#i swear to christ we never get this kind of discourse about other characters sexualities

[chimepunk]

listen up kids bc this is the only thing i’m gonna say on this matter: headcanon jughead as whatever you want. it’s probably supported by some version of canon. it’s a valid interpretation to say he’s gay. he’s also been into a few girls in the past. in current canon he’s aroace. so do whatever you want. BUT saying that his being aroace or headcanoning him in riverdale as aroace is “homophobic” or a “cop out” is bullshit. cut that shit out. jughead jones is a word of god and in text confirmed canon aroace character, something which chip zdarsky chose to do because that is how he has always read the character. it is not wrong to read jughead as aspec. many people have always read him as aspec, myself included. so headcanon him however you want, do your thing, that’s fantastic and i support you wholeheartedly, but stop giving people shit for liking and supporting the current canon. they have just as much of a right to their interpretation as you do.

[saltpepperbeard]

Let’s Talk About The Last Jedi

So I’m feeling So Pumped about this movie that I feel the need to do one of my giant reviews. The Internet had me feeling such mixed emotions going into this movie that I genuinely didn’t know what to expect. I half expected to come out of the movie seething and pissed at every choice made, and then I half expected to be utterly and completely #Shook. And I can genuinely and thankfully say that it was the latter. With that being said, I’d love to get into screaming talking about it for anyone who may have doubts about seeing it, or anyone looking for someone with similar thoughts.

So then! I’ll give a quick spoiler free review before I dive into the deeper stuff. The internet, tumblr especially, made me think that this movie was going to be completely different from how it actually was. I went into the theater expecting certain things to happen that never did. I went into the theater expecting to hate the character choices and never did. I was almost nervous really, preparing myself for this movie to be a Phantom Menace as opposed to a Return of the Jedi. But no, it was its own thing.

In retrospect, the plot had surprisingly very little going on. I feel like the other Star Wars movies take place across weeks, even months. But in this one, all the action felt like it took place anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. Despite this, it managed to keep me incredibly invested, never really slow down, and pack a lot into a short time frame. SO MANY THINGS WENT WRONG SO QUICKLY.

I kind of like that though. It shows how unpredictable and unforgiving war can be. It made it seem more real, more organic if that makes any sense.

Even the characters that were introduced had me quickly invested in them. There was a character who only had maybe 20-30 minutes of screen time, and she ended up being one of the characters who made me cry the most. 

Everything was just nicely paced, characters were handled well, and it was overall just a really good movie. It made me laugh a lot, cry a lot, and come out instantly wanting to see it again. It might not be everyone’s favorite, but it definitely left a lasting impact on me. The amazing new characters, the action sequences, the answered questions, the lore, and the setup for a new movie completely locked me in. It’s re-watchable for sure, and will definitely be higher up on my favorite Star Wars movies.

...Now with that being said, feel free to follow be beneath the cut for more! Just a warning, there will now be Heavily Spoilers and Heavy Opinions™.

The Discourse™: OKAY. So I feel like this is the thing I need to address first since I’m an open air now, because this is what had me lowkey turned off from the movie in the first place. I went into this movie thinking there was going to be a romantic connotation between Kylo and Rey, and was admittedly bothered by it. Force Awakens clearly set up their relationship, with Kylo being drawn to Rey’s power, and Rey being utterly disgusted by Kylo’s actions. So to get it in my head that these two were going to be led in the direction of a romantic relationship had me cringing a bit.

I don’t have a problem with people who write fanfiction and kind of shift/manipulate their intentions for shipping purposes. But to have said motivations be canon would be...a bit concerning considering how JJ set them up to be.

And I can say that when I saw the movie, I was so relieved to see that it followed the arc that JJ introduced. I know a lot of people are holding on to the idea that Rey and Kylo were reaching out to each other, and were romantically/sexually invested in each other. But really, genuinely, I did not see this.

I saw Kylo wanting Rey solely for his power. I saw him craving power and craving leadership. His actions reminded me very much of, ironically, Darth Vader. I saw the same kind of motivations that I did with Vader and the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. Vader wanted Luke to join him in his quest to rule the galaxy, because he knew that having a very strong force-sensitive individual by his side would amplify his power. And I feel that was the same with Kylo. He knew Rey was force-sensitive. Hell, he got hIS ASS KICKED AND HAD A SCAR TO SHOW FOR IT. So he and ultimately Snoke both wanted her on the First Order’s side for that reason.

And then of course, Rey wanted Kylo on her side with the motivation of changing the war. I recall her talking about how beneficial it would be to have him in the light again. And that makes sense; having Kylo on the Resistance’s side would take a huge chunk of darkness/power away from the First Order. It would really change things the frick around if Kylo joined those he swore to defeat. So in knowing that there could potentially still be good in him, Rey pulled a Luke and attempted to bring him away.

