Were "fan expectations" the problem?

She leaves Finn in a coma and heads out to find Luke.

MAZ: Whomever you're waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back. But...there's someone who still could.

REY: Luke.

MAZ: The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead. I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes. Feel it. The light. It's always been there. It will guide you. The saber. Take it.​

When Rey takes the saber she fulfills this scene. This is kind of getting off topic but your strong feelings about Finn are a good example of fan expectations leading to disappointment. If a person has rigid ideas about where the story has to go then it's a recipe for disappointment.

 

I would argue she clearly expresses (when pressed by Luke) that she feels she needs help with what's going on in inside of her, but she also clearly expresses that she is there to bring back hope to the Resistance... numerous times. Ultimately Luke does very little to train her and refuses to come back. And what is Rey's response? To go to Ben to turn him. She isn't going to Ben for instruction (which one might presume since he is also a Force User), she is going because she believes he will turn. It's why she says to Luke regarding Ben: "Then he is our last hope." Not "my" last hope, but "our" last hope. She is talking about Ben's utility to the Resistance.

I think the strongest argument to be made here is that Rey might have a secondary reason for going (to see if Luke could help her make sense of things) but ultimately she is following a well established path of commitment to the Resistance. Before she touched the light saber or overtly used the Force in TFA she was committed to completing the mission and getting the map to the Resistance. Going to Ach-To is an extension of that mission - literally.

I also asked myself a few more questions to confirm this notion: When she leaves Snoke's ship what does she do next? Destroys TIEs and draws them off to protect the Resistance Skimmers. Then what does she do? Does she look to confront Kylo in some sort of Force Showdown on Crait or does she rescue the Resistance by lifting the avalanche blocking their escape? At every step of the way, Rey's work for the greater good of the Resistance is clear.

 

So you are saying dead characters such as Han, Luke and Leia, the Resistance who she's barely interacted with, and Kylo who has tortured her, killed his father, and almost did the same to her only friend are the people she prefers to have a belonging with?

Why do you bring up end game? Whoever said anything about Finn and Rey being in a relationship?

Why do you leave out the context about how she accepts the light saber? You want to get across the finish line first without telling anyone how you did it.

 

Surely this is because for her the cause is bigger than the person....That’s understandable. I believe that if she wanted to become stronger in the force it was always to help the right cause which in her eyes is that of the resistance.

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I agree and as a force user I think she feels responsible for getting strong and do her bit for the resistance. It’s only logical. Everyone keeps telling her “she needs a teacher.”

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Again I agree. I don’t think Rey has given any thought yet to the possibility of having another show down with kylo. Perhaps she never will...

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I think maybe what we are forgetting in this discussion is that, yes, Finn is extremely important to Rey. He is definitely the person she cares for most, but we all must understand that Rey’s role in the story is just bigger than the merely personal. She is strong with the force and that means she naturally needs to sacrifice her immediate need for the bigger cause: helping the resistance to defeat the first order.

The other thing to consider is that Rey, in the process of becoming who she needs to be, may become close to someone else... It already happened in TLJ with kylo. The same happened to Finn with Rose. But all this could change in 9, and JJ may perhaps join their destinies again, somehow.

 

Leia isn't dead in the story. And she clearly plays a big role with Rey's desire for parental comfort
She's interacted with several of the biggest members of the Resistance, including Finn.
You are being very myopic on this. Finn is a PART of this story he is a PART of her belonging but you seem so put off by the fact that he isn't all she ever hoped and dreamed for. Rey and Finn both are running from things in TFA. In TLJ they both confront those things and accept a path forward. Both will be a part of each others path forward but not the ONLY part.

Why did I bring up a Finn/Rey relationship? Because that's all you are talking about here. You may not say it in as many words but that's the nuts and bolts of this. Whether it's a romantic relationship or just a relationship at all, Finn is a part of the end game but not THE end game. If this isn't about a Finn/Rey relationship, why get in such a tizzy over it?

