ST The Romantic Future of Kylo Ren and Rey

Textual evidence in literary analysis is generally considered very good evidence.

Since movies are written by artists, purposefully, then the words chosen have meaning. If TFA were merely a recording of several people having conversations off the top of their heads, then Kylo Ren's choice of words could be written off as a slip of the tongue. But competently written stories do not work with that level of randomness. They have been curated by a team of people before the script has even gone to the actors, then the actors (when well-trained) spend loads of time wondering why certain creative choices were made, and then they build their characters around those words. If Kylo Ren refers to the power of the dark side twice (which words I understand to have implications in previous movies, too), then uses the phrase "way of the force," it was done for a reason.

If you want to conclude that Kylo's "reason" was that he knew that Rey wouldn't accept the "dark side" but might accept him teaching "the Force" (ie, he was lying to get her to say yes), then I would say that you can support that view with textual evidence. @FrolickingFizzgig's interpretation, however, is equally founded in hard textual evidence.

 

Darth Imbecillis

It can be both, though? I absolutely agree that the narrative is much grander - but the epic story of balance and maturation needs to be humanised as well, and what better way to express it in human terms than through an epic love story? I'm not a big romance reader - in fact, in real life I'm about as romantic as a dead fish - but when done well, there’s nothing quite so satisfying as a good romantic plot. It speaks to a very human need to be understood and accepted - and loved - for who you are deep down. And on top of this, a good romance resolves itself with a similar narrative satisfaction as a good murder mystery.


I’ll add my voice to the chorus of those who absolutely believe this was a fairytale love at first sight for Ren. If this is to be a love story at all (and I believe it will) this kind of a magical epiphany is the only thing that makes narrative sense in the context. To me, at least: I respect that others may disagree. From my point of view, realism has nothing to do with it. That man is in no place to slowly open up to a genuine human connection like a realistic human being. Love is either going to hit this cursed fairytale prince like a truck or not at all. And I personally believe that that particular truck not only hit him, it ran over him a few times to make sure he was thoroughly squashed into a bloody pulp, and then kicked his carcass in a roadside ditch.

He might not understand yet what exactly it was that hit him, I grant you that. But hit him it did, IMO.

^^^ITA with all of the above.

 

Matt's Solo Cousin Reading your post on page 1145 gave me the thought that perhaps the "Grey Jedi" idea will come from Luke. IE, he was raised in the dogmatic force tradition vaderito described in such detail, but his and Leia's failure with Ben and the loss of his light side Jedi Academy lead to serious introspection about the nature of the Force. That would explain his exile, his dark expression. It would give a satisfying conclusion to his and his father's journey if he has recognized the source of the Skywalker Force Struggle.

If Luke has, in his spiritual exile, found another way, then he can bring Rey and Kylo (if they can rescue him) under his wings and help create a new legacy. Though on the one had giving Luke the inspiration for Grey Jedi training could take something away from Kylo and Rey's "potential," it might be a satisfying arc for Luke's character.

 

This rings true for the SW universe because a love story between Rey and Ren would never unfold slowly like it might in real life. All you have to do is look at Padme and Anakin (cheesy dialogue aside). Anakin is already in love with her at the beginning of AoTC and it's even implied that he loved her from when he first met her in The Phantom Menace. Asking her if she's an angel? It goes above and beyond just saying she was pretty, it's to say that they were destined for each other. These love stories aren't supposed to be realistic, they're full of hyperbole. Even Kylo saying 'The girl I've heard so much about' is ridiculous because she's been mentioned, what...two times? And he's already fascinated by her.

Romance as a concept doesn't just apply to the characters explicitly falling in love, riding off into the sunset and making lots of babies. It's canon at this point that there's a Reylo bond of some kind, and we know force bonds are very rare in the SW universe. The next step will be Rey growing to understand more about Ben Solo's childhood, how Kylo Ren came to be, and hopefully realizing that she can help draw him back to the light in some way. Even if Kylo and Rey never share a kiss in the entire trilogy (and I think they probably will), it wouldn't necessarily stop their story from being romantic. There's too much inspiration there from stories like Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Hades and Persephone, etc. for that to be coincidence.

 

Well, I can always pretend to be a tall dark stranger with a big nose, if you like I have a long history of pretending to be a man on the internet.

Wait, I probably shouldn't have confessed that...