Their little force connections were very interesting, but again, I didn’t sense any romantic longing. Any time Kylo reached out to her, he appeared to be attempting to corrupt her. I noticed that he would jab at her weak spots a lot, such as mentioning her loneliness and past burdens. And in knowing that channeling negative emotions such as those leads to the dark side, it can be pretty safe to assume that he was trying to get under her skin and get her to join his purpose.

Rey of course, resisted his dark intentions. She did however, reach out to him once. And I believe this happened because she saw potential good in him. She saw a supposed gate to reach his light side, and attempted to pass through it. She wanted so bad for him to be good again.

And of course when he appeared so close to be redeeming himself, only to shut it all down, she had no problem with shutting him out. She realized at that point that he was irredeemable.

Not to mention that Snoke had been instigating their little “Force Skype Calls” from the beginning anyway. He openly admitted to filling their heads with thoughts and tampering with their weak spots to break the both of them. So it never really was Kylo reaching out to Rey or vice versa anyway. It was all formulated.

SO ANYWAY, I was very much satisfied with the way their interactions played out. And just a PSA, I don’t really have a problem with anyone who ships them. If you like writing fanfictions and what not, imagining what could be, then you are definitely free to do so. I however, do not see any kind of romantic or sexual connotations in their relationship, so I was happy with how things were presented in this movie.

The New Characters: This is the part where I start screaming, bECAUSE H’OH MY GOD. I LOVE THEM????? WHAT GOOD KIDS???????? Rose quickly had me invested in her character with how smol yet heroic she was, and her chemistry with Finn was amazing. And then of course Holdo sjflksjdksds. Jesus CHRIST that woman. I cannot get over her character honestly. I was so frustrated with her in the beginning and felt like she was holding back the Resistance from achieving their goals. But then everything fell into place and her motivations were explained perfectly and??? The part where she sacrificed herself by slamming???? into the First Order ships at light speed in absolute????? silence?????? had me probably tHE MOST SHOOK I WAS IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE??????? AND SHE HAD SUCH A MINOR ROLE IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS BUT MADE ONE OF THE BIGGEST IMPACTS AND IT WAS SO UTTERLY INSANE

Rey: I have to admit, I was hoping that Rey would explore more of that “balance” between the force in this movie. She seemed to give into one side or the other pretty quickly as she attempted to figure out her purpose and who she was as a jedi. But I suppose ultimately at the end, she found her place and decided what path she was taking by shutting the First Order out and aiding the Resistance. I suppose I had it in my head that she was going to master both the light and dark side, becoming a Grey Jedi. I had images of her in my head wielding a double-sided red and blue lightsaber. And who knows; maybe she’ll explore more of this in episode nine. We still really didn’t get to see the type of Jedi she’ll become, and I guess that’s what I was hoping to see in this movie.

I did of course, really like to see her journey as she attempted to figure things out, and the small hints at how powerful she really is. I’M JUST SO READY FOR THIS LITTLE POWERHOUSE TO BECOME SUCH A POWERFUL FREAKING JEDI/FORCE USER.

Poe: I know a lot of people were complaining that Poe’s character was cut down, and he was made to be this “scoundrel” type of character. I even saw people going so far as to calling his character choices sexist because of how he disobeyed both Leia and Holdo. But honestly, I saw nothing wrong with his character choices. It was established pretty well in the first movie that Poe is very gung-ho, that he’s a bit cocky, and that he likes leaping before looking necessarily. And I think this movie only amplified those character traits.

I think Poe is our Han of the new trio. He tends to act before he thinks things through properly, and acts in the hero mindset. I think he would have disobeyed anyone who tried to give him orders, as he was so set on his plans and so invested in saving the Resistance in the way that made the most sense to him.

So he wasn’t problematic. Just a Good Boy who was trying his best and just wanted to save the day for his boyfriend fellow fighters.

Finn: FINNY-FINN-FINN IS BEST BOY. God, I love him. He’s just so good. His character is just so delightful, and I adore how he has the same fighting spirit as Poe. He’s willing to do anything for those he’s fighting for, and I swear to God, if he had flung himself into that charging gun, I would have flung myself down the theater’s stairs. Like I appreciate your sacrifice and character, bUT YOU ARE TO GOOD TO LOSE LIKE THAT SO YOU SIT YOURSELF DOWN. Also, while I love his dynamic with Rey, his dynamic with Rose was super cute as well. I’m glad he was able to establish a good relationship with her, and then also go to Rey in the end. My boy is surrounded by a lot of good friends, and I am So Glad.

