#and the rise of skywalker is just objectively insane like actually what was that

[sweetnnaivete]

don’t play rey’s theme around me or i will start pining because i’m actually in love with her that’s my scavenger wife

[dukeofriven]

Andor should make me feel triumphant. I want to point to Andor and go see? See? This is what Rogue One would look like if it was actually a good movie! This does everything Rogue One pretended to do, this is what a gritty, morally difficult Star Wars story actually looks and feel like. It makes every smart choice where RO makes silly ones. It doesn’t waste its run time trying to fill in ‘plot-holes’ for other stories it just ends-up undermining and/or entirely missing the point of. It knows how to track a narrative with a solid thematic throughline. It understands how to characterize a droid with something other than Whedon quippery or beeps, the agony and difficulty of sacrifice, and how to hold-off on pointless, masturbatory cameos because god forbid someone goes twenty minutes in Star Wars without mentioning The Force. It knows how to make heroes difficult without outright degrading them. It gives Mon Mothma a personality, for Christ’s sake - a working personality! IT’S WELL-LIT AND KEEPS ITS CHARACTERS IN-FRAME AND WHEN PEOPLE PARK FAR AWAY FROM SOMETHING THEY DO IT FOR REASONS OTHER THAN CINEMATIC WALKING SHOTS. Saw Gerrera is there, and he’s audible and has comprehendible dialogue and character motivations! It has a villain that can balance compelling and watchable with competency and villainy, and never descends into a cartoonish parody of Stuffy Britishness. It actually understands empire and imperium—empire as a force, the difficulty of freedom, of what you have to give up for freedom—understanding not just why someone would do it, but the compelling reasons why they wouldn’t. What the cost actually is, for far more than just you. In Andor, when rebellion is kindled through an inspiring speech, it is speech that has been earned through the actions and lived experience of the characters, not simply a speech that happens because it’s the part on the story where the inspiring speech goes in That Kind Of Story. Did I mention Mon Mothma gets a personality? And perhaps the shittiest marriage in all of Star Wars? I think I hate her husband more than I hate Emperor Sheev Palpatine, and that guy’s done one or two problematic things! Andor does all of this without honestly doing much to make Cassian Andor anything other than the kind of dull cipher he was in his debut movie - because it turns out Cassian doesn’t have to be much of a person, it’s the world around him, the people around him, who matter, who make his world worth watching as he kind of stumbles through it looking alternatively grim or perplexed. Rogue One is a trompe l'oeil: a big, grand visual that looks like a real object until you touch it and discover the depth is an illusion, that there’s nothing there but a flat surface. Andor is a sculpture: the closer you get the more detail you see, the more depth there is to be found, you can walk around it and admire it from all angles. I should feel triumphant, but I don’t. I just feel frustrated, because Andor is showing-up everything else Star Wars has been doing for a while. Not every show can or should have the same tone as Andor—God forbid, how morose that would be. That’s what was happening with Star Trek until Lower Decks showed up to (eventually) remind people Star Trek didn’t have to be miserable and bitter all the time. I don’t want a Star Wars that never has any unquestionably good heroes ever again: there’s nothing wrong with something like the child-friendlier Rebels, and I’d go so far as to argue that most of Star Wars should be closer in tone to Rebels than Andor. No, Andor is frustrating because it lays bare the baffling fan fiction absurdity of Kenobi, the utter toothlessness of the Book of Boba Fett, the Mandalorian hobbling itself with the baggage of decades of Star Wars lore it started-off free from. It just rubs our noses in the the incalculable clusterfuck insanity of Rise of “Sheev Palpatine is back” Skywalker. And, of course, it finally pays the piper when it comes to Rogue One and its lumbering pantomime of complexity and depth. Andor delights me. It’s wonderful. Harsh, difficult and definitely not the tone that all Star Wars should try to be from here on out—but wonderful. Compelling. Yet it’s set a bar I feel everything else to come will struggle to measure-up to—if, indeed, they even bother to try. And if they don’t try we’re going to have Andor sitting there reminding us that Star Wars could be good, actually, if it was allowed to say anything meaningful without making sure it was marketable enough. Palatable enough. Hit all the feel-good moments and softened all its edges in one tidy package of inspiration and heroic sacrifice enough. That Star Wars could be good, actually if it actually broke the formula, rather than merely pretend-to while actually just reinforcing the status quo, be it politically or narrative-structurally. It’s the gauntlet The Last Jedi first threw-down—imperfectly, admittedly, with wandering focus and a truly awful second act—but a challenge all the same: things could be more. Star Wars could be more. We don’t have to keep doing the same story with the same overly-connected characters again and again and again. It’s a challenge that no one’s really picked it up again until Andor—Mandalorian looked like it was going to, but then it chickened-out and went and took refuge in Darksabres and plastic Lukes and really boring blocking from the overuse of LED screens. Andor broke the formula in such a big way I’m kind of surprised it was allowed to. And worried nothing will be allowed to again, expect as pantomime.

