Help me with these aspects of TFA

Thats a lot of questions. I too was slightly disappointed after the 1st viewing. The best piece of advice I could give you is to see it again. It felt like I was watching a different movie the 2nd time 'round. There are a lot of things you'll pick up on that you completely missed first time. Not all of your questions will be answered until the next movie however. Imagine how they felt after TESB, they had to wait 3 years for answers!

 

#1 When was the academy attacked again?? Good question but since the movie doesn't say, it certainly doesn't affect the movie.

#2 Okay, so Luke's nephew betrayed him and he lost his academy. It's not about taking on Ben... it's about absolute failure. It's about redeeming his father only to create a greater monster.

#3 So he hides. Okay. But, he leaves behind a missing part of a map to find him. I don't recall Luke being responsible for the map being left behind.

#4 So, did Luke put Artoo to sleep? No, it was droid depression, silly but true.

#5 If Luke disappeared, R2 went to sleep, how does everyone know that it was Ben Solo who went dark? I assume Luke or some on looker may have reported it before Luke ran off.

#6 Why do our characters seem to know more about Snoke than they ever did about even Vader, let a lone the Emperor? Why not? Maybe reconnaissance, maybe Snoke ain't hiding.

#7 Okay, so Han Solo somehow finds out that his son went bad and helped bring down the academy. Maybe even lost more of his kids, etc. He even knows it was Snoke who turned him. Intel got a lot better over the years. So he goes back to...being a smuggler? Han and Leia went back to what they did best as a coping mechanism... it was stated in the movie in a throw away line. That works for me.

#8 Leia. Why does Leia just accept that Ben is bad? What could her and her fleet do about Kylo Ren?

#9 Why is he named Ben? Leia never met Ben. He was once her ONLY hope.

#10 I'm fine with Rey's fast force use. I figure she has had training, etc. Why not use that suspense of disbelief on all these other questions of yours LOL, btw, Jedi Mind Tricks could be part of the legends she heard around Jakku.... even Jabba the Hutt was mindful of them.

#11 Why did we visit all these planets that had different names but were carbon copies of other planets. Why not make Jakku a different climate? How many climates do you know or care about? Snow is fine... it made for a beautiful backdrop for that saber fight. Sand is fine, it matches the storytelling of a scavenger.

#12 Was it just me, or were all the planets right around the corner? It took time to get to Alderaan, cloud city, etc. Made space feel big. TFA made it seem like everything was five minutes away. Well they did travel for some time from Jakku but Hosnian, Takodana, DQar and Starkiller certainly did seem close so I agree. But I think the Starkiller lasers were travelling through hyperspace while being visible to all.

#13 What the hell happened to Maz? Was there a mistake in editing? It was borderline distracting. I assume she stayed safe and will be in the next movie. Editing cut her out of DQar resistance base scenes.

#14 Okay, so the flashback/ force vision. I have to admit, I was against a flash back but it fit well. But it showed....nothing. It showed a lot and was one of the most interesting scenes. It added to the mystery of Rey and the Force.

#15 Wasn't Phasma supposed to be a bada$$? She did as much as Boba Fett. Let the fan boys and girls use their own imagination.

#16 Why do guys think Ben turned? We all hope theres a good reason but it was intentionally vague.

#17 Was Poe really supposed to die? Rey didn't even meet Poe? Aren't they the big 3? No one promised a new "big 3" so it is what it is.

#18 Oh wait, back to Luke. The powerful, selfless, hero of the OT. He couldn't sense some of this stuff and hop in his x-wing? Let Han die, risked the deaths of Leia and alliance, his neice/daughter/whatever...I'll just chill...? Again, it's not about what Luke could do, but how his whole life amounted to failure. It crushed him. You need to accept that

 

I also wonder if Luke's self-banishment isn't due to the safety of others. Snoke is after him, and according to the novel, Snoke is VERY CONCERNED about him. We don't know this story yet, so it's a bit premature to write it off. At the same time, he's apparently visiting Jedi temples. What insight has he gained? How will it help him, and the Jedi, in the future? We don't know. Again, extremely premature to dismiss the whole thing. These are some of the questions that you don't mind the film leaving us with.

