sure of that, reminding her that she can be considered expendable if the time arises. Phasma walks off in a huff, and crosses paths with Zayla, who says that she doesn’t see any reason to be so upset, saying that she could be “lucky” and end up being shipped off to work in mines of Kessel, which Zayla hears are “simply lovely” this time of year. Phasma tells Zayla to mind her own business, and asks why Zayla isn’t as upset about their plans being found out.  Zayla says that while the UGC lost what they needed, she says that they managed to succeed in finding what’ll eventually be worth more than this hulking mass they call a battlestation. Zayla continues her little verbal spat with Phasma, saying that as they speak, Kylo Ren is interrogating their new “guest”, probing her mind before seeing what other uses she can be of for them. “Soon we shall have the precious data your troops failed to retrieve, and so much more”, Zayla says, and then she casually walks off, leaving Phasma to stew in her anger and resentment.

We cut to Rey, strapped to an interrogation chair. The beginning of the scene starts relatively similar to how it did in the movie, with Rey asking where her friends are. Kylo replies that she will be relieved that he has no idea, and asks if she still wishes to kill him and if she still fears him. Rey replies that it’s a natural reaction when you’re being hunted by a “creature in a mask”. After a moment of silence, Kylo removes his helmet, to finally reveal the face of Rey’s captor. We now see Kylo Ren’s true face, a young man with dark hair, and greenish-blue eyes, but also with a solemn look on his face, and a scar across one side of said face.

We go on with the scene playing a little bit like it did in the film, with Kylo asking about the droid, and Rey hesitating to give the full answers, and Kylo knowing what information the droid has, but there’s a twist in this, with Kylo saying that it’s not just that information he’s after. He also senses something within in Rey. Something his master is after. He probes Rey’s mind, sensing the fear, uncertainty, and apprehension within her. How she feels like she shouldn’t even be here. He assures her that her she is meant to be here, and tells Rey that things such as fear and hesitation makes one weak. He continues to search Rey’s mind, trying to go deeper. Yet, Rey tries to resist, making it difficult. Kylo demands that she stop resisting, but Rey keeps going on.

Both try their hardest, but then something happens. As Kylo stops trying to hold himself back into Rey’s mind, and as Rey, being surprised at how she’s even resisting him, pushes back, the two are suddenly mentally transported to this realm of utter darkness, where Kylo not only hears and even sees some events from Rey’s life, but Rey hears and sees some events from Kylo’s past, but some seem to be blurred. She hears a young boy crying out for his mother, and hears a sinister voice saying how someone will learn how to how harness the true power of the Dark Side, and suffering shall be his master, before there’s a flash of what appears to be lighting and a scream. Just then, both Rey and Kylo Ren come back to reality. Both are in shock, but Kylo Ren angrily brushes it aside, and orders a Stormtrooper to take Rey to her cell.

After the interrogation scene, we cut to the Republic/Resistance forces touching base on what’s going on, and giving us some exposition about what Jedi Council has been doing, and I was also thinking this would be a good time to give some exposition as to how Anakin Solo (Han and Leia’s other son from the old EU) disappeared and was presumed dead, and why that was one reason Ben/Kylo turned to the Dark Side. They also hint that “something else” also sent Kylo over the edge, but they don’t have time to explain, as they prepare to land on the new capitol planet of the New Republic, Hosnian Prime.

When our heroes land on Hosnian Prime, they are greeted by officials of the New Republic, here to congratulate Poe, Leia, Han, and the rest for safely retrieving the information they need on the existence of the Starkiller Base and the alliance between the First Order and the Confederacy. One of these officials is the Margaret Thatcher-esque, supposed ally to our heroes (and someone who most certainly isn’t secretly a traitor); Senator Holdeena (guess which character she’s based off of). She says that their valiant efforts are greatly appreciated, and that now all they need to do is convince the Senate and the Chancellor to take action. Finn and Jaina inform the Senator that they hope the Senate will take action soon, for a friend of theirs has been captured by the First Order.

We cut to everyone’s “favorite” part of Star Wars; a bunch of guys talking about politics in the Senate. Though, in this case, it’s a bit more interesting than trade routes.

The Senate discusses about whether or not to officially give full aid to the Resistance, and if a rescue mission is worth the tensions of spiraling into further conflict with the Confederacy and the First Order. Some representatives accuse Leia and Holdeena of warmongering, with the first vocal ones about it being reps from the Chiss (the race of which Grand Admiral Thrawn is a part of, mostly due to Thrawn being considered one of the founding fathers of what became the UGC). Leia argues that while the possibility of a war may occur, she says that the First Order has been carrying out numerous attacks for years, and, if these new documents are to be believed, all with the support and financial aid of the UGC/Confederacy. Leia says that she wishes to avoid full-out war with the UGC as much as possible, but requests that at least she and the Resistance members be given aid with a star fleet to help disable the weapon firing capabilities of the Starkiller Base, as well as be given clearance to stage a rescue mission. While still a risk, the deciding vote goes down to Chancellor Jorgeus Kartemur, who allows for a rescue mission, as well as an attack, but he grants them only a limited number of Republic fighters and carriers.

We cut back to Starkiller Base, where Kylo Ren is having an “emergency meeting” with Snoke, discussing how he was trying to probe Rey’s mind, but she was able to resist him, and then they inadvertently made a mental link with each other. Snoke says that it seems that this new “child of the Force” is strong. Very strong. Snoke then instructs Kylo to keep his guard up around her, and that she must not fall into the hands of the Jedi, especially those members of the Skywalker Clan. Kylo says he he will make sure Rey and other “children of the Force” will either join them or die, and ends his conversation with his master.

Kylo Ren goes off to be by himself in his room. There we get a scene reminiscent to the one from the actual movie, where he is talking to himself while staring at the broken mask of Darth Vader, only now he’s also discussing about he can’t go back to the Light. Not after what he’s already done, and he says that the Light Side cannot grant him the power he seeks. The power to undo the misery he’s endured. Kylo swears he will achieve that power, and “finish what [Darth Vader] started” (however, the more we get to know about Kylo/Ben’s backstory in this, it puts this scene into a whole new and different context).

We cut to the Republic-Resistance Alliance, going over the plans for a small group to secretly land on Starkiller Base, while a team of fighters, lead by Poe, will make their way to the main weapon reactor. Like in the film, comparisons are made to the Death Star, but here they really push this being even stronger than the Death Star, saying that the plans for it need to be examined even further before figuring out how to destroy it completely. It’s decided that those going on the rescue mission will be Han, Chewie, Finn, and the Solo Twins, along with a few red shirts. Han and the twins say goodbye to Leia, who is still worried about Ben/Kylo. They reassure her that they’ll be okay, and Jaina tells her she sensed the conflict within Ben. Finn wishes Poe good luck on his mission, and Poe says he would like to thank Finn for saving him. Finn, in turn, says thanks for believing and trusting in him, and they both head off to begin their respective tasks. After those little character-driven moments, we see the cruisers and ships take off for the Starkiller Base (oh, and in this version, they’re launching from Hosnian Prime, and not D'Qar).

We cut back to Rey, and we see that she’s mostly been sitting in her cell, with a Stormtrooper patrolling it, while occasionally going off to do something else (making the rounds, I guess?). However, Rey has been currently been trying to get out of her cell while the guard is away from the door, and has been using a device she helped fix back on Tatooine to see if she can open the door (I think Ezra from Star Wars Rebels used something like that one time, though I think this would be a bit different, considering she’s on the inside of the cell). However, the trooper comes back and almost catches her, berating her for trying to escape. He gives Rey her scheduled prison meal, and continues to mock her, taking away the device she had. Rey in a fit of frustration yells at at him to just leave her alone. Much to her surprise, the trooper says back in a monotone voice “I will leave you alone”. Rey, confused, remembers the stories of Jedi Mind Tricks, and, to test it out again, she tells the trooper that he will give her device, which he does. She then she uses it to tell him to leave the prison bay, and unlock the doors for her so that she may leave, and to leave his weapon. The trooper does all of this, and Rey manages to unlock the door, and then escape with the trooper’s blaster (I know this seems as asspull-ish as the original movie, but it’s leading to something).

We cut to the command center of the Base, where Hux is in a meeting with Prydus and Krazvlin, being informed how the Republic now knows of their secret location and their alliance, and could launch an attack any moment. Prydus says that if that superweapon of theirs is supposedly stronger the Death Star, why haven’t they used it to alienate the Resistance in one fell swoop? Hux says that it’s increase in power also means an increase in charging time, and that it requires a large amount of energy. Prydus says that whether it’s ready or not is irrelevant. If they can at least use at least fraction of its power against the Republic, use it while they still have the chance. Hux says he will see what he can do, but before he ends his conversation, Krazvlin tells him that if this really is more powerful than the Death Star, like Hux says it is, then that better mean that that battlestation is strong enough to avoid going down in a ball of flame.“This Confederacy has paid well over a thousand kings’ ransoms to fund this project. For the sake of your career, General, you best hope that it is worth the price.” says Krazvlin. Hux says he understands, and the meeting ends. Hux then orders his men to prepare the fleet of First Order and Confederacy ships for the arrival of any Republic dreadnoughts and Resistance fighters. Hux then says to himself that he’ll show them it’s “worth the price”.

We then cut over to Kylo Ren, who’s making his way over to Rey’s prison cell with Zayla Ren. As they’re walking, Zayla keeps getting on Kylo’s case about how instead of getting the information they need, he allowed her to see into his mind via a Force Link. Kylo defends himself while trying to keep his cool that he had no idea that would happen, and that it doesn’t matter, because with they’re combined strength, they can reach into the mind of their prisoner with ease. However, when they come to the cell, they find it’s been opened, and the guard is missing from his post. We don’t see Kylo’s facial reaction to this, because he’s wearing his mask, but we do hear his heavy breathing. Zayla makes one last stab at him, before leaving him to his “tantrum”. We see a scene similar to the movie where some Stormtroopers casually walk away, but there’s a third one Kylo Ren Force pulls towards him by the throat, and orders him to have the troops search for the missing prisoner, and bring him to her alive (I was thinking of reimagining this scene to have it appear slightly humorous, but then takes a dark turn when Kylo goes back to being threatening).

Speaking of Rey, we cut to her sneaking around the Starkiller Base, trying her best not to get caught. She does well in dodging the Stormtroopers for a while, but then she comes face to face with a few Stormtroopers. Low on options, she once again tries to do a Jedi Mind Trick, holding her hand out and doing the motion, while trying to get the Stormtroopers to let her pass.Though, to her surprise, it doesn’t work, and the troopers just stare at one another in confusion. Rey, tries it, saying “You will let me pass”, to which the troopers say, “No, we won’t”, and they raise their blasters. Thankfully, Rey shoots at them with the blaster she has first, and then runs off while they’re distracted, managing to lose them by some miracle. 

Rey is left more confused than ever (I wanted to make it clear that while she has potential, she’s not a god-mode character. Also, the idea of that scene was just too funny for to pass up.)

We cut to the Republic-Resistance Alliance fleet, preparing begin their mission. They first send out some troops and ships to distract the fleet surrounding the Starkiller, while Poe’s squadron goes in to destroy the firing device, while Han’s group goes in to rescue Rey, and to disable any remaining shields the base has.

The battle is intense, but they manage to buy enough time for Han, Chewie, Finn, the twins, and the red shirts to sneak aboard.Once on board, they use both Finn’s knowledge of the base, as well as the mini-map of the base they got from the plans, to navigate where they might find Rey and the shield controls.However, Finn gets a strange feeling inside him which tells him that Rey is somewhere other than the holding bay. Han doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but Jaina and Jacen say that Finn is onto something, as they sense where Rey is, and they make their way to her location.

Meanwhile, Hux is preparing to fire the Starkiller’s laser, and targets two of the 6 large Republic ships.The Starkiller Base charges its main laser, and opens fire on the two ships, wiping them out. From his ship, Poe hopes the rescue team is able to shut down the shields in time.

We cut to Rey, who, after also sensing the familiar presence of her new friends, is finally able to reunite with the gang. However, this reunion is short-lived, as Phasma and her guards have caught up to Rey, and try to surround heroes. Phasma insults Finn, referring to him by his number and calling him a traitor, and questioning why would he join such a pitiful band of miscreants Finn answers back by saying his name is Finn, and over the course of a few days he’s found more respect and companionship from this group of people than in all the time he’s spent in the First Order. Phasma scoffs at him, saying they’re still outgunned. Finn says that’s where she’s wrong, and smiles toward Jacen and Jaina. Taking the cue, the twins use their Force powers to go all Force Unleashed on the troopers, taking apart some of their weapons, while tossing around others. Some of the smarter troopers flee for their lives, leaving Phasma on her own (There’s also a small line where Jacen says, “Sorry if you knew any of those guys” and Finn says “Don’t worry, I didn’t”).

