ST "Couple of things" in TFA designed as lead-ins for VIII

JJ went on to say that these things were related to what he was doing with the end of TFA. So I imagine this could be Luke-related, something to do with Finn's state, or something about the confrontation between Rey and Kylo. "You need a teacher!" actually sounds like something Johnson may have requested...Or the slash across Kylo's face could be setting up a new look Rian wants to give him. Perhaps something more cyborgian. Hux and/ or Phasma surviving might also have been a Johnson thing.

Can't wait to find out!

 

This is really interesting. I think this could actually be the truth.

But, I feel like it's been implied that Han left and went back to smuggling only after Ren turned to the dark side. That would mean that Ben Solo would have been at least (10) years old or so, when he was seduced by Snoke. And that would mean Rey couldn't have been born yet. So is there a 10 year age difference between Rey and Ben?

This is a real possibility because of the way Leia hugged Rey at the end, and because of Kylo Ren's line: "You feel like he's the father you never had." Perhaps Kylo Ren knows that Rey is his sister, but also knows that Han doesn't know she's his daughter because Leia never told him.

A very real possibility...

 

But it could also be as simple as that. Rey basically idolizes Han from the first moment she meets him (and acts like an adorable fangirl when she finds out who he is and that they're onboard the MF). So she does come to see him as a surrogate father figure (especially if she didn't really know her real father). And Han sees her as a talented young woman, who probably reminds him a bit of himself at a younger age, who's led a pretty miserable/lonely existence up until that point. He sympathizes with that and is basically offering her a way out (while also getting a promising young crewmember in the process).

And the timeline doesn't really line up with the idea that Han didn't know about a potential Leia pregnancy:

-They've implied that the Academy massacre happened much more recently than people seem to think, AFTER Rey was left on Jakku. And Han basically says that he went back to smuggling as a way to kind of try to cope with losing his son. So he was still around during the time when Rey would have been born, making it unlikely that that'd escape his notice (plus at that point Leia would have had no reason to hide it from him).

-Kylo is only 10 years or so older than Rey, yet she's been on Jakku for longer than that apparently, which also makes the timeline wonky.

As for Leia's hug, that could potentially be a case of her recognizing Rey in some other way, or perhaps Han told her about Rey offscreen and it was clear to Leia that he was fond of her, or it just could be that Leia saw this teenage girl standing all alone (while most everyone else was celebrating) obviously sad and depressed. And Leia, compassionate woman that she is, thought that this girl needed a hug most of all at that point.

 

One of the last shots was the KOR in the rain, right? I strongly suspect that this scene is a premonition of what is to come in VIII .. Rey sees the future and sees Kylo and the DV fan club attacking something / somewhere (and her?) in VIII.

 

I doubt it, since Kylo is wearing the mask he lost on Starkiller base and is wielding the lightsaber that Rey destroyed.

 

But then, Kylo is masked in that final shot of her vision when he appears in the woods, yet isn't for the actual event. They're not perfectly accurate.

 

Fair enough, but wasn't it confirmed that the vision shows him destroying the Jedi Order? I could have sworn I saw a temple in the background when the lightning struck.

 

I think we all assumed that's what it was, but it was confirmed later it WASN'T (I think...).

Maybe it shows the first Jedi temple Luke has been searching for?

 

How did they imply that the massacre happened after after Rey was on Jakku? I thought in her Force vision she sees the massacre and then they cut to her being left on Jakku which makes me think Rey was present for the massacre.

 

Pablo Hidalgo has stated that the massacre in her vision was NOT the one at Luke's Jedi Academy, and that that happened more recently. Also he implied that the massacre might not be a vision of the past, but of the future.

Now he could be lying/misdirecting, but there it is.

 

Huh. Damn...that's a major blow to my theory that Rey was present for the massacre and that Kylo kidnapped her and brought her to Jakku. It also possibly kills my theory that Rey's mother has been looking for Rey this whole time.

Ugggggghhhhhh. If that's true than I suppose it is more likely that Luke and/or Rey's mom left her on Jakku. I really don't like where that could take the series. Leaving Rey on Jakku could make Luke and/or his baby momma look like terrible parents, and it will or at least should make Rey resent them for never coming back or at least reaching out to her. I'm super bummed.

I know I've said it before but despite the fact that Star Wars has always dealt with daddy issues I'm not too psyched at the idea of Rey and Luke having a strained relationship.

 

On another note, i'm pretty sure Rey' & Finn last scene was one of the thngs asked by Jonhson : it felt overly dramatic, and would make a lot more sense if their next meeting was not planned right away, and happen in some dramatic circumstances.