 

And this is where other aspects of literary analysis come in, because the line is spoken in a very specific context with the entire weight of the film and every bit of Ren's characterization behind it. Kylo Ren is not a manipulative character. In fact, he sucks at it. He doesn't bother to hide his anger or his pain (unless that struggle relates in any way to his innate desire for the Light). Ren is a lot of bad things, but he is not a liar. He sucks at lying and manipulating. He's extremely emotional, extremely passionate and portrays a constant inability to control himself at almost all times. We know this because of his interactions with other characters. The only moment in the entire film when Ren lies, it's to Snoke. Observe the dialogue:

SNOKE
There's something more. The droid we seek is aboard the Millennium Falcon. In the hands of your father, Han Solo.

Kylo Ren reacts with subtle, but real, surprise.

KYLO REN
He means nothing to me.

This scene is of course shortly followed by the famous "pull to the Light" dialogue, which proves that Ren was lying when he said Han Solo meant nothing to him, and Snoke was easily able to feel it. Hearing about his father also incited the pull to the Light. It's interesting to note that the novelization also includes an extra scene with Snoke chastising Ren for feeling compassion for the "scavenger". Again, Ren tries to lie, and Snoke sees right through it. Even Hux sees right through Ren (to his "personal interests").

Ren never lies to Rey. Not even once. He never tries to manipulate her. He tells her the truth from the first moment she wakes up in the chair.

REY
Where are the others?

KYLO REN
You mean the murderers, traitors and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear that I have no idea.

> He tells her the truth. He doesn't know where the "others" are. He could have told her they were dead, but nope.

KYLO REN (CONT'D)
And Han Solo. You feel like he's the father you never had. He would've disappointed you.

> He reveals that Han Solo would have disappointed her because he disappointed him.

KYLO REN
Don't be afraid. I feel it too.

> He tells her that he "feels [it] too", attempting to put Rey at ease, expressing that whatever she is feeling is normal, and that he also feels it.

This can be found in Ren's final scene with Han as well. He was 100% telling the truth when he expressed that he was being "torn apart". He wasn't luring his father onto the catwalk (as I've seen some people attempt to say). If he didn't care he would have just lopped Han's head off without a second thought. He was in no way indifferent to his father or to the task appointed to him. He genuinely needed Han's help. He needed Han to come close enough because he couldn't bring himself to do it alone.

KYLO REN
I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain.

KYLO REN
I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?

Then there's the fact that Ren portrays zero logic around Rey in general.

Before meeting Rey: "I need the Droid."
After meeting Rey: "Screw the Droid. We have what we need."

Before interrogation: "I'll interrogate her and get that map right out of her head."
During interrogation: "Never mind, I'll talk to her and stare at her and fish through her memories instead. The map can wait."

Before Rey catches saber: "I need that saber. It's mine. Gimme."
After Rey catches the saber: "Screw the saber! I'll ask to be her teacher!"

So after all of this, after Ren was specifically painted as a very truthful character who was awful at lying, who portrayed zero ability to think rationally around Rey, you think he was trying to manipulate her into turning to the Dark Side. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

My analysis based on textual evidence >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your "analysis" based on textual evidence. Yours only makes sense when you fail to analyze the whole movie and the character as he is presented using dialogue, facial expressions and actions. Ren is a horrible liar and manipulator, as we saw in his interactions with Hux and Snoke.

 

I actually think Kylo falls in love when the lightsaber goes to Rey. It's in his face. Before, it was curiosity, desire to maybe get to know her, maybe he thought she was good looking, felt intrigued, attracted, etc. But the moment that it went BANG, full force was that moment when he has that lovely "in love" face. Add "it is you", from the book. Maybe he had indeed dreamed about her, and now he knows it is her, or feels it is her.

After that, he barely fights, he just rinds after her. She slashes his robes, slashes his face, breaks his lightsaber and he's still in awe.

I agree with most of what you guys wrote, but I actually kind of disagree it was love at first sight. I think it was curiosity and interest at first sight. Falling in love happened later. I actually prefer it this way, I think it's still magical, but more believable and realistic. It's not like he's in love with her just cause she's cute. He falls in love because of al of her power. We've had multiple discussions on how a man falling in love for that reason (a woman's power) is so empowering for women. Falling in love at first sight because she's cute isn't quite as strong or as interesting.

Still, I'm not sure how much of it he knows at the end of TFA. He might just think he wants to teach her. I don't know. I find his last look so meaningful. He almost wants to make sure she's all right. I'd guess he thinks she's important and he knows he cares about her well being. The rest we'll see in over one year!!! (Or before, bless the spoilers).