Just when it seems like they’re about to take her out, Phasma says that in exchange for her life, she can take them to the base shield control room. After making her promise that she won’t backstab them. Phasma takes the group to the shield controls, and turns them off. When asked by Jaina why she’s doing this, she says that she’s not the only “Force-wielding brat” she has an issue with. As the shields go down, the Republic-Resistance morale goes up, and they begin their direct attack on Starkiller Base. While the gang wonders what they should do with Phasma, with Han suggesting the garbage chute, they feel a huge rumbling, signifying the true attack on the base has begun. Phasma uses this as a distraction for her to escape. Before they can catch her, they’re stopped by Zayla Ren, who allows Phasma to get away. 

Jacen volunteers to fight off Zayla as part of a “Round 2” between them, while the others make their escape back to the ship. Jaina says she’ll help, but Jacen says that they still someone to take the new users back to “him”, and she reluctantly goes off. As Zayla and Jacen have their second battle, the rest of the crew head on over to the Falcon and the other small ships they used to get there.

While making their way to the ships to escape, they once again come across Kylo Ren, and we finally get to that scene, only it thankfully plays out differently, with certain characters getting out mostly okay (oh, and they’re not on a narrow platform when this happens).

Han confronts his nephew, calling him by his true name; Ben. Han tells Ben to take off the mask, which Ben does, revealing to Han and Jaina the scar he’s gained from his “training” with Snoke. Han is visibly disturbed by what he sees, demanding to know what Snoke has done to him. Kylo answers that Snoke has taught him more about the power of the Force than any other Jedi has. Han replies “Including your father?" 

Kylo hesitates, until he says that Luke did not hold the power of which seeks. Only through the path he is currently on, can he achieve it. Han says that Ben is talking nonsense, and asks him to look at himself. Han says that Ben has already seen what Jaina thinks of him in this state, and asks him to imagine what Jacen thinks of him. What his aunt think of him. And then Han says "What would Anakin think? What would your mother think?”

At first, it seems like Ben is conflicted, and has some wavering in his voice which seems like regret. But then he starts to slowly become more angry, telling Han that he doesn’t know him, and that he doesn’t know what Anakin or his mother would think.“You’re not her… You can’t possibly know how she could’ve felt.”

Han, his gruff exterior lowering, beseeches Ben to please come home, practically begging him at this point (I was even thinking you could hear him starting to cry, in a rare moment of weakness for his character). Ben, however, just keeps giving a hushed “no” to each plea, until he finally shouts it, Force-choking Han. Ben/Kylo says that he can’t be changed. This is what he is now. Han still pleads between gasps, but Kylo just lets his anger and pain out in one burst and violently force pushes Han into a wall, yelling “Just leave me alone!”

Han crashes into the wall, and is knocked unconscious, while debris from the surrounding area covers part of the lower half of his body. Kylo runs off, not looking back behind him. Jaina tells Chewie and the remaining red shirts to take Han back to Falcon, and get him medical attention ASAP. She goes after Kylo, with Rey and Finn following close behind, despite her warnings.

We cut to Poe and his squadron, finally being able to make it to the main defense reactor. Destroying it would mean that the Starkiller Base would be defenseless. And just in time, because it appeared to be charging for another blast.

We then cut back to Jacen and Zayla’s fight, where both the Jedi and the Would-be Sith have been pushing their limits, with their battle being so intense that make it to the outer, planet surface of the base. As they each try to outmatch each other, Zayla reveals a trick her twin-headed lightsaber can do; she’s able to split it in two, and wield them at the same time (drawing parallels to Asajj Ventress, once again).

We then cut back to Jaina, Finn, and Rey, who’ve caught up to Kylo Ren. 

Suddenly, Rey stops and recognizes this as the same snow-covered forest in her vision. Finn asks her what’s wrong, and she snaps out of it, regaining some of her composure.

Jaina fights off Kylo, while Finn goes off to attend to Rey after she’s been knocked back by Kylo. Jaina manages to fend Kylo off, but Kylo senses Jaina doesn’t want to hurt him, and tries to use this to catch her off-guard. However, Finn returns, with Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber. Kylo pauses, and recognizes that lightsaber from his father’s descriptions. He demands to know how Finn has it, and demands that Finn hand it over, but Finn says if he wants it so bad, then he should come and get it for himself, igniting the saber. Kylo is now facing two against one, and manages to hold his ground, but struggles. Kylo senses that Zayla is nearby, fighting Jacen. He mentally calls out to her for assistance, to which Zayla agrees, baiting Jacen to follow her to where Jaina, Finn, and Rey are.

It’s now three against two, but Zayla has a trick up her sleeve. Sensing that the twins are close, she uses lightsaber techniques to catch Jacen off-guard while he’s fighting her, and uses one lightsaber of hers to slash at his back, taking Jacen out of the fight. Jacen, wounded, falls over, as Jaina is distracted enough to be knocked back by Kylo. All that leaves is Finn, who is outmatched by the Knights of Ren, but still manages to be cornered by Kylo.

Rey has been coming to, and sees her friends in trouble. She becomes so filled with passion, that she lets out a huge “NO!!”, after muttering smaller nos (another parallel to Kylo), which causes a huge Force push which knocks back Zayla and Kylo (but mostly Zayla, who is now injured and out of commission). We then have the scene where Rey gets Anakin’s lightsaber, only Finn, Jaina and Jacen are all conscious enough to witness it. That, and instead of fully  defeating Kylo, Rey uses her skills she learned with her staff to compensate, but she’s still not managed to completely beat him, only fighting to a standstill (and it even seemed like Kylo might win, despite his injuries) when parts of Starkiller Base start to explode.

Snoke mentally calls out to Zayla and Kylo to retreat for now, but they will make sure the children of the Force will pay dearly for this humiliation. Zayla and Kylo retreat back into the non-explodey part of the base, while Rey and the others are left in the snow. Just then, a light above appears. The Millennium Falcon has arrived, and lands just in time for the rest of them to be picked up, and brought to the medical bay.

Meanwhile, Poe has successfully destroyed the main defense reactor, causing a chain reaction which greatly damages the Starkiller. A good chunk of the FO/UGC forces have also been trashed, and soon begin to retreat, with the Republic-Resistance Alliance having achieved a massive victory.

However, not all is well. Those on board the Falcon are taken to a medical bay on one of the ships (sort of like that ship at the end of Empire Strikes Back), with Jacen having to heal from the wound Zayla gave him, Han slowly reviving from Kylo’s attack, but still in a weak condition, and Jaina, Finn, and Rey being exhausted from the battle.

A week passes, and emergency power is turned on in the command center of the Starkiller. Hux is getting an earful from Krazvlin and Prydus, looking at the ground for much of the conversation. Krazvlin is losing his last bits of patience with the FO, while Prydus is all but foaming at the mouth. Hux does say to the Chairman and the Grand Admiral that while they may have failed today, the Starkiller Base is still in operation. With new upgrades and restructuring, they could have it rebuilt better than ever, and then truly make the Republic pay for this defeat. While Prydus is against it, Krazvlin agrees, on the condition that this will be the last chance on the Starkiller Project. Hux says he will not fail them, but says that they’ll need to regroup their thinking about the First Order, including the construction of a more stable and organized star fleet, as well as more effective soldiers. Prydus, having calmed down, says that is one alternative; a remnant plan from the days of the Empire. Prydus asks Hux and Krazvlin is they’ve ever heard of the “Dark Trooper Project”.

We then cut to Phasma, who is once again having a spat with Zayla Ren. Zayla says that Phasma looks like “something the nexu dragged in”, while Phasma tells Zayla that she’s not in her most “lovely” state, either. Phasma asks why Zayla seems so cheerful, saying that they lost control over their battlestation, and she lost those force-sensitive users as well. Zayla says while that is true, she also says she’s gained something else today. Phasma asks what that is. Zayla says “Oh, just your loyalty, and leverage”.

Phasma asks what Zayla is talking about. Zayla replies that she recalls having saved Phasma’s life twice now; once on Takodana, and few days ago she saved her from being thrown in a trash compactor. Phasma asks that because she was forced to rely on her once or twice, that now means she’s supposed to be indebted to Zayla. Zayla says “No, no, no, it’s not because of something so childish. It’s because I would hate to see someone like you be turned in for treason.”

Phasma is shocked by what she hears, stammering as she asks what Zayla means. Zayla says that she was around the area when Phasma decided to turn on them and turn off the shields to the base. Phasma says that Zayla must be bluffing, and this is another one of her foolish mind tricks. Zayla guarantees Phasma that it is no trick, and she produces a small data drive, saying it contains all the footage the security sensors were able to pick up. She tells Phasma “not to worry” as she managed to delete all the footage of her betrayal, and that all that’s left is within this drive. 

Phasma stammers once again, asking Zayla what she wants. Zayla says that all she wants is to help “protect” Phasma. After the fiasco that’s happened over the course of the past week, she’s been hearing about how heads will roll because of this, and she’s just making sure that Phasma’s won’t be one of them. Phasma remains silent, and Zayla tells her not to worry, because as long as she does what she says, “this ‘Force-wielding brat’ will help you stay in your cozy position, and maybe even get you promoted”. 

Phasma, knowing that she can’t do anything, resigns herself to Zayla’s service, which pleases Rayla as she goes her own way.

We cut to Kylo Ren, communicating with Snoke (I was thinking that now it would be via a hologram, instead of a force bond), saying that he has failed him. Not only have two potential allies to their cause slipped through their fingers, and but the First Order’s main weapon has been crippled. He expects punishment, but Snoke says that while that may be true, Kylo has also shown his willingness to stop holding back, and willingness to cut the ties he had in his “past life”. Snoke says to report to him in-person at his secret location, so that he may begin to complete his training, along with the training of the other Knights of Ren. Snoke says that Kylo is that much closer to achieving the power he so desperately craves; to power to be master over life and death.

We cut to our heroes, with some of them celebrating their victory, while others are more melancholy, seeing it as a bittersweet victory.

The Republic has lost two of its cruisers and some of their own fighters, and have stirred tensions even further with the UGC, which some view critically. However, they’ve also left the First Order licking it’s wounds, and many in the Senate are seeking to pursue economic sanctions against UGC groups who were associated with the First Order.

And it’s also bitter for our heroes. Han is still breathing, and he’s regained consciousness, with Leia at his side, but he’s also hurt emotionally, wondering if the nephew he loved really is gone.

Unlike the movie, Finn is still conscious, but he’s still recovering from the fight with Kylo and Zayla, as is Rey, who he finds sitting by herself, looking a bit forlorn. Poe comes up to Finn, and says she’s been like this for a long time. Mirroring the talk on Takodana, Finn goes up to Rey, but this time Poe accompanies him. Finn and Poe try to comfort Rey, who’s trying even to comprehend all that’s happened in the past week or so. She’s wanted adventure all her life, and thought it would be fun and exciting, and while she admits she’d be lying if it wasn’t fun making fools out of First Order troops, she’s also scared about her encounters with the Knights of Ren, who apparently want her because of Force powers even she can’t understand. Finn and Poe comfort her, while also informing Rey of Finn going through instances similar to Rey’s, where Finn says that he might be also be in tune with the Force, and reaffirms that if there’s any trouble she’s in, he’ll be there to help, with Poe joining in on that declaration of friendship, and they share a big group hug.

After that’s over with, Jacen (who has recovered, mostly) and Jaina approach the trio, saying they must discuss something of vital importance.

Later on, they are discussing with Leia and the trio that from what they’ve seen and what they’ve felt within Rey and Finn, that they are two of the Force sensitive users their master told them to find and protect

The gist is that Luke sent them out to find new Force sensitive students for him and the Jedi Council to train, and that Jacen and Jaina are merely two of the Jedi Knights he’s sent out on this mission to comb the galaxy for potential Force users, young and old, to help train them in the ways of the Force, to combat the growing evil presence behind both the Knights of Ren and the First Order. However, in order to throw off suspicion from the First Order, Luke decided that while some of his new students should be trained by him personally, it would be best if others were to be trained under the guidance of the Masters of the Jedi Council who are currently standing in for Luke while he is in hiding.

