Star Wars Episode VIII theory - Rey is the Force

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ptdebate
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Star Wars Episode VIII theory - Rey is the Force

Postby ptdebate » December 6th, 2017, 10:42 am

Among the theories about Rey's parentage we have a few fairly convincing possibilities, but none of them feel quite right. The Force Awakens - say what you will about the originality of the plot - did a great job of setting up the core mysteries of the new trilogy, teasing multiple possibilities without really revealing anything at all. With the next film - like The Empire Strikes Back before it - I think we can expect some dramatic revelations. And as Mark Hamill's character says in the trailer, I don't think it's going to go the way we think.

I don't think Rey's parents are anyone famous from the films. I also don't think she's a nobody. It's too late in the game for Luke's or Obi Wan's significant other to be revealed.

I think Rey is another physical manifestation of the Force - a "chosen one" to use the lingo of the prequels - that the Force created to correct itself. There are a lot of reasons to think this, so I'm just going to start from the top with something a lot of people pointed out as a problem with the first film: Rey's alarming skill and natural capability wielding the Force.

-In the EU (now known as Legends), the first force user was a being of incredible power, said to be able to communicate with the force and shape the physical world to his or her will, creating new powers on a whim. I think to some extent Anakin and Rey are reincarnations of this original force-sensitive being, which would explain their incredible powers.

-The title of Episode VII is "The Force Awakens." Why is the Force awakening? Why, for one, was it ever in a pre-awakening state - should we say that it was dormant? Why would that be the case? Well - one thing that differs from the other movies is that Darth Vader is dead. For 11 years, there was no chosen one - no physical presence of the will of the Force.

-Lucas always said that the Star Wars trilogies "rhyme" with one another - "like a poem." Events in one part of one trilogy echo the corresponding part of the other trilogy. A great mentor figure always dies at the end of the first film. A protagonist is always introduced on a desert planet. With VII's protagonist, the cycle has come back around to where it began - with Anakin, a being of supernatural power in the form of a grease monkey enslaved by funky-looking aliens.

-Remember the flashback when Rey touches Anakin's lightsaber? Why would Rey have such a powerful connection to this object? I would argue that it is because it was held by essentially her past self, Darth Vader. At the beginning of the flashback, you hear the sound of Vader's breathing apparatus although he is nowhere to be seen.

There are other points that seem to support this - but what do you all think?

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Stalvern
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Re: Star Wars Episode VIII theory - Rey is the Force

Postby Stalvern » December 6th, 2017, 6:56 pm

I doubt it. The Force Awakens did everything it possibly could to distance itself from the prequels and pander to fans of the original trilogy (i.e. the entire movie-going public). It would be very strange if it took such a central element from one of the least popular parts of the least popular prequel.

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ptdebate
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Re: Star Wars Episode VIII theory - Rey is the Force

Postby ptdebate » December 7th, 2017, 3:27 am

I think the prequels are still very much a factor in the storytelling and inform a lot of the universe. Also, there’s the fact that with Episode IX, JJ Abrams is committed to tying the whole thing together, I.e. connecting back to the prequels to make the 9 films feel like a cohesive whole. I could be assuming too much but I think if they revisit the nature of Anakin’s existence they’ll retroactively make Episode 1 seem like it finally has a purpose in the Saga. And honestly, I really want the final word on Jar Jar Binks because I think there’s more to his character than meets the eye. This is the person who essentially paved the way to Palpatine’s domination of the Senate.
I know the Prequels are largely bad films, but I do think they add a lot of essential background to the core narrative of Star Wars.


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