 

The topic brings up several valid questions.
A few are points I raised myself. Some I agree are poor editing/film production-producer choices & a few I'd say fall into the Disney/fill the seats/make $$$ slot.

I'd have set it up so Luke gets a secret message from the rebooted R2 that they have the map & he must get to the Starkiller base planet ASAP. Then Luke would roll in, have a crowd pleasing dramatic reveal then fight off Kylo Ren. Han would plead with Luke to spare Ben's life which he does, Snoke would then appear where he'd fight briefly with Luke, then he'd kill Han & rush off with the wounded Kylo Ren.
Then Luke, Rey, Chewie and Finn would get in the Falcon & zip off or maybe Luke & Rey would go to his secret temple location. Finn and Chewbacca would return to the Resistance base in the Falcon, .
I thought the film's 3rd act had serious flaws. What happened to Kylo Ren? What became of Plasma?
Did General Hux flee or follow Snoke's orders to get Kylo Ren? The characters didn't seem to be best mates...
Also why prop up so many sets, characters, locations, etc if the wind up with approx 30sec to 2min of total screen time? C3PO now has a red arm? Why??? Why show the new PZ droid but not include scenes or dialogue?
The "space freighter" bit seemed like a lame attempt at comic relief.
Han Solo, a 72 year old smuggler would run a massive cargo ship with just Chewbacca (chewie) ? He'd also carry 3 huge lethal wild creatures? It was like some producer or crew member said; "can we throw some wacky Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy type humor in there"?

The "plan" to destroy the Star Killer base looked juvenile & rushed too. I sat there like; "hey, did everyone see Star Wars"? YEAH! Me too! Let's just do what we did 33 years ago. Ready! Break!

The final scene with Luke was as many sites & "insiders" did claim it to be . I can see why JJ & Kasdan chose that route but for about 10/15 more min & maybe a few more $$$ in the budget, it could have been epic!

 

you make good points. its really hard for me to buy Luke excommunicating Leia and letting Han die especially since hes somewhat responsible. i just cant buy luke vanishing for 2 decades over grief/shame. there has to be a really good reason and id guess Rian Johnsln is even bummed that he is pretty much forced to go the reluctant hermit route. how boring.

 

Han told Rey and Finn that Luke had gone away due to his guilty feeling over Kylo and what happened to the Academy, but I suspect that Han didn't know the whole story. There were also the mysteries of Rey's true identity, why Rey had been abandoned on Jakku, and how did Maz come into possession of the light sabre (when Han asked Maz about the latter, she said that it's a long story to be told at another time). I suspect these mysteries and the reasons for Luke's seclusion are all connected together somehow. Hopefully we will find out the complete story in Episode 8.

 

1. In my understanding, it was 15-20 years ago that Luke disappeared. Therefore the attack on the Jedi Temple would happen some time before that, which would explain Kylo's age. (plus, it isn't specified that Kylo started training as a 1 year old)

2. Not sure what to say about this because i think i agree with you in some ways. Like you said, he's been through A LOT. Maybe he is afraid (of snoke?) But this will 100% be explained in episode 8

3. Yes. Maybe he does want to be found, when the time is right? Still unsure of what is going on here though, i'm with you on this one

4. Obviously droids cannot sense the force, but it is possible that Luke felt it was time for him to be found, and remotely activated R2. Again, this is all speculation

5. Luke disappeared AFTER Ben went dark (if what your referring by this means him turning to the dark side). Plus, blast gets around, its a small galaxy

6. They don't know much at all to be fair. Han and Leia know him, because he was the one who seduced their son to the dark side. Not sure how they know him, hope the backstory is explained, but other than that, he is a mystery. To us and the characters

7. To me Han turning away from everything is a much closer to his character than Luke turning away (again not sure about Luke)
He lost his son, and is reminded of him whenever Han and Leia are together. Like he said "he went back to the only thing he was ever good at". It was like a coping mechanism

8. Why can't she accept it? She knows there's good in him , and there is (or was). She's force sensitive, she senses Han dying, and arguably, senses Rey is force sensitive as well at the end of the film. And she is his mother. (that's all i will say and all i have to say).
As for why wasn't Ren captured? He has to ENTIRE first order at his disposal, not exactly like taking candy from a baby

9. Some of your gripes are valid and i have them too, but i feel most are nitpicky (as you said), especially this one.
So to answer your question..... Ben was a great man?