[mysticalcrusadeobject]

An entirely objective rewiew of episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Legend: red is bad (or rather: dumb shit I can't ignore), blue is objective good, black is neutral and orange is random shit I love (aka subjective good).

Okay, the exposition following the title crawl just makes me feel like I've somehow missed a movie, or two. All of this happened in the span of, what? A couple months? A year? We aren't told.

I was going to ask why Kylo Ren was even looking for Palpatine in the first place, but you know what? I don't really care. I won't complain about Ben in this movie.

Palpatine can see the future, right? That's the only way this makes sense. I mean, he's telling Kylo to "kill the girl" (and presumably become Emperor of the Galaxy?) but... why? Later, he'll want Rey to kill him and become Empress, but then he'll just want to kill her, too. Is Palpatine an idiot, or is he just insane?

"She's not who you think she is." Honey, she's not who the screenwriters thought she'd be.

I genuinely love the Finn/Poe/Chewy/Rey dinamic in this movie. They don't feel like friends yet (which they shouldn't), but there's still a camaraderie and genuine caring for one another there. It's great.

"How do we thank you?" - "Win the war."

Rey is a badass, as per usual. Also, I love how Kylo's just fucking with her here. That girl could cut him in half.

"Somehow Palpatine returned." The 'somehow' is a key word there.

Oh, good, Rose is a non-character now.

While I adore the actors' chemistry, Rey doesn't really need this big of a party to come with her. Chewy's the co-pilot, so his presence is justified, then Finn could come as well and use the blasters, Poe too, because him and Finn didn't get enough screentime in the last movie, but the droids? No. Have them stay with Leia. We don't need C-3PO explaining everything to us, thank you very much.

Oh, yeah. That reminds me.

C-3PO.

They're foreshadowing C-3PO and Leia's deaths so hard here.

The mother-daughter dinamic between Leia and Rey is good. That's all.

That mask was left in pieces. Is it even possible to fix at this point?

Oh, cool, the Knights of Ren exist. For about three minutes of screentime.

The humor in this movie works pretty well for me. Hux's assurance that Kylo looks, in fact, great, is gold.

The New Guy.

"Serving another master?" - "No." Um, yeah? Yeah, you are. What is your plan, Kylo Ren? Because, to me, it see that y- Oh, yeah, I've promised to leave him be. Shit.

A simple conversation would have made this movie so much shorter and so, so much better. "Oh, hey, Rey. Where you off to?" - "Yo, Ben. Oh, you know, looking for Palpatine so that I can kill him." - "Oh, cool. That was my plan, too. Wanna come with?" - "Sure." - "He's your grandfather, btw." - "Cool. Wanna rule the Galaxy?" - "Sure.

Rey's over here casually cutting ships into pieces.

Also, I love how people complain that Rey is OP in this scene, while Kylo just strolls away from a burning husk of a ship, unscathed.

"The inscription that was on the dagger is in your memory?" Yeah, that's how computers works, Poe.

Also, I love how no one cares about shat C-3PO thinks/wants. These characters and this script dislike him as much as I do.

The No-Thank-You droid is adorable.