 

Han & Leia did not even wait to ride off into the Sunset to make babies. By the end of ROTJ, there is a baby on board, or soon there after. Ben Solo. And, it makes perfect Star Wars sense because at the end of ROTS there are babies.

 

Yes all we are doing is speculating,but we are speculating with the ounce of truth. I mean come on? Why speculate about this in the first place?
Anyone I've spoken to about seeing the film think that Rey is a Skywalker, yet also think that her (in their eyes) soon to be "cousin" behaved oddly towards her.
My sister in law believed he was going to kiss Rey or try to in the interrogation, yet she also believes they are cousins, why is that?
I too believed Rey was Luke's daughter, but let me tell you it was short lived. Very short. The whole film screamed ridiculous. People online complaining and at the same time intrigued because a light Saber flew into our hero's hands without any training? Nope. Just nope. That is beyond ridiculous writing. I'm sorry, in my opinion it's stupid.
I've seen theories "oh she forgot and repressed her training"..." her memory was whipped, Luke doesn't know he has a kid".. If you wanna believe that then fine but my God it's beyond stupid. IMO.
The whole Reylo thing was itching me after I seen the film. I couldn't put my finger on it and I truly believe if people just left the Rey Skywalker theory outside it would become a whole lot clearer.
Kylo wasn't fighting her Btw, in the forest. She ignited the saber first and he was trying to disarm defend himself.
If he was really trying to hurt her and maim her, why did he not do what he did with Finn,? Render her unconscious in some way. He did it once, twice he can do it a third time. He has the power to do it.
This Reylo thing isn't being debated because it's "headcanon"..... you trying to say that everything we discuss here is made up? If that's the case then Rey Skywalker is head canon. If anything it's probably more head canon then any other theory out there. At least we have on screen scenes to back up our theory. No here is stupid Btw or wishful thinking. We all saw what we saw and decided it would be freackin weird if Kylo and Rey were cousins and the more I think about it now the more ridiculous it is. Adam Driver seems like the type of guy who would say "no" to playing a cousin of the girl he makes strange advances on. This is a Disney film too Btw, I mean come on, it's a risk.

 

Having spent the best part of the afternoon going through all the posts I'd like to share some of my thoughts as someone who is just a normal cinema goer who saw the film without spoilers (except someone spitefully telling me that Han dies) - I'd read the odd review but I was going in effectively blind:

Poe is taken to Finalizer aboard a trooper transport (and manhandled on the way for good measure and then tortured for his information!) whereas Rey is 'bridal' carried onto Kylo Ren's personal shuttle before heading to SKB. That shows a difference between his treatment of his two prisoners and I don't think it had much to do with the genders of the prisoners.

If Kylo Ren had no sense of intrigue/fascination/attraction to Rey, then he probably could have extracted the information he needed while she was asleep onboard his shuttle - he was on it too (when thinking of this it did make me wonder if he sat there watching her sleep on there too, and then I began to wonder if he personally carried her to the interrogation room on SKB - right next to his own quarters no less - and restrained her - or if he did allow the stormtroopers to do this - but hey we'll never know - but it made me wonder!!! Even now it makes me have a giggle at the sight of him carrying her through SKB ). Anyway back to the original point he could have got the info from her mind while she was asleep on his shuttle and then perhaps let her go (well I'm assuming a Force Sensitive can do that kind of thing - but as we've seen there are no set rules as to what a Force Sensitive can do by what we see Kylo Ren do on Jakku and on Takodana).

His fascination etc with Rey was clear (to me at least) the moment he encountered her on Takodana - the way he stepped in closer to her when she was froze in place - he didn't need to get that close to her, not when she is frozen in place. I also thought it was very showy of him when he put his lightsaber in her face (I thought nothing more about it, honestly!!! )

