ST Rey....The dark side

Rey's all too easy prowess at manipulating the force was an issue for me after the first couple of viewings (we have to assume that the force is so strong in her that she's able to employ the old mind trick without even the slightest training) but then a thought occured to me....
Maybe there's an ace up the scriptwriters sleeve....
When confronted with Kylo Ren in the final duel...She is only able to defeat him when she unleashes vengeful wrath upon him...and we all know where that leads. Luke takes down Vader in a fit of anger and it's only due to his resolve that he's not seduced by the dark side...Is Rey capable of resisting such temptation?...especially if she ends up under Luke's wing (kylo didn't fare particularly well under his tuition) and is her destiny far from heroic, as we've been led to believe up to now?

 

I think she will be tempted but never embrace the dark side. At least I hope so. I want her to struggle, to make mistakes. But I don't want her to turn bad.

 

I don't agree it was vengeful wrath; if anything, the first part of the duel, she was angry - she gained the upper hand after seemingly having a moment's meditation

 

Yeah. And then there are those who say that Kylo Ren will redeem himself and turn back to the light at the same time, because what we really need is another white male hero.

 

The novel talks about Rey hearing a dark vengeful voice while standing at the abyss. Then she pulled back from the dark side. So there is darkness in her.

 

I think that she was able to pick up on those force abilities quickly for a different reason. Yes, she is strong in the force but she's not more strong than Luke I think. It's just that she has heard the legends that Luke and the Jedi have been through in the past. She's heard of a Jedi mind trick and Force levitation and she can speculate that they have other powers. So knowing is half the battle, she's able to try and mind trick the trooper because she knows it's possible. It takes a few tries but she gets it done. I don't think this is much different from Luke's training with the probe droid. He wasn't able to block any shot for a few times, but he got it on the third or so try. I think if Obi Wan wanted him to try to mind trick a bartender or whatever, it would have been similar to what Rey does in this movie. He would have failed a couple times but then he would succeed. The only difference is that he had a tutor and Rey only knows what she knows from stories. But hey back in the genesis of the Jedi someone strong in the force had to figure this all out anyways!

As for her beating Kylo, it's been discussed to death in other threads. Mainly, Kylo was shot by a shotgun bowcaster, hit by Finn with the saber a bit and was emotionally not all there because he killed his daddy. Makes sense, I just wish they shot it a bit different. Have Kylo slump onto his leg and fight more slowly after ten or so swipes till he's on his knees. That would have been pretty cool I think!

 

I definitely think she tapped in to the dark side to turn the tables on Kylo. The way she was striking at him was very aggressive and if the chasm didn't separate them, she just might have killed him.

As I've said on other threads, I very much expect this trilogy to explore light, dark and grey. I think Luke exiled himself to become a grey Jedi - able to harness the force with his emotions without succumbing to the dark side - he will train Rey in this way and it will ultimately make the new Jedi order much more powerful and a lot less vulnerable to fallen Jedi like Kylo Ren.

 

There was an article I read recently, one of those click-bait ones that was something like "10 things about TFA that the novelization clears up" or something like that. And it mentioned something about how when she taps into the Force she is also triumphing over the Dark Side or something like that. I just saw the movie for a second time last night, and she does very much appear angry in her facial expressions, but she doesn't completely unleash any kind of rage on him. She overpowers him a bit, then eases up. He tries to attack her again and she defends herself, each time inflicting a non-fatal wound to his shoulder or leg, etc. This happens 2-3 times until he grabs onto her arm, they struggle for a bit, she breaks free and finally knocks him off his feet.

Her facial expressions are misleading, as they suggest anger. But unlike Luke in ROTJ, I don't think she was enraged. She wasn't relentlessly attacking Kylo. She seemed to demonstrate her greater power, then there would be a lull until he tried to attack her again. She never verbally demanded that he surrender, but the way that fight plays out with him being injured and her waiting, I got the vibe that she was essentially waiting to see if he would yield, or if he was going to attack again. She seemed to be fighting defensively, overpowering him, but only after each time he tries to attack her.

 

There are negatives emotions or "darkness" in everyone. SW and the Jedi in particular have always been about letting go of it.