The twins decide to take Rey to Luke, and that Finn must be brought to the New Jedi Council.

Rey doesn’t know how to feel, considering while she wants to discover the mystery behind her new power, which could also lead to the mysteries of her past and the visions she’s had, she’s also apprehensive because she was just reunited with Finn, Poe, and the rest of the people she’s just come to now as the only friends and family she’s ever had. Jaina and Jacen assure her that this is not goodbye for her and friends, and Finn and Poe reassure Rey that though they may be apart physically, they’ll always be together in spirit, and will wait until her training is complete.

Although still having mixed thoughts, Rey still agrees to go, and Finn agrees to meet with the Jedi Masters on the Council.

They all say their goodbyes to each other, with Jacen deciding to take Finn to the Council and the Academy, while Jaina takes Rey to where Luke is hidden.

Leia and Han (the latter of whom currently having to temporarily use a hover chair while he recovers), say to them as they begin to depart “May the Force be with you, always.”

Just before they leave, however, Finn says for Rey to keep Anakin’s/Luke’s lightsaber. Rey objects at first, but Finn says that while Luke may not need it, she likely will, and tells her not to worry, since he’s always been a bit better with a blaster, anyway.

With everything said and done, both Jacen and Jaina’s ships take off for their respective planets.

We then cut back and forth to Rey and Finn on board Jaina and Jacen’s ships, respectively, nervous about the whole situation, wondering what’s going to happen to them. While in thought, they’re alerted that they’ve arrived their respective destinations.

Finn and Jacen arrive on the planet home to the Jedi Council and the Academy, Dantooine (Luke decided to move the Council and the Main Temple far away from Coruscant, and also has a temple and academy on Yavin IV, like in the old EU), while Jaina and Rey arrive on the planet with the Ancient Jedi Temples we saw at the beginning of the “movie”. 

Finn and Jacen arrive on Dantooine where they stop in front of pristine structure of the enclave of the Jedi Temple. Jacen says he has important business with the Council scheduled, and they’re led to them.

Meanwhile, Jaina and Rey arrive on the world where Luke is, where it appears that other Jedi Knights are arriving with other Force-sensitive users, young and older.

Also, just to note, Luke abolished the rule of taking Force-sensitive people when they’re children or babies, opting instead to either have them be trained closer to home, so that they can still go back as if it were school, or have their families come along with them, where they provide for them as well (this especially happens with poor families with Force-sensitive children, who wish to have a better life). 

Anyway, Jaina takes Rey to the main ancient Jedi Temple, where Luke is waiting.

We then get another back and forth scene where we cut between the scenes of Rey and Finn meeting their new masters. 

With Finn, we’re brought to the Jedi Council room, where two figures have their backs turned from them, and are looking out the window. Jacen says that he trusts they sensed why they are here. The female figure in the white robes says that they have. Jacen then formally introduces Finn to the Jedi Masters whom Luke left in charge while he was away, and the ones who will help him train him.

The two Masters turn around to reveal an older human man, with a slight scar on his face, and faded brown-gray-ish hair, yet with smile on his face, and a Togruta woman, with also a warm smile on her face.

The Torgruta woman removes her hood, and welcomes Finn to the Jedi Order, and they each introduce themselves as Jedi Masters Ashoka Tano and Kyle Katarn.

Finn is in awe of actually meeting two legendary Jedi Masters.

At the same time, Jaina brings Rey to where Luke is, practicing his Force meditation, currently even levitating a bit from the ground, as certain small objects levitate around him (sort of like he was supposed to be introduced in TFA before changes were made). Jaina pardons her interruption, but she says she’s brought one of “children of the Force” he sensed, and that Rey apparently has something for him. Luke slowly stops his levitating, and the objects around him follow suit. He stands up, and thanks Jaina, to which she says that it was no trouble (a small joke on her end), before calling Luke “uncle”.

Rey steps forward to the man, who turns around and removes his hood to reveal the face of the one who destroyed the Death Star, the one who helped restore the Jedi Order, and the one who brought Anakin Skywalker back over to the Light Side so that he could finally bring balance to the Force; Luke Skywalker.

After a moment of staring in awe, Rey realizes something and remembers what Jaina just said, as well as what Poe said earlier, and takes out the lightsaber Luke once wielded, and his father before him. She presents it to him, thinking he might still want it back as a keepsake. She reaches out to hand it him, but before she can, Luke holds up his hand, and says with a solemn, yet warm smile “No. It’s not mine, anymore.”

Rey is taken aback, but then Luke says that if she so desires it, that lightsaber is now hers. Rey is even shocked now, and Luke simply says with a nod, “Welcome, Rey. As of now, your training has begun.”

We then get a scene where we pan back, and see both the scenes of the new Jedi apprentices standing before their new masters, side by side.

The End of Episode VII

Some fitting music to cap it off:

And that is officially my rough storyline pitch for my rewrite of The Force Awakens. I hope you at least enjoyed some of it, because I have big plans for it in the future, when I come up with the other two story outlines for this trilogy.

Again, feel free to ask me what I have in mind for this “rewrite trilogy”. along with any other questions which spring to mind.

However, I will say this; I will try to treat the original trilogy characters as well as I can, show that their efforts weren’t for nothing, and that everything will turn out right for them in the end.

Until next time, when I come up with the story outline for the next part in this rewrite trilogy:

Episode VIII:The Lost Jedi

[scavengered]

IMPORTANT TROS  ( canon divergent ) NOTES THAT  influence my portrayal in all of my TROS threads:

               this is not a full framework (yet), but rather a couple of important moments I felt I needed                to clearly write out & present on my blog.  Once the film is properly released, I may consider                writing out a full framework, or leave it like it is, if it solely concerns a few scenes !  Should                you want to write with me, but would like to see a few things adjusted, do not hesitate to                contact me !                          please keep in mind that these notes are my  own  headcanons and ideas                          based on what happened and/or how I would have liked scenes to be played                          out.  I ask that you respect them and do not steal.  I consider these notes to                          be  my  canon.

 ALLEGIANCE TO THE RESISTANCE

As stated in my rewritten TLJ verse, Rey struggled with her allegiance to the Resistance after delivering the droid back to its master.  She had not signed up to be part of it, nor the war, as her sole intention was to return a droid to its master.  The more time she spent with the Resistance, the more she came in contact with the loving and caring qualities of others.  Having been isolated from interactions on the desert planet where she grew up on, she initially watched as she saw Resistance members enjoy and appreciate every day that they were still out there fighting the good fight.   Hope was strong within them, and it was fuelled by love.  Others cared for her        and in return, she started to care for them.  She had formed relationships and some grew to be more than  simply  friends.  Witnessing it all, General Organa had decided to tell her about family; how it it was not always by blood, but sometimes by choice.  The words needed time to sink in, but eventually the realisation hit that she had found family of her own, in members of the Resistance.

COMPASSION

Like we have seen in previous materials, Rey’s compassion goes a long way, but it certainly has its limits.

her compassion  is for two scavengers she knew not to trust, who saw an opportunity and got away with a ship she had restored to its former glory, along with a bit of their help. her compassion  is for the droid with a bend antennae, looking for its master, whom she freed from the clutches of a Teedo. her compassion  is for a defected stormtrooper who told her a lie she believed, was the first to ask her if she was okay, and was not someone she wanted to lose when he wanted to run. her compassion  is for a pilot who might bicker with her, but they both know their lines and the base on which they bicker: love and friendship. her compassion  is for a Wookiee who lost his best friend, and entrusted her with the millennium falcon. her compassion  does not forgive and forget. her compassion  does not forgive her abuser.

DOUBTS

Rey, in my rewritten TLJ verse, had been trained in the Force by Jedi master Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To.  Her skills in using the Force developed through this training, though she still felt vulnerable and somewhat insecure in using them.  Especially with the threat of the Dark Side rising, there was much more at stake than before.  Her  insecurities  increased, and eventually it led her to ask General Organa for extra training, once they had found a new and secure base for the Resistance. Her extra training caused her to be on the ground much more than in the air        where she could have used her flying skills and aided the Resistance in what was familiar territory for her, doing what she could do best        much to the annoyance of some Resistance members.  This annoyance, along with the threat of the Dark Side, Rey sensed that expectations were high, and she felt the pressure from everyone, which she struggled to deal with, as well as her new surroundings that encouraged  team work. Team work was encouraged amongst Resistance members, as they believed it would pull them out of the darker moments and made victories        no matter how small or big        feel that much greater.  Rey, however, had sworn off team work back on Jakku, where she had initially been in service of others.  After a few years, when realising that she knew the tricks of the trade and did not need others to survive, she became aware that she could do the same work on her own.  This  independence  allowed her to keep whatever she got out of a trade, all to herself.   Another reason for working alone was  distrust;  she could not trust anyone on the desert planet, nor see through someone’s genuine intentions.  From that moment onwards, she had vowed to work alone, a belief that had worked its way into her mind.  Over the years, she had convinced herself that she was someone who did not work well with others.  To Resistance members who survived off the strength and support of each other, this vow seemed to be foreign.  The gap between the two beliefs        where Rey found herself and what the Resistance expected of her        had to be crossed, in order to earn her spot in the Resistance.  How else could they trust her, if she did not trust them?   In essence, the thought of  trusting  others was an uncomfortable and daunting one, and the fear of letting them down, exactly when they needed her most,  scared  her.  Rey found herself in a position that was the stark opposite of when she was back on Jakku, where she knew herself and her skills, and relied on them.  It was a dangerous place to be in        to not be able to rely on oneself        and knew this was the sort of thing that could mean death on a planet as harsh as Jakku.  As a consequence, Rey felt uneasy and did whatever she could to strengthen herself in the use of the Force, even if that meant sitting out on missions.

FINN’S FORCE SENSITIVITY

In an ideal story/trilogy, I would have liked to see Finn realising and coming to terms with his force sensitivity around the time TLJ took place.  In my opinion, and the way I write and portray Rey, she would not push him to come forward to her about this.  Instead, she would allow him to do so when he felt ready to share this discovery.  I believe Rey would have sensed his force sensitivity somewhere along the way, and would respond with a simple  “ I know ”  , before handing him her lightsaber to practice with.                for more finn and rey dynamic, see  ‘that lightsaber scene’                at the bottom of the post.

FIGHTING STYLE

Once six-year-old Rey decided to stop working for others, she was no longer able to enjoy the protection of a group.  Others saw her as an easy target, and to survive on Jakku, she had to defend her salvage, as well as herself.  It took time, but eventually the young scavenger started to win more fights than she lost.  Rey would use whatever was available to her, whether that be random items lying around, her staff or her fists to punch with and legs to kick        there were no rules to take into consideration: all was fair in a fight that resulted in either survival or death.  Her reputation grew, and over time others knew to stay out of her way and leave her be.   When leaving Jakku, Rey did not leave her rough and scrappy fighting skills.  Even in a lightsaber combat, she would use what she could to get the upper hand,  rather  than solely relying on striking with her lightsaber.

