The polarized scene with Kylo and Rey tell a self-contained story. Immediately after we see Rey’s ‘lifting rocks’, her soft smile, the look of peace (if not a small amount of sadness) she wears while channeling the force. Whereas Kylo, in the scene to follow, is turmoil; chaos. They’d both walked away from life-altering decisions and each of them has faced their feelings differently. The split in Kylo becomes more and more apparent, as does the solidification of Rey’s sense of self, and power. He’s coming undone as she’s made whole. The tangential connection between her exhibiting peace as Kylo’s drowning in the full magnitude of his rage is beautiful and tragic.
p.s Note the faint visibility of both their scars. Kylo’s dividing his face (one eye glaring red from the reflection of his saber, and the other dim, and dark, and sad). Rey’s is seen on her upper arm, but only from an angle, another thread of fate connecting these two in the second piece of a three-part story.
Although “The Jedi Path” is largely considered non-canon (Luke’s annotations in it mention Mara Jade and Ben Skywalker), it’s fascinating that Rian admitted on Twitter to using a few elements from that book when he wove notable scenes in “The Last Jedi.” Below are more connections between “The Jedi Path” book and “The Last Jedi” Visual Dictionary:
The Force has a plan for Kylo Ren and Rey. We already know that their connection is not a mere coincidence. They share a common destiny.
“The Unifying Force is the stars and galaxies, the rippling surface of space and time. It is the voice that whispers of your destiny, and make no mistake – the Force does have a will. To commune with the Unifying Force is to temporarily leave your body behind, allowing you to walk in the past or see the future.”
– The Jedi Path
“As Rey’s abilities increase, so does a strange and seemingly unprecedented connection in the Force that spans across the galaxy to unite Kylo Ren and Rey.”
– TLJ Visual Dictionary
“… to walk in the past or see the future.” Kylo saw Rey’s past, that her parents were filthy junk traders. Rey and Kylo saw a future together, a future where they are next to each other. That gave Rey the confidence to fly to the Supremacy all by herself and recruit Ben. Kylo held on to that vision and rose up against Snoke.
The Force Bond was sparked during the interrogation scene in TFA, but Kylo’s meditation on the Supremacy may have cleared the path for the Forcetime to activate.
“Rescued from the Starkiller disaster, Kylo returns to his quarters aboard the Supremacy… Here, Kylo’s isolation allows him to meditate on the Force.”
– TLJ Visual Dictionary
“Meditation is the key to aligning your mind and body with the spirit and will of the Force… The Force will rejuvenate your body and sharpen your mind, even in brief moments.”
– The Jedi Path
This is the part that’s driving me nuts. In the first Forcetime session, Kylo DID NOT attack Rey despite everything that transpired on Starkiller Base. Theory: Kylo knows the flavor of Rey’s life signature. It is warm, despite her initial hostile reaction.
“You may even discover that life signatures have unique flavors, with colleagues and friendly locals giving off a warm, reassuring glow that is instantly distinguishable from the anger of an enemy.”
– The Jedi Path
“The fate of the mysterious scavenger from Jakku is inextricably connected to his, and Kylo cannot deny the bond they share in the Force.”
shout out to rian johnson for mixing the “hot supreme enemy you sometimes make out with in secret” trope together with the “baby teens’ first romance, overwhelming teen angst, me and you vs the flawed adult world” trope
In TLJ, the first scene between Kylo and Snoke emphasizes that Snoke only values Kylo for his heritage, not for who he is
The final scene between Kylo and Rey emphasizes that Kylo values Rey for who she is, not her heritage
Kylo may have said it in the most assbackwards Mr-Darcy-level-idiotic way possible, but don’t you dare tell me that was him trying to manipulate or abuse her. That boy has been told for years that he wouldn’t matter if not for his grandfather, and now, in front of his abuser’s dead body, he’s affirming that someone else matters to him in a way he never mattered to his abuser.