10. It's been some time since the events of the original trilogy. The further these stories or "myths" spread, the more over exaggerated they become, and more ridiculous which makes them more unbelievable. Not sure where Jakku is in relation to the galaxy, but it is safe to say that they were in no way involved with the battle with the empire in the original trilogy. So simply put, they are stories, that have traveled across the galaxy, and has made its way onto Jakku. Rey might have overheard people talking about it, or even from that old women she was scrubbing parts with. Who knows?

11. Nitpickkkkkkkyyyyyyy

12. Cinema magic? To advance the story quicker? Or maybe.......... just maybe............the planets.........where actually........CLOSE to each other. Closer to each other than the planets you are comparing them too anyway. If you have a map of the entire galaxy and have evidence to prove that you're right, forgive me.

13. CGI this film was generally not up to par. I too expected more from a film like this
Maz as a character though.....pretty cool

14. Waste of time? It made the force awaken within Rey (pun intended). It was literally the turning point of Reys story. Sure the flashback itself was quite mysterious, and probably left us with more questions than answers, but that's whats great about Star Wars.

I love how people like to say this is a carbon copy of a new hope, and then proceed to complain about the "plot holes", 90% of which are unanswered questions. A new hope left us with a couple of questions too if people don't recall, and where were they answered? In Empire! Episode 8 will have all the answers our biggest questions, i guarantee it

15. Yeahhhhhh she was. Disappointing

16. I too hope it will be explained, you said everything i was thinking

17. Yes Poe was supposed to die. Not sure at what point in the writing/filming process this was changed. I imagine if they did indeed decide to kill him off, there would have been scenes to link Rey and Poe's story further.
NOTE: There were a lot, and i mean A LOT of scenes shot for this movie (like for most scenes, there were 20 alternatives). Every scene had a different scenario that could have happened

18. No, no need to chill. I feel like some of your arguments are extremely valid. Maybe it was the will of the force, and Luke knew that? Again with this, i have no idea, just hope that it will be explained in episode 8

19. Same as 3

Hope this helped out

 

1. Never answered in the film. Not particularly important to the plot of the film either.
A lot of people seem to think the Force vision scene in the rain is depicting the event, but I don't think so.

2. I'm not sure "hides" is the right word for what Luke has done. I have to believe that the First Temple has some important value.
Also, we're still not sure how the New Republic feels about Jedi.

3. See previous, but just allow me to speculate a little here. Lor San Tekka is a famous New Republic explorer/adventurer.... yet he go and retires on Jakku. Why Jakku? Is it because of a certain young scavenger?
I'm just going to throw it out there, that Lor San Tekka went to Jakku as a favour to Luke, in order to watch over Rey from a distance (just as Obi-Wan Kenobi was doing). The plan was that eventually Rey would seek out answers, meet Tekka, and using the map piece, would be able to find Luke.
This is the most logical theory supported by the canon.

4. It's more just R2-D2 shut down because there was no reason to be operating. R2 was awaiting the remaining map piece to complete the mission. Why didn't R2 wake up when BB-8 showed up? No idea. They've tried to explain it as R2 taking a while to process information while in a catatonic/comatose state....
In reality, it wouldn't have made a huge deal, because they still had the more urgent matter of Starkiller base to deal with.

5. You're assuming that Luke never talked to Han/Leia before he vanished.... I don't think this is exactly what happened.

6. How much do they really know, except that he seduced Ben to the Dark Side?

7. Ben's been hanging out in First Order space (the unknown regions). Basically a no-fly zone for the Republic. What's Han going to do? He's never had to deal with something like that before? What would any person do if they found out that their kid went bad and killed a bunch of people?