PARENTAGE

In my main verse for episode IX, Rey will remain a nobody.  The power she wields is  entirely  her own.  There is no one who can answer questions about her parents and there is no hidden mystery behind it.  Rey was abandoned on Jakku as a five-year-old and has had to fend for herself, believing her family would one day return for her.  Instead of them returning for her, she was taken on an adventure when encountering, defending and taking care of a Resistance droid.  Any parallels between other Legacy characters would be  coincidental  in this AU, not hinting to anything more. This darling desert flower child has gone through and survived so much, and she deserves her power to be  hers,  not something she owes someone / a certain lineage. Alongside of  this  reinvented canon for my Rey, I have added an AU that follows most events  ( as they happen in my own canon )  but in which she is a Skywalker.   Way back in 2016, I was inspired by these gifsets  [x]  &�� [x]  and started to plot extensively with a specific Luke        because come on... that  IS  the Skywalker strut, and you cannot deny that resemblance  ( both physically and in background ) !  Not wanting to force this parentage onto another mun/muse else, I kept it between the person I plotted with.  We spoke how Rey was his daughter, but he had to get her to a safe place due to the looming threat of the Dark Side.   As mentioned, I kept this between the person I plotted it with,  until now.  Though her parentage has been revealed in The Rise of Skywalker, it is not necessarily one that makes a lot of sense, in my opinion.                So, here’s my  own  headcanon on this matter, that will              influence  my TROS/post TROS verse: For my Rey’s lineage, she is Luke’s daughter and Anakin’s grandchild, given the name Kira upon her birth.  Luke gave his daughter to the “parents” she still remembers leaving her on Jakku.  The reason for this was that he needed someone to take care of young Kira, as his attention would be on training the new Jedi order.  Luke had not entrusted Kira to just anyone, he made sure to select a couple who he had known from the rebellion, people he knew and trusted with his own life.  Eventually, years later, training young Jedis went horribly wrong.  Luke might have managed to get a message out to Kira’s caretakers, mentioning them to be careful, that something was about to happen and to keep Rey safe no matter what.   Given Kira’s caretakers’ ties to the rebellion, they possessed the mentality that, even if tortured, they would not reveal Kira’s location or give her up any other way.  They fought for her survival to the point of them paying the price for it.   Sacrificing themselves for the safety of the five-year-old left Luke and Kira on different places in the universe, with no way for either of them to contact each other.  Young Kira        who over time forgot her name and aptly named herself Rey when inspired by finding a rebellion helmet with the name Raeh on it         still held out for the return of those she believed to be her parents, whilst Luke searched everywhere for his young daughter.  Not having any luck in finding her, he expected the worst and turned his objective to seeking out and destroying the Sith. Skipping forward to the end of The Rise of Skywalker, in my headcanon-y verse, Rey is told the surname of her caretakers        those she believed to have been her true parents        as well as discovering that she is Luke’s kid.  The choice of the surname is hers, and she takes everything into consideration.  She cannot verbally express what her caretakers have meant to her; they have kept her save and protected her, knowing it would lead to their demise.  She considers what Leia and Luke have meant to her, and what her life, stepping into their legacy means        she is given the choice to choose her family.  Her family is the Resistance, and she chooses to attach the name Skywalker to it once and for all. To sum it up,  the lineage for Rey in this AU will therefore be:              Strong force sensitive Shmi    >  Anakin Skywalker  >  Luke              Skywalker  →  entrusted caretakers  >  Rey Skywalker small disclaimer:  as seen in the background story I have come up with for Rey, I am using other characters.  Should you want to write with me, but do not necessarily agree with what I mentioned, please contact me so we can look at the possibilities that could work for us both.

KYLO USING HIS LIFE FORCE ON REY

First and foremost, this is, and  always  will be, an ani-r*ylo blog, as I do not ship someone with her abuser.  Still, my paths crossed with this quote from a pro-r*ylo blog in one of my tracked tags: “he used his life-force to resurrect rey because he loves her and he can't live without her.”  .. ..  . .      f u ck  no.

If I am being completely honest, I think that Kylo opted to save Rey from a selfish, weak and cowardly point of view.   Let us not forget that Kylo has committed genocide, emotionlessly ordered and committed murders, tortured others to gain information and patricide.  He is responsible for the death of millions and time and time again, he has shown no remorse. I believe, which in this topic goes hand-in-hand in regards to Rey’s beliefs,  Kylo saw this as his escape from his responsibilities  ( to own up to his crimes )  and took it.  In doing so, he did a  small  good thing        to be fair, he could have stabbed himself with a lightsaber        but he chose to give his life force to Rey.  Still, I believe it came from a selfish place, as this action allowed him to escape all the crimes he had committed. Important note:  I  do not  believe Rey actually died in this scene, but rather that she was unconscious.  It is a  sickening  thought that she should owe her life to her abuser, and I  will not  allow that to be  my  canon.

REY STABBING KYLO  &  THE AFTERMATH

The scene in which Rey stabbed Kylo with the lightsaber, went a little differently in my head, which is the canon I accept.  During the lightsaber fight, Rey managed to get the upper hand and stab Kylo, just before Leia sought contact with her son one last time.  Rey felt this, too, and  did not  decide to heal her abuser.  Instead, she told him to  live  with the damage he had done and the horrors he had caused.  Rey took Kylo’s ship, which realistically is the only transport off the Death Star, assuming the dangerous waves did their damage to the Skimmer by then.  To clarify, Rey has stabbed and left her abuser with no way to escape off the Death Star.  Rey would still take off, but sent out an emotional message to Poe and Finn  ( most likely to the Millennium Falcon )  before she would be out of reach, in which she explained her reasoning for doing this.  Despite having worked together really well and having faced danger together, that she saw no other way but to set out on her own to finish what others before her had started        to end the Sith.  Rey continued the message by apologising for leaving them behind like this, but revealed not to know of another way to keep them, the family she  chose,  safe  ( in her mind, she acknowledged the fact that she, too, had once been left behind on a planet for safekeeping, ouch ) .  Upon hearing this message, Finn and Poe decided not to accept this, and they head back to base to try and find out where she could have gone. Once back on Resistance Base, Poe sought out the ones in charge of tactics and comms, and Finn headed straight for the Jedi books Rey had been reading up on, remembering her talking about the topics the books covered        and what Luke had been up to.  In accordance to the film, Poe would catch word of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing showing up on their tactical screen, and it would become clear that it was Rey sending her signal to them.  I reckon that Rey realised, with some  guidance  from Luke, that she could not complete this task alone.  “ You’re stronger when you work together, Rey. ”  The Jedi master had told her, which caused her to turn on her signal transmitter, which she made sure was sent to the Resistance receivers, so that they could track her.  Finn and Poe immediately realised Rey’s intention by doing this.  Convinced team work is the way to take down the Sith, Rey’s actions make my  ‘doubts’  topic on Rey and team work come full circle. 

THAT LIGHTSABER SCENE

Given the topic above and my thoughts on it, removing Kylo from the narrative would provide the perfect ability for Finn to put his Jedi training to the test, along with his lightsaber skills he possesses, and take out the Sith  side by side  with Rey.  Should the scene have happened with Finn and Rey, it could have shown their growth from when they faced Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens, and now stood opposite of the entire Sith together, to bring it down.   A scavenger and a defected stormtrooper, side by side, with lightsabers that previously belonged to Luke and Leia.  We  deserved  this, and even more so, Finn and Rey  deserved  this.

SPICE RUNNER... POE...

Lastly...  although this is the one note/thought that does not have any sort of connection to Rey, I still wanted to express my thoughts on this.    no .    it is stereotypical  and  racist.  The only way this would be  slightly  possible, would be if Poe used this as a sort of undercover job to gain the trust of a group he had to join to gain intel or something else of value, via which he could have met Zorii  ( who I personally think is definitely nothing more than a friend to him ) . 

[marsworms]

so a few days ago i saw the new star war and i decided to do the most unnecessary and unwanted thing ever: make a post about how i felt about it. below the cut cuz spoilers i guess

right after i left the theater i got a message from a good lovely friend of mine asking how i felt about it. i immediately replied that it was good, mostly just cuz thats pretty much what i always say when asked abt stuff like that unless i felt strongly about it, but after thinking about it for a bit i came to the conclusion that it was just Okay... and honestly, the more i think about it, the only emotion i really feel is Disappointment.

now i really liked the force awakens and especially the last jedi. these two, when put in context with the older films, presented a unique narrative. i think its pretty uncontroversial to say that the villains of the star wars series are based off of nazis (and to a certain extent american imperialists but thats besides the point), with the prequel trilogy telling the story of the failure of a liberal republic and the rise of these space nazis and the original trilogy telling the story of resistance to the militarist empire established in the aftermath of that rise. in this course of events, the first order would thusly be neo-nazis, of a sort, a power hungry group of imperial revivalists. this was how i interpreted it in the first film, and how i continued to interpret it in the latter, furthered by the pathetic characterization of figures like general hux and kylo ren. the resistance then becomes people fighting this attempted revival of the empire by the coalition of old imperialists and new ideologues, yeah? additionally, there would then be the question of what to do after the first order is defeated; the republic failed to stop the rise of these militarist imperialists twice by that point, so surely there would be a question of whether the republic is even, in the end, a good thing.

the last jedi, in my opinion, served these ideas pretty well! it showed a first order emboldened by recently taking over control of the government, a resistance struggling to continue in the face of dwindling numbers and supply, internal power struggle within the first order between kylo ren and general hux, and a focus on a structural critique, with luke skywalker throughout the film decrying the old jedi for being complacent and hypocritical and the canto bight scene in effect turning the eye on industrialists and capitalists for profiting off of human misfortune and suffering. it was different and it fit very well with what i thought the movie series was going for in the force awakens. on top of that, i really appreciated the narrative about rey not having important parents, that she was just the child of people who weren’t very important on the galactic scale, because that felt to me as a good rebuttal to the first order’s fixation on the heritage of kylo ren as a descendant of darth vader (and the general idea of the importance of bloodlines that is so prominent in the modern revivalist movements that surround the old militarist imperialists of the real world). rey didn’t have to be a skywalker to be important or to change the world, she could just do it by being principled and doing what is right and all that. the last jedi challenged the preconceived notions of the in-universe factions of the resistance and the first order, as well as the preconceived notions of star wars fans, and i thought that was a good thing!

the rise of skywalker undoes ALL of this. the structural critique is gone, replaced by the sudden and unexpected return of emperor palpatine and the revelation that he has been guiding everything from behind the scenes, just like he was in the prequels. now, the villain of the series isn’t war, it isn’t the failings of the republic, it isn’t even the space nazis themselves... its just emperor palpatine! the first order melts away and is replaced by the last order (which btw i just think is a dumb name), with a surprise massive fleet made up entirely of ships that have the ability to destroy planets and will be able to take over the whole galaxy. its pretty obvious how just boring this is... they replaced a fledgling government established following a coup with a sith dominated new empire under an immortal palpatine that has the ability to destroy the entire damn universe. gone also is the critique of the fixation on bloodlines, replaced by the sudden realization that rey is a descendant of palpatine, and the relationship between kylo ren and rey is due to some kind of essential deep force relationship between the bloodlines of anakin skywalker and sheev palpatine. i hate that so so soooo much. its dumb, and it serves the exact mentality that was described by the first order in the last jedi. the rise of skywalker was basically just a rehash of return of the jedi, with the exact same set of characters just with new faces, and the stakes massively increased (now its a whole fleet of death stars! now palpatine can shoot down spaceships in the sky using his lightning powers!) also on top of that kylo ren and rey were really the only well written characters, everybody else was either so so one-dimensional or were shunted out of view (rose, the character introduced in the last jedi was incredibly non-present it was shameful).

basically, i wish that the rise of skywalker (or whatever it would be called if the narrative were different) was about the continuing growth of the resistance, reaching out to and gaining allies, all in the buildup to a final confrontation with the first order and, most likely, the ultimate switcharoo of ben solo ceasing in his support for the first order (most likely de facto succeeded by general hux just before the final defeat), and then it ends with hopeful uncertainty about what the galaxy will now look like, with the first order defeated... many people don’t want to bring back the republic, since it had failed to keep the sith from taking over twice at that point, but ultimately people look to the future with hope and all that yaknow... a very different tone from the unequivocal victory against the final cosmic enemy of a revived sith empire under some kind of god-king palpatine.

also i just thought it was funny that kylo and rey basically got together, if even for a moment. i don’t concern myself much with the weird shipping discourse cuz its something im completely uninvolved with, but boy i just thought that that whole discussion would become so intensely hellish with that final change in the movies. it felt forced and strange for sure, but im just so distant from shipping discourse that i only thought it humorous. the fixation on kylo and rey that led to the ultimate relationship between them was part of my problem with it, cuz it was central to why poe, finn, and rose just fell to the wayside and had such little presence in the movie. just disappointing!

[rebelsofshield]

Nic’s Episode IX Treatment

So in 2018, I started a very short lived project where I asked Star Wars fans what their dream Episode IX script would be. It didn’t really end up taking off due to my own busy schedule, but I had a lot of fun doing it and it was a blast hearing other fan’s theories and wishes.

I wrote a Star Wars Episode IX treatment of my own for fun. I figured with The Rise of Skywalker out now, it might be fun to see where I envisioned the franchise going in the future. I wrote this in 2018 before in any of the casting was announced and before the Palpatine reveal, so it’s very different from the finished film. Happy to hear thoughts and feel free to message me your Episode IX ideas as well! What would your dream version of this movie have been!

Episode IX -Once and For All

Opening Crawl:

A galaxy divided! Lead by the Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and his mysterious knights, The First Order tears across the galaxy. No world is safe. Planets burn. Standing in opposition, General Poe Dameron leads a sprawling Resistance with the help of Commander Finn and Rey, the last of the Jedi. Together, they hope to free the galaxy from falling once again into tyranny. In an act of evil, The First Order has attacked the neutral world of Mornio. To save its innocent people, the Resistance rushes to its aid…

Synopsis: The Skywalker legacy comes to a close as a galaxy in the midst of a massive civil war heads towards a climactic final battle. Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, and Kylo Ren are forced to face their pasts and destinies.

