
Star Wars: The Force Awakens… Questions To Discuss!
We saw the 7th Star Wars on Tuesday and then again last night, so I am ready to talk about it. If you haven’t seen it, and don’t want SPOILERS, please stop reading, go see the movie, then come back.
In a nutshell, we loved it. New Hope came out when I was seven and just like everyone else, Empire Strikes Back is my favorite of the series. We even liked the prequels, although Attack of the Clones really made us question our loyalty.
But with The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams did good. Real good. Frankly, better in many ways than George Lucas, especially in terms of acting. (It’s always baffled me how he got bad performances out of Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman and Liam Neeson, to name a few.)
The new characters in TFA are a joy. Every single one, down to BB-8, who already had a special place in my heart because the toy version is made by Boulder-based Sphero.
Rey and Finn have great chemistry. Finn and Poe have great chemistry. Han and Rey have great chemistry. Rey and BB-8 have great chemistry. It’s a freaking love fest on screen.
Except for Leia and Han, but we chalk that up to them parting ways after their son massacres an entire school of young Jedi.
OK, fine, I will give them that one.
But what about other lingering questions from Star Wars: The Force Awakens? I have many!
Who are Rey’s parents?
It’s the big one everyone is discussing. There are two obvious paths: Skywalker or Solo. Personally, I highly doubt she is the child of Han and Leia. They would not have been so concerned about Kylo Ren/Ben without mentioning a missing daughter, had there been one. Based on the age that Rey was dropped off at Jakku (6?), she could not be Ren’s twin unless he was a murderous Kindergartener, thus making her younger and probably a student of the Jedi school. Personally, I like the theory that she is Luke’s daughter and somehow a Kenobi granddaughter – seeing as Obi Wan spoke to her in the dream sequence and she fights like he did.
Who is Finn?
A lot of people are hinting, due to his skin color and American accent, that Finn is related to either Lando Calrissian or Mace Windo. Plausible, but personally, I think it’s OK for people to actually be from random families. It’s a big galaxy after all!
Who was Lor San Tekka (Max Von Sydow’s character)?
Supposedly he is a traveller who helped the Republic over the years and simply retired to Jakku. (Yea right). I wonder if he is related to the Kebobis and/or was there watching over Rey much like Ben did for Luke.
What was Rey’s vision about?
Whether Rey is a Skywalker or not, she obviously has an incredibly strong connection to the Force. Her vision included several important clues: Luke touching R2D2 (presumably hiding the larger map and powering him down till the time is right to reveal it), Kylo Ren in the aftermath of the Jedi massacre, and her being dropped off on Jakku by someone who clearly cares for her, saying, “I’ll come back sweetheart, I promise.”
Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?
I really don’t have any clue on this one, except I really hope it’s not Luke.
Who raised Rey?
The arm in Rey’s vision looks like Unkar Plutt, the man with whom she trades scraps for food (and who is played by Simon Pegg). Another point for a connection with the Solos is the presence of the Millennium Falcon, although Han seems to really not know where it was. Based on how skilled she is at taking care of herself, and amusing herself (playing with the helmet while eating), I am guessing that, either way, she mostly raised herself.
Where was Luke this whole time?
In the beginning, Han says that Luke went looking for the Lost Temple of the Jedi. When Kylo Ren is interrogating Rey and reading her mind, he sees the island she dreams about. In the end, we see this island, and as Rey climbs the steps, the place was clearly a temple in the past.
Will they try and rebuild the Jedis together in Episode 8? Or has Luke really given up this time? His face at the end could go either way.
Argghhhhh… HAN.
Yeah. In retrospect, it was obvious but I still didn’t see it coming. I really thought Ren was asking Han to kill HIM. And I didn’t really start sobbing until the Millennium Falcon rose up to rescue Rey and you realized Han wasn’t there, only Chewie. Good job, Internet, on keeping this one quiet.
Rest in peace, Captain Solo.
Great review!!! And what about BB-8 & R2? So cute together!
Agreed – they are adorable too!
Just read this! Good stuff. Didnt even think about it while watching the movie but now my curious mind Awakens, no pun intended haha. The questions posed in this article makes me want to watch the past Star Wars movies all over again! #hummm
We watched all 6 before the new one came out!
dammm I should have done that! I guess I have sometime to do over this holiday break then!
All great points. I too am concerned about Luke – especially since he did not smile at the end. Although i think they may pull the “they thought she was dead” trick and have Han and Leia be Rey’s parents.
My son and I just saw it and we had some of the same questions! Can’t wait for the next one!!!
I didn’t like the last three movies (the prequels) at all, so this one felt like coming home. I loved it so much! Also loved reading your thoughts on it. I was CERTAIN that Rey was going to say, “Dad…” when she held out the light saber to Luke. She has to be his. Right?????
I am also TOTALLY amazed that the Internet has been quiet about spoilers so HURRAY and it makes me wonder what other good deeds could be done by the people of the Internet just by trying. 🙂
Our theory is that Rey is Luke’s daughter. When Kylo Ren went to the Dark Side, it’s possible Rey’s mother (knowing her daughter was likely a target), hid her on Jakku for her safety, promising to come back for her once Ren had been stopped. But then she was likely killed before she had the chance, and Luke may have thought that Rey was killed, too. That kind of devastation might have been enough to send him into seclusion.
My big question is: will we find out Rey was a twin, and she has a sibling that was hidden on another planet?
I thought that Luke was Rey’s father too until I remembered that Jedi’s aren’t allowed to get married. So is that even possible? (Unless Luke had a kid without marriage…) So that’s what kinda confusing me!
Maybe Luke ignored that since there are so few/no Jedi left.
I briefly considered that, too, but then I remembered that the rule about a Jedi not marrying was never told to Luke in the original trilogy. So he never would have known it was a rule. (Or if he did, ignoring it seems likely since it’s not like there were that many Jedi left.)
All really great points, Aimee. Makes me want to go back and see it again to pay even closer attention like you did.