8. Leia never accepted that Ben is "just bad." She's quite clear on this in the movie. But again, Ben's been hanging out in First Order space. It's not clear how long the Resistance has been around, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't exist at the time Ben joined the Knights of Ren and First Order. Travelling with a fleet into the Unkown Regions would be in direct violation of the Galactic Concordance.

Going and forcing him to come back is also just bad parenting.

9. I can kind of agree here. Even though, Leia knew of "Obi-wan Kenobi" (Her message in ANH was addressed to to him), I don't know if she or Han ever really knew of him as Ben.... maybe they asked Luke for suggestions?

10. She thought the Jedi and the Force were all a myth when she first met Han Solo... by the time she picks up the lightsaber and experiences that vision, I'm 100% that it becomes very real to her.

11. Playing things safe... it's not like there aren't similar planets in the galaxy. They don't all need to be unique. Besides, D'Qar, Takodana, and Starkiller all have features that make them different to past Star Wars planets.

12. The distance never really came into play here...

13. Editing and rewrites. Lots of rewrites. In the novel, Maz speaks with Finn before he heads off to D'Qar.

14. As I mentioned in 10... the Force vision exists to tell audiences (and Rey) that she has the Force. If you had heard stories and legends about the Force, and then got shown a bunch of stuff when you picked up some item, you would know you the Force was real, and within you.

15. Yeah, that was a bit of a let down. Was the whole scene with Phasma at Starkiller base intended to support the idea that the "programming" and "conditioning" of First Order soldiers isn't as reliable as Hux believes?

16. I'm quite certain they intend to explore this in the future. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

17. Yes. Poe was going to be killed off. Things were re-written before they started filming so that he survived. Why was there no interaction between him and Rey? Did there need to be?

18. Luke might be powerful... but was he aware what was happening far from him? Does Luke still have an X-wing?... Is the First Temple that important?

 

It's the first part of a new story and we have 100's of hours of new EU to look forward to over the next few years that will flesh out whatever the films don't have time to.

You'll get your answers, relax, they might not be the answers you want but it'll be fun to find out.

 

Don't mean to sound like a broken record if you read other threads where I've posted similar, but...

What do we know about Luke? Powerful force user, more powerful than Darth Vader by the end of ROTJ. Altruistic. Will do anything for his friends/family. Cares deeply about those friends/family and will do anything to protect him. He was also nearly turned by the Emperor, at least enough that he defeats Vader with his anger and desperation, but manages to stop himself at the last moment before he kills him.

So anyway! I'll keep my theory short here.

Luke sets up a new utterly peaceful Jedi Order that he doesn't train in destruction in any way, which includes not using weapons.
That temple is slaughtered by Kylo and the Knights of Ren.
Luke gets there too late, or can't stop it for some reason and everyone is dead, and all because he wouldn't teach them to defend themselves.
In his moments of darkest despair, grief, hopelessness and *guilt*, he is confronted by the Knights of Ren and outnumbered badly.
He uses the Dark Side, perhaps lightning, to kill them, except for Kylo, where he has a moment like he did with the Emperor, but in reverse.
He freaks out and decides he's too dangerous to be near anyone ever again, that he can't control himself, etc.
Snoke was probably behind all this and tries to ensnare Luke at this point, but Luke manages to get away somehow.
Goes into complete seclusion, where he is probably half insane at this point with the past and the Dark Side haunting him.

Anyway, main thing I'm pretty sure happened is that Luke used the Dark Side and has run from everything because he's afraid of himself.

Otherwise, the Luke we know, well, you're right, he would have kept fighting! I can't think of anything else that would have driven Luke to hide for so long.

 

I too was kinda surprised the instantanious nature of in-movie space travel. I liked the scenes in the OT when they go and chill in the millennium falcon while in light speed.

 

Very short, we know little (or, sometimes, nothing) about why and when Ben turned, why Luke left , and how his apprentices were killed. Just as, back when ANH was released, we knew little or nothing about why Vader turned (and even who Vader was), how Obi-Wan ended up on Tatooine and is hiding there,, how the Jedi Order was destroyed, how the Empire came to replace the Old Republic, how the Rebeliion began , and who is part of it. That supposed "lack" of information wasn't a problem for Episode IV as it is not a problem for Episode VII either. Those are not in-movie "plot holes", but rather "plot gaps" that will be filled in related books/novels and/or other movies or animated TV series.

