New thoughts on Star Wars

Today is the one month mark since the release of Star Wars The Force Awakens. During that time I have seen the movie seven times so far and plan on seeing it a couple more times before it leaves theaters. I have also begun to delve into the novelization of the movie, which only fuels my passion and ignites new theories about where the trilogy will go in Episode VIII.

I have just read in the book the part where Kylo Ren interrogates Poe Dameron to learn the location of the map leading to Luke Skywalker. During the exchange Kylo criticizes Poe for revealing himself by shooting at him as a way to get back at him for killing Lor San Tekka. Kylo says that revenge is childish, that it accomplishes nothing. It is a small thing to say, but it got me thinking. This is a very un-Sith like thing to say, and then I was reminded that Kylo is no Sith at all, not only that, but he seems to have been taught against the Sith ways (presumably by Snoke).

The main theories about the identity of Supreme Leader Snoke are that he is of Sith origins whether it be Darth Plagueis, Sidious, Vader, or an unknown Sith lord. This reading has got me thinking that Snoke is probably not a Sith at all, or at least not anymore. Snoke has taught Kylo (and probably the Knights of Ren) that revenge is useless. They are also hunting down the last of the Jedi, Kylo speaks to Vader's mask saying that he will "finish what you started," and I believe he is referring to wiping out the rest of the Jedi. I believe Snoke (and probably Kylo) are convinced that the fall of the Republic, and the Empire, are due to the Force groups' actions, both the Sith and the Jedi. They are attempting to wipe out the Jedi so that they can establish a "new order." Not a Force order that is of the Light Side, or even the Dark, but somewhere in the middle. The Knights of Ren and the First Order are not doing bad things to be bad like the Emperor, or doing the right thing to ease their conscious-es, it is about doing whatever is necessary to maintain order on the galaxy. Sometimes it is about killing jedi, sometimes it is about not letting sentiment cloud your judgement.

I cannot recall where but I can recall an interview that revealed that Kylo was not a Sith, but that he is a Darth Vader fanboy. He is not trying to be a Sith, he is trying to be his grandfather, which explains his mask and his lightsaber. In the original trilogy Vader was not like the Sith lords that we learned about in later years, he was simply an enforcer of order for the Empire. He is not remembered for his extraordinary Force powers or lightsaber dueling skills, he is remembered for his ruthfulness and cunning to defeat the Rebellion. Vader captured Leia, put a tracking device on the Falcon which leads the Death Star to the Rebel base. In Empire he knew that the Rebel base was on Hoth, he set up the trap to freeze Luke in carbonite. His lightsaber is not red because he is Dark Side, its red because Vader's was red. He has the mask and voice changer because that's what Vader had. Kylo is constantly being pulled towards the Light Side, that's not the problem, (his parents are Han and Leia for crying out loud) the problem is that deep inside he is not a bad guy, no matter how much he tries to be Vader. To convince Snoke (but mostly himself) that he can embrace the Dark Side, he kills his father, and the movie's novel illustrates how terrible and conflicted Kylo is after killing Han.

So how will this effect Episode VIII? I think that Episode VIII will show just how complicated this new war is, that everything is not simply black and white, but many shades of gray (that saying is just tainted forever isn't it? :p). I think this will reflect how the world is today, that there is no good and evil, moral and immoral. Gone are the days of right and wrong and a new form of good has arisen, which is acceptance of everyone. But enough about that.

So my predictions about Episode VIII? Kylo Ren will try to become more attuned with the Dark Side but will fail to do so. Rey will be persuaded to join Snoke. Luke will defend the jedi order and probably die doing so. Snoke's identity will be revealed as someone who is not a Sith (I am still leaning towards Plagueis, after he has seen how flawed the Sith ways are).

Star Wars The Force Awakens Questions and Answers

I recently read an article , "43 Questions We Desperately Want Answered After Star Wars The Force Awakens" and it made me think that I have theories on a lot of the questions they, and many others, have posed since Episode 7 came out last month. I'll try and answer them in the chronological order of the movie.