"You were a spice runner?" - "Were you a Stormtrooper?"

Babu Frik. Baby Yoda ain't got nothing on this guy.

Daisy Ridley is sooo so good in this movie.

"Does she do that to us?"

"I pushed you in the desert-" Baby, you struggled in the desert.

The directing of this scene is so good!

"I'm the spy." (I love it 'cause it makes me laugh. Hux is such a petty little shit that he'll join the Resistance just to see Kylo lose. I appreciate that."

Rey being a Palpatine bothers me about as much as the CGI Carrie Fisher, which is to say: a little bit.

"People keep telling me they know me; I'm afraid no-one does" with Kylo Ren's leitmotif playing in the background. *chef's kiss*

That blade is the most plastic-looking thing I've ever seen. (The Wayfinder)

"Babu Frik! He's one of my oldest friends." Alright, 3PO, that was pretty funny.

I have literally nothing to say about the next fifteen minutes, or so. I feel bad for these actors. Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver have gorgeous chemistry, and though they're trying their damndest, you can kind of tell that they're weary of these movies by now.

Two words: Harrison fucking Ford.

This scene.

"I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."

Good job, honey. Now you have no weapon for the final battle. Takes after Anakin, this one.

Every ship is a Star Destroyer.

"A Jedi's weapon deserves more respect."

The reverse Kylo Ren leitmotif that's within Rey's theme playing while Rey is wondering why everyone trusts her despite her being a Palpatine is kind of cute.

As I watch the Resistance/First Order battle unfold, I can't help but wonder why they can't just- sign a peace treaty. How long has this war been going on for? Surely, they must've gotten bored of fighting.

Oh, but I do love the design of Palpatine's throne.

"I never wanted you dead. I wanted you here." I feel like you don't really know what you want, sir.

I love how confused Rey looks while Palpatine talks about how much she apparently hates him.

Ben's just been chillin' for the past 20-ish minutes. I like the redeemed theme they've made for him, though.

Why are the Knights of Ren here? They should be loyal to their Master, no? Also, Ben, honey, you have the Force. You've used it in the first movie to stop a blaster shot mid-air. Surely, levitating six people way up in the air, then letting them fall into the chasm below can't be much more difficult.

This battle. Also, I love how the Knights back the fuck up when Rey sends Ben the saber.

And now he wants to be the Emperor. WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

Ow. That's- that's a broken spine right there. Good thing our dude's indestructable.

I realize I'm quoting Sideways here, but seriously, why don't they play the Force Theme when Rey communicates with every Jedi ever?

The final scene between Ben and Rey (minus the kiss - y'all know how I feel about shoehorned romance). It's still so, so beautiful. This scene is more beautiful than this movie - nay, this franchise - deserves.

Oh, is the Stormtrooper lady Lando's daughter? That's... You know what, actually? I don't care.

The ending is so damned strange. She just returned to Jakku, disposes of Leia's and the Skywalker lightsabers (rude!), steals BB-8 and just- nothing.

I do like her new lightsaber, though. It suits her.

Yeah, there's one Skywalker missing next to Luke and Leia. I guess that Rey just didn't give a shit about him, huh? Oh, well.

This movie is odd to me. Many people hate it, some like it, but I'm in this in-betweeny stage. I like it more than The Last Jedi, but only because I don't observe these two movies as agregates, but more as collections of good and bad scenes (since they both feel scrapped together), and thus, RoS just has more elements which I like, though it's objectively the worst movie of this trilogy. Rey is the best she's ever been, Ben Solo is *chef's kiss*, Poe is awesome, Finn is... there (the underdevelopment of this character is still the worst thing they've done), but he does have some good moments, some of the side characters are pretty great (the long helmet lady and Babu Frik come to mind immediately), the music is always a highlight and... yeah.

As for the negatives, Palpatine is right up there. His plan is stupid. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Other than that and the demolition of Rose Tico, everything else are nitpicks for me. This movie could have been great only if they'd scrapped this story entirely and either:

a) made an entirely new movie and utilized some of the original concepts they had, or

b) made at least two new movies with the ideas presented here.

