ST Did rey use the darkside to beat kylo ren

i have the idea that once kylo had finished finn, in his weakened state rey saw finn (dead?) and used force rage on kylo ren?

 

She certainly had a rage face on towards the end.

 

and the acting in that movie compared to the others was much better, so im guessing the rage face was done for a reason i.e force rage

 

She certainly tapped into it but wasn't overcome by it. After she slashed Kylo's face and he was beaten she stopped attacking. When he was helpless on the ground she could have easily killed him then but didnt. Granted the ground splitting open might have aided Rey taking the "high ground."

 

rey was abit to powerful in the movie i think though, to have tapped in to what ever she used that quick, granted ren was hurt but he took on finn who has alot of training and skill with close quarter weapons

 

I don't think she did. The movie clearly shows her closing her eyes being calm and letting the force guide her to victory. Certainly more tapping into the light than the dark.

 

100% Dark Side at that moment. The same as when Luke beat Vader, realizes how near to Dark Side he is, and then stops.

 

Didn't J.J. say they came back to reshoot the scene months after wrap was called in order to focus more on Daisy's face? I don't have the receipts on me, but that's what I remember. Makes sense they wanted to accentuate her tapping into the Dark to remain congruent with the TFA novelization.

Am I the only one who thought the face scarring was a bit unnecessary? Rey already burned Kylo's shoulder and leg, kicked him to the ground, cleaved his saber in two...and then went in for more. That's what came across as "Dark" to me.

 

I thought about that. It's clear she was angry. Anger makes you a raw powerful force user. Although she defeated him when she calmed herself and was a peace. Remember when she was locked with Ren and she closed her eyes.

Its just my speculation, but maybe the Awakening is a being that can wield both light and dark together. Even though its not cannon anymore, I always like the old notion of the Unifying Force. That there is no dark nor light side. Only the force. It is the person who makes the motives light or dark.

 

She used force rage...I assume that falls on the darker side of the spectrum.

 

Yes

 

It does, and that's the danger of the Dark Side: if she hasn't tapped into it, she might not have won the duel and saved Finn. So there's likely to be some disagreement between her and Luke about her "success".

 

Novel says she did, FWIW.

 

To me her facial expression is not much different than Obi-Wan's in TPM when he fights Maul. Go back and watch from right after he yells "noooo" through the rest of it. There are a few times during that when Obi-Wan looks totally ticked. It doesn't mean he tapped into the dark side. Same thing with Rey. She's aggressively attacking to defeat an opponent that is trying to kill her and her new bff. How do you think her face is going to look?

 

Reminds me more of Darth Maul in TPM honestly (especially when he's staggered and she's prowling around him), with a bit of Luke in ROTJ. Do I think that she'll go full-on Dark Side, no. Will she struggle with it, and her own inner anger issues, quite possibly:

-She has plenty of reasons to despise Kylo, and thinks of him as a "monster."
-If certain painful "details" about her past come out, then that might factor into it as well.

 

There is an instance when the scene slows down that just feels like she is so incredibly engrossed in ending this guy. Obviously Obi does in fact 'kill' Maul, when he is cornered. I think there is an instant right before the ground splits where Kylo is down, on the ground, face slashed, and it feels like she is ready to just destroy him... and gets knocked out of it. All in my opinion obviously. But I would like the fact that she is conflicted in that way.

 

With all of these discussions I think it's important to define what it means to "use the dark side" and what it means to "turn to the dark side." Obviously none of Obi-Wan, Luke, or Rey turned to the dark side, but I don't think it's unreasonable to say that they tapped into it for a moment. So long as the have discipline they can get away with tapping into it every now and again.

 

But that's the thing isn't it, she DOESN'T have the traditional Jedi wisdom yet. So if she hasn't been taught how to channel that, and not let it consume her, it could cause issues later on.

 

Yoda: Yes, run! Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.
Luke: Vader... Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.
Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
Yoda: You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, NEVER for attack.
Luke: But tell my why I can't...
Yoda: No, no! There is no "why".

 

Luke: Vader... Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Which is interesting now, since Kylo takes that idea and flips it on it's head.

 

IMHO - she centered herself - focused on the Light - and naturally beat Kylo fair and square just like Yoda's quote should be interpreted. Being Light does not imply you have a smile on your face in a duel.

 

According to the novelization, not necessarily.

 

You said it; Rylo was injured, not to mention holding back. And if the theory of Rey Force Bonding with Ren is true that would've played a factor in her win as well ie; she absorbed some of his skills and experiences into her mind.

 

Kylo wasn't trying to kill Rey, but had no such compunctions with Finn. Also, Rey has melee experience as well.

 

The guru characters get to pick and choose. I don't mean that in a bad way, but as a non-Jedi master observing all we get is the gurus assessing whether the apprentice's feelings are serving them well or betraying them.

"Your feelings serve you well."

or

"Your feelings have betrayed you."

Which implies a correlation with someone in this thread saying earlier you can tap into the dark side without succumbing to it. You can "tap in" to the dark side without your feelings betraying you to it....but it's something to be really careful about or they will.