We are six years after the events of The Last Jedi.

Central Cast at the start of the Film:

Main Cast: Rey- As the new final bastion of the Jedi, Rey must not only fight for the freedom of the galaxy but the preservation of the Order itself. Rey has fashioned the traditional lightsaber into a Pike-Saber and has been studying for years the texts taken from the last Jedi temple. She fights on the front lines of the war and finds herself becoming a legend in a way she never anticipated. Rey finds herself drawn to individuals who are powerful in the Force and finds herself trying to take on the teacher role while she is still learning. Finn- Finn is now a key figure in the ground corps for the Resistance. With his familiarity with the First Order and experience in infantry, Finn has quickly become one of the most important members of the Resistance. However, he soon finds that he is also a legendary figure to the First Order as well and it becomes clear that he may be the secret weapon that may win the war. Poe Dameron- Having given up his days of being a pilot for a life of military leadership, Poe is now a general in the Resistance military, carrying on Leia’s legacy. Poe still struggles with a need to have his feet on the ground and with his emotions. He also finds himself head over heels for Finn and having trouble figuring out how to balance his emotions for Finn while carrying out the mission. Kylo Ren- Now the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren balances his own newfound power with his still volatile emotional and mental state. Having found that his new absolute power leaves him wanting, Kylo has become obsessed with ancient Dark Side secrets in the hopes of discovering something that justify his actions in life. He is joined for the first time in the series by the remainder of the Knights of Ren, Luke’s former pupils. He has taken up residence in Darth Vader’s palace from Rogue One. Think a sort of Gothic Romance character. Overwhelmed with secrets and emotions and held up in a castle.

Supporting Cast:

Rose Tico- Rose is now the leading engineer and ship designer for the Resistance. She has become good friends with Rey and leads active recruitment efforts for the Resistance for rescued planets. Lando Calrissian-Lando meets up with the main crew at Leia’s funeral. He has a deep regret for having sat out the war, claiming that one war was enough for one lifetime, but that he should have been there for Han and Leia. Tyla Calrissian –Lando’s daughter and current head of the Mining Guild. Tyla is one of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy in that she controls all of the mining companies. Her profits help steer the war.

Ichon- An alien that Rey meets after the opening battle. He is Force-Sensitive and unsure of how to take care of himself and this new power within him. He looks up to Rey and see her as a potential teacher and mentor. General Hux- Hux is vying for power to usurp Kylo Ren as the ruler of the First Order. He has begun to see Kylo and Force-Users in general as being antithetical to galactic order and not worthy of their place in the galaxy.

Ambro Ren- The second most powerful/senior member of the Knights of Ren. Has a long standing rivalry/mentorship with Kylo. More of a Snoke loyalist. Sees Kylo as being a detriment to Snoke’s longterm vision. Played by Michael Mando (?)

FN-4928-A young Stormtrooper that Finn befriends while undercover

  Act I: Discoveries (45 minutes)

We open up in the midst of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance above and on the surface of a tropical planet, Morneo, with a diverse alien population and large coral like plants. Poe, Connix, and Rose are leading the orbital battle against the Resistance fleet while Finn and Rey head up the ground battle. Rey makes a dramatic reveal, maybe kind of like Wonder Woman, of her new staffsaber and it becomes clear that she’s an icon to the Resistance as she saves a platoon of soldiers and locals lead by Finn. Poe and Rose organize an attack in which a hidden portion of the Resistance fleet slingshots around Morneo using the planet’s gravity to their advantage. This sends the First Order fleet into retreat and the Stormtroopers on the ground are forced to surrender. After the battle Finn encounters a dying Stormtrooper that recognizes him and speaks his name. This forces Finn to realize that his reputation has grown amongst the First Order and he may be instrumental to their defeat. Rey makes a connection with a local alien, Ichon, who approaches her after the battle. He may be Force sensitive and is unsure how to approach the situation. Rey is overwhelmed by this and retreats. Rose recruits new warriors from the planet to join them in the fight. One of the aliens shows Rose a stockpile of old Imperial technology including a gravity well. This excites Poe as he realizes that it may be key in helping to trap the First Order fleet. As Poe excitedly begin to explain this to Rey and Finn he receives a communication from command. Leia has passed away. We skip to Leia’s funeral which is held on a planet that has grown to double as both a refuge for people displaced by the war and for the Resistance. Chewbacca and 3PO give a respectful but humorous eulogy, but Poe and Connix deliver the final lines. At the funeral, 3PO introduces Poe and Rey to Lando. Lando, who is remorseful that he has stayed out of the conflict for this long, offers his assistance in joining the Resistance and mentions that his daughter Tyla, who is currently the leader of the Mining Guild, may be able to be won over as an ally. We cut to Kylo Ren having taken up residence in Darth Vader’s former palace on Mustafar. Kylo having sensed that his mother has passed and growing frustrated with his position as supreme leader has become obsessed with attempting to find purpose in his life and finding where Vader’s rule failed. He spends much of his time attempting to commune with old artifacts. Here we learn more about the Knights of Ren and their relationship to Kylo and Snoke. One Knight of Ren in particular, Ambro Ren, a Snoke loyalist, begins to piece together what really happened to the former Supreme Leader. Hux and Kylo fight via hologram. Hux wants him to take a more active stance in the war effort, which is a sentiment echoed by some of the Knights, who were off fighting the war during the events of The Last Jedi. Ambro Ren, who sees Kylo’s inaction and instability dangerous to the goals of the Knights and the First Order, begins to speak with Hux about potentially overthrowing Kylo.

Finn lets Poe, Rey, and Rose know that he is leaving to attempt a revolt in the First Order. This is hotly debated by the team especially Poe, but Finn convinces them that it is what he needs to do. Rose talks to Poe about letting Finn go. She tells him that Finn will always do what he thinks is right and that you can’t hold him back from doing it. She also tells Poe that she knows how he feels about him, but she’s known for a while that Finn only has his eyes on one person. Finn packs his things and Poe wishes him off. He gives Poe a one way encrypted commlink to communicate with the Resistance if needed. Poe warns him that he knows that this will be tough and that it’ll probably bring about a lot of old experiences and bad memories. Poe kisses a surprised Finn as he leaves. Finn isn’t sure of what to make of it.

Ichon, who joined up with the Resistance, approaches Rey in her chambers to try and discuss what just happened to him. He feels something inside him he doesn’t recognize. Rey isn’t sure how to teach him. She tries her best to talk to him but finds that she is lost in her words and is just as new at this as he is. Maz Kanata leads Finn to the First Order world enslaved world of Onderon. Finn convinces Maz to speak to her allies in the outer rim and to bring help for whatever battle may lie ahead. Finn slips into the ranks of the Stormtroopers using a stolen suit of armor and is quickly deployed.

Act II: Where are We and Where are We Going (50 minutes) Lando organizes a meeting between Rey, Rose, Poe and Tyla. It doesn’t go well. Lando and Tyla don’t have the best relationship in the world. We learn that Tyla more or less won control of the Mining Guild after Lando bungled control of it for so long. Tyla doesn’t see the benefit in taking sides in the war if the Mining Guild can profit off both sides and feed customers on Canto Bight and elsewhere. Rose makes a plea for Tyla to see the damage that remaining neutral to the war is doing to the galaxy, but she is mostly brushed off. During the conversation, Rey sees Tyla move a datapad subtly without touching it and senses that Tyla may be Force-Sensitive and approaches her after the meeting. Tyla brushes her off. Kylo is plagued by visions in the Force he does not recognize and begins to suspect that they may be from Vader. He becomes obsessed with the visions to the point where he begins to shirk his duties as Supreme Leader leaving the Knights to host meetings with Hux and the remainder of the ruling council on their own. Ambro proposes his plan to assassinate Kylo. The Knights are beholden to Snoke’s vision, not that of Kylo. Rey and Poe share their frustrations with one another about the state of the war. Poe pulls up a map of the galaxy and talks to her about how the war is going, which isn’t well. The First Order is still running off momentum from the initial attack all those years ago and the Resistance is just too unorganized and scattered to mount a single attack. He worries that without Leia they may be lost. He wishes he could be more like Finn or Rey and be a symbol people could rally behind.

Finn is deployed with a large amount of Stormtroopers into a battle on the fungal world of Felucia. They land into a massive D-Day like conflict between the First Order and the Resistance/local milita. We follow Finn in the battle almost exclusively and his struggles to keep his cover while not actively killing members of the Resistance. He ends up using his energy to save wounded soldiers and protect Stormtroopers. This ends up earning him a reputation with the other soldiers. One, FN-4928, takes a liking to Finn and sticks close to him once the fighting has calmed down. After the battle, Captain Phasma, now a cyborg, arrives to oversee the rest of the campaign. Rey returns to her chambers and is visited by the Force Ghost of Luke who helps guide her in her worries about training new Jedi in Ichon and Tyla. Luke apologizes for not being able to be the teacher she needed, but he sees within her the ability to be something he could not: the future of the Jedi Order.

Emboldened Rey approaches Tyla at night. She finds her in a combat training session with several sparring droids. Tyla is a real bad ass and knows how to handle herself with a blaster pretty damn well. Tyla explains that when she was younger the other members of the Mining Guild were always jockeying for power. Assassinations weren’t uncommon so she trained herself from a young age to defend herself. Rey mentions how the Mining Guild may bring her life power and stability, but there is a yearning in her that Rey recognizes. Rey mentions how she used to be lost and alone, but the Force guided her and has given her a purpose in life. Part of that purpose may be teaching people like Tyla. Tyla is convinced and leaves the Mining Guild decision to a vote with a bewildered Lando acting in her stead and decides to train with Rey and Ichon. Poe leaves a flustered 3P0 in charge of rigging the vote in their favor. Rose and Rey have an emotional goodbye as they wish each other luck on their missions. Rey says that Rose’s hope inspires her.

Finn marches through the jungles of Felucia with the rest of his squadron. One night, Finn sneaks away from camp to send a message to Poe confirming his survival and status. FN-4928 finds him and quickly learns his identity. Instead of turning him in, he swears loyalty to his cause, which makes Finn feel uncomfortable.

Rey takes Tyla and Ichon to Ach-To. She tells them of the legend of Luke Skywalker and how he was both just a man and something much more. Together she helps them center themselves and commune with the planet. Rey reads to them from the ancient Jedi texts and helps the two of them tap into the Force and their potential.

Finn and his squadron participate in an assault lead by Phasma on a Resistance bunker. The troopers make short work of the defenses. Inside, they discover that the crew were in the midst of sending a distress signal to the Refugee planet. Believing they have found the Resistance’s base, Phasma informs the Knights of Ren. Kylo is finally visited by the ghost of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin tells Kylo that he has failed to learn from his past and that he walks a path not unlike his own. It was a path that brought him nothing but pain and suffering, but the Light still found him in the end. Kylo rejects this and claims that Anakin was weak and he sees through his lies. Anakin attempts to reason with him but Kylo pulls some unforeseen Force whosawatsit and banishes Anakin’s spirit. Kylo storms off. We see illuminated in silhouette the Force Ghosts of Anakin, Leia, and Luke. They hold hands. Anakin tells them he tried. Luke says he knows and he’s sorry. Leia says that they’ve done all they could. The fate of their family is in the hands of another. Kylo approaches the Knights of Ren. Infuriated, he demands action. They are to attack the refugee planet with their entire fleet and banish hope from the galaxy.

Act III: The War to End All Wars  (45 minutes) Finn sends a warning to the Refugee Planet that the First Order knows their location and is prepping an assault. He confides in FN-4928 that he isn’t sure of what to do and that he had hoped that he would be farther along in his plans to free his fellow troopers by now. 4928 tells him that he believes in Finn and he knows other troopers will follow him if he were tell them to. Knowing that the First Order is on its way, the Resistance preps for what could be the climactic battle of the war. Rose and Poe prep the team for their plan. Rose will deploy the salvaged Imperial gravity wells to trap the First Order fleet in transit so that the Resistance can ambush them. Rey, who is still on Ach-To, calls Poe about what they should do about getting Finn out of the fleet. Poe says that they have to prioritize taking out Hux, Phasma, and the First Order leadership, but that he can’t stop Rey from conducting “Jedi business.” Rey, Tyla, and Ichon depart Ach-To.

