The Ending of SW: The Force Awakens.

I've just realized that this film is basically ending with a cliffhanger. All the films usually end with a dialogue-free scene and at least a sense of a conclusion.

 

Yes, and this is a departure if true. The first episode of each trilogy has ended with a ceremony/celebration and an ensemble shot of the heroic leads. The ending being described in the rumours (a pan away from Skellig with only Rey and Luke in attendance) is far more reminiscent of the ends of the middle episodes of the trilogies. That's not to say JJ et al can't break with tradition, I'm just not sure I want them to....

 

Agreed. Makes me wonder if the Luke scene actually takes place just after the Starkiller battle, and the actual final shot takes place on Leia's planet, with Rey returning, not leaving.

 

I disagree. A cliffhanger leaves us in the moment of a struggle or dilemma. That is not implied so far for TFA. In ESB, the crew look on from the medical ship as they think on Han being taken captive. It would be perfectly suitable if after all of these conflicts in TFA we are given reassuring "having arrived" sequences with Rey and Luke before the long zoom out from Skellig Michael that has been rumored.

I'm not saying I want that to be the case, but I don't think it's a dramatic departure.

 

That's true, but it's certainly more of a tease than we've ever had before. For the audience, it ends with "OMG LUKE SKYWALKER OMG WHAT IT'S OVER!??!". The other films' endings are generally quieter and more reflective.

It all depends on the execution. But, basically, I just don't want another Desolation Of Smaug type moment!

 

I'm with you, there. But, hey, that's what novelty is sometimes. It remains to be seen whether or not it will pan out. It very well may. But, you've got to be free to innovate. Although, it remains to be seen if that is even the sequence! lol.

 

Basically, I just want a Star Wars ending, not a Disney/Marvel one. Each Marvel movie is basically a big advertisement for the next one. They all end with some sort of major tease or foreshadowing that basically lets the wind out of what you just watched.

Now that Disney owns Star Wars, they might be tempted to go with what has proven to be a very financially rewarding model. Every Star Wars film has felt like a complete, satisfying movie. You're always excited for the next one, but what you just saw was a complete experience. If that changes by them ending with a tease, I'll be very annoyed.

 

But if TFA did follow tradition, what would/should the closing image be? We've discussed this before and there still doesn't seem to be a suitable conclusion to be had involving a ceremony with all the heroes..unless there is one, but it is then interrupted by an attack (false ending). Or could they do one with the bad guys on ceremony instead of the good?....

 

What do you guys make of the new rumor from the leaked fan storyboards that

Spoiler

Luke reveals himself to Rey as her father

?


At first I didn't buy it, but the more I think about it, and think about JJ's penchant for misdirection and surprises, I really think that this will be true. It also lines up with a lot of storyboards much better now, especially the image of Rey with Luke's saber fighting Kylo.

It also exactly mirrors both Luke's and Anakin's origin stories, right down to scraping by on a desert planet.

 

I've been one of very few that have believed Rey is Luke's daughter. I think it fits thematically and with JJ's misdirection. I believe Kylo Ren is a Solo. It also better allows for a female Solo child in Episode VIII (which I don't put much weight into yet). None of the plot leaks so far lead me to believe Han and Leia put any more interest in Rey outside of helping her on her mission/destiny than any other person on the team.

 

Not sure they'd leave that revelation to the final scene...

I think the earlier rumor that Rey's parentage is 'hinted at, but not answered' is more likely. After all, JJ seems to be aping the original trilogy (not a diss) quite a bit, and the facts about Luke's parentage were not 100% confirmed until ROTJ. I think we're all going to leave the theater with theories, but no confirmation.

That said, if Leia and Rey have a moment at the end of TFA, and no parentage info is revealed there, I think it's a given that she is Luke's daughter.

 

I don't know. That assumes parentage has as much of an impact in plot revelation as the OT did. In the sequel trilogy, it could be a lesser plot point that comes across but en route to a greater drama/conflict. But, who knows? I could see it either way. You might be right on the money.

 

I don't know... I feel like a main character being a kid of Luke or Leia (or Han) is pretty major. And to leave it a mystery? What a letdown for the audience to learn that this main character with no name, whose parentage is semi-teased constantly, is in fact a random. It's a statement (about what?) but it's disappointing. Kathleen Kennedy has said this is a saga about family, and for the protagonist of this trilogy to be a random person for no reason would be a slap in the face.