Overall, I've enjoyed this movie. It's one of those movies which I can watch after a long day of studying to relax my brain a bit, one that is supposed to be thought about as much as the scriptwriters have done - which is to say, a bit.

[numinex919]

After Crait - Chapter 3

Thank you once again to @raven-maiden​ for vetting the art for this chapter and assuring me it was fine (but then it is Adam ;) ). I’d also like to thank @greyforceuser for prompting me to post the link to this series on AO3 . . .

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14553561/chapters/33627462

Once again, I hope you enjoy. This scene is um NSFW. If smut offends you, then please keep scrolling and enjoy the other awesome Reylo stuff on Tumblr. :)

It’s been three days.

Ben tightens his lips and quickens his pace along the Finalizer’s corridor, as though he can outrun his thoughts and emotions.

It’s been three days.

And he can’t gain control over this—this obsession with a scavenger, a nobody, a—

Desert flowers, hot spice, silky skin, power and strength, softness and Light.

A wave of stomach-plummeting, breath-stealing need washes over him. It’s so overwhelming he starts to pant as his body hardens and rippling energy surges through him, lighting up every sense and nerve ending.

He’s peripherally aware that he’s come to a sudden stop in the middle of the corridor, forcing the two First Order officers behind him to baulk and sidle around him as fast as they can, lest they become the object of whatever has stilled him.

They needn’t worry that they carry enough importance to chase away the cause of his sudden halt.

That girl.

Nothing else, unfortunately, has such a claim.

She’s why he can’t focus properly on the interminable task of running the First Order and the galaxy. Why he can’t sleep, even though he’s exhausted beyond words.

Why he wakes constantly from feverish dreams of her touching his naked body with inquisitive fingers, even as her presence calms his fractured mind, and soothes his wounded soul.

He isn’t sure what is worse, the unbidden thoughts of quenching this insatiable lust between them, or the gut-wrenching rage and fear that Rey will seek to assuage her own newly-woken appetites with someone else.

Both send his mind spiraling like an out of control Tie fighter.

Mine! He screams it silently into the cosmos, willing the Force to hear and understand that she belongs to him and only him.

He shakes his head, clenching his hands into fists so tight the leather of his gloves bites into the skin.

I will not let this control me.

He resumes stalking along the hallway, but his hand itches unbearably for the feel of his ‘saber, the satisfying impact of it cleaving through the walls around him.

As though he can cut out this newfound want, destroy it by laying waste to his surroundings. Yet he knows very well that this won’t work.

No matter how much rage he vents, it isn’t taking away the moments when she sneaks into his mind and his breath hitches and he remembers her mouth on his, her hands on him, her shy thoughts of what she wants from him.

The soothing feel of her nearby when the Force opens the bond between them.

Where the fuck is she? It’s been three days and Force knows she’s been on his mind enough for a thousand moments of connection to occur.

Because isn’t this how it works? They think of each other, directly or even indirectly and the bond opens up, connecting them.

He stops again as a fresh thought slams into him like a stampeding Bantha.

Is she—is she blocking him?

He turns, slashing a hand through the air. No! She doesn’t have that level of training.

The reassurance feels empty. She’s so very powerful in the Force, and who knows what Skywalker taught her?

Fresh rage whips through him like a solar storm and the urge to slash and cleave burns yet again. His lightsaber springs to his hand—ignites—hissing and spitting, attuned to his out-of-control thoughts.

He adjusts his grip and a sudden memory flashes across his consciousness.

Rey adjusting her grip on his ‘saber as Snoke taunts her. Her emotions snapping through the Force, and all he can think of is how stunning she is with his weapon snarling in her grip, painting her face with red—the colour of power, blood . . . lust.

His body clenches and his breath catches again. So awesome to behold, he hadn’t even minded that his Kyber crystal had answered to her call.

A faint noise wrenches him from his thoughts. He focuses on his surroundings and realises he’s come to a stop outside his quarters. He flicks his ‘saber off and reattaches it to his belt.