Who is Lor San Tekka?
Starwars.com states that Tekka is a galactic traveler who teamed up with Luke to restore the Jedi after Episode 6, tracking down Jedi lore. Eventually he "retired to Jakku." Now why would a man who is close to Luke and Leia happen to retire to an awful desert planet unless there was a good reason. When Kylo Ren speaks to Tekka it seems as though Ren has known him from an early age, probably during his time training with Skywalker. This fact makes me believe that he is there to look after Rey from afar, because Rey has a connection to the Skywalkers. I don't think it was him that dropped Rey off on Jakku but learned later that Rey was left there and went/sent there to look after her.

Who is Rey?
This is the big one, a question that J.J. and Disney didn't want answered at least until Episode VIII comes out. They have purposefully left the option for multiple parental possibilities including daughter of Han and Leia, Luke and an unknown, Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi's daughter, simply Kenobi's granddaughter (no Skywalker relation), or simply her parents are random people who abandoned her (possibly after she trained briefly with Luke). The more I think about it I really think that she is Luke's kid, with possibly some Kenobi blood in her. I think that Luke searched for potential new students, learned that Obi Wan had a daughter and sought her out in search of students. They hit it off and have Rey, though Luke leaves them in order to start his Jedi academy. The reason I think this is that the script implies more that Rey and Luke have a long and interesting history when they stare at each other at the end. Rey has a British accent, the only other good guy that had one in the other episodes was Obi Wan. Its quite possible that Rey never even met her father, hence why she seemed to not even know if Luke was real (it could have been an act her played to hide her true identity). When BB-8 tells Rey where he comes from is classified she says its the same for her. If the First Order knew that Luke had a kid they would kill/collect her immediately. How cool would it be if Rey was the granddaughter of both Anakin and Obi Wan Kenobi?!

Why did Ben Solo turn to the Dark Side?
What we learned is that the reason that Ben turned to Kylo Ren is that Snoke seduced him. When Kylo speaks to Han at Starkiller Base he says that he destroyed Ben because he was weak. My theory is that when Ben went to train with Luke he thought that he would become one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, but in reality it didn't come to him so easily. When other jedi, possibly even Rey herself, showed more talent than her he sought other alternative means to obtain power. Snoke had probably been monitoring Ben's progress and came to him offering a way to become as powerful as his grandfather. Snoke, like Palpatine, ordered Ben to kill jedi younglings in order to prove himself to Snoke and to obtain power in the Dark Side.

Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?
The prevailing theory out there is that Snoke is a surviving/resurrected Darth Plagueis. The theory is that Plagueis created Anakin through the Force, was betrayed and killed by his apprentice Sidious, but survived through his Force abilities. Plagueis hid from Palpatine until the time was right when his creation, Anakin, got revenge by killing Sidious and then he revealed himself to take over what remained of the Empire he helped create. Another reason I think this theory might be correct is that it appears that Kylo Ren has been held back in his training(Snoke tells General Hux to bring Kylo to him to complete his training), like Snoke doesn't want him to get too powerful. This could be because the last time an apprentice of his became powerful, he betrayed him. I think this is the most likely theory, but it also is one that is really only understood by diehard fans, not casual moviegoers. The Force Awakens tried hard to create the same kind of feel as the original trilogy, the kind of movie that you don't need to research before attending to understand what's happening. I don't see Disney abandoning this model of movie making for Episode VIII so they might try to simplify it for viewers by just making him an ancient Sith who survived in the shadows, being no one that we've heard of before. I think Snoke could be more ancient than Plagueis, maybe Bane (the Sith who created the Rule of Two). The reason I think he is older is that Kylo Ren's lightsaber is of ancient design. Kylo probably learned how to construct his lightsaber by Snoke (Luke already knew how to construct a flawless lightsaber, so it probably wasn't him who taught Kylo), and Snoke only knew how ancient Sith constructed their lightsabers, which is flawed and with a cross hilt. Fans would love it if Snoke turned out to be Plagueis, myself included, and I think it is the best guess, for now.