I see three options:
1) Rey is Han/Leia/Luke's child.
2) Kylo is Han/Leia/Luke's child, and Rey is tasked with redeeming him.
3) Neither of them are related to Han/Leia/Luke, but there is a thematic reason for that, which will be addressed in TFA.

Basically, they can't leave Rey's parentage hanging in TFA if she isn't a Skywalker in some capacity. They have to outline why her not being a Skywalker is important now. Because if she isn't and they don't, how is this an "Episode"?

 

Love the ending as written in the OP, I hope that's what we get.

 

I assumed when you said hinted at and not answered you meant not answered in this episode. That is what I doubt. I'm saying I don't think the mystery will span three episodes like the OT did. I think they will have gotten down to at least making it known to the audience by the final scene. That is what I am saying. I only question whether it will be directly stated or heavily implied. I'm also saying they will move on more quickly than in the past as the question of parentage and redemption may not/ likely won't be the major theme of this trilogy as it has already been done. That isn't to say it won't be touched upon.

 

My issue with this is: why go to the bother of having a female lead to redress the gender imbalance in the most successful movie franchise of all time if you then, out-of-the-blue, have a revelation that diminishes the importance of the mother? Edit: Plus, it leads to a whole story about Luke's relationship post RotJ that is confined to EU platforms. Not good.

Unless: we've heard that EpVIII will have a new female Sith. Now, if that Sith is Rey's mother it not only ensures Rey's full parentage is explained, but also gives extra gravitas to the idea Rey wants to shy away from her Force Sensitive nature. And if the revelation at the end of TFA isn't Luke admitting to (announcing) being Rey's father, but is instead something along the lines of "We need to discuss your mother" it not only gives a gender twist on the big ESB reveal, it also sets up EpVIII AND maintains some mystique about Luke's relationship to Rey. Edit: It also explains Luke's exile and why Rey is "hidden."

There, I'd buy that. That works for me. Sidestep the Luke/Rey relationship by inferring the real issue is the mother. That could be very interesting indeed....

 

Precisely

The post implied nothing other than, "no wait kids, the best is yet to come...", which is really the core of all marketing. It's always bigger and better on the horizon. That's the core of the sales technique since Tom Sawyer himself. It meant nothing more than that.

And I like the ending as written right now and I still think the Solo reveal happens after the Mod/Rocker debacle with the livestock gag and the Falcon is en-route to Maz. That's my hunch and I think it will come to a shock to Finn, in fact the shot we saw of Han and Rey at the cockpit with Finn behind them is the reveal scene.

 

Ok, so let me get this straight... JJ Abrams is an admitted, HUGE Star Wars fan since he was a little kid... He becomes an A List writer/director and gets the opportunity to write and direct a sequel to the Star Wars films he LOVED as a kid. AWESOME, right? Dream come true... holy crap! So what does he do? Well, he makes a Star Wars movie that not only do the three legendary characters of the OT NOT share a single scene together but Luke Skywalker doesn't really show up until the LAST SHOT.... Of course he would do that. It's not like he's still scorched from the whole "Khan" debacle of his last film..

It just doesn't make sense to me that JJ uses Luke as a 'McGuffin' and doesn't give him a chance to do something "meaty". Unless, of course, JJ doesn't like the character, Luke Skywalker, and doesn't want to use him in the story, which there's zero evidence of. If JJ were directing EP: VIII and the plan was to tease Luke in VII and then come back in VIII and use him big time, then I'd maybe understand that but he's not doing VIII. This is his only Star Wars film and he's just gonna have Luke Meditating or hiding or whatever off screen for 99% of the film?

And then you Have Mark Hamill, who I think everybody will agree LOVES Stars Wars. He also LOVES & RESPECTS the fans... I just can't see him agreeing to go along with this ruse... to lose weight, grow a beard, go back and forth to England, go to all the celebrations and cons knowing all the time that he's only in the one shot.... at the end...knowing that we're all gonna be like "WTF???" when we see the flick and there's so little Skywalker... Maybe if they made the check big enough...

In my opinion, certain websites are being fed information to point people in a certain direction, so that when we all go see the flick we will be expecting to not see Luke until the end and then he'll make a kick ass entrance and blow our hair back.... Don't get me wrong, I believe 100% that TFA is Han's film in terms of screen time. But that doesn't mean that Luke couldn't show up during the climactic battle and then disappear to the "cave" and we still end up with the Rey & Luke ending we've all heard about...