There are people watching. First Order personnel and a squad of stormtroopers have all come to a halt, like nervous game, waiting for the predator’s next move.

Without deigning to glance around, he punches the entry code and strides into the privacy of his rooms.

Closing his eyes, he takes a few deep breaths, struggling to calm the swirling emotions without using his ‘sabre. He’s already done thousands of credits worth of damage in the last few days, no need to add to the cost. The destruction doesn’t help any more anyway.

Sweat slides between his shoulder blades and prickles along his forehead. He strips off his gloves and jacket, undershirt, boots—suddenly he’s ripping his clothes off like a madman.

He stands naked and panting, a glance down assures him he’s not imaging the jutting thrust of his body.

The ‘fresher. Perhaps cold water over his heated flesh will help? He’s aware of the sweat drying uncomfortably on his skin.

Ignoring the stiff heaviness between his thighs, he stalks into the ‘fresher unit. Grabbing some cleansing gel from the dispenser, he lathers it and struggles to keep his mind empty of thought. The familiar, rhythmic task of cleansing his body helps.

Until he comes to the most intimate part of him, which even the calmest thoughts have failed to make subside.

Gritting his teeth, he perfunctorily rubs his soap-slippery grip over the thick length. The contact makes him hiss in a breath between parted lips as he almost doubles over, his gut clenching, blood hot in his veins.

Rey slides into his mind and suddenly the touch is hers and the soapy gel is desert flowers and it’s so good, that slow stroke, right to the tip, over it, then back down, all the way.

Fuck. Another hissing breath whistles out of him. His spine arches, the back of his head slams into the wall of the ‘fresher. A moan chokes out of him as he thrusts into the slippery grip and Rey fills his awareness completely.

The overwhelming sensation of touching his body this way makes him half-crazed as he continues to imagine it’s Rey’s small palm riding the steel-covered silk of his erection.

The twin weights beneath tighten and he can sense the seed ready to shoot from him. Logically he knows what is about to happen, but it has never happened before, so now he is running off instinct too.

Blood roars in his ears and he sucks in a breath. So close. He can feel it, rising in him, pulling at him in the same way the Light pulls at his soul, but this is far more primal, earthy. Real.

He opens his eyes. He wants to watch, though he knows he’ll see his own fingers, rather than the one he wants.

His gaze flicks to his busy hand. He is briefly surprised at how angry red the tip of his shaft is against the paleness of his clenching fingers. Grunts are wrenched from his lungs as he works himself.

He is right on the edge, about to slip off when something tugs at his awareness. He shoots a glance up.

For a stunned moment, as his body hangs in the space between what feels like the most sublime death and cresting ecstasy, he is certain he is imagining Rey, standing in front of him.

“Rey.” He barks her name on the back of a guttural snarl. His culmination roars through him and creamy seed spills from him. He sucks in a shuddering breath. Never losing eye contact.

And he realises then in a blinding flash that he wouldn’t imagine her expression.

Her mouth is hanging open, eyes wide and fixed on his body with a mixture of shock, embarrassment and the faintest hint of arousal.

She is holding a data file, as though about to put it down on something in front of her. After the first split second she jerks, as though recalled to her surroundings by something or someone else.

His breath is sawing in his throat, his body is strangely limp, yet his brain manages to finally process the fact that the Force has chosen to open the bond between them.

Rey has actually just witnessed him stroking his body to completion as her name is wrenched from between his clenched teeth.

In all of his imaginings, and he has imagined plenty of moments in which they are connected once again by the Force, this situation has never crossed his mind.

He’s so undone he can’t even raise the energy to cover himself. Humiliation fights its way through the satiation filling his body and he prays that rage will follow and save him from the emotion and the heat he can feel touching his cheeks.

Instead, shock forces a choked sound from his throat as he suddenly senses another presence within the Force, intimately familiar and standing right next to Rey.

Is that his . . . is that his mother?

* * * Hux turns away from the Finalizer’s surveillance monitors and he can’t contain the twitch to his lips as satisfaction fills him, heating his blood and putting a spring in his step.

