I responded to something similar here, pasting relevant part:
He meant affection as in friendship, because otherwise no one would have believed that Finn would lead a resistance attack for Rey, or even come back for her. Or fight for each other in the end. So he needed to show that friendship build so that we believed it and it wasn’t just because we were being told.
Antis are just gonna glob on to anything, don’t let it stress you – or try to have it not stress you. You cannot win with them, ever. If they don’t see it now, they never will.
Fan reviews are already really positive! Don’t believe rotten tomatoes. If anything the ‘dislike’ of the film that I’m seeing is in regards to Luke and Snoke’s storylines, not even with Reylo. =)
Two things – one, people who see stuff like this and call it abuse (I’ve even had a few asks saying that Poe was abused by Holdo/Leia…) are very much people who are both absolutists and those who we’d probably call antis – they hate the possibility of a blurry line and romance and want to do anything they can to demolish it. And a really good way to do that nowadays is to weaponize abuse.
Weaponizing things like that mean using the accusations of abuse as a way to take down something with (or without) proof or due course.
So they see Kylo as this complex character, or Reylo as a complex romance, and go ‘I don’t like that’ and so they use the easiest thing to jump to – which for Reylo is abuse.
That’s because Kylo IS harsh with Rey in his words in the throne scene. He’s not harsh with her like that elsewhere, but if you already had a really negative view and no open mind you’d probably miss all the reasoning and nuance of that scene, him, and the words, and think it was the worst thing youve ever heard a man say in cinema, yadda yadda.
So we understand the reaction of his character, why he talks that way, and we understand the WHOLE PICTURE THAT THEY’RE BUILDING WITH THEM AND KYLO AS A CHARACTER, people who hate them/him won’t. They’ll refuse to see the nuances – or they’ll see it, and say it stilldoesn’t excuse XYZ. Which, okay fine, but fiction would be a very boring place if everyone who ever said anything mean or wrong was ostracized.
Well he said she’d stand by his side, so she wouldn’t have been a servant – they’re very much equals, but the division is that both see their side as right and can’t see the grey middle ground – figuratively and literally.
Rey wants him to join her, turn to Light and the resistance. Kylo thinks shes destined to be dark and by his side to forge a new order.
So yes they need to develop more – but what they need to develop is not equality, but balance in how they see the world and their options.
I think people forget that Luke Skywalker was human. That’s the point of his story in the movie – deconstructing the myth and legend of Luke Skywalker (I’m kind of working on a meta about this woo). People (fans) thought he could do anything, he was LUKE MOTHERFUCKING SKYWALKER, and ‘in his hubris’ he took on more than he could chew and missed something big building with Ben.
And to the lightsaber thing – he never brought it down on Ben. In the 3rd version (the ‘truth that’s in the middle’) he said that he ignited it for a fleeting moment and then ‘was left with shame…and consequences’ because ofc Ben woke up when it ignited.
And BEN of COURSE thought oh shift – grabbed and ignited his lightsaber and brought it up to Luke – who ofc met it with his in defense. They were BOTH defending themselves, Luke fucked up and Ben had no way of knowing that Luke decided not to go through with it. It’s so heartbreaking.
Mark Hamill has said repeatedly that he didn’t like it initially, so much so that he talked with Rian at LENGTH about it – Daisy too actually, who was also concerned that audiences wouldn’t love Rey as much because of what she’s doing with Kylo. But Mark has ALSO said that he came to see what Rian did as appropriate.
So yeah, it’s all about how people can change – but more importantly, it was about how Luke Skywalker is a man, not a myth. And men make mistakes.
I think he’ll do justice, yes. And let me tell you why – JJ has definitely built his brand into someone who can handle large franchise and movies – specifically action, but never forget that he is the person who brought us Alias (Vaughn/Sydney) and Fringe (Peter/Olivia) romances in the midst of all of that.
And I’m not saying it’s the same dynamic, but the angst – the drama – it was all there and well handled. Those shows were VERY complex.