As for why the New Republic doesn't attack the First Order, they basically co-exist in the galaxy in a state similar to a Cold War. Formally, they have a peace treaty (mentioned in the books), but the Republic covertly supports the Resistance, which is a insurgent movement that operates within First Order territory (again, that is a reference to Cold War tactics). Hux explains the relation between the Republic and the Resistance twice in the move, first when he is talking to Snoke and thenm in his speech to the troopers, where he mentions that in a distant system, the Republic "lies to the galaxy" while supporting the "treachery of the loathsome Resistance". Now that the First Order has broken the peace treaty by destroying the Republic's capital (including the Senate) and its fleet, we must assume the Republic is at war with the First Order, but it will take time for the Republic to rebuild its military to the point of being a credible threat. Meanwhile, the Resistance is vulnerable.

Finally, the reaction to TFA is not really mixed. It got an overwhelmingly positive reaction in all countries the movie has been released so far.

 

General Kenobi gave his life to save her. Why couldn't she name her sin after him? Why is that hard to understand?

 

#1 When was the academy attacked again?? I feel like the general consensus is 15-20 years before TFA. So was Kylo/Ben the tallest 10 year old in the galaxy? I don't get the timeline. TFA is supposed to take place 30 years after ROTJ. I think Kylo Ren is in his late 20s, even maybe 30. There is nothing that shows us at what age he was turned.

#2 Okay, so Luke's nephew betrayed him and he lost his academy. Maybe even his family. I get it, he has been through a lot. But he just tucks tail and hides? He brought Vader back after 20 years of being evil...he didn't think he could take on effing Ben Solo?

"But Unseen, Yoda and Ben hid" Yes, because they had no other choice. The rebellion wasn't formed. They needed the twins to grow up, etc.

Luke had the Republic, the Resistance, etc at his disposal. He salvaged Darth effing Vader.

But he hid from Ben and Snoke? I don't get it. It is way out of character. Other rumors (that he was a prisoner, guarding something, etc) made A LOT more sense.

The whole movie seems based on Luke doing something completely out of character.

My view on that is that the Jedi know the right timing for most things. Luke probably knew that it was better to self-exile himself and wait. As for Yoda and Obi Wan, yes the Rebellion was formed years before the incidents of ANH but they both remained inactive. They knew that Luke was their hope.


#3 So he hides. Okay. But, he leaves behind a missing part of a map to find him. Why is Luke leaving bread crumbs? I'm serious here, it doesn't make sense. Does he want to be found?? Then why did he hide? So now Luke, who was all about his friends and family hides on them, doesn't tell even his sister where he went, but left behind clues. Is there a logical reason to this other than this is what JJ wanted? It just doesn't jive with the character and/or logic. And who is the old guy who had this magic map? Is he important to Canon?

The entire film seemed based on something I just can't justify in my head. Luke hid, but left part of a map. WTF?

#4 So, did Luke put Artoo to sleep? How?? How and why did Artoo wake up? "BB8 talked to him"...didn't BB8 try to talk to him in an earlier scene??? He just left out the part about the missing map until the second time?

Artoo is probably asked by Luke to hold the map in his memory and wait for the right time-person to show it. So he does when Rey is around. Why there is a missing part in it and how Lor Tan Sekka found it, we don't get to learn.

#5 If Luke disappeared, R2 went to sleep, how does everyone know that it was Ben Solo who went dark?

Obviously more people were around when all these things happened.

#6 Why do our characters seem to know more about Snoke than they ever did about even Vader, let alone the Emperor?

We are not shown that they know a lot of things. Just that he turned Ben and he is the leader of the First Order. They may know more, even his true identity but we will see in the next films.

