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SPECULATION Do Rey's Parents Matter?

Discussion in 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' started by DailyPlunge, Apr 7, 2018.

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Do Rey's Parents Matter?

  1. No - Kylo Ren and the new Jedi Order are Rey's priorty

    51 vote(s)
    55.4%
  2. Yes - The key to Rey's future is in her past

    41 vote(s)
    44.6%
  1. RoyleRancor

    RoyleRancor Car'a'Carn

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    It's a shame.
    He's openly admitted that his ideas are bad and shouldn't be trusted anyways lol
     
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  2. Pomojema

    Pomojema Ayatollah Of Rock-&-Rolla
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    Not all of them. Kissing Leia's forehead and winking at Threepio was all him.
     
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  3. Sparafucile

    Sparafucile Guest

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    I find the whole using Mark Hamill to prop your opinion, whatever that may be, an interesting phenomena, funny and futile. Arguments on both sides dismiss swaths of his statements and focus on about half of what he's said, whatever supports their particular opinion. In the end, I don't know and I don't think anyone else does either unless they know Mark personally and have had an honest heart to heart discussion about this. So why people keep bringing it up baffles me. It's like why people keep debating over numbers, like majority or small minority ect... It serves no purpose other than fueling a fire. At least numbers can be a predictor on future movies, Mark's opinion won't.

    I can easily see a scenario where Mark falls into column A or B or probably a column for every letter of the alphabet because these things are usually nuanced. I don't understand this deep desire people have to put Mark's stance in a box that supports their arguments and mock an another's belief of what that stance is, stances equally speculative. They are all theories. In the end, if you love or hate TLJ, if Mark's opinion proves to be the opposite of what you believe, you won't change your mind about TLJ, and you shouldn't. He's just another flawed man with an opinion like the rest of us. SW will be his legacy, it will be what he's remembered for (beyond some awesome Joker voices), so I'm sure for Mark that relationship alone will make his opinion nuanced. I wish people would stop weaponizing his opinion, ignore the assumptions we fans have and realize that somehow, some people need to believe in such and such a way because it comforts them.

    Basically, rise above this un-provable, ultimate useless argument. Whatever people think about this won't change if you call them out, nor will it harm Mark's reputation. Whatever Mark thinks, it changes just like our opinions change over time. So quite literally, it is impossible to guess what he thinks. By not allowing yourself to be baited into this debate, I think you'd be doing the whole of the SW community a favor. Put a disagree or better yet, clouded, on such a post of you must, but please don't pretend to know more than another, because in this, we're all clueless.
     
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  4. Maximus

    Maximus Reel 2 Dialogue 2

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    it really twists my noodle when people do that. Mark Hamill's opinion on a movie changes nothing and proves nothing.. i love the guy but it doesn't affect my opinion in any way if he likes or hates something that i love or hate.

    and don't get me started on the thread about Simon Pegg's opinions lol.. i literally don't know where to start.
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Apprentice of the Wills

    Apprentice of the Wills Rebel Commander

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    I apologize if this has been covered to death already in this thread. I admittedly have not read through the whole thing.

    In my mind, Rey needs some resolution when it comes to her parents. Her identity and her guiding principles are so tied to their memory and her desire to reunite with them that Kylo's explanation cannot be satisfactory for the character or for the audience as the final answer. She will likely either reject his claim or will discover the truth "from a certain point of view". She is like Luke in this way. Knowledge of his family or the search for identity starts her journey and takes her away from her desert-planet purgatory. He discovers the truth but rejects it in the second film. In the third, he gains a new perspective on the truth and shapes the truth to form his new identity.

    It is likely that Rey will return to Jakku or Ak-to (spelling) similarly to how Luke returned to Tatooine and Dagoba in his final phase of developing/discovering his arc as a character. Kylo may also retrace his steps or pursue Rey through her journey leading to a final clash or ideologies in which only one can win.

    I don't know who her parents are. I have a couple of theories that were made more difficult by the choices RJ made in TLJ. They weren't complex or out there, but drew upon the visual storytelling and how the film implies Maz might know the truth leading Han to be on the way to discovering that truth.
     
