ST Rey & Kylo Ren in Episode IX

It’s wartime space fantasy fiction in a setting where evil gets exaggerated and light side powers become literally Jesus-like and between those extremes we can find truth that relates to our own lives in less extreme ways.

 

And? None of that makes what Kylo did to Rey okay, nor is it a reason to apply "what if?" to a scenario that no self-respecting and sane woman would apply "what if?" to. This is still a story about people, space magic notwithstanding. People of sound mind, in general, do not pine for a murderer who they have no relationship with other than being tortured and violated by. Space magic does not allow the story to completely ignore realistic motivations or human behavior. Space magic does not allow a family story for mainstream audiences to dabble in torture porn. Space magic does not justify turning the protagonist into what you constantly insist she is, just because you like uncomfortable drama and knew girls with daddy issues who threw themselves at bad boys.

 

Could be. I do think that there's a decent amount of set up if they wanted the characters to become a couple by the end of the series. They have a really strong bond, some of the tie-ins seem to really be written with that assumption -- the original TFA novelization seems to write them as falling for each other and the Rose Tico character journal has her repeatedly grumbling about Finn being in love with Rey despite hardly knowing her (she could be wrong about that, but still, it keeps the idea alive) -- and it wouldn't take a lot of set up in the new move to go there if the writers wanted to.

However, the new Resistance Reborn novel has me scratching my head as to what the movie will choose to do in regards to the characters' love lives.

Spoiler

At one point in the book, Poe finds Rey and Finn having a private conversation. After she leaves, Poe asks if the two are an item and Finn states that they're just friends. It also turns out that the same is true with Rose, despite moments on Crait.

I find that very interesting that both seem to be "debunked" in a tie-in before the movie, esp. since with Rose, that was onscreen in more then subtext and it doesn't seem write to just drop that plot hook without resolution beyond a "read the book." While I do think we need to wait for the movie to come out for sure to know if this novel is the final word on the subject (things can change during production, it could very well be that one of these couples does happen, but it evolves from "just friends" in that narrative, or it could be that Finn doesn't get together with either Rey or Rose and and novel is exactly what it says on the tin.

Like I said, I'm not completely sure if the book is going to be the final word on the subject yet (the tie-in Spark of Resistance, set later, does mention Rose blushing when Finn is mentioned), but it is worth noting that a tie-in designed to promote the movies is throwing this in the arena.

(FIY, I don't think the novel supports Rey and Kylo Ren either; the opening chapters have a scene where Leia and Rey talk about that and it really screams "no Reylo" to me, at least.)

 

Space magic fantasy can, has and will continue to showcase fantastic situations that are unlikely to happen exactly like this in life.

It’s not about me. VIII got made because men and women in the company liked the same things and because millions of people also do. IX is building off of VIII for those same reasons. Because the outrage found on Rey & Kylo Ren is arguably more niche than the Reylo fandom itself who play it up more than it is. If what happened in VIII between Rey & Kylo Ren was even half as shocking as presented here it would have been a huge part of the discussion on the film. It wasn’t. Lots of people get that this is not a PSA for how men & women should behave in real life.

Viewer discretion is obviously advised to anyone below the age of 13 or to anyone whose individual sensitivity toward some of the subject matter is such that it triggers powerful and visceral reactions of pain or anger or disgust.

 

Viewer discretion isn't necessary, because SW is not torture porn. SW is not incel fantasy. SW is not a lifetime movie.

 

Many of you have been complaining for the past 2 years that Star Wars changed and now you’re saying all is well in Star Wars land again and it hasn’t? I’m happy that you’ve regained some optimism for the Palpatine saga!

It sounds like IX has found the ultimate balance between VII & VIII so I share your enthusiasm.

 

Their bond was created by Snoke so that he could entrap Rey. That's all. I'm just disgusted by the idea of them. Sorry.

 

Cute. The Palpatine Saga? That's rich, considering all you care about is Kylo.
Nope.
It's the Skywalker Saga. And it's not about what could've been between Rey and Kylo. My optimism rests entirely on JJ not being stupid enough to make the movie you are so enthusiastic for, so we share very little.

 

Remember how people said Rey and Kylo dolls being packaged together was proof that Reylo was going to happen?

 

We have the leaks though. Do you doubt them? I’m enthusiastic that the leaks feature aspects of the IX I would have written coming out of VIII. I like what JJ is doing better. He found some better ways than I’d imagined to build off of VIII and show Ben developing selfless love for Rey and heroically coming to help her and help stop her dark side slide. A dark side that made her secretly intrigued by the dark side and in him following the torture. Are you still holding out hope the leaks are wrong and that they will be related?