To me there was some obvious attraction from Ren toward Rey in the interrogation scene - at the time I thought it was just physical - his mannerisms and body language made me think that (but my first viewing was also in IMAX3D and I find that I do miss certain things in that format) but on a second viewing (in 2D) I saw that it wasn't just physical attraction that was coming across in that scene, but something deeper. His reaction when she spoke aloud his fears spoke volumes to me. Up to that point every time something didn't go his way or something displeased him, Kylo Ren reacted with anger/violence (killing San Tekka, trashing the panel + grabbing the officer when he found out about Finn/Rey/BB-8) but when Rey tells him one of his weaknesses he doesn't instantly go for his lightsaber and lash out, no he runs off like a little child running to tell their parent that the girl was mean to him. To me that shows that he's unsure of himself around her, he questions himself. That he really doesn't like his own truth being exposed. When he removed his helmet he was sure of himself, cocky, being like a peacock fanning his feathers - almost as if he was saying 'ha, in your face!'. But the more he interacted with Rey the more he lost his footing. She was exposing him and his truth - be it his fear about disappointing a burnt up mask or his lure to the Light (because Rey is practically the embodiment of Light to him) - she radiates at times + she is almost always standing in the light, while he's in the shadows.

With the Han scene - firstly Kylo quickened his pace when he got on the bridge - he must have felt his Father so close to him, and despite saying to Snoke that he means nothing to him (there was a croak of emotion in his voice when he said 'He means nothing to me") it was clear that his Father still means something to him and he only confronted him because Han put him in that situation. Han orchestrated that whole confrontation because he still believed that he son could be saved - maybe he thought it less than Leia, but he must have still believed it because he could have just let Kylo carry on walking, but he didn't.

The fight at the end - Kylo toward Finn was like a big cat toying with it's prey, until Finn got that hit on him and then it was all business. Done. Eliminating him as a threat and maybe not just physically - maybe he also saw Finn as a threat because of his presence in Rey's life - thinking that he'd hold some influence over Rey's decisions. But that's for other's with greater experience of storytelling etc to analysis. Not me.

When I watched the scene where Kylo offers to be Rey's teacher I remember thinking it was strange that he asked that question in the middle of a fight, and that he even gave her time to consider his offers (I knew he wasn't about to kick her over the edge - but even then it was odd) and since I've been on this thread I've learnt so much more about that scene and what it (could) mean/s. But at the time as just a regular film lover it struck me as odd that the villain would make himself so vulnerable to the hero. When I was analysis the film on my way home the conclusion I came to was that there was certainly something between Kylo and Rey - it was all there in picture, but at the time I didn't really process it because of the pace of the film, it didn't give you time to draw any conclusions until afterwards .

A thought about the 'forceback' scene - people have and will argue that it indicates that Rey's a Skywalker or that it disputes it - but in truth the characters that physically feature in it are Luke, Kylo and Rey. Rey because it's her visions and IMO both Luke and Kylo feature because they are both key to her future. I don't need to point out what they will each represent in her life because there are far more eloquent posts about them both in this thread and what they will contribute to Rey's story.

Now everything makes so much more sense since I've been on here in terms of storytelling etc.

These were just some passing thoughts I had, please don't rip them to shreds or analysis them because I can't change the thoughts I had while sat in the cinema watching TFA for the first time. I was just expressing them as a regular cinema goer who's intrigued by the dynamic of Reylo, I'm not trying to claim my thoughts are in any way true - but they were simply the thoughts and reflections of a film lover during and since seeing the film.

(got really nervous and hesitant about posting this)

 

Agreed.

This face: http://40.media.tumblr.com/cba474d43593d4256448b61989d6b46c/tumblr_nzjps5U0rH1slksk2o1_1280.jpg

followed by a visually stunning duel and then: http://images6.fanpop.com/image/pho...-tumblr-kylo-ren-and-rey-39157452-500-461.jpg

Anyone who thinks Kylo Ren just wants to kill Rey and doesn't care about her by the end of the movie has to have not been paying attention.

 

Thank you!!! I want to like your post 1000 times.

These are gorgeous. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't make this face before. In the interrogation, he's intrigued, curious. In these last scenes his face is more, I don't know how to describe it, relaxed, open.

Isn't it awesome that Adam Driver is such a good actor that he can make a difference between his face in the interrogation and his face after she gets the lightsaber.

 

I agree, actually. I called it "fairytale love at first sight" because I think it's a magical, sudden thing, but the lightsaber moment is the romantic moment for me, too. I definitely don't think he falls for her when he claps eyes on her because she's cute; but I do think he senses that "something" - her power, her specialness, her light, her unique personality and all the mysterious something in her that he'll fall in love with - from the first time they meet. Or probably before they even meet. (I think he even calls it "something" in the novels; he was bewildered and said something like "something... there is something".)