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  6. Adam812

    Adam812 Rebel General

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    The reveal of Rey's parents in TLJ has always felt perfectly definitive in my opinion.

    I really don't think JJ had any real set-in-stone plan for Rey's parents. He is a guy that loves mysteries. He cares more about the mystery itself more than the answerto the mystery. This is the creator of Lost we're talking about. He also gave us Mission Impossible 3 with the Rabbit's Foot that was never explained.

    He did a brilliant job at teasing the audience and making us ask questions in TFA. It was pretty genius if you ask me. And I loved the reveal in TLJ that Rey's parents were filthy junk traders. Since JJ doesn't have a reputation for answering his own mysteries, I can see him letting Rian Johnson having the final say on this one.
     
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  7. Cunir

    Cunir Rebelscum

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    I know this is really old news (I’m always late to the party) but I just read that rumour from before The Force Awakens came out that they were maybe looking for a 20-something actress to play Obi Wans granddaughter.

    The more I think about it’s parallels with the original Star Wars movie, the more it makes sense that Rey is Obi Wans granddaughter... that first movie had Luke looking for Obi Wan, and this one will have Obi Wans granddaughter looking for Luke... the first movie had Darth Vadar killing Obi Wan, and this one will have Obi Wans granddaughter killing Darth Vadars grandson. It’s the perfect conclusion to the saga, revenging the original death that happened way back in Episode 4.

    And of course it will explain why she’s a Jedi, and maybe why she was introduced eeking out an existence on a desert planet, because that’s how Obi Wan was introduced as well.
     
  8. DailyPlunge

    DailyPlunge Coramoor

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    In The Last Jedi Rey says that her parents are nobody.

    Kylo didn't tell her anything she didn't already know.

    The only way around this is if Rey never knew her real parents and the "filthy drunk traders" were simply her adoptive parents. There's always a way to write around this stuff, but Rey's parents don't matter. The question was answered in TLJ.
     
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  9. Rellum

    Rellum Rebelscum

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    Well, maybe Obi Wan spent most of his time filthy drunk at the cantina. It all fits together, you know it does.
     
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  10. Darth Wardawg

    Darth Wardawg Force Sensitive

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    We will find out in about 360 days, give or take. LOL

    But seriously, from the time I saw TLJ I didn't think Kylo was necessarily telling the truth. "Lies and deception" are his ways now (how Yoda describes Dooku in AOTC). I'm not sure why we would have to believe Kylo is telling the truth here. This is different than Vader. How does Kylo know so much about Rey? Did the FO investigate her background?

    Personally, I'd like them to flip it to where Kylo was lying in TLJ, unlike Vader in Empire and unlike Dooku in AOTC (when he told Obi-Wan the Dark Lord of the Sith is in charge of the Senate). But I won't riot if it turns out her parents ARE really just a bunch of filthy drunks.
     
  11. Jedi MD

    Jedi MD Jedi Commander

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    He knows so much about her because he was probing into her mind in TFA as well as from their Force connection in TLJ.
     
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  12. Apprentice of the Wills

    Apprentice of the Wills Rebel Commander

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    Rey was, what, 5-7 years old when she was abandoned on Jakku? The memory that she has of her family is largely fragmented and likely a mixture of fact and fiction. Her acceptance of their nothingness in that moment feels more like a reflexive sense of hollowness by her as she sees her reality and her goals come crashing down. She was manipulated and seduced by the darkness and by Kylo through her obsession with finding her identity. She realizes that blunder and rejects her "parents" whom she doesn't know/understand as a way of reacting to the consequences of her blind fixation.

    Rey's family/lineage and her place in the larger story was made too central and important in TFA by the writers, actors, director, marketing, etc for nothing more to come of it. The story is set up for a reveal and a reversal. We are only in Act II of a three-act story, after all. Rey's journey too closely resembles Arthurian myth and the structure of Luke's progression so it is incredibly likely that new information will come to light in the next film that gives us a new perspective on what we have already learned about her, about Kylo, and who she is. Her entire raison d'etre in the first two films was her search for identity/belonging. Wouldn't it make too much sense for her to find the answers she spent her life waiting for now that she has rejected her primary need and weakness?
     