 

The leaks don't even come close to your headcanon. And the leaks absolutely do not reveal every crucial detail. If Rey is a Skywalker by the end of the movie, it's because she is actually a Skywalker, not because she's a Palpatine with delusions of grandeur.

 

After that VIII then shows him asking her to join him on the dark side to rule with him and her asking him to join her.

IX then shows her shooting lightning and moving closer to the dark side.


He does turn at the end and then travels across the galaxy and defeats his Knights for her and then puts himself at risk versus Sidious for her.


This happens with them not being relatives. This happens after torture. It happens after this.


Connect these same dots your own way with them non-related and her being Rey Palpatine. I’d be happy to know how you do so and reconcile it all in a manner that’s wildly different.

 

@Ender_and_Bean Sexy. So you believe that the film is going to end with "Half-Reylo" or whatever you called it, to placate general audiences. Then, after a couple of years in the EU, the true endgame will be revealed; Ben Solo has become a great guy and Rey will be so proud of him that she'll want to have his Skywalker babies?

That's why you're so okay with all this, isn't it?

You'll sit back and take the L for now, let everyone relish in their false sense of security, then you'll have the last laugh when the Reylo Baby that Was Promised arrives. I'm onto you, buddy.

 

Ha ha ha. Let me see him survive the fall from his pit training on how to survive falls first and then we’ll try to determine where his atoner arc could go from there.

 

Lol.

"Only a fully trained Jedi, with the pit training as his ally, will conquer the pit and its Emperor."

 

Can I learn this power (to survive the pit?)

Not from a Jedi.

 

No, it won’t. Sorry.

Ask certain fans about the “missing” Sherlock episode that was supposed to put John and Sherlock together....

 

Vader wasn’t always angry tho. He wasn’t in Sith rage mode. He seemed calm most of the time. Machine-like. Soulless. Hell. He even had a few good dad jokes considering he was an evil space wizard fascist.

He was a professional at the Empire corporation. Just wanted people doing their jobs and had no time for mistakes.

Kylo is the boss’s grandson who thinks he owns the place and got where he is because of hard work and not his last name, is always angry and screaming at those ‘beneath him’, or completely emotionless and staring blankly at the woman he has a thing for and tries to trap in the break room, he gets away with murder, and basically crashes the company because he has no idea what he’s doing, while always blaming his failures on other people.

 

I hope Kylo Ben gets the snot beaten out of him for every single time he gets deemed "selfless" and "heroic". That spits in the face of everyone who legit deserves those descriptors.

And them not getting together will be a "tragedy" for Reylos only. I highly doubt Han/Leia fans who are heartbroken over what happened to them give a rat's behind about Reylo.

And the general audience will forget the characters names two weeks after seeing the movie, let alone care about them not ending up together.

 

Rey, stand still and let me kill you with my lightsaber. I'm just trying to show you my developing selfless love for you.

Sounds like some have invented a whole lot of head-cannon for this last movie to work

 

This is such an apt description. He's soooo close to men (minus the murder thing, hopefully) that I'm sure many of us have had to contend with in real life. I think that's why he is particularly disgusting to me. And then he makes one right choice, and is expected to be celebrated as heroic Jack Dawson. "Look at me. I made the right choice this once! Where's my parade and trophy?" He is such a perfect and timely representation of male entitlement. I personally think that's what JJ was going for in VII. RJ didn't get the memo. We'll see what happens in IX. I don't think ender's predictions are correct in regards to Rey/Kylo, but if they are. Wow. How archaic the ST will feel in just a few short years.

 

What I really don't like - besides the whole concept that Rey needs to save Ben's soul - is that Rey is also going to need Ben to save/help her defeat Palpatine. So not only does Rey need to save her abuser, she needs her abuser to then rescue her from another worse off abuser.

What a crock! That's such a foul messed up message for modern (especially young) audiences. Like...no Kylo. She doesn't need you to rescue her. You...of all people, just need to stay away from her. That's how you'd really help her. Go find your inner "Jack Dawson" spirit, and leave her alone.

But nah, the story is like, our first female protagonist needs to be rescued her by abusive, torturing, manipulative, stalker who she has been playing therapist towards for over a year now.

 

Reylo fans are so good picking up little to no existent "hints" on Reylo, yet ignore this beautiful elephant in the room.



Rey's firm body language when she shut the door and then she totally dive into the family of survived Resistance members.
Kylo was left bitch slapped. Instant karma.

But their mutual love totally goes on.