Luke: So being overly dramatic must come from the male side of the Skywalker family. All the ladies have it together, but the mEN JUST LOVE THEIR STOMPING AWAY AND THEIR DRAMATIC CAPE FLINGS AND THEIR L’OREAL HAIR MOMENTS. But also let Luke rest, he is tired.

In all seriousness, this was actually another element the Internet had me real worried about. I was honestly expecting Luke’s character to be utterly butchered. Like, I was expecting him to not feel like Luke whatsoever. And admittedly, initially, I was a bit worried there in the beginning. He just seemed so cold and so unapproachable and so just...not himself that I was sitting there like ohgodohgodohgod.

But then I came to realize that Luke had been through A Lot; the poor guy was literally blaming himself for the entire uprising of The First Order. Like, despite Snoke being the one to seduce Ben to the dark side, and Ben ultimately failing Luke as opposed to the other way around, he could not see it as such. He carried the burden of starting everything.

And then I also realized that Luke has been a sassy lil dork since A New Hope. After all, he only wanted to go to Toshi Station to pick up some power converterrrssss! And then when he was learning the ways of the force with Yoda, he was impulsive and even quick tempered at times.

So really, he wasn’t out of character at all. Just really really really tired. 

He also probably saw a lot of his younger self in Rey. And in seeing what he became, and what he thought his actions created, it made him shut himself out, and therefore her as well.

It was so amazing however, to see Luke come back in full swing. Good God. To see him finally warm up to training Rey, all the way to seeing him LITERALLY PROJECT HIMSELF ON THE ASTRAL PLANE TO WHIP HIS NEPHEW INTO SHAPE LOL. LIKE YES. THAT’S HIM. THAT’S LUKE SKYWALKER.

And his death didn’t feel too out of place either. The whole thing with him finally being at peace, and that friggin binary sunset symbolism bullshit that decided to show up and murder me was a great touch as well. It’s like his arc made a complete circle, so his death felt heroic, it felt like he was laying to rest and allowing the new jedi to take his place.

Leia: I couldn’t handle Leia for a few reasons. First and foremost being, I would tear up whenever I saw Carrie Fisher on screen for obvious reasons. Secondly, she’s always been one of my favorite characters in the entirety of the Star Wars franchise, if not my ABSOLUTE favorite. So I of course adored watching every aspect of her personality on screen. I love Leia in the sense that she never has time for anyone’s shit, but is also one of the warmest and wisest characters in the entire franchise. And probably one of the strongest too; your girl has been to every circle of hell and back and hasn’t ONCE been tempted by the dark side. I absolutely adore her.

But what had me really really REALLY shook with this movie was finally FINALLY getting to see her use her force sensitivity. Like of course we got to see her reaching out to Ben and Luke, something she’s demonstrated in Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Force Awakens. But tO ACTUALLY SEE HER SAVE HERSELF FROM THE DEEP DARK DEPTHS OF SPACE BY UTILIZING A FORCE PULL???? I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT.

I had actually spoiled that one bit unfortunately, because I couldn’t live with not knowing if Kyle Ron killed his sweet mother or not lol. But even in knowing it, I was still crying and in complete shock in seeing it. I’ve always wanted Leia to show her jedi tendencies ever since I was a smol Star Wars fan. And even though it wasn’t much, seeing her legitimately using the force on the big screen...I’M STILL MESSED UP JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

And also on a little side note, I want to cry every time I think about Leia being able to see and feel Luke when she was on Crait. Her being able to converse with him, and practically reuniting with him just...MURDERED ME. IT WAS LITERALLY THE ONE THING I WAS HOPING FOR, AND WELP THERE GOES LUKE KISSING LEIA ON THE FOREHEAD AND CAUSING MY SOUL TO AGGRESSIVELY ASCEND.

The Creatures: It honestly cracked me up to see how much the Porgs and Vulptexes were hyped up, and then to rECEIVE SO LITTLE OF THEM. Any time they were on screen though, they were very delightful. The one scene where Chewie had a cooked Porg, and he got guilt tripped into not eating it by these little puppy dog-eyed Porgs had me DYING. And also the Vulptexes were heckin’ good doggos. Brought the Resistance out of the salt mines 10/10.

Overall: I would get into even more detail, but considering this whole thing is getting to be a legitimate novel and I touched upon what was most important to me, I’ll just wrap things up by saying I thoroughly enjoyed nearly everything about this movie. I went in with lowered expectations, and ended up being blown out of the water. It definitely has re-watch value. It definitely stuck with me. It definitely kept my fandom spirit alive, and made me all the more desperate to see what happens next.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens now that Snoke is out of the picture, and now that there are other force sensitive users in the galaxy. Please see: that smol baby bean at the end of the movie. I’m very excited with everything this movie set up, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what Nine will bring.