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  13. DailyPlunge

    DailyPlunge Coramoor

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    We had a huge "Who are Rey's parents" thread in between movies where we discussed this for two years and there's no consensus that her parents are a central theme. It's the audience that assumed that her parents were a central theme. This is natural because that's what the original trilogy programmed us to believe. It's also why that kind of predictive storytelling needed to end. This is why Daisy was surprised that "her parents" was such a big question after TFA. The answer was already there, but people couldn't see it. People still want her bloodline connected.
     
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  14. Apprentice of the Wills

    Apprentice of the Wills Rebel Commander

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    I think the reason why people expect this (and why I do too) is that this trilogy is part of a three trilogy saga with fate, conflict, and identity all tied to family. People on this site complain incessantly about how similar TFA and TLJ are to the OT. George Lucas himself talked about stories rhyming and how we can use similar structures, character types and storylines to draw on the audience's memory for narrative effect. I am ok with Star Wars moving away from lineage being a central focus in stand-alones and in the expanded film and canon universe but not during part 8 of a 9-part series centering on the idea family. Daisy's original comment was that she was surprised that her family was a mystery for fans because their identity was obvious to her based on her experience making the film and playing the role. I believe there is something that we are all missing that will come to light a year from now in IX in order to tie everything (the entire IX movie saga) together to make this a complete story.
     
  15. RoyleRancor

    RoyleRancor Car'a'Carn

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    Family isn't just blood relations.
    Many movies use this talking point.
    Rey is building a family out of Han, Luke, Leia, Poe and Finn. And Chewie. But wookies come last with no medals.

    She doesn't need a genetic destiny. Luke never did for the first 3 years either. That was added later.

    Daisy was shocked because she says she's no one in TFA. Several times. JJ just cant ever resist a good mystery box which mucks EVERYTHING up.
    She reveals in TLJ she is no one. (People get this wrong ALL the time).

    There's no more evidence she is special to outweigh what we already know.
     
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  16. LadyMusashi

    LadyMusashi Archwizard Woo-Woo-in-Chief
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    Incredible, I know. I still see "Kylo could have lied!" all over internet, yet it wasn't him who said that Rey's parents were nobodies - she did. Kylo did say the were drunkards. I always saw that as his way to twist the knife, making Rey even more vulnerable and so, in his mind, possibly more open to his suggestion. Even if he saw that in her mind (which I doubt, even disillusioned, Rey would not see them this way), it must have been exaggerated description for the same reason.

    Rey's parents are only important because they made her. Even Unkar Plutt had bigger influence on Rey's life than her parents.
     
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  17. RoyleRancor

    RoyleRancor Car'a'Carn

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    It's one of my biggest issues when debating TLJ. Mis-remembering scenes is always going to happen, for the most part, but when they are seemingly purposefully mis-remembered or in a way that removes any and all context....it makes any rational or reasonable debate/discussion impossible.
    I feel like I have that scene nearly memorized from the amount of times trying to explain what actually happens.
     
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  18. Apprentice of the Wills

    Apprentice of the Wills Rebel Commander

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    It is true that we have our genetic family and the family that we choose. Star Wars is the story of conflict between these two things. Anakin is a slave child and the Chosen One. His storyline is dominated by his relationship between his genetic and chosen families. Anakin's fall comes because of his love for his mother and for Padme, and thus his fear/guilt of losing them.