 

Are you a part of the story group? Who said her purpose is to help the Resistance defeat the FO? That maybe a part of it, but we have no idea what her true purpose is until it plays out. Anything else is projecting what you feel her character should be going forward.

I'm not going to get into TLJ, and what Rian did, because I disagree big time with what he did to all of the characters in order to bring Rey and Kylo together.

It seems you are turned off by the idea that she has a relationship with Finn. No matter what kind it is. First it was an issue when saw some them as romantic, but no. He has to be seen as her brother. Fine. She wants family anyway. Then I bring up belonging as in the form of family, and that's an issue. It's no. It has to be more people besides Finn, and he can't be the strongest connection. Even though that's what the movie has shown thus far. I have no problem with Rey having as many friends or family as possible. The story at this point hasn't shown any of that, so why waste time on something that may never be. It seems you are hoping on the possibility that there could be more.

I have no idea what JJ is going to do for Episode IX, but I will say this. The images showing characters from Episode IX has Finn in every one of them.
Finn and Chewie in the Falcon
Finn, Poe, and Chewie along with others on a grassy hill
Finn, Rey, and Poe in an embrace
These are the images JJ wanted the public to see first, and first impressions tend to be lasting impressions.

 

I think that rather than projecting I’m interpreting the material I’ve been given in these last two films... and in this material Rey is very clearly part of a story bigger than herself.... of course, I don’t know what else is in store for her, or if there will be something of a personal nature played out (I hope so), but for me her set up as a heroin, as a person who will, perhaps among others, save the day is evident and we have many elements in TFA and TLJ pointing in that direction... But of course, I don’t know for sure. I can only make the most educated guess I’m able to make.

 

Huh? How am I turned off by it? I never denied there was any relationship. I even said there was. I said Finn was a part of her future. I just didn't specify how and said your very specific reading of the events doesn't confirm Finn/Rey.

My only issue is with your seeming "must" list from TFA. It MUST be Finn. No, it doesn't have to be. It could be. But personally, I'd rather not have Finn be a character that relies on his relations with another character to be relevant to the story. Finn has become his own character. He started TFA looking like he'd only matter as long as the character of Rey needed him. Now he doesn't have a prerequisite to be in the story. TLJ made him into a leader of the Resistance.

Also never said he couldn't be the strongest connection. You just kept implying he was THE belonging/need/want and seeming took slight at it. I presented another way of reading things from TFA with the context of TLJ in place.

How has the story not shown that? It's shown her bonding and working with Chewie.
TLJ was almost exclusively about her relationship with Luke.
Leia is shown consoling Rey in both final scenes.
TFA has nearly as much Han/Rey as Finn/Rey.
Really not sure how you are coming to the conclusion that they don't show her with anyone else building relationships.

 

Rey started off in TFA marking off the days she was alone waiting for her family to return. Part of her arc is her desire to have a family. One that she lacked growing up. As TFA develops she starts to find a new family. It started with Finn. Then Han and Chewbacca. At the end there was also Leia. They were all symbolic of family she desires and becomes her new family. With the loss of Han and her newfound Force abilities she looks to Luke as her father figure in TLJ

 

Hmmmmm, hasn't she already saved the day in TLJ? The Skimmers didn't have a chance with the TIEs still flying around on Crait. She took out at least 5 of them on her own. Then she lifted the rocks blocking the Resistance's escape. If you felt she was destined to save the day, hasn't she already fulfilled that role? And since the Franchise is so keen on cinematic "rhyme" wouldn't it be possible (if not likely) that Rey would fulfill a role similar to Luke's in RoTJ, where they actually have very little to do with "saving the day"?

 

Well, it seems this is a question of semantics now. I used the phrase “saving the day” in a more figurative sense. Luke “saved” the day in ROTJ as his contribution was the most instrumental (or at least that is was the 3 movies lead us to believe) defeating the emperor and saving the galaxy from its oppression. In TLJ Rey hasn’t contributed in that defining and all important way yet.

