ST Rey & Kylo Ren in Episode IX

Because they hate each other.

 

BINGO.

Rey’s “draw” to Kylo is - in great part - about her reaction to Luke pushing her away. They connect when she is most vulnerable, due to Luke’s treatment of her

The cave sequence ultimately results from her clash with Luke in the Caretaker scene. She stomps away, furious and distraught. She’s connected with Kylo, who senses her feeling of parental abandonment (“Your parents threw you away like garbage”). Rey then goes to the cave, where she asks not “Did my parents really callously abandon me” but “Show me my parents.” This is a glaring plothole unless her motivation for asking is directly related to Luke and Rey’s feelings toward him.

This is not to say she doesn’t give a sith about Kylo/Ben, ofc. But that dynamic is far more comprehensible in context if one considers her dynamic with Luke and what’s going on there.

Rey’s web of relationships is complex. While her and Kylo’s dynamic is the central one of the trilogy, it isn’t so by that much. I don’t think the Rey/Kylo relationship can be accurately analyzed in a vacuum; they’re both part of something bigger.

 

Hate each other with their lips at that.

 

#long-lost twins confirmed

 

Well sure - if either of those things happen such mockery will be warrented

 

#born ten years apart twins confirmed

 

#leia dumped rey on jakku after 10 years of labor confirmed

 

Actually the fact that even after TLJ, so many people insist there’s nothing romantic about Reylo is itself an indictment on Reylo. I’m not talking about people like me that hate everything about Reylo as a story in general in SW and specifically for these characters the way it has happened. I think TLJ was a Reylo movie. I’m talking about people that are indifferent and just don’t see it. In my experience, that’s a more common sentiment among the casual movie goers than a recognition of Reylo is. If Reylo was the story, it shouldn’t be ambiguous two movies into a trilogy.

 

I think part of the problem is that LF thinks they are being subtle (I think some actors used this exact term). Rather, I feel they have been diffident about romance overall; I suspect it might be due to the fact non-platonic romance seem less popular today than in the past. I find at best, the general attitude toward sexual romance is treated with tolerance and at worst, with outright disdain.

Shipping is an example of this occurrence. While I understand the frustration with the war-like atmosphere shipping unnecessarily creates, I also feel like shippers are a treated like the lower class of any fandom (there is implication that they are enjoying it the wrong way).

It might be a case of Disney trying to have their cake and eat it too: they want romance but they don’t want to upset anyone with too much of it. Whereas I think in an epic story like Star Wars, romance should play a role (as part of storytelling tradition). It could be Reylo, FinnRey, Damerey... whatever the pairing, it should be a proud part. Han and Leia’s love story wasn't at the center of ESB, but it was definitely more corporeal than whatever is going on ST.

 

Romance doesn’t have to be canon to support shipping fandoms. The bottom line is that story tellers shouldn’t be thinking of shippers any more than they should be thinking of Rey parentage theorists when writing their stories. They need to stop wanting to have their cake and eat it too and just tell a coherent story.

 

I think one of the biggest indictments is how divisive LFL continues to make Kylo, especially since this is a movie trilogy vs a long-running TV show.

I mean, when an 8-year old girl who LOVES BatB and SW gives you a blank stare and “Why?? He hurt her!” when you say that some people speculate Rey and Kylo will end up boyfriend and girlfriend...that’s Exhibit A right there. “Enemies to lovers” is an extremely familiar trope. The fact that this is a *kids’ movie* and so many not only don’t see it but don’t understand how or why that would happen and/or hate Kylo is a good sign they’re not going with that trope. That’s just not how an enemy-turned-love-interest is developed.

At this point *we don’t even know Kylo’s motivations. Apparently they’re a spoiler for 9!*

 

Yes I agree that it would be an absurd story choice. I’ve always called it niche. Of course there’s an audience for that kind of story, but a mainstream audience? No. Just a quick glance at mainstream blockbusters should answer that question.