Who are the Knights of Ren?
The only time that we hear about the Knights of Ren is when Snoke says that despite Kylo being the master of the Knights of Ren, killing Han will be the hardest test he's ever faced. The only time we see the Knights is during Rey's vision as they stand behind Kylo in the rain, surrounded by corpses. We have very little to go on. In the vision the Knights are holding weapons that are not lightsabers, so it could be that the Knights are not even Force users. It could have been that Snoke offered Ben a place at the head of an elite force of the First Order in exchange for his servitude. I'm sure that we are going to see a lot more of them in the next episode.

How did Maz Kanata obtain Luke's/Anakin's lightsaber?
A lot of people are complaining about how Maz just dismisses their question about how she got the lightsaber, but frankly I don't really care. They are in a hurry to get out before the First Order kills them and says that she will answer that later. As a student of the Force Maz knows a lot about what has happened in the past and by doing a little bit of research probably learned what happened in Cloud City and that Luke's saber fell into some vent or trash area. Luke survived the fall into the depths, so why shouldn't his lightsaber? As for what happened to Maz I'm sure she survived and we'll probably see her again in the next episode.

What was with the heartfelt hug between Rey and Leia at the end of the film?
Just before Rey leaves in the Falcon to meet Luke, Rey and Leia share a weird hug, as if they know each other. This might lend to the theory that Rey is Leia's daughter, not Luke's, but I think there would have been more to there conversation and hug if it was between long lost daughter and mother. I think that they knew each other from Rey's childhood before she was dropped off on Jakku. There is also the fact that after the Millennium came back from destroying the Starkiller Base, Leia goes straight to Rey, who for all we know before she has never met before, kind of weird. Some have said that it is simply a general reaching out in thanks to their savior and mourning over the loss of their mutual "friend" Han. But I think that those who think this misread the scene, as there is clearly a familiarity to them.

What's up with the Republic? What is there relation to the Resistance and the First Order?
The movie reveals very little about the Republic. How did they form? Where is their senate located? Where is their fleet? Why don't they fight the First Order directly? There are many questions that the movie doesn't answer, or doesn't explain clearly enough. The movie's script reveals some more about the Republic that we don't learn in the movie. In a deleted scene Leia spoke to a contact of hers in the Republic Senate about how the Senate must vote to go to war with the First Order instead of having the Resistance fight their battles for them as they are outmatched. It seems as though the Rebel Alliance restored the Republic to how it was before the Empire as we saw it in Episode I, though nothing is truly revealed to the interworkings of the new government.

How were Finn and Rey able to contend with, and ultimately defeat, Kylo Ren, who is well versed in the Force in their duels?
Some critics says that since Kylo has received a lot of jedi training he should have destroyed Rey and especially Finn. I think that it was quite realistic, especially after a few viewings. Before Kylo faces them he is shot by Chewbacca's bowcaster in the side, and though it was from a distance it surely weakened him considerably, especially after Han admiring the weapon's power multiple times previously. When Kylo faces Finn in a lightsaber duel he is almost toying with him, playing along, taking time to hit at his side wound in the middle of it. It isn't until Finn gets a lucky hit to his shoulder that he stops messing around and immediately disarms him and slashes him in the back. As for Rey, I think Kylo knows her from his family and so has no desire to kill her and even offers to take her as an apprentice during their duel. Rey was fully committed to killing this monster while Kylo had to take it down a notch to avoid killing his cousin (or sister). We also learn that Kylo has not yet completed his training, and probably didn't do much actual, real life lightsaber dueling beforehand. Combine all of these factors and it totally makes sense that he could be defeated, but I expect him to be much more powerful the next time they fight.

How did R2-D2 "come back to life" and how did he have the rest of the map to Luke?
I have no clue...