#7 Okay, so Han Solo somehow finds out that his son went bad and helped bring down the academy. Maybe even lost more of his kids, etc. He even knows it was Snoke who turned him. Intel got a lot better over the years. So he goes back to...being a smuggler? Again, he knows Ben is alive. Him just bailing seems to go against his entire character arc of the OT. It is as if it was erased.

He went from being selfish...to caring for a select few...to caring for the cause...to having a family...to smuggling.

Oh, and then he is killed by his son. This is the most depressing Star Wars movie ever, is it not? ROTS we all knew what was coming.

A lot of the stuff here just felt....unnecessary. Or inexplicable.

In his conversation with Leia, Han says "there was nothing MORE we could do". That means that he at least tried to do something without success. Afterall, it is not the easiest thing to do. Why didn't Obi Wan try to turn Anakin?

#8 Leia. Why does Leia just accept that Ben is bad? Again, she has this entire fleet at her disposal. Why wasn't Ben straight up captured at some point over the years? Now if everyone had thought Ben was dead, it would make sense. But everyone just seems to accept that Ben is a bad guy now, oh well.

It's not that easy.

#9 Why is he named Ben? Leia never met Ben. Solo had a brief interaction. Felt like forced fan service. Bail, Luke, Lando, all names that would have made much more sense. Why Ben?? Again, it doesn't even match the characters. This one may be nitpicky, but it is one of those small details that just doesn't jive with the OT.

As you put it it maybe an odd decision, Ben would be a better name for a Skywalker kid...

#10 I'm fine with Rey's fast force use. I figure she has had training, etc. But how does she think Luke is a legend/myth...but also know what a Jedi Mind Trick is??

Kylo Ren had just tried to mind trick her.

#11 Why did we visit all these planets that had different names but were carbon copies of other planets. Why not make Jakku a different climate? Or whatever Yavin 2 was called? Seems like late in the writing process someone said "uh, lets make these different planets"...

Jakku as a desert planet is a poor choice for me as well. Maybe they felt that resemblances with Luke were necessary. We have seen nothing like Takodana in the films, only mabe Naboo.

#12 Was it just me, or were all the planets right around the corner? It took time to get to Alderaan, cloud city, etc. Made space feel big. TFA made it seem like everything was five minutes away.

Yes that thing with the lasers being visible from everywhere didn't feel right for me too. But maybe they were nearby star systems.

#13 What the hell happened to Maz? Was there a mistake in editing? It was borderline distracting.

Nothing happened to Maz, my first view is that she evacuated the place or hid somewhere for safety.

#14 Okay, so the flashback/ force vision. I have to admit, I was against a flash back but it fit well. But it showed....nothing. Nothing. No KOR in action, no Luke in action, nothing. If you are going to do a falshback, why not commit to it? Show some cool stuff. I get it, we hear Ewan. The flashback showed nothing (well, very little) that wasn't already discussed though. Seemed like a waste to me.

I loved that scene, served it's purpose wonderfully.

#15 Wasn't Phasma supposed to be a bada$$?

I wanted more of Phasma as well.

#16 Why do guys think Ben turned? He seems to hate his dad, but again, the "old and foolish" or whatever he called him doesn't match Han. I think Driver killed it...I just can't fathom a legit reason he would turn evil. I suppose this is one of those things that will/should be explained, but Han saying "he had a lot of Vader in him" seemed....forced and a "tell don't show" cheat moment cop out. Basically, I hope there is more to it than "oh, he just takes after grandpa Annie...that Ben, so angry".

I hope that all these things will be explained, if not in the movies, with comics, books etc.

#17 Was Poe really supposed to die? Rey didn't even meet Poe? Aren't they the big 3? Its almost as if last minute re-writes were not thought out.

Yeah Poe could meet Rey, but yet again it wouldn't make a big difference.

#18 Oh wait, back to Luke. The powerful, selfless, hero of the OT. He couldn't sense some of this stuff and hop in his x-wing? Let Han die, risked the deaths of Leia and alliance, his neice/daughter/whatever...I'll just chill...?

He doesn't chill. He just waits for the right time or he feels that he is useless anymore... And as Yoda told him, "if you respect what your friends fight for, you may even have to let them die".