Otherwise, why not wait for Finn to wake up, have a proper goodbye, and end the movie on a more cheerful note ? (it's not like they can't delay R2's awakening as much as they want...)

 

Actually they couldn't, as I'm betting that they needed to wrap up the movie pretty quickly. Be it a studio edict or not. Hence why they cut out the scene that would have explained why R2 woke up when he did apparently.

 

So I guess you're leaning towards the idea that Luke is Rey's father and that he or his lady left her on Jakku?

 

I don't know right now honestly. IF Luke turns out to be her dad, IF, then I'm going with the theory that it was her mother who left her on Jakku. And that Luke most likely wasn't aware of it, or thought that they both died.

 

There's a theory going around that perhaps Felicity Jones's character in Rogue One may be the mom in a way to introduce the Mom in Episode XIII and the audience actively care that she is dead. If she's Luke's daughter, the wife has gotta be dead. I agree on the idea that Luke didn't realize she was still alive. Chilling on Ahch-To would be infinitely better than Jakku.

 

I think you're right. The fascinating thing about this is that at the point Finn goes unconscious, he doesn't know that Rey survives the duel with Kylo. He doesn't know that the Starkiller base got destroyed. IF he was captured by the First Order before he awoke, they could tell him that all of his friends are dead and the Resistance is decimated.

 

I hear ya. I guess I'd be more or less be okay with that but that still suggests that one of Rey's parents thought it would be a better idea to leave Rey with Unkar Plutt rather than to stay with her. That's some pretty terrible parenting. If in real life I had a shady family member acting threatening around my kid I wouldn't think to hop in my car, drive out to some podunk town in Arizona and leave my kid with Cletus the scrapyard manager and then not tell my wife what I'm up to. That's insane!

Lets try to unpack this. Years before Kylo and the Knights kill the Jedi students, Momma Skywalker notices that Ben Solo is acting weird and creepy. Eventually she gets so weirded out by Ben that she goes behind Luke's back and disappears with Rey. Luke presumably thinks they're both dead or aren't coming back...and he goes back to teaching Ben? Again if Momma Skywalker was getting sketched out by Ben, I think we can assume that she'd express her concerns to Luke. So Luke knows that Momma Skywalker feels uncomfortable around Ben, possibly even feels threatened by Ben and yet Luke keeps on training him. One day Momma Skywalker can't take it any more. She leaves with Rey, and lets be clear, that's kidnapping. She kidnaps Rey and leaves the planet. Luke has to assume that she left because of Creepy Ben, but again Luke continues to train his nephew.

One year goes by. Momma and Rey are still gone. Luke still trains Creepy Ben. Two years go by. Still no sign of Momma or Rey. Luke still trains Creepy Ben. Three years go by...four years go by. Five years go by? Luke is broken. He chose his emotionally troubled nephew over his own wife and daughter and it's eating him up inside. As Luke has grown more despondent, Ben has fallen deeper and deeper towards the dark side.

One day Luke is woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of lightning, heavy rain and screams in the night. He bolts up out of bed, runs outside into the driving rain and sees Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren sounded by the slain bodies of Luke's students. Luke feels like he brought this on himself. This is his fault. He doesn't have the emotional strength to face Ben and he leaves, vanishing from the galaxy.

Huh...maybe that's how it'll turn out? I'd actually be completely on board with this theory if Momma Skywalker stuck with Rey instead of leaving her with Unkar. It might actually make a solid tragic story. Luke refuses to give up on his nephew but it costs him everything his has. That's dark, and they say Episode 8 is indeed going to be dark.

But...ugh...the idea of one of the Skywalkers leaving Rey with Unkar is a major problem for me. Hopefully they'll do a good job selling it.

 

Spoiler

How does the 1st Order know Luke Skywalker is the Last Jedi?

 

Google.

 

Possible. But I suspect Ren will have an updated look in VIII. But I had certainly thought if that. KK referred to has a "Forceback" though, so I suspect it took place in the past.

 

My money in that situation would possibly be the mother, but more likely (IMO) Ben.

 

He didn't seem to recognize her specifically in TFA, but I suppose that might have just been trying to hide the fact that he did know her or something?

 

But he knew there was a very important girl on Jakku, as evidenced by his reaction when that officer told him a girl was involved.

 

LIEUTENANT MITAKA
The two were accompanied by a girl.
Ren reaches out -- Mitaka is suddenly, violently PULLED TOWARD
REN, into his black glove:
KYLO REN
What girl?

Or he's mad because "a girl" isn't enough information to help him find out who stole his droid.