I don't know. Whatever it is, I think it's magic, destiny, something he's been waiting for but not really dared to hope. I think Ren has pretty much lost hope in everything and then, BANG, suddenly that "something" appears. I suppose a fairytale epiphany like this shouldn't be analysed too closely because it can never be described in realistic terms. But yes, the lightsaber moment is certainly when it crystallises into something concrete and powerful.

 

I agree that it's all about power with Kylo. Rey could have looked like James Corden in drag and Kylo would still have been fascinated. However, he DOES have a body (as far as we know), and as an audience it would be hard to convince us that his body is not a bit fascinated with Rey in ways neither of them understand yet.

I would point out that the junior novelisation has him thinking Rey is stupid not to kill him, and sneering at her for going back for Finn and therefore dying. It's hard to know which bits of the novelisation to ignore...

I thought the teaching offer might be because that's his gold standard. "You love me and take my power seriously" = "You teach me and show me the ways of the Force". Perhaps it's what he wanted from Leia, Han and Luke, but got instead from Snoke.

 

Great post, spacebaby45678. Your fourth point reminds me of a Regency romance novel that I have saved because I particularly enjoyed it. Another redemption story, of course. It's Edith Layton's The Duke's Wager, which is built around a love triangle. It is the sort of story that can be profoundly uncomfortable, but very interesting nevertheless. In it, two society bucks (a duke and a marquis, who mirror each other) both spot the beautiful (and naive) heroine when she mistakenly attends to opera alongside courtesans. The two men enter a competition to seduce the girl into being their mistress, and both go about trying to make it happen (in their own very different ways). The story revolves around the response of the three characters to a moral problem, with the final result that the Duke of the title makes material changes in by coming to know himself and better integrate the sides of his personality, while the Marquis does not. I wrote a review of the book here: http://numbersonthespines.com/2012/11/20/the-dukes-wager/

One section deftly makes the point of how a redemption love story works while poking fun at less well-written romances...

@spacebaby45678's post makes me realize how often I read romances just because it is so hard to find central heroines in other books. :-\

 

It's seems that the Skywalker guys..... get infatuated with women the moment they lay eyes on them. It must run in the family and would explain a lot.

Anakin sees Padme for the first time
"are you an angel"?
Anakin falls in love with Padme so much.... that...... well you know what happens.

Luke sees Leia for the first time in a hologram recording (at this point he doesn't know she is his sister, but he still has a high opinion of her)
"who is she? She's beautiful"!
Luke goes absolutely out of his way to save this girl he's never met before.

Kylo Ren sees Rey for the first time in the forest.
" the girl I've heard so much about".
--- forgets the Droid, bridal carries girl, goes about everything from here after in a sweat. Offers to be her teacher.

Skywalker men are putty in the hand when it comes to a woman they like, I mean they seriously are.

 

Force22

YES, the word is open. For the first time in what must be years, this man is expressing open, honest emotion - even as he probably doesn't realize that's what he's doing. It's really beautiful to watch.

I was surprised when Adam Driver being cast was announced, because I'd only ever seen him in Girls and those small films like Noah Baumbach's. The team must have done a really great job at fleshing out the character and selling it to him as something that would be worth his time. He doesn't strike me as someone who was desperate to star in some big franchise just for the money or fame, Kylo Ren has to be on some huge arc here. He is talented enough to pull it off.

 

“Star Wars is a fairytale. It’s a fantasy. At the heart of Star Wars is that idea of the Force, which is almost the antithesis of Science Fiction. It’s a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” — JJ Abrams

"To me Star Wars was never about science fiction — it was a spiritual story. And it was more of a fairytale in that regard." — JJ Abrams

“Star Wars is more fairytale than true Science Fiction.” — Mark Hamill

The fairytale comparisons are 100% founded in logic because Star Wars is a fairytale. A modern fairytale like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We're analyzing the story as what it is, not as what we want it to be. We're taking into account genre and target-audience as well as other elements of narrative and film analysis that are fundamental to the understanding of certain aspects of storytelling.

Ren was resigned to his fate, begging that he be freed of the pain that accompanied the pull to the Light. He was done with being torn apart, with being afraid that he would never live up to his grandfather's "mission". Along with Han's death, Rey became the catalyst that will bring him home, that will separate Ben Solo from Kylo Ren. He is the focal point of the Light and the Dark. He can never be just one of them, and that's what he can't continue to deny forever, the truth that is his family, his blood. Rey will be the one to help him, to influence him and guide him along the way. It doesn't matter if she ever reciprocates his sentiments because those sentiments will lead him to a place of true harmony in himself. The rest is up to Rey. She's a strong, intelligent woman and she'll go where her heart leads her.