I imagine I missed some stuff as I have only seen it once and I haven't read any of the books, comics, etc.

I see mixed reaction to the movie, but a lot of OT fans love it. I consider myself an OT fan. Though I liked the prequels initially, they just aren't good movies.

I think this film had similar flaws as the PT (plot holes), but also brand new flaws. They brought back the OT actors...but not the characters.

I don't expect them to be the exact same, but they shouldn't have regressed completely. It was...depressing.

"a lot has happened"...

So why isn't this episode 10?? More importantly, why are our beloved characters dealing with the happenings the exact opposite of how they did in the past?

"What happened in the middle" would be the question even if TFA was taking place a week after ROTJ. It is better to give the appropriate space and time to the people of Disney to explain things.

I think if I had viewed it as just a blockbuster, I would have really enjoyed it. But to me, Star Wars is about characters...mythology...etc. Seemed like we were cheated out of a lot of it.

So help me out, what did I miss? How are you guys reconciling this stuff in your heads?[/QUOTE]

 

I agree with all of this. I have seen it a couple of times now and started coming to terms with the movie. I think they might start answering these questions you had in the next movie. This seems like a new type of trilogy for star wars. The OT movies like ANH could have been a stand alone movie but this trilogy is being setup i feel. With the exception of Han being in carbonite this is the first real cliff hanger star wars where u leave with more questions then answers. Im hoping theres a pay off.

 

#1 When was the academy attacked again?? I feel like the general consensus is 15-20 years before TFA. Sowas Kylo/Ben the tallest 10 year old in the galaxy? I don't get the timeline.
I would say 15 years before TFA, and it's a vision Rey has... Maybe she sees Kylo Ren as an adult while in reality it was a 15 YO boy.

#2 Okay, so Luke's nephew betrayed him and he lost his academy. Maybe even his family. I get it, he has been through a lot. But he just tucks tail and hides? He brought Vader back after 20 years of being evil...he didn't think he could take on effing Ben Solo?
Remember ROTJ, Luke didn't want to fight, right until he "touches" the Dark Side of The Force... He knows what's in his blood. Probably Luke is NOT afraid of Ben Solo, but of himself... Remember it is HIS destiny to take Vader's place.


#3 So he hides. Okay. But, he leaves behind a missing part of a map to find him. Why is Luke leaving bread crumbs? I'm serious here, it doesn't make sense. Does he want to be found?? Then why did he hide? So now Luke, who was all about his friends and family hides on them, doesn't tell even his sister where he went, but left behind clues. Is there a logical reason to this other than this is what JJ wanted? It just doesn't jive with the character and/or logic. And who is the old guy who had this magic map? Is he important to Canon?

IMO Luke and the "Church of The Force" has worked together into trying to find out where the first Jedi temple was located... Why... We'll learn in 8... That's why R2 has part of the map, and MVS has the other.

#4 So, did Luke put Artoo to sleep? How?? How and why did Artoo wake up? "BB8 talked to him"...didn't BB8 try to talk to him in an earlier scene??? He just left out the part about the missing map until the second time?
It has something to do with the Force, the saber or even Luke Skywalker's plan.

#5 If Luke disappeared, R2 went to sleep, how does everyone know that it was Ben Solo who went dark?


Han, Leia and Luke know... Probably no one else, beside Snokes

#6 Why do our characters seem to know more about Snoke than they ever did about even Vader, let a lone the Emperor?

No one knows, if the movie had to explain everything from the last 30 years, it would have been a 7 hours long movie.


#7 Okay, so Han Solo somehow finds out that his son went bad and helped bring down the academy. Maybe even lost more of his kids, etc. He even knows it was Snoke who turned him. Intel got a lot better over the years. So he goes back to...being a smuggler? Again, he knows Ben is alive. Him just bailing seems to go against his entire character arc of the OT. It is as if it was erased.

He went from being selfish...to caring for a select few...to caring for the cause...to having a family...to smuggling.

Oh, and then he is killed by his son. This is the most depressing Star Wars movie ever, is it not? ROTS we all knew what was coming.