Ren’s behaviour in the corridor smacks of insanity . . . Stopping and gazing into nothing as though seeing something no one else can. Igniting his primitive weapon as though he’ll carve his way into his private quarters instead of using the door like a rational person. One would never guess he ruled a galaxy.

Ren had proven a surprisingly adept leader, managing the business of the First Order well enough. Albeit without the harsh retribution Hux couldn’t help but feel was useful in keeping certain elements in line.

He’d admit he underestimated the gravitas the black-clad Force-user possessed as he strode into a room full of nervous system representatives.

Ren used far more diplomacy than Hux thought necessary, but he had to admit one savage glance from that scarred visage was enough to send the most insubordinate former senator scurrying for cover.

Thankfully the out-of-control behaviour he’d exhibited in the appalling defeat on Crait hadn’t reared its head again. At least when the Supreme Leader was in company.

The hallways, control and training rooms of the Finalizer were a different matter—especially in the last few days. But that was par for the course.

At least Ren had remade some of the ground lost in the encounter on the salt planet, despite the stories painting Skywalker as some kind of mythic hero.

The Resistance might have escaped, but their numbers were negligible and he was confident that scum would be scoured from the galaxy soon enough.

While Ren appeared disinterested in ensuring the Resistance was wiped out absolutely, Hux had made his first order of business to discover the whereabouts of those Silurian rodents.

He suspected they were hiding somewhere in the Outer Rim systems and had deployed spies throughout that area of the galaxy. Sooner or later intel would become available and the First Order would sweep in with merciless efficiency.

He’d allowed himself one minor distraction from eradicating that filth—demanding the live capture of the pilot known as Poe Dameron. Hux had a personal score to settle there and when he was done, the Resistance scum wouldn’t even recognise his own name.

Of course Ren must remain in the dark as to the Resistance’s whereabouts. Despite his apparent dismissal of them, it wouldn’t do to risk a repeat of Crait.

His insane behaviour onboard the Finalizer was useful, though Hux couldn’t decide whether the current Supreme Leader should be condemned as a madman or tried for his treasonous act of killing Supreme Leader Snoke.

In some ways, it was unfortunate that Ren would eventually outlast his usefulness, but he was a danger to the continued might of the First Order, and to Hux’s own ambitions.

Soon enough there would be a new Supreme Leader and then the entire galaxy would quake at the sound of one name only.

[grizzbe]

Let the past die. Kill it if you have to.

After my third viewing of The Last Jedi, I think I’m ready to write down my thoughts on the movie. Follow below the cut for my spoilerific musings!

First off, I’ll put down a quick and easy guide as to whether you should bother to continue with reading my review or not: In your rankings of the Star Wars movies, does any prequel movie rank above TLJ? If so, you might as well move on. If not, keep on reading! 

Alright! I’m just going to say right off that bat that I loved it. I loved it the first time I saw it and I only love it more with each subsequent viewing.

The reason that it’s taken me so long to get around to this, though, is because I want to try my hardest to avoid some pitfalls that I feel are a bit easy for myself to fall into, namely to make this review simply a point-by-point list as to why your reasons for disliking this movie are wrong or simply word-vomit gushing over the movie.

So, I’ll start by saying that the movie is not without its faults. Some of its jokes are ham-fisted or fall flat, some of the visual effects (you know what I’m talking about) look wonky, some of its subplots could use a little tuning, and the whole thing probably could’ve been helped by increasing the timeline even just a few days.

That being said, the jokes aren’t bad and there are far more “Star Wars” jokes than those dastardly “off-brand” jokes that seem to be sticking in a lot of people’s craws.

 I’ve heard a lot of people complain about Leia’s force moment and while I’ll agree that it doesn’t work great visually, I am more than willing to accept it in its principle, especially considering that people can survive in the vacuum of space in real life (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/survival-in-space-unprotected-possible/). Once you throw onto it Star Wars’ wacky take on physics and space in general, Leia surviving this moment is more than reasonable.

When it comes to subplots, the main thing that they’re about is quite simply character development. 