it cracks me up how fandom still sometimes mistakes han solo for like…. a cool bad boy, but literally everyone in the actual star wars universe knows the truth. even fucking snoke…. snoke…..who didn’t have the perception to realize when he was Totally about to Get Murdered….. even he can look at han solo’s only son and be like “you’re fucked, kid. your dad was the nicest man in space. a slightly prickly teddy bear with a marshmallow center. a pushover. his vest pockets? full of ice cream money. if you’ve got a mean bone in your body, you got it from your terrifying mother”
like i’m rewatching tlj and snoke’s line about kylo ren having “too much of his father’s heart” …. how the fuck does snoke know about han solo’s big beautiful heart, i am really asking??? did he once give snoke’s ship a fucking jump when it was stalled out? did han solo appear in the star wars equivalent of those sarah mclachlan commercials, holding a fucking adoptable porg in each hand? did kylo ren tell snoke stories about his dad picking him up from school and taking him out for burgers like what the fuck, how the fuck does the entire universe, including a fucking sith lord, know what a sweet crusty old fucking dope han solo was??? were there fucking pamphlets???!!?!
I don’t have the patience or fortitude for a long meta, but I watched TLJ again today (the first time since the last time I saw it in the cinema), and something occurred to me that seems really obvious but that I hadn’t noticed before and that I haven’t seen others mention (apologies if I have missed meta that talk about this). It’s the scene on Ahch-To when Rey is practicing with the lightsaber. Luke is watching her practice, and he gets this look on his face.
I’d noticed it before and hadn’t thought much of it, but this time it struck me that he probably recognizes her fighting style, because it’s Ben’s. We’re all familiar with this idea – that during their showdown on Starkiller Base Rey dipped into Kylo’s mind and borrowed his fighting knowledge – and I think this reaction from Luke is further proof of this.
I went looking for parallel examples of Ben’s lightsaber technique to back this up, and I found it in an interesting place: his showdown with Luke on Crait. (My gifs are a little slow, but I think that’s okay since it makes their movements a bit easier to see.)
First, Rey opens her practice by holding her lightsaber straight ahead.
So does Ben.
Then she moves into some backhand swings.
So does Ben. (Note that Luke anticipates his move – Luke trained him, so presumably he knows what he’s going to do.)
Rey follows up the backhand swings with a bunch of two-handed swingy chops. She’s pretty intense. (It’s after this that Luke makes the face in the gif up top.) (And check out her face, she’s all GRRRR, I love it.)
Ben: SWING CHOP CHOP (two hands!)
Finally, Rey gets a little too into it and slices through the stone outcropping.
And what is it that Ben does? Uh huh.
So I started this wanting to prove that Luke recognizes Ben’s fighting style in Rey, and I think that is definitely the case, but at the same time I think I’ve also shown that Rey’s lightsaber practice is a foreshadowing of the showdown between Luke and Ben on Crait. If that isn’t very cool, I don’t know what is.
I really, really, really love this movie.
(If there are other analyses along these lines please tag me on them, because I haven’t seen them but I don’t read a lot of meta. Oversights are my own and are accidental.)
“Rey was a second chance for Han to be the father he wanted to be, and
he taught her the most important lesson that any of us can learn: you
matter.” 😢
“kylo ren is an antagonist because he puts obstacles in the way of the protagonists"
here follows a comprehensive list of the main obstacles encountered by the protagonists in tfa:
– starkiller base (very much shown to be hux’s baby: “on this MACHINE WHICH YOU HAVE BUILT, on which WE STAND”)
– shooting down finn during his escape attempt (overseen by hux, kylo does absolutely nothing else except stare off into the distance murmuring “fn-2187” then leaving again)
– the pursuit of bb-8 (hux: “well then, if it’s on jakku we’ll soon have it…” / kylo: “i leave that to you”)
– the destruction of hosnian prime (ordered by snoke, carried out by hux, with kylo watching from the finalizer)
– the imminent destruction of d’qar, the resistance base (ordered by snoke, carried out by general hux)
this is followed by a comprehensive list of internal conflicts faced by the characters in tfa:
– rey’s abandonment issues (caused by someone of unknown origin)
– finn’s wish to flee (caused by trauma from his time in FO)
– han’s fear of going back (caused by not feeling he deserves leia anymore/leia now hates him, and his own grief over kylo’s turning)
and following that list, here follows a comprehensive list of actions taken by kylo ren in tfa:
– acts as enforcer, killing lor san tekka and the tuanul villagers and interrogating poe on behalf of tfa but leaves the actual obstacle of searching for bb-8 to hux
– is told by his master, snoke, of his father’s involvement and does nothing by insisting his father means nothing to him
– doesn’t turn up again for a good portion of time until we see him talking to his dead grandfather’s helmet worrying over the fact he can feel the light (“supreme leader senses it”)
– turns up at takodana 15 minutes late with starbucks and goes after one girl
– looks into girl’s mind
– “the map. you’ve seen it.”