On the refugee planet, word has spread that the First Order is about to attack. These people, who have already lost their homes and loved ones, begin to panic. Poe sees the fear in the people around them and with encouragement from Rose gives a rousing speech about the importance of what is occurring here. The people on this planet represent everything the First Order does not: chaos, freedom, diversity, ingenuity, and hope. They have a chance to bring that back to the galaxy and make the losses of those that came before mean something. R2 and BB-8 broadcast this around the planet. Poe leaves unsure if his speech worked at all. Rose gives him a pat on the back. She’s proud of him. She leaves for the gravity wells. Poe leaves with what little military he has, but he is soon joined by hundreds of ships from the planet. The fleet, which is made up with a wide array of diverse and crazy looking ships (alliance, alien, Maz’s pirates, even some prequel ships, feel free to load up with cameos), preps for launch. The attack begins and both fleets engage. It’s easily the biggest space battle ever done in the franchise. The First Order seems to have the upper hand but Lando arrives on the Millenium Falcon co-piloted by Chewbacca and Nien Nunb and accompanied by Tyla’s Mining Guild forces. In the midst of the chaos, Rey slips her ship into the star destroyer Finn is on. Finn and 4928 begin their own broadcast on First Order frequencies, but they are attacked by Phasma and her men shortly into it. In the middle of the fight Phasma is about to stab Finn with her spear, but 4928 pushes Finn out of the way and is impaled instead. The image of a trooper sacrificing himself for Finn is broadcast across the fleet by Finn’s holorecorder. It causes general chaos throughout the troopers and infighting. Ships erupts into mutinies and TIES switch sides. Finn and Phasma duke it out once and for all. Kylo leads his men, who are preparing to betray him, into battle in the hopes of stopping the Stormtrooper uprising. Just as the Knights of Ren are about to go all Julius Caesar on Kylo, Rey and her team enter. A massive battle breaks out between them with each team leaning into their respective skills. Ichon uses some neat ass weaponry kinda like a yo-yo from his native planet that he combines with limited force abilities. Tyla is like a John Wick-Jedi with a blaster. The duel is a claustrophobic and brutal battle that travels through the corridors of the ship. We flash back and forth between the space battle and the duels. Rey and Kylo have a very intense battle as their respective teams clash. We allow for some dialogue here about who should carry the future of the Force and about the darkness and light in each of them. Ichon is killed by the one Knights of Ren. Horrified Rey leaves herself open and has her arm cut off by Ambro. Kylo holds her at saberpoint and asks for her to surrender.   Hux sees the battle collapsing around him and decides to take things into his own hands. He seals himself inside his command chamber and begins barking direct orders. First he has every First Order ship prioritize fire on the gravity wells. The First Order loses multiple ships but they manage to succeed in destroying the wells and killing Rose in the process. Several Resistance pilots, such as Snap Wexley, are killed as well. It looks for a second that the First Order may retake the battle. Next Hux turns his guns to the star destroyer containing all of our heroes. After the first blast the entire ship turns into chaos. The battle continues in a ship that’s clearly about to fall apart. Kylo calls Hux and demands answers. Hux claims that Kylo and Force-Users in general are a danger to the First Order and galactic stability and that he is taking charge for the good of the new Empire. Ambro shouts that this wasn’t the plan. Realizing that he has been betrayed, Kylo uses the Force to snap all the necks of the surviving Knights at once. Kylo leaves for the bridge. Rey tries to stop him and tells him to try and leave the ship and that Leia’s son does not deserve to die like this. Kylo tells her that she was wrong about him and he leaves. Finn defeats Phasma and takes her captive. The surviving members of Rey’s team make their way to the hanger bay. They along with Finn are rescued by Lando and company aboard the Millenium Falcon. They escape. Kylo cuts his way to the bridge and collides the collapsing star destroyer with Hux’s command cruiser killing Hux. The battle swings to the Resistance’s side. Phasma, the current highest ranking member of the First Order, is ordered to call a surrender of their forces. Some of the ships turn tail and run but most prepare themselves for surrender. A few days have passed. A massive memorial wall has been erected on the refugee planet. It is inscribed with hundreds of names of those who have been lost in the battle and war. The names when pressed reveal a short hologram. Rey presses Rose’s name and an image of her with Paige appears. She inscribes Ichon’s name. She regrets that she doesn’t have a holo to add to the wall for him. She wonders if she failed him and if she’s cut out for this. Tyla arrives and assures her that without Rey, she would still be sitting behind a desk somewhere, not aware of the power that’s inside her. Rey awakened the Force in her and can do it for countless others. The two embrace knowing that they have a long path ahead of them. As they leave, Lando touches the wall and sees a brief hologram of the party on Endor. He smiles. Finn welcomes several Stormtroopers to the ranks of the refugees. They feel awkward and Finn helps to find ways for them to feel at home and useful to their former enemies. One of them tells him he’s sorry about his friend that died, and Finn says that Rose was like her sister and died like a hero so others could live. Poe approaches him and says that he’s proud of him. He keeps finding hope where there is none. Finn goes to mention the kiss to Poe, but he stops him. Poe says that he’s known for a while where Finn’s heart lies, and that he should follow it. Finn goes to Rey and kisses her. She returns it. We pan out of a world that is slowly coming back to peace. We cut to: A cloaked figure walks across a barren world. He is burned and walks with a cane. He has a robotic leg. He removes his cloak and takes a drink of water. He sits down and looks at the desert sky. A glowing hand reaches out and touches Kylo’s shoulder. He reaches for it. The End.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: The Last Jedi review

It has been a year since I first saw this, and it has given me plenty of time to sort out my thoughts on it. This film was very divisive in my mind, as it has been to filmgoers at large; no two people seem to have the same take on it. Alex of IHE liked it and thought it got better with each viewing; Schaffrillas Productions thinks the movie is really stupid and fails at what it set out to do; and Doug Walker, AKA the Nostalgia Critic, is somewhere in the middle, saying it has some of the best Star Wars has to offer as well as some of the worst. And that isn’t even getting into fan response, with the ever-hyperbolic Star Wars fandom screaming for ages about how this is an utter travesty of filmmaking, and how the whole movie should be retconned, and so on.

Frankly, such hyperbole should just be dismissed entirely out of hand. If you honestly think this film is the worst Star Wars film, or even an objectively bad film in general, you either have lived a very sheltered life or do not know a thing about films or filmmaking. Now, does that mean I think this is a GOOD film? Well… no. I think I most agree with Doug Walker on this; the film has a lot of great stuff, a lot of stuff done better than every other Star Wars movie; but for every great thing, there is an unbelievably awful thing too, balancing out the movie into being a literal divisive work, with half the film being a great Star Wars entry and the other half being a stream of idiocy, fluff, and filler. And the most baffling part is it isn’t even hard to tell which parts are good and which aren’t the awful parts stick out uncomfortably. Say what you will about something like Jar Jar, he at least seemed somewhat plausible within the universe of Star Wars. But the casino on Canto Bright, and the weird space horses? It just feels too weird, too whimsical, too Harry Potter-esque for Star Wars.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. As far as story goes, we have this: Rey is off trying to convince the cranky hermit Luke Skywalker to train her, though this is easier said than done, as Luke seems rather content with milking alien walruses and just in general being a hermit to want to help her out. Meanwhile, the rebels are being chased down by the First Order, with Poe desperately trying to take command of the situation and his commanding officer not having any of it, which leads Poe to send Finn on a mission to find a way to sabotage the ships. This leads to Canto Bright as they search for a skilled hacker. Meanwhile, Rey is finding out she has a very interesting connection to Kylo Ren. There’s a lot going on this time in the galaxy far, far away, and it becomes unclear if things will come out on top for the rebels this time around.

So, let’s talk about what works first. The movie’s greatest strength is certainly the cinematography; this is hands down, indisputably, the best-looking Star Wars film to day. There are so many gorgeous, beautiful shots, so many scenes made better by the fantastic camera work. The presentation in this film is just top notch, and so much in this film is just a treat for the eyes. And the beauty isn’t just the shots, the actual lightsaber duels we get are easily some of the finest in the history of the franchise, with Rey and Kylo’s fight against the Praetorian Guards, as well as the final duel between Kylo and Luke on the salt field, moments like this deserve to be held up among the best in all of Star Wars history.

Then we have basically everything involving Luke, Rey, and Kylo Ren in this movie. The scenes revolving around these characters are the most engaging and interesting in the entire film. Luke especially is a fascinating character, Mark Hamill giving his all to the performance and showcasing the natural progression from a well-meaning but hotheaded young hero to a jaded, cynical hermit who has, like his master before him, put himself into self-imposed exile due to his failures. Rey and Kylo have an intriguing dynamic, and they get so much focus and development. A lot of the film focuses on Kylo, giving much-needed development, though unfortunately it does jettison a lot of what made him interesting in the precious film. Gone are his tantrums, struggle with the light side of the Force, and emulation of his grandfather… but in comes a performance from Adam Driver that I felt at some points emulated Javier Bardem’s from No Country for Old Men. Yes, Kylo Ren managed to be as terrifying and ruthless as Anton Chigurh.

But of course, there are a great deal of problems, namely anything in he film that doesn’t focus around the three aforementioned characters. Outside of the opening space battle, just about everything with the rebels is a tedious slog of a chase scene, with the First Order apparently never once considering speeding up a little bit to catch up with the rebel ships slowly running out of gas. Despite what some very sad, strange people on the internet might convince you, there’s no overtly political messaging in the dynamic between Poe and Holdo; the only thing there is just really poor writing, where two characters who should be smarter act ridiculously stupid for poorly defined reasons. It’s pretty telling when Leia, probably the only person in the rebellion with a cool head on her shoulders, gets taken out of commission for a large chunk of the film early on.

The film also wastes a lot of characters that were built up to be more important than they ended up being. Phasma is unceremoniously killed (or maybe not) after an extremely brief battle, to the point where reading this sentence will probably take more time than her appearance onscreen in this film. The hacker that Finn and his new partner rose find on Canto Bright, portrayed by Benicio Del Toro, seems like he might end up an interesting morally ambiguous figure, and up until his final appearance he offers some interesting characterization, but then he stabs Finn and Rose in the back and vanishes from the film. Still, neither of the previous examples are anything compared to what happened to Snoke, the mysterious evil emperor figure who corrupted Ben Solo into becoming Kylo Ren. Some have said they didn’t find Snoke interesting to begin with, and that his death wasn’t too bad of a move, but on the same token there is so little revealed about him despite the fact that he is integral to a major character’s backstory that he ends up feeling like a missed opportunity. The fact that he is played by Andy Serkis only compounds my irritation; why get such a fantastic actor to play a wasted character like this? I have much the same feeling towards the disrespectful usage of Max Von Sydow in The Force Awakens; pointlessly tossing great actors into minor, throwaway roles is utterly depressing when you think of what their talents could have added to the story.

But of course, I have saved the worst for last: Rose Tico and Canto Bright. He two go hand in hand, as Canto Bright is where Rose gets much of her screentime and development with Finn. Canto Bright is a very odd locale, featuring a shiny casino and weird alien horses. The whole tone of the place is far too whimsical and jarring for the film it’s in, and it ends up badly clashing with the other scenes. It also ends up hogging a lot of screentime from the far more interesting and intriguing plot with Rey and Luke. The biggest issue, though, is how pointless the entire venture ends up being, as after all they go through, they end up failing miserably, which leads to a lot of the issues in the film’s final third. The whole thing ends up just being a pointless diversion from the more interesting plot and comes off as a way to pad out the runtime with hamfisted morals and glurge.

And then we have Rose, who, in this film anyway, is probably the least likable character in any Star Wars film. She is utterly bland and uninteresting as a character, which is a shame as her sister, a character with limited screentime who only appears in the opening before dying, was far more interesting in the few minutes she was onscreen than Rose is in her entirety. The biggest problem with Rose is that she almost feels like a fan insert character, with how she gushes over Finn at first and gets to kiss him at the end despite the two having rather mediocre chemistry. Said kiss also comes after a moment where she ruins a moment that could have been an excellent culmination of Finn’s character arc and been a hugely subversive and expectation-defying moment, and then utters the most vomit-inducingly bad line in Star Wars history: "That's how we're gonna win. Not fighting what we hate, but saving what we love." Nothing about this line works, makes sense, or does anything but make the viewer cringe hard. This is worse than Anakin’s comments about sand, worse than anything in the prequels really, and I don’t think this is hyperbolic in the slightest, since we have had over a decade and a lack of George Lucas involvement to fine-tune scripts and not deliver lines that sound like they belong in a Hallmark special.