He was almost gone forever, but then this happened:



Just as this vision changed everything for Anakin:

 

You are romantic as a dead fish, LOL. You know, to me, love and romantic are such subjective words. Everyone has somehow another definition for it. For whatever reason, a lot of people see being romantic as someone bringing flowers and murmuring "I love you" during a candle lit dinner. Some men do that a lot and every time with another woman. So much for big feelings here. The self-proclaimed "I am the romantic type" are the worse ones, if you ask me.

The truck analogy is good. He literally got hit. One saber hit in the leg (bang, one love blow), one kick in the wounded side (second one) and one slash in the face (third one). Yep, the truck did hit him. Cupid would not have done better.

Penny Crayon : thank you for confirming that 3D makes it sometimes more difficult to grab on the nuances of actors' performance. I was wondering if I was the only one here having this issue. At least, we are 2

 

FrolickingFizzgig "I would agree with you that he was trying to make her feel more comfortable... but the point here is the underlying reason behind the decision. Why would he take off his helmet for Rey when she expressed fear when he didn't do it for Poe? He was clearly in pain, but Ren allowed him to be physically beaten by Stormtroopers and mocked him. Did he do this with Rey? Not at all. He watched her sleep, guarding her from a submissive position, talked quite calmly to her, searched her personal thoughts, finding that he connected with her on some level, that he felt "compassion" for her, before she flipped the table on him and entered his mind. The two situations don't line up at all. That's canon, and that's all I was articulating."

This comment of yours makes a good point that I hadn't seen before. As much as Rey is vulnerable to Kylo in that scene, Kylo remaining in the room while she is unconscious is a form of protection from other potentially threatening men on the ship.

 

An argument against Kylo's possible redemption/love story with Rey I've often read is that JJ called the ST an 'evolution of a villain'. Which just strikes me as so odd, because it seems to me that he was being purposely vague in that comment. Yes, a villain can evolve into...a bigger villain. But would it not be more interesting to see a villain evolve as a human being into someone who feels the depth of his wrongs, how much he's hurt his family and the wider galaxy? That has to be more interesting than Darth 2.0.

 

I bought the "Art of Star Wars " today and thought I should share some quotes I found interesting:

In the process of conjuring The Force Awakens,the filmmakers would also confront fundamental questions about the very nature of Star Wars.Why does Star Wars resonate so strongly,across borders and through the ages?What is its that makes Star Wars a perennial pop-culture phenomenon?Is Star Wars's appeal purely nostalgia-driven?What does Star Wars have to say to the youth today,I a time of economically and sociopolitically similar to,but profoundly different from,1977?
The Force Awakens's co-production designer Rick Carter recalls"At the time,Lucas and Spielberg unleashed the power of not only classical storytelling,but optimism in the face of nihilism.The youth culture of the seventies was turning in on itself in a negative,almost cannibalistic way.Chinatown,The Godfather-these are great movies,but they're essentially nihilistic;there's no value that you can stand up for. Power was unleashed by indenturing that there is something worth fighting for,that there's purpose.There is good.There is evil.And there are complexities to it,but that's the scope of who we are.What we strive is to be worthy.
Star Wars :The a Force Awakens would inherently carry tremendous weight,as it was to be the first direct sequel to 1983's Return of the Jedi and would feature the original trilogy's beloved trio of central characters- Luke Skywalker,Princess Leia, and Han Solo.But episode VII would also have to lay the ground work for every film to follow: new characters,situations,starships,and worlds,bringing the trilogies.And the first film or story in any series is undoubtedly the most difficult.
Adding to that difficulty,the tale of Luke Skywalker seems to have ended with Return of the Jedi.Joseph Campbell's "monomyth"nwhich found elemental commonalities in religious and mythological storytelling thought history, was a huge influence on Lucas.The hero's journey through the monomyth is the human journey though life: from childhood to adulthood, innocence to knowledge and acceptance - a story we all share.Luke Skywalker went from naive farm boy to Jeid Knight, discovering terrible truths along the way,ultimately confronting and vanquishing his fears and obstacles.With the apparent destruction of the Galactic Empire,it truly seemed"happily ever afte right" for Skywalker,his friend and the galaxy at large.But happily ever after is the the of conflict and therefore tend of the story.What was there to say about these characters.
The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and screen writers Michael Arndt and Lawrence Kasdan recognized that a new "nobody" was needed. Young film audiences would need fresh and relatable heroes to emulate- and those heroes would she their own paths to follow.Just as Obi- Wan Kenobi evolved from General of the Clone Wars to "Old Ben"Kenobi,wise father figure to young Luke Skywalker, so to would Luke,Han,and Leia now function as archetypical guides to the next generation.