A lot of the stuff here just felt....unnecessary. Or inexplicable.

That's your opinion. Star Wars is a Space Opera.

#8 Leia. Why does Leia just accept that Ben is bad? Again, she has this entire fleet at her disposal. Why wasn't Ben straight up captured at some point over the years? Now if everyone had thought Ben was dead, it would make sense. But everyone just seems to accept that Ben is a bad guy now, oh well.

30 years have passed.... Wait... There is still 2 movies to come.

#9 Why is he named Ben? Leia never met Ben. Solo had a brief interaction. Felt like forced fan service. Bail, Luke, Lando, all names that would have made much more sense. Why Ben?? Again, it doesn't even match the characters. This one may be nitpicky, but it is one of those small details that just doesn't jive with the OT.

Ben is probably a popular surname in the galaxy. It's not necessary liked to Ben Kenobi. And Ben was a cover up.

#10 I'm fine with Rey's fast force use. I figure she has had training, etc. But how does she think Luke is a legend/myth...but also know what a Jedi Mind Trick is??

She read and listened to the legends, it came naturally... It's The Force, no longer the Jedi Academy with younglings and midichlorians... How Luke in the Wampa's cave knew how to grab his lightsaber using the Force, nobody has shown him that...

#11 Why did we visit all these planets that had different names but were carbon copies of other planets. Why not make Jakku a different climate? Or whatever Yavin 2 was called? Seems like late in the writing process someone said "uh, lets make these different planets"...

Well, it had to be different planets, storywise IMO... For Rey's character... D'Qar and Tadokana looked nothing like Yavin.

#12 Was it just me, or were all the plantes right around the corner? It took time to get to Alderaan, cloud city, etc. Made space feel big. TFA made it seem like everything was five minutes away.

You are right, but it's no Star Trek lol

#13 What the hell happened to Maz? Was there a mistake in editing? It was borderline distracting.


Well, scenes ended up on the cutting room floor... In the movie, last time we see her is on her planet, in the catacombs.

#14 Okay, so the flashback/ force vision. I have to admit, I was against a flash back but it fit well. But it showed....nothing. Nothing. No KOR in action, no Luke in action, nothing. If you are going to do a falshback, why not commit to it? Show some cool stuff. I get it, we hear Ewan. The flashback showed nothing (well, very little) that wasn't already discussed though. Seemed like a waste to me.

The vision is not a flashback... I am sure these images will signify a lot more when Episode 8 comes out.

#15 Wasn't Phasma supposed to be a bada$$?

We made the character bigger than it was supposed to be, like we did with Boba Fett back in the days, we'll see more of her in 8, rest assured.

#16 Why do guys think Ben turned? He seems to hate his dad, but again, the "old and foolish" or whatever he called him doesn't match Han. I think Driver killed it...I just can't fathom a legit reason he would turn evil. I suppose this is one of those things that will/should be explained, but Han saying "he had a lot of Vader in him" seemed....forced and a "tell don't show" cheat moment cop out. Basically, I hope there is more to it than "oh, he just takes after grandpa Annie...that Ben, so angry".

I think it has to do with jealousy towards his cousin (This saber is Miiiiiiiine!)

#17 Was Poe really supposed to die? Rey didn't even meet Poe? Aren't they the big 3? Its almost as if last minute re-writes were not thought out.

Well, they probably met after the Starkiller battle, off screen. It was not necessary to the story at that point, IMO.

#18 Oh wait, back to Luke. The powerful, selfless, hero of the OT. He couldn't sense some of this stuff and hop in his x-wing? Let Han die, risked the deaths of Leia and alliance, his neice/daughter/whatever...I'll just chill...?

He probably have seen ALL that, a long time ago, and much more. Remember what Yoda told luke in ESB..... He's now a grown up Jedi Master... He's not making the same mistakes Anakin did...

 

Lor Tan Sekka also knew. Maybe other older members as well.

 

I trult think a LOT of hints were put in Episode 7 for the plot of Episode 8, Lor Tan Sekka, the first temple, Luke's exile...

This will all pay off.. You will see.