And I had the pleasure of attending the Alias writers’ show reunion last summer at the ATX television festival and they had amazing things to say about JJ, but primary one they said was just how GOOD he was at tying multiple plots and character development together. They told a great story about this huge two part episodic arc in I think S1 or S2? And how the writers spent like DAYS trying to figure it out, and JJ came in and just fixed it in like an hour because he’s just SO good at that kind of thing.
That’s why I don;t have any concerns about how he’ll handle the nuances and complexities of finishing a Star Wars trilogy. And also don’t forget he was an executive producer on TLJ and wished he had directed it, because he loved the story/script.
So no, he’s not going to unravel everything. You just don’t do that. The 3rd act/movie is for resolution not to further mess everything up. That’s why everyone wasSO concerned about Trevorrow (I mean, lots of reasons but yeah)- because you have to have a strong command of the threads that have been woven before the 3rd movie.
Awww, puppy =( It was such an emotional scene that even the ANIMALS ARE CRYING. DAMN YOU JJ AND ADAM.
I really don’t think you should be concerned about the future of Reylo. Of course the others have an ‘easier’ way forward with romance in these movies – they’re not the main hero and anti-hero. The romantic story being told is primarily Reylo, and when you have a complex villain/byronic hero like Kylo Ren on the other side of that pairing, you REALLY have to build it right.
Because if you don’t build it right, it feels empty and undeserved – and then you also have to balance the narrative of making sure that Rey doesn’t lose her choices and own story, that she’s independent and evolved even while being tangled up into the maelstrom that is Kylo Ren. (This goes too for Kylo Ren, who needs to make his own choice to be free and redeemed.)
And I get the instinct to look at stuff as competition in romance, but that’s a hard one to feel and not be somewhat disappointed by movies OR tv shows. I’m totally guilty of stuff like this myself sometimes on shows and shipping – I only ever want my otp to be together, I don’t like watching them build other possibilities. But I have to distance myself and remember that the story they’re telling is bigger than that =) Plus you dont want it to diminish your love of the other characters/arcs which are interesting as well, if not as much as Reylo (imo).
This is the 2nd movie, 2nd act, this is when everyone is challenged – Kylo included. He took a MAJOR first step, built a bond – emotional and force – with Rey, killed his abuser, and Luke is gone – now all he has is himself and I think that last shot is very telling about how they’re going to go in Ep 9 with him.
Have faith =)
While Daisy IS that kind of thoughtful who would be concerned, I don’t think Adam would have taken it that way – I think she was a bit puzzled/freaked because it was like she was having flash backs to having basically that song playing out via force bond and was like OH GOD
She’s human so it probably surprised her when she really thought about it and couldn’t hide her reaction – which we now can see is probably a bit of a hint lol
HELLOOO THERE! Wowza, welcome to tumblr and my ask box! Hope you enjoy your stay, lol
Reylo is ftw so of course you’re in love with them, you’re a smart cookie 😉
Finn & Rey wouldn’t be forced, first off – but secondly, I feel that the story they’re weaving with them is a strong familial bond. Brother/Sister. obviously people disagree with me on that, that’s the life of fandom and shipping and that’s okay! But I wouldn’t say FinnRey is ever something that would be ‘forced’ – indeed it’d be rather natural, but I feel it wouldn’;t be compelling and the stories certainly aren’t building that way (romantically).
The script for TLJ was written way before Reylo was ever a thing (before TFA was released even). None of our cries or fandom love will sway them one way or the other.
Things we forget in fandom is that ultimately we are a VERY small piece of a VERY large fanbase of general audience people. I think at most we could be seen as a barometer for how people responded to the film at large, but ultimately our love and passion won’t really sway the writing one way or the other – because it’s already written.
With the exception perhaps being Ep 9, but that was rewritten by JJ just now – and delivered for review yesterday. But even still, it’s OBVIOUS from TLJ that they don’t give much of a flying fuck about people who wanted Luke Skywalker, bad ass Jedi, or Reysky, or anything of the sort. They’re telling their own story and I think fandom (any of them) won’t sway much.
Just love it, be positive online with the creators when you interact with them, and all will be well.
And remember that with TFA, we were responding to the story elements JJ created – Rian hit us over the head with them some more – so it’s not in our heads. I think the story THEY want to tell is the same one that will bring us comfort =)
Reylo Source 