    Luke feels trapped on Tatooine by his rural aunt and uncle. Luke is drawn to adventure through the Droids (Leia's message) and Obi-wan. One of the first things we learn about Luke from Obi-wan is that his father was a great Jedi who was betrayed and murdered by Vader. Luke finally leaves Tatooine because he learns a partial truth about his father and has his aunt and uncle massacred on Tatooine. He gains a father figure in Obi-wan, and a new family in Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids. Like his father, his fear of losing his family drives him to confront Vader, whom he also believed killed his father and his father-figure, before he is ready. He discovers the truth about his father from Vader thus bringing up the legacy and the consequences of his bloodline. In ROTJ, we meet a new Luke, more powerful and centered than before. He saves Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, and the droids from Jabba. We learn from Yoda that Luke is as ready as he can be to face Vader, but then a new piece of information emerges, he has a sister. Like his father before him, his storyline reshaped by his relationship between his genetic and chosen families, and his choice for how he can save/protect his chosen family while saving/redeeming his fallen father from darkness. Even in the throne room on the second Death Star, the Emperor uses the duality of chosen vs genetic family to tempt and to torture Luke into fear and hatred. Vader's discovery of Luke having a twin nearly tips the scale, too. Luke succeeds where Vader fell by being able to accept and love equally his chosen and genetic families while choosing his own destiny.

    In the sequel trilogy, our central characters are Rey and Kylo. Rey says she's a nobody because she doesn't have an identity, it is secret to her and is yet to be discovered in the story. Kylo has two identities, one which he attempts to suppress while the other her overcompensates to project. Their relationship to their biological families and their chosen families dominate their motivations, beliefs, and inner conflicts. In TFA and TLJ, Rey is held back and pulled toward darkness by trying to discover the truth about her biological family. In TFA, she gains a father figure in Han and a chosen family in Finn and Chewie. She even gains a mother figure in Leia when she loses Han. In TLJ, Luke plays Yoda, warning her away from her attachments. Meanwhile, Kylo struggles with identity and the legacy of his bloodline, while not having an accepting or loving chosen family. He prays to his grandfather to help him "finish what you started", begs Han to help him do what he cannot do (kill his father, something tying him to his past), struggles with attacking his mother on the bridge of the capital ship (again, connection to his past), and finally his uncle (Luke) whose betrayal set all of this in motion. When Kylo and Rey meet through their telepathy in TLJ, they are both seeking identities and are both seeking family. Both struggle with their connection to their biological families and are disillusioned with their personal philosophies. They find that commonality in each other. Rey wants to save Ben from Kylo in to bring him back to his biological family, while Kylo wants to sever Rey's link to her biological and chosen families to make a new chosen family with her. Like Luke in ESB, Rey goes to Ben to seek the truth and to save her chosen family. She fails at both, or rather she doesn't learn anything new about her family. She simply accepts that like her, they are no one, meaning they have no identity. She is no closer to finding them than she was waiting on Jakku. She also loses her chosen family, Ben because Ben falls to Kylo. Anakin's lightsaber splitting between them signifies their shared role in the Skywalker legacy, but also that neither can truly claim it without the other. Back on the Falcon, Rey gets back to doing what she did in TFA, rescuing her true chosen family with new knowledge (the Jedi texts) to help her form her new identity. Kylo confronts Luke and is beaten by him. He is confronted by the memory of his father and mother through the gold dice in the cave and is thus haunted by his guilt and his past.

    In IX, we will see something like the duality of Kylo and Ben continuing to tear this character apart as he struggles with his two identities, two families, and two destinies. Rey's connection to her chosen family will provide her moral strength while also acting as a source of her fears (for their safety). She will continue forming her identity and choosing her own destiny but will be changed by a discovery about her past that will add conflict to her goals and make her path forward more difficult to see.
     
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  19. RoyleRancor

    RoyleRancor Car'a'Carn

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    You say this like it's fact. It isn't.
    Kylo Ren is the legacy character.
    Rey doesn't have to be. Adding a genetic legacy to Rey does nothing but weaken her story. It takes away any autonomy she has already.
    Rey is special because she's Obi-Wan. She's Qui-Gon. She's not from a legacy. She's just who she is and is making herself matter by making the right choices.
     
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  20. BobaFettNY21

    BobaFettNY21 Force Attuned

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    And she's the one trying to continue the legacy, where Kylo is trying to erase it without realizing the more he tries to erase it, the more he becomes a slave to it (same could be said for Anakin and Death, or Luke and his own Legacy, which is found and reignited by Rey in TLJ).

    Rey was herself a slave to the past, but now, all roads lead to Kylo Ren and whatever is in store for us in 9.
     
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