– “we have what we need.”
– carries rey bridal style to his ship in the middle of an ongoing battle
– interrogates her without the violence of his interrogation with poe
– tells his captive the following:
“you’re my guest”
“don’t be afraid, i feel it too”
“it’s in there. and now you’ll give it to me”
– roundly gets his ass kicked mentally by said captive
“you… you’re afraid. that you’ll never be as strong as darth vader!”
– gets the scolding of his life by a gigantic hologram for his fuck-up
– insists he can get the map from the girl when hux reveals they know where the resistance base is hiding
– destroys the very rig his captive was sitting in when he discovers she’s gone
– has tantrums like this so often that the stormtroopers just slink away instead of coming to his aid
– strolls around starkiller then abandons his search when he senses han on board
– doesn’t see han standing right there
– weeps in front of his dad and says very clearly “i’m feeling torn apart”
– “i know what i have to do but i don’t know if i have the strength to do it”
– kills han solo
– immediately feels weakened afterwards (confirmed in novelizations)
– gets shot by chewbacca
– runs after the traitor, finn, and that scavenger girl
– says the one cool thing he’s ever said in his life: “we’re not done yet” and probably mentally high-fives himself
– defeats finn, but not before getting injured by said ex-stormtrooper who has never wielded a lightsaber before that moment
– tries to retrieve his grandfather’s lightsaber like his uncle did before him in esb
– has to fucking launch himself back like he’s a goddamn contortionist because said lightsaber goes ‘LOL NOPE’ and goes straight to rey
– looks like he’s going to have a boner for a hundred more years at the mere sight of rey holding the lightsaber
– backs her up to a cliff as a planet crumbles around him, never once actually attacking her despite the fact she turns her back on him numerous times
– then, instead of killing her at her weakest point or pushing her off the cliff, he yells at her to be his student
– most intense open day ever
– LITERALLY… JUST… KEEPS STANDING THERE WHILE SHE SUMMONS THE FORCE
– THEN IS REALLY SURPRISED WHEN SHE FUCKING NUKES HIS ASS AND SLICES HIS FACE OPEN
– THEN STARES AT HER LONGINGLY OVER A CLIFF
– WHILE THE PLANET CONTINUES TO COLLAPSE AROUND HIM
like, i’m not saying kylo’s innocent. what i’m saying is that from the beginning, kylo’s on a separate path, which starts with the guise of a an antagonist (killing of randoms, turning to the dark side) but tangles with the paths of both protagonists, finn and rey, instead of outright conflicting with the narratives (which is the duty of an antagonist), and revealing himself to be carrying his own inner conflict – which is something that never happened with darth vader in the OT until the third movie. (he learns of luke in esb, but has no thought of redemption or going back to the light – in fact, he chops off his son’s damn hand, making luke’s character arc, of staying in the light and not giving up on the fallen, all the more satisfying.)
i guess the irony is that people who want to call kylo ren an antagonist when he can’t even succeed very well at actually being one, don’t realise that that’s precisely what his character arc is.
I think there’s this one interesting thing regarding TLJ’s script we don’t talk about enough – it’s about the way Rey is portrayed during the Act III of the movie after her separation from Ben.
I always found it strange that so many people left the movie thinking that the ending of TLJ brought everyone back where they were in status quo and Kylo is the Big Bad who will be killed off and Rey is the Chosen One who will do that.