Overall, the film absolutely fails to do what it sets out to do: deliver a subversive film that defies audience expectations. Nothing in the film really subverts or plays with audience expectations in a positive way; all of the big subversions come from characters acting as insanely stupid as possible, and they all come from a dull plotline that hogs the screentime from the far more intriguing plotline. The Rey/Luke/Kylo stuff in this movie is easily some of the best and most engaging Star Wars content to date, but it gets shoved aside far too often, and a lot of elements of it seem to be left hanging. Built up elements like Rey’s parents, Snoke, and Phasma are unceremoniously dropped in frankly insulting ways, and at the end of the movie everyone is basically at the spot they were at at the end of the first one.

And that, right there, is my true issue with the film: it all feels very pointless. The heroes accomplish next to nothing, and the overall effects on the franchise are utterly minor. This is a Star Wars film I could almost say you could skip when viewing them for how little it adds… but what little it does add is really good and essential. This is definitely a movie that home viewing will make better, since at home you can skip through the awful Canto Bright and rebel chase sequences to get to the good stuff. The lightspeed ram, the Praetorian duel, Luke and Kylo’s confrontation… all of that stuff is worth seeing.

Ultimately, the film is neither really good nor bad. It’s just a mixed bag that is not nearly as subversive or expectation-defying as a contemporary blockbuster film like Infinity War or even an older film like The Empire Strikes Back. What it does succeed at is delivering a visually stunning film with excellent character dynamics between the three big players. So, it is easy to see why the film is divisive, but it is impossible to see why people could possibly write the film off as the “Worst ever” or “a film so bad it should be retconned.” If you honestly believe this film is so utterly, irredeemably awful, I frankly don’t think your opinions on film are worth much. If you think the film isn’t so good but at least can find a few things to respect in it, well, I find that a far more respectable position than the blind, frothing-at-the-mouth hatred the film has gotten. It really doesn’t deserve it, though it also doesn’t deserve to be held up as the gold standard of Star Wars films either. It does contain some of the worst moments, if not exactly the absolute worst, in the history of the franchise, after all. But on the same token, it contains some of the absolute best, top ten or twenty best moments of the franchise as well. To write the film off or to praise it blindly as a masterpiece are equally foolhardy decisions.

The way this film wraps up leaves me wondering what could possibly be done for the next film; I have no idea where the series could possibly go, and it fills me with a sense of worry and of suspense. The future of Star Wars is uncertain, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned after being a lifelong fan of the franchise, it’s that Star Wars always finds a way to come out on top eventually.

[starwarsodyssy]

The Way of The Jedi

After 40 years, Star Wars has produced more than 150 hours worth of content (not including a few shows, specials, and video games). It has left a substantial mark on the generations it has raised. So, what did we learn from it? Star Wars has had an impact on vast swaths of the population, and you can’t have an impact without leaving a mark. The values of Star Wars have varied over the years, but they have had a few constants: Legacy, Heroism, and Redemption. 

Last week I recapped all of the trilogies and a few of their themes. I talked about how they reflected struggles which people could relate to. However, I wanted to turn that around. Rather than being a reflection of reality, I wanted to talk about Life Imitating Art.

One main thing which was consistent in all of the film trilogies was one of legacy. While this was clear in the post cold war era dominated by the baby boomers, it also taught younger generations an important lesson. Each protagonist struggles with familial expectations, even Anakin (his is a bit of a stretch though). However, these protagonists find it within themselves to defy their destinies and forge their own path. Children are often taught from a young age that they can be or do anything, a notion against which 18 years of being alive has left me with a personal vendetta. Yet in Star Wars, this is almost always the case.

The ‘Nobody’ from the desert planet can become the savior (or destroyer) of the galaxy. Even outside of main characters, side characters also frequently step outside of their expectations and become legends for it. R2-D2 began as a dime-a-dozen astromech and survived his first encounter by pure luck. Ahsoka was a padawan, then left the Jedi, became a general, an informant, and eventually helped to defeat her own master and train his son. Finn was a stormtrooper (fine “First Order Trooper”) who decided that he wouldn’t be a servant to evil. Each of them took a unique and unpredictable path, and almost universally they accepted that they chose their destiny. 

Heroism was also a major constant, and one which is hammered into the consciousness of every viewer. In every piece of media, the characters are driven by a desire or belief to do good. It isn’t just that good triumphs over evil, but that good is inherently stronger than evil. The Jedi, the Rebellion, the Resistance, each of them is motivated to risk everything in the service of life. These films villainize a lack of compassion, with the “bad guys” disposing of human life without a second thought. To be good is to care about others, to put themselves on the line if it means protecting someone or something.

There is an interesting meme that I came across in my camera roll which was the basis for why I chose this subject to talk about. It described a news article wherein a child who is being bullied refuses to fight back because he states it’s “Not the Jedi Way”. Setting aside the hilarious comments which ensued (What jedi are you watching? Anakin woulda killed all those kids.), this child held close morals which were not those taught by a parent or teacher or even society. He held back because of a piece of fiction which taught that all life is valuable and that it is not okay to hurt others for selfish reasons. 

My own opinions on self-defense are muddled due to my experience being bullied in middle school, but there is still the idea that he internalized the Jedi Code and let that form the basis for how he treated others. And while his decision to not fight back is a hotly debated one, in other situations it likely led to him becoming a caring and compassionate individual. And it should go without saying that he is not the only child to have taken that message to heart. He learned from Star Wars to be a hero and to do the right thing.

And what happens when you don’t do the right thing? Life isn’t full of those who are plain good or evil. Every trilogy has some form of redemption involved, be it Darth Vader or Ben Solo, Bo Katan or Agent Kallus. Star Wars is full of characters who walk a selfish path but in the end turn towards the side of good. They chose to do the right thing and while oftentimes they don’t receive full forgiveness, they are still allowed a final chance to die a hero. Granted, many of them have killed countless innocents and their redemption is almost immediately followed by death, but that is not the exact point.

The point is that Star Wars doesn’t show a world where right and wrong are baked into one’s destiny. A world in which what is important is protecting life. And one in which even making mistakes is forgivable. And you know what? That is a pretty good set of lessons. Next week, maybe I’ll talk about The Force. After all, I have no real plan.

[beyond-far-horizons]

My thoughts on Last Jedi, the backlash and its relation to the archetypal storytelling of the Star Wars Saga.

I have been trying to gather my thoughts on this film, the reaction and the Sequels in general. My overall reaction, after two viewings, some reflection and looking at both sides, is the same as it was when I first saw it - mixed. But given how much the series means to me and others I think analysing our reactions is important.

Spoilers for Star Wars including TFA and TLJ and the film Labyrinth. This is my opinion - repeat just my opinion and won’t be tagged because I don’t want to get into a fan war or debate. Aggressive attempts to do so will just be blocked so play nice ;) Warning for a long-ass post.

Let’s start with what I liked -

It was fun overall. 

The opening fight with Poe was amazing, fast, funny and emotional.

More Poe was a good thing (mostly) and his dynamic with Leia was great - I loved that they had a headstrong male pilot with Leia as his mentor. I also liked the fan observation that Leia puts up with some of his antics because he’s like the son she should/could have had (no disrespect to Ben/Kylo.) Oscar Issac even notes the maternal relationship and that is super cute. 

Leia - nice to see her more front and centre - a general, a stateswoman, a force-user (yes), a mother, a sister and still looking fabulous. Carrie will be missed so much. I grieve for her, her family and for the story we could have gotten in Ep 9.

That moment between Leia and Kylo - sad face.

Rey, Kylo/Ben and Reylo - very happy they went in this direction. I can understand certain people’s/groups misgivings about this when projecting a RL dynamic on it, however the large section of us that enjoy this dynamic, I believe, do so on an archetypal level - which is primarily what Star Wars is about. The fairy tale, the myth - the Light and Darkness battling it out to transcend the opposites in the end. I loved their connection (even though the cuts were quite modern), I always adore it when the hero/heroine and villain start off hating each other, are opposed to each other and then gradually find parallels and similarities, and since ESB, Star Wars has always been fantastic in finding that Yin Yang and Jungian Shadow concept. The way they show the dangers of the path - that Rey could make the same mistakes as Ben and therefore why she wants to save him, just as Luke did with Anakin. It’s so human. The acting was fantastic, the moments soft and then intense - I loved the ‘Force skypes’ and the Throne Room scene. Indeed that application of the Force was just an extension of Luke and Vader in ESB and in a deleted scene in Jedi too. Also as sad and heartbreaking as it was I’m so glad Rey did reject him and didn’t give into his bullshit. I can sympathise with him but she didn’t compromise herself and that is so important. Like in the film Labyrinth at the end, Rey chooses her own sovereignty and morality despite temptation and it was the right thing to do. Also I feel (without getting too RL and social justice on this) women are often seen as the always loving, forgiving redeemers, the healers, the saviours and the nurturers - a powerful archetype that can sometimes be in play but also can be terribly damaging when constantly applied. No person can forever hold the weight of an archetype and in some cases shouldn’t, no matter how sad it is. Rey did her best but Ben ultimately needs to save himself, to make that choice as Vader did and that can be a hard pill to swallow especially when we see he hasn’t got the critical mass (yet) within himself to do it. 

Rey - in two minds given how TLJ treated plot points from TFA - but I continue to love her spirit and vulnerability as well as her moments of humour. 

The Throne Room confrontation was fricking epic! I loved it and I loved seeing the Battle Couple/Back to Back Badasses/Dark and Light take on the guards.

Rose - not so keen on the plotline but the character was adorable and we need more like her. It was also special for me because for years when I was training to be an actress in London, the friend who let me live with her for minimal rent had a Far East background and looked like Rose and always struggled to get decent parts despite her talent and tenacity. Seeing the hope and inspiration Rose gave to her in her career recently was amazing. 

The planets!!! Ahch-To and Crait just blew me away - oceans and islands - check, crystals, deserts and rock formations - check. Glorious!

Those crystal foxes!

I will always be a Reylo fan but Finn and Rey still have a special place in my heart and that hug at the end was gorgeous. If they get together at the end it’s okay with me as long as I can have some Reylo resolution too. 

Rey and Poe finally meeting. Okay I’m Reylo, I like Finn and Rey…but I always liked the idea of Rey and Poe too - yes I can have my cake and eat it thank you. 

The Supremacy - I may consider joining the Dark Side if I can have that ship!

The Codebreaker - there’s always a place in Star Wars for crafty grey characters and I liked DJ, not 100% keen on where they went with it but I liked him.

Holdo’s sacrifice - amazing  - those shots and that silence - just epic.

The initial idea of Luke as a hermit and the Balance which they sort of went with and then…hmm we’ll talk about that next!

Things I didn’t like or thought could have been handled in another way - 

This is interesting and has taught me a lot about how we project ourselves onto stories and what we do or do not get or expect to get out of a story. As we know this film has caused huge dissension and rather than throw crap at people - I respect they have their opinions - I want to analyst mine and other’s responses and find out why. I’ll note my personal reactions and then the issues that may have contributed to such a division.

Luke’s arc - I can see the de-constructivist allure of having Luke fail and why some people have taken heart from that message but as Mark Hamill has said it just isn’t Luke to me. As for him trying, even in a moment, to kill his nephew and best friend’s son after he was willing to sacrifice himself and everything else for his ideals to show his father - Darth freaking Vader -  a better way, also doesn’t ring true. Then to abandon the Republic/Rebellion for the First Order to take over - nah…If they want me to buy it, they need to give me more than what we got.

Admiral Holdo - ugh. I see what they were trying to do but if you have to withhold plans and make a character hold the Idiot Ball for you to do a plot twist it just doesn’t work. Also the whole feminist message was patronising and I say this as a woman and lifelong feminist. Treating men like idiots isn’t going to make them respect you. Also as others have pointed out, Leia was already a trope-breaking example of this done in a much better way in ANH. People were making the point that Holdo was soft and feminine and that’s why Poe and the menfolk in RL didn’t like her or feel she could have been in the military. I’m all for surprising people and frankly she can wear what she wants even though it was incredibly impractical but as an actress I noticed in her physicality she does not convince as someone of any gender who has been in a military force let alone in command. It does something to the way you stand and behave that she didn’t have and putting examples like her in only undermines the progressive course to me. 