Rey's powers of telekinesis, mind tricks and lightsaber mastery don't fit whatsoever into the saga. These are all abilities that we see performed by TRAINED Jedi such as Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Anakin and Luke. To imply that anyone who touches the Force can all of a sudden peform like the Jedi is a mistake. And even though they are trying to distance the ST from the PT, they are distaning it from the OT by devaluing the mastery of the Force that Obi-Wan and Yoda display, and gradual progression we see in Luke from newbie to Jedi Knight.

 

Actually in the novel she hears a voice telling her to finish him but the chasm splits before she acts. She was very much using the darkside

 

I hope not.

I don't want her to get ruined.

 

This is only one movie. I think it'll be revealed to the ADD generation that she had prior training. I think she tapped into the dark side during the duel, surprising Ren.

 

Yoda's training of Luke revolved around helping him achieve the right mental state. The OG force was about embracing the Force and letting it act through you, and training didn't involve obtaining enough XP to unlock your level 6 Force ability, or learning the right wand strokes and incantation to cast WingGARdium LeviOsa.

 

Luke's struggle against the dark side was a/the central theme of the OT and it'll be a most welcome addition to the saga if Rey has to endure such trials on her journey.

 

Are we talking about TFA or TFU??

 

She's killed her fair shair of Imperials at this point. Why does it make her evil if she kills arguably the MOST evil one? In the OT it made sense because Luke didn't want kill his OWN father....Now killing any Force-wielding bad guy makes you evil?

...too many recycled OT ideas used in the wrong context.

 

Which requires experience. The experience that he can achieve things with the force. Over time, this will give him confidence that he can achieve great things with the force.

 

As questionable as it was to make the only major black Jedi need to deal with anger and rage issues, it'd be interesting if Rey's approach to the force was basically Mace Windu's (in the supporting material).

 

Well the book has differences based on a different drafts and whatever, the movie is still "higher" canon according to Pablo.

Way I saw it, was at first she was fighting with aggression as the Dark Side is it is basically raw unrestrained emotion and easily more selected and all of that kinda thing, but once she closed her eyes and embraced the Force she overpowered him as a Jedi would by knowing the good side from bad by being calm, at peace & passive. Like Jinn was doing when he closed his eyes and Kanan's duel with the Grand Inquisitor. The "Dark voice" could also of been Snoke , the book describes him always watching and corrupting Ben from afar and whatever. If he's a Sith wannabe then he will want the strongest apprentice, so Kylo failing and being struck down would've made Rey his new prize like Sidious did between Tyranus and Anakin and later Vader and Luke.

 

That's probably why that part was cut by the time the script reached its final version.

 

Ruined? I think it would make Rey far more interesting if she turned at least temporarily to the dark side due to feelings of abandonment and betrayal. Kylo has been shown as being far too weak (both mentally and in combat) to present a longstanding challenge to Rey. Having her tap into the dark side would add some much-needed adversity to Rey's character. Right now everything comes far too easy for her.

 

Ok, but as long as it's only temporary like you said.

 

Nothing questionable there. In the EU Mace Windu doesn't "deal with anger and rage issues" (if so how would he become the head of the Jedi Council??), he harnesses his negative emotions into his lightsaber style. Also he doesn't display half the rage and instability that Anakin does.

 

Yoda clearly went into Palpatine's office with intent to kill. And when Palpatine tries to run, Yoda cuts him off. I believe Yoda was even the first one to draw his weapon. He was doing his duty. Jedi can't kill in anger, they can't kill an unarmed prisoner, they can't use hate to fuel their power, but as far as killing an opponent in the name of justice or in defense, I don't see where that is ever shown to be something the Jedi cannot do. Hell, in ROTS, Yoda flat out says "destroy the Sith, we must." And Obi-Wan states that he doesn't feel like he can kill Anakin. Then in ROTJ, Obi-Wan tells Luke that the Emperor has already won, if Luke is unable to kill Vader.

Killing an evil person in the name of justice, I don't feel is ever depicted as being wrong, unless that person is unarmed or no threat.

I did not get the vibe in TFA that Rey was doing anything wrong in the way she conducted herself in her fight with Kylo. She and Finn were attacked. She was thrown against a tree and Finn received a cut down his spine, and for all Rey knew, he could have been dead. She was doing what she had to do to protect herself and Finn.

 

Jedi assassinating Dooku was a Dark Side path to murder.