Where I diverge with you is on whether LF understands that. I have really gotten the impression that they are down for romantic Reylo to such an extent that tells me that they don’t understand how niche this kind of story is. Yes you can find a random SG person using the word “abuse” when pushed, but LF doesn’t start from that POV when this subject comes up. RJ basically squee’d with a Reylo fan like Reylo is cutesy-wootsy. The toy marketing, their Facebook/Twitter promotions, etc., don’t tend to emphasize the evil of Kylo.

 

LFL’s position on Reylo seems to be “Awww we don’t get shipping, but whatever makes you happy! ”

When a SG member calls Reylo “potentially abusive,” that’s a hardcore mic drop.

ETA: LFL’s intention that Kylo be redeemed is mutually exclusive from Reylo. As you know, I’m hardcore Reysky and have believed from Day 1 that Kylo will be redeemed. In fact, I think Reysky necessitates it, thematically.

 

As for not seeing it in the story, there is a huge difference between not seeing subext and refusing to see subtext. I suspect sometimes it is the latter.

 

I do not agree that Rey is meant as a stand-in for purity. There is a spot of darkness in her, as there is a spot of light in Ben Solo. No one is actually pure, not even Luke Skywalker who came close to killing his father and nephew before stopping himself in time. Kylo saw that there was darkness in Rey, and she saw his light, which is why they both believed they could turn each other. I don't think a female character should have to be "everything that is good and pure" to be a role model since that is an impossible standard to set.

Rey only cares a little, so she went to the First Order and nearly died in her attempt to turn Ben? She's the Luke Skywalker of this story and I would find it seriously weird if she doesn't care, or barely cares about the character that she's trying to save from the dark side. The main hero and villain in Star Wars films have always had an important connection or a reason to give a damn about each other. Rey and Kylo are central to the story and in my opinion it would be nonsensical for them to not care.

Note that I'm NOT arguing that they're deeply and desperately in love with each other right now. As I said before, there's a wide range of emotions that can exist between total apathy and total infatuation.

 

I think it’s more “balance” vs “unbalance” with Rey and Kylo.

 

Thank you @RiddleMeThis for commenting on Rey as a symbol of purity.

She is not. If you want to get into gender politics, I absolutely abhor the purity standards that society (read: old men) put forth and demand of females.

She is not some emblem of purity that must be protected. She has not sworn a vow of chastity to become some sort of Vestal virgin who is set ablaze if the flame she is protecting goes out or she surrenders her virtue.

The fact that Rey carries this darkness within is a powerful and intentional addition to her character. Contrasted against Kylo, she has been able tap into the darkness and embrace it without being consumed by it. She isn't ashamed of it and doesn't see or use it as evil entity. As neither Jedi nor Sith, she is not bound by a polarized school of thought and isn't forced to adhere to those constructs.

To say she must remain pure puts her into those sort of artificial constructs and, in away, puts restraints on who she is a person. If you want to keep Rey "pure" in doctrine, you might as well lock her away in a box.

 

Dudes...

As the messianic hero, *Luke Skywalker* is the symbol of purity here. Not Rey.



ETA: Rey is gonna be the last Jedi and all that. Just not the kind the PT guys were.

 

I guess in a way, Luke was the Vestal Virgin.

 

I don’t see the comparison.

I think the Jesus/King Arthur symbolism/imagery was pretty clear.

 

Rey is probably going to start her own order. If there's a time skip of several years, we may see the beginnings of that. Rey with her books and a small group of younglings, learning about the Force without the politics.

 

I don’t think we’ll see another Order.

“If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will rise.”

 

Luke is no longer the only person who can train a new generation of Jedi though. The religion didn't die with him. Rey has the sacred texts and she's got an interpreter. TLJ was about Rey finding herself as the hero after she failed to convince others to fill that role. I see 0 reasons why she can't start a new order just because Luke is gone.