Godspeed? God fricking speed?! We are in a Galaxy far far away! It’s the Force you idiot! Also ugh her and Leia just sounded like they were at a socialites party in the US not Star Wars when they say goodbye. I’m so up for female bonds and unexpected characters and roles but it was handled badly in my opinion - an example of shock value, not well thought out world-building. 

Snoke - WTF? Don’t build him up just to kill him off early! He is the reason all the shit in the Galaxy has happened - the return of the Dark Side, the corruption of Ben Solo, Luke’s Hobo arc - how does he link to the OT or even the Prequels (it’s a saga remember - a family saga, themes etc). To kill him now, without those answers, undermines the whole plot and undermines Kylo Ben as a result. Snoke was the reason he did all those heinous things, Leia says in the book he has been essentially grooming her son since he was in the womb (gross!). The OT draws out the Emperor until ROTJ and the Prequels spend 3 movies giving us insights on his dynamic with Anakin that primes us to understand (despite poor execution at times IMO) Anakin’s fall to the Dark side. We have none of this for Kylo bar a few hints. This lends weight to the accusation he is a pathetic, whiney (angry, privileged, white) boy who turned to the Dark Side cos Mummy and Daddy (our OT heroes) didn’t love him enough. Then we are given a vague flashback that Luke Skywalker of all people wanted to kill him for an instant and yeah…it doesn’t do anyone - Kylo, Snoke, Leia, Han or Luke - a service. Plus the ridiculousness of Kylo and Hux at the end undermines the finale and the hopes for Episode 9. I admit Snoke freaked me the f out - the undertones of the child molester/evil guru were strong and might have been a bit too much for kids but hell a good writer could have found a way to develop it properly without being too full on. 

Canto Bight - Finn and Rose. It was…okay…but again I could see the message loud and clear and there’s a difference between an archetypal mythic theme and hitting someone on the head with identity politics. Also I loved Finn and Poe’s dynamic and Finn and Rey’s dynamic in TFA - I wanted more of that. The plot arc just didn’t interest me or feel woven into the main plot as much as I wanted it to. And that sucks because Finn and Rose were cool and it was groundbreaking for Star Wars to include them in their own arc. Due to the lacklustre scenario I felt Finn wasn’t utilised enough. I felt he was slightly short changed by TFA and TLJ didn’t really shift that for me.

The Crait Plan - why not tell people the plan? To have it suddenly appear like a Deus Ex machina was shoddy esp when the First Order find out immediately anyway.

Leia’s Superman impression. It was a shocker and beautifully filmed. Extra poignant when remembering Carrie’s loss but…it’s not Star Wars! There’s a difference in developing the world-building and the magic system (I know this as a writer) and crapping all over it to introduce something ‘cool’. I have wanted Leia to use the Force since ROTJ. I would have totally been down with her using it here (like Nynaeve in The Wheel of Time) when she finally surrenders to this mystical power she doesn’t understand (and likely associates in her heart with Vader) in the face of her political and military might being crushed. It had the potential to be such a beautiful moment. She could have been in a pod or something and then dragged the exploding pieces back together - that would have been in line with previous Force users - Yoda, Dooku, Vader. But to be exploded into space where the vacuum alone could kill you, lack of air, cold etc etc and then fly like Superman just felt so wrong. Yes you need to suspend your disbelief to watch SF/F but the created world needs internal consistency (look up Tolkien’s On Fairy Tales or Mark Wolfe - Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation or the Laws of Sanderson for confirmation on this.)

Luke’s Force Projection and Death - it was beautiful and shocking (again) but (again) didn’t ring true with Star Wars for me even with the call-backs to the Binary Sunset and Obi-Wan’s cloak. Those just made me sadder. If they wanted to make it more Star Wars, more full circle, then why doesn’t he do a proper Obi Wan - face Kylo and become one with the Force in their duel? Also I just felt there was so much more for him to do, so much more to be shown and frankly as much as I love the Sequel characters, I and most of us are here because of the OT characters. This is and always was Luke’s story. We care about Anakin initially because of his connection to Luke even if he wasn’t really in the Prequels, so to have him go out that way and have so little relevance ultimately to the story of the Sequels just felt wrong. I’m not ready for this to be fully Rey’s story yet as much as I like her and what she brings to it. 

There was no real training arc - Luke didn’t even finish his third lesson to Rey. I would have loved to have seen Luke and Rey training and duelling. This also highlighting the unfortunately implication that Rey is a little bit of a Mary Sue and I hate that. The Force just made her awesome - again not consistent with Star Wars. Anakin and Luke, even after training, get their asses handed to them by Dark sider users. Yes Kylo had handicaps and Snoke does well to highlight them in TLJ but it would have been much better to either have had her train under Luke before and had her memory wiped or be trained now to account for her aptitude. It undermines her positive points as a character and it is irritating now to look back at TFA and see her so good at everything just..because…

A main point many people have pointed out - TLJ doesn’t respect the plot points and setups of TFA. This is worse than not respecting the previous trilogies because it’s bad storytelling and each episode is supposed to reinforce the arc of the others. Sure Lucas made similar mistakes but Abrams, Johnson and Disney had years of reflection and fan reaction to draw upon to make sure that didn’t happen and mostly in the OT Lucas made it work to a point they do make senseas whole. Why aren’t Disney and co making these stories to fit each other? They are a trilogy - a beginning, middle and end, not an opportunity for each director to ‘make their mark’ on Star Wars or ‘bring something different’. That’s like hiring a new director for each LOTR film! Again people can cite upending expectations but this was throwing out substance for the sake of shock value and that never works. The Vader plot-twist worked because it deepened the story, the plot-twists that Snoke and Rey’s force sensitivity and parentage don’t matter cheapened it. For the record I liked her parents being nobodies but we don’t get to see her explore that and JJ drops numerous Chekhov’s Guns about Rey’s background in TFA - Han, Leia and Kylo’s reactions to her, Maz’s talk, her visions, Luke’s reaction - that all now looks stupid. Kylo lets an officer go after his tantrum then force grabs him as soon as he mentions a girl. This and his latter interactions with Rey, esp in the novel, make him look like a desperate virgin that has never been exposed to a human female before. 

Phasma - where art thou?

I could go on but those are the main points.

Now to the deeper issues -

Most of us loved the Original Trilogy and while we want to repeat the magic  - to have the same but different - that story was essential told. It has a poignant, satisfying ending - Luke redeems Vader, the Empire is defeated, the Jedi are reborn, Leia and Han get together. It reached a natural conclusion and that conclusion gave it its power. That is a lesson that many of us and especially the entertainment industry don’t want to learn, hence why they milk franchises and stories until they mean nothing. Just as death gives life meaning so does the ending to a good story. However I have always been intrigued by a Sequel trilogy because it was something Lucas toyed with for a long time. I heard rumours of Leia and Han’s children in a forest scene for years and that was so magical! What happened next?! Lucas was notorious for tinkering with his creations and then saying he planned it that way all along (read Star Wars - A Secret History for confirmation and also an amazing insight into the creative development.) As an aside I think that part of the creative process is that it evolves and it interests me how many directions and stories could be told branching from A New Hope, ESB, Jedi and then even TFA. The stories that different groups wanted to be told and the story we got. However something that lent more weight to the Sequel idea was also Lucas’s inspiration of Flash Gordon, Buck Rodgers and those old sci-fi serials that suggested the story could have gone on for episodes before you arrived in the cinema and continued long after, so I was interested to see if they could make it happen. Perhaps it would have been better done years earlier so the original leads could have had a more active role or set in the future so their legacy would have held longer but this is a family saga so…

Despite their love for Star Wars and its superficial appeal I’m not sure JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson and Disney understand the core of Star Wars and the archetypal themes underpinning it. This is the absolute core of the issues with Sequels (the Prequels) for me - I think it could have worked despite everything else but you need to understand the archetypal motif which is textbook Star Wars. A fantastic book that illustrates this is Star Wars - The Magic of Myth. I think they got bits of it but they didn’t really understand the whole and had other agendas in play that meant the worthwhile messages in Leia/Poe/Holdo, Finn/Rose and Luke/Rey’s storylines were lost, dissonant or just sledge-hammered in without respecting the characters, plot or themes. I was so looking forward to seeing a development in the mythos of the Light/Dark sides of the Force and the Balance - how acknowledging anger, abandonment and desire for power and control aka the Shadow, can help you understand yourself and the human experience but not(like Kylo did) by giving into it. This understanding grants you Balance and Transcendence - a true expression of the Jungian Individuation process and the Taoism way that Star Wars was inspired by. This could have been accomplished even with Luke going off to be a hermit which is counter to his character as Mark Hamill stressed. If you want a new story you need to set up conflict and this would have been a great conflict for a more mature Luke to have - that the Dark Side will always return in some way, so how does one counter it? When we found out in TFA he had gone looking for the first Jedi Temple, then we got the 1st trailer and the hints about the Balance of Light and Dark, I was excited. Luke hadn’t abandoned his sister and friends and the Galaxy! He had a painful setback but was still searching for something more. When they dismissed that in the movie and had him be this despondent bum who had vanished just to find some hole to die in, I was so disappointed. Yeah you could have it (as they did) as part of his character arc, to learn failure, to repeat the cycles/mistakes of his masters and be reminded of his younger self in Rey, but as others have pointed out Yoda and Obi Wan went into exile because they needed to and Luke transcended them at the end of Jedi anyway. So it needs a deeper reason for me than what we got.

The Backlash/Conflict and the questions it raises.

It seems broadly to come into two camps, but there are also many people in the middle across a number of different issues. The main camps boil down to either loving the OT - its themes, characters and relationships within the Skywalker Saga and feeling the Sequels haven’t respected that, and the other is enjoying the new direction of the Sequels and feeling Star Wars is now more modern, more progressive, more inclusive, either as a worthy development of the OT or without caring about previous instalments.

This, as I said at the start, comes down to stories - our stories, internally and in the outside world, and the archetypal stories we cling to across generations. Star Wars was always going to matter because it is one of a kind - a modern myth that called to us on this archetypal level as well as being so pervasive in the physical world through advertising, merchandise and different media that it has literally become a religion to some people and inspired many more.

Given that, the stories I’m hearing from the media and the progressive side is that the Last Jedi is fantastic because it’s breaking boundaries, it’s passing the torch, it’s giving us feminism, inclusivity and life lesson moments that are much needed in the current climate. And in a way stories do need to change and adapt to stay meaningful or, as we see, people change them to fit - create fanfiction, art, create their own worlds, write meta taking the pieces that make sense to them. Many people feel more included in the Star Wars saga and as such a powerful phenomenon I’m glad about that.

However to others, Star Wars already deeply meant something to them and some feel the Sequels, in their urge to move things along or having done so brashly, haven’t respected that legacy. Although there are undoubtedly racist, prejudiced idiots out there using Star Wars as part of their ideology, this goes against everything Star Wars and Lucas was trying to convey. So personally I think a lot of the deeper backlash is because of the Sequels ignoring the archetypal hero journey and themes at the heart of Star Wars - a journey first brought to us by Luke and his companions. Star Wars is not the type of story that lends itself to deconstruction, shock value twists and hopelessness - it’s a hopeful fairy story, that while filled with peril and battles with evil, nevertheless gives us the strength to face the dark symbolically and find the best in ourselves. While it has had its storytelling and world-building issues (especially with the Prequels hence the backlash with them at the time) it does have its own mythos and internal consistency, something I feel the Sequels have ignored time and again,and even undermining the setups in TFA. To call people ‘losers’ stuck on simple nostalgia or ‘man babies’ (as a friend of mine did) for having these objections is unfair. Archetypal stories/myths come from the Collective Unconscious and that moves very slowly in relation to society which is why we read stories from thousands of years ago and they still resonate. That doesn’t mean you have to copy the Hero’s Journey from the OT point for point - there are a galaxy of myths out there and our own minds for exploring how the legacy of the OT can be respected and yet developed, as well as including more women and POC as it needed to.

I will still watch Episode 9 and take the things I liked from it, TFA and TLJ, but to me the OT will always be the true Star Wars. However nothing is in vain and honestly I think this debate can be used by anyone to learn from the power of stories - what works and what doesn’t for them and go on to create their own original narratives as Lucas did all those years ago…I’m also really interested in getting the perspectives of kids seeing the Sequels vs the Prequels and OT as these will be ‘their’ Star Wars and the things we see and love as children always have special significance as they are the first to charge our awakening imaginations.