Poe learns that there’s more to being an effective leader than being an excellent flier. After putting the fleet and the whole of the Resistance in danger more than once over the course of a few days, Poe finally sees what it takes to be a leader through his mentor, Leia, and his foil throughout most of the film, Holdo. I’ve seen a lot of people upset at the “character assassination” that Poe goes through in TLJ, but I’ll argue that we finally got to see Poe be more than just a cardboard cutout in this film and he really shined because of it. I might have been more willing to accept this version of Poe since I’m an avid reader of his comic book, where him being an immature leader has been a plot point for at least the past year.

While some might just flat out hate the Canto Bight subplot, I appreciated it for what it was doing. Finn starts the movie as a man only concerned about himself and a couple of his closest friends (fully in line with where the character was at the end of TFA). It’s only through his time with Rose and his interactions with DJ that he comes to realize that he can’t just hide and that he needs to drive himself forwards. DJ even offers him a false, easy escape, “Live free, don’t join” and Finn sees it for what it is: a man unwilling to stand up for what is right. Finn ends his journey a true hero of the Resistance.

And while other might be upset with how the film portrayed Luke, I loved it. The man screwed up. He retreated, exiled himself and resigned the end of his story to that of a hermit whose only option is to die alone. Rey appears, and while she has her own journey (she goes from putting all of her faith in Luke, to putting it in Ben, to finally putting it in herself), she riles in Luke a desire to once again be the man that he knows he can be.

Which brings me to my final point: the movie subverts expectations at almost every turn and does so beautifully. People expect Luke to face down the First Order and single-handedly save the Republic with his lightsaber. Luke does this, but he does it his way, through an amazing show of Force Power (In which the man creates a corporeal force projection of himself and other objects across the universe).

People expect Kylo Ren to listen to his master and fight Rey, but he tricks Snoke (side note: I could write a whole other post on how amazing Serkis was in this role) and proves that the Supreme Leader, in his hubris, had hugely underestimated his apprentice.

People expect Poe, Rose, and Finn’s plan to work flawlessly and save the Rebellion. It doesn’t and they all have to learn and grow and pay for that mistake. 

And on top of all that, we get one of the best laser sword fights in the whole of the canon, an excellent performance from Adam Driver as Kylo Ren (holy shit, is he built like a brick shithouse. In case you were unaware, Driver is a former marine), and, in my opinion, EXCELLENT answers to the “Who is Snoke?” and “Who are Rey’s parents?” questions (hint, it doesn’t fucking matter. The past is the past, look to the future. This is a call out to my post’s title, btw).

So, this is already too long and I want to discuss some things I’m looking forward to in the next film. Suffice it to say, the movie is excellent and I’m super excited to see Rian Johnson’s take in his trilogy.

Okay! Next movie, I’ll just jot down a few things:

I fully expect Rey to consult a Force Ghost Jedi Council comprised of Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Qui Gon at least twice. I’m going to feel real cheated if we don’t get this.

The next movie is going to involve a pretty significant time jump. I’d say at least five years.

As a Damerey shipper, I’m actually concerned that we’ll miss the opening salvos of the relationship in the time jump and the movie will just start with them together in a committed relationship. Don’t rob us of this JJ.

For those that are going nuts right now wondering how I can be a Damerey shipper after they’ve only spoken to each other once, did you even see the scene?!? And you can’t just throw the two most loaded words in the whole of the Star Wars canon on us and not expect us to want some payout.

I don’t think Kylo will die, he is the last of the Skywalkers, after all, but he’ll be in exile, probably self-imposed, where he’ll try to learn from Anakin and Luke.

With Leia unfortunately out of the picture, I really want Lando and Wedge to come in as Leaders of the Resistance. While the new group will undoubtedly rise to prominence in the ranks (much like the OT trio), the leaders of the whole movement can’t be flying into battles or leading from the ground.

So that’s about it. I, of course, have way more but this thing is already an insane amount of word vomit. If you have any other thoughts that you’d like to kick around with me, please feel free to message me!