 

Mind you, following what I said in my previous post, according to the analysis done in Reylo videos (which for me are usually the most insightful, informed and put together videos in YouTube), Rey’s endgame might not be with the resistance but with Ben Solo, away from the conflict. They may be onto something there...

 

After my two initial viewings of The Last Jedi I was not disappointed in the questions being unanswered at all, that only came later because I only started to like the movie very recently, I had a LOT of problems with it in the beginning, so I jumped on the hate train and criticized the lack of answers. But actually it doesn't matter who Snoke is, it's plain irrelevant. But I'm dissatisfied with Rey's parents being nobody, as TFA definitely hinted at a familiar connection between Rey and Kylo. It's okay to have certain expectations, but that should not cloud your judgement of whether the actual answer is good or not

 

I think people who like/love TLJ should accept the fact that there's a large portion of the audience who didn't like the movie for various reasons (myself included) other than the "they didn't like it because it didn't fulfill their theories" generalization, which only proves how most people in fandom can't handle different opinions.

After all, fans had the right to speculate because TFA set up all those questions and mysteries in the first place. I personally didn't care for any of those mysteries nor did I even brother to speculate as I know how much JJ Abrams loves teasing the audience with mysteries without an answer in mind. Man, I feel terrible for all those chanels that wasted their time speculating about all those mysteries that Abrams set up. His mystery box drives me nuts.

The problem was not having a planned out storyline in the first place, which led to this mess the ST finds itself in. It's the trilogy that follows up the OT and the one that will probably end the Skywalker saga and they simply allowed JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson to do whatever they wanted without a plan as to where they were gonna take the story. What was Kathleen Kennedy thinking?

 

No activity that makes you think and be creative is a waste of time. (That’s the teacher in me talking )

 

People: Too many movies are made by studios and lack artistic vision. The era of the blockbuster is bleak and all the same.

Also People: How dare Lucasfilm let artists do a thing and not micromanage this!

 

I think you misinterpreted what I said. Of course Lucasfilm should let artists do their own thing and let them put their own stamp into the franchise, I aplaud that. I was excited when they announced Rian Johnson as the writer/director of TLJ just as I'm excited for the Mandalorian tv show and the Benioff and Weiss trilogy. My problem is how poorly planned the ST has been, which is why it feels all over the place and inconsintent with itself (Hux being turned into a joke after how serious and over the top he was in TFA is an example). I didn't care about Rey's parents or Snoke's backstory, what I wanted an answer for is why Rey got visions when touching Luke's lightsaber since it's a brand new and interesting concept to the franchise, however TLJ never brothers to answer this, nor does it care about explaining why Rey is so damn powerful with no training. Where were the Knight of Ren? Another interesting mystery set by TFA that Rian Johnson didn't care for

 

But what if it hasn't been poorly planned? What if it's been planned as much as it needs to be while still allowing the film makers to do their thing?
What if calling it poorly planned is a way of misplacing ones own displeasure with the film on the fault of the film makers rather than just accepting this Star War wasn't for them?
What if Hux was always a joke? He went from an over-the-top caricature to a punchline. That's not a far leap.
Did you get answers for why Luke could see and hear Obi-wan/Yoda? No. Not for 30 years. It's just accepted he could because Force.
Yes it does answer where her power came from.
I dunno. Same place as anything else not prominently featured? Movie can only be so long.
You say interesting mystery, I say a throw away line of dialogue added to give a sense of role for Kylo Ren rather than an actual loose end.

 

It seems you not only want others besides Finn, but you also want them to have more relevance. Two movies have passed and no character has made an impact on Rey as far as a sense of belonging more than Finn. That's a fact. Whether that changes remains to be seen, but as of now. He is her closest connection towards feeling she has a sense of family.

Her relationship with Luke was non existent, and wasn't necessary considering how it all turned out.
Leia consoling Rey is nothing compared to what Rey and Finn have been through. Same as you bringing up Han spending time with Rey. Han and Rey never had the same connection Finn and Rey had. Besides two of those characters have been killed off, so I don't why they are still being mentioned.