...Carter also posted fundamentally deeply challenging questions;"How strong is the Force?''and "Who is Luke Skywalker?"were most prominent among them."What is the Force's relevance?"he indebted."Foes it man anything now?Or is it just we why is referred to in the movies,an archaic old wives' tale of days gone by and simpler times of ancient chivalry?Today does anybody care?"
...Work in January(2013)primarily focused on who Luke Skywalker,Han Solo and Princess Leia have become in the thirty-plus years after the events of Return of the Jedi.Two new characters,Kira and Sam(later Finn and Rey),are also first realized.
...At one point in the January 9 meeting,Carter handed a stick of random Kurosawa stills to Kiri Hart and asked her to use them to tell the story of episode VII.The five chosen images,from films such as Rashomon andThe Hidden Fortress, perfectly illustrated Kira's journey of self-discovery ,from fearful Force-user to master.
Screenwriter Michael Arndt would describe these early versions of Episode VII's young heroes,Kira and Sam, as a "loner,hothead,gear-head,badass"and "pure charisma",respectively.

"How Star Wars relates to our lives is everything."Abrams said."What's my place in the world?How am I connected to everyone else?
The light and dark-the Force is critically important component in this.I love how, in the first film,Han Solo is debating if the Force even exists,like it's some sort of an ancient religion or joke.It's about belief on some level- and the ability to be aware if your place in the world."

One of the primary entry points for J.J. was the question:Who is Luke Skywalker?-as if bring asked by somebody in the movie who doesn't know.And that gets right to the point of, what is Star Wars now?Who is Luke Skywalker?Is he still in the game?Is he still with the Force?What's his role?What's happened since then?"-Carter
"I love that quote from A Wizard of Earthsea,the fantasy novel by Ursula Le Guin:'When you light a candle,you also cast a shadow.'That inspired me to propose for the first time,that Anakin's ghost could come back."- McCaig

April 2013: "Kira was cast as a scavenger on the junki planet.An alien junk dealer was introduced into the mix,but Kira initially works in a used car lot of sorts for an elderly figure,a former Republic pilot. Watching speech sips coming and going all day long,Kira daydreams of leaving her dusty backwater planet."
September 2014: "J.J wanted to base Snoke one the Hammer Films horror movies,giving the design a ghoulish looks.We made a bust out of marble powder,because we talked about him being very pale.And I imagined him to be a beautiful marble sculpture,so dark and menacing,but actually quite beautiful to look at."-Manzella
"It's almost like Snoke was quite handsome when he was younger.And in my mind, the more powerful he's become,the more the Dark Side consumer him.We made his eyes really pale,pale blue so the whites of his eyes are almost the same clue as his skin and costume.Piercing.

In summation, Rick Carter said,"I have told Kathleen Kennedy that my job is to really pay attention to the Force and what I feel the a Force is as it represents itself in the story and the visuals of the movie- so that it has a presence.What is the Force?It's when you recognize that it was aways there,like Kansas for Dorothy.But that doesn't mean that every aspect of the Force is known yet.So when we get to this third act in Star Wars series,there's more to be revealed.And that regal so going to involve things from the past that were right in front of us all along. We didn't understand all that those things meant, and now we have to let them play themselves out.To me,that's the Force."

 

changing a bit the topic of the thread...I had a very crazy idea around Rey's abandon in Jakku: what if her "family" was hidding Rey from being recruit as stormtrooper as Finn was ? I mean in the movie we are told that Finn was separated from his family to become a stormtrooper at a very early age, so...

I had a strange feeling that Rey's abandon has nothing to do with Ren fall, and Pablo Hidalgo clearly mentioned on twitter that both events happened separated in time.

It could be a kind of "McGuffin" effect, right ?

 

Wasn't here for a day and Kylo is already in love with Rey?! I love it! Great analysis.

 

What if Finn is her brother? Or half brother??? <3 ok, maybe I'm going too far but I love your idea. In this case everything fits perfect!