At first I thought they were simply living in Denialville as always but while the denial of that crowd is strong there’s also this nice trick RIan does with Act III of this movie.
First of all, many noticed that we never saw how Rey left Ben and what was her reaction when she saw him unconscious and vulnerable. This writing choice is picked up by many and it’s a nice way to keep thing ambiguous to make us guess what was Rey thinking.
However, did you notice how Rey was portrayed when she did come back? She was the plucky action heroine, ready to kick anyone’s ass, smiling and active and optimistic like nothing happened. Combine this with Ben’s current huge tantrum and you have a narrative where it seems that the Hero resisted the temptation of the Evil and now they are back and stronger than ever and next time that Evil will be confronted, it’s as good as dead.
Her interactions with Resistance after her big heroic moment also keep this illusion although it falters for a moment when she sees Finn and during their hug it feels like we can peek behind the curtain and see that maybe Rey isn’t still over what happened with her and Ben (because other than Ben, Finn is the only person who has a very deep and strong connection with her and that’s why she can allow herself to feel vulnerable around him. Although not enough to confide in him about her inner conflict, at least for now)
My point is “her plucky heroine” behavior is her mask and in a way her own unhealthy coping mechanism like tantrums are for Ben. The moment she feels vulnerable or threatened, she tries to convince herself and others that she can shrug it off and that she isn’t affected by anything.
She becomes this always smiling and very active and confident person who looks like nothing will ever trouble her. And some people who watched TLJ were fooled by this too.
The thing is it was a pattern with Rey even back in TFA. There’s a reason why some people say that Rey always feels different in her scenes with Kylo/Ben and it’s because Ben always forces her to reveal her inner depths. Her interactions with him expose her real self.
She isn’t that optimistic and confident person she wants to be. She is deeply hurt and damaged and she can’t get over her abandonment issues and the point is that Ben recognizes that and he instantly feels empathy for her because he is the same way. He’s the only one that managed to get through her emotional walls to see that.
And while the script at first wants us to look at Rey as a Hero who overcame her struggles and saved the day, the truth is she is as lost as Ben is.
This is when the script shows what truly is happening.
The last Force Bond scene is a huge hint that Kylo still isn’t the Big Bad he wants himself to be and it also hints that Rey didn’t simply shrug off what happened to her and Ben.
The mask is dropped. Real Rey is back. She is still hurt and sad and she still feels the same longing he feels for her. Their bond continues to exist. It’s still real.
And the scene after that is also another hint at how Rey really feels right now.
Kylo isn’t the only one who feels miserable and lonely.
This image doesn’t look like a happy heroine back at last with her true friends and family. Rey is surrounded by all of these people and yet she’s framed like she’s completely alone after Finn leaves her to check for Rose. The bond she has with Ben was so powerful and intimate that after she seemingly breaks it away, she is left with a huge hole in her heart.
She feels alienated. She still needs him as much as he needs her. And it’s only when Leia reaches out to her, she breaks out of this state. As Leia said there’s still work that needs to be done and she has everything she needs to fulfill her role already.
I think many people were too distracted by Luke’s character arc resolution to really appreciate what was going on with Rey’s character in her final scenes. Which is why we have many people actually believing that Rey was left unaffected by the things that happened to her during this movie.
But she has changed. And I can’t wait to see where she will head now from this point in her journey.
For many years, there was balance and then I saw Ben. My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood. And in my hubris, I thought I could train him, I could pass on my strengths.
The Last Jedi is full of parallels and, in particular, parallel characters. You have Rey and Kylo Ren at the forefront, but you also have the pair of Luke and Snoke looming behind them. And while Luke may merely be bitter and tormented while Snoke is twisted and malevolent, both masters have walked shockingly similar paths with regards to Ben Solo. Luke openly admits to the sin of hubris – excessive pride or self-confidence – and is painfully aware of his failings. Snoke, by contrast, is all-too guilty of hubris but trips up by failing to be mindful of his pride. This lack of self-awareness is what, with delicious inevitability, results in his destruction. Luke is forced to confront his own hubris and pride when Ben Solo turns on him and destroys his temple, whereas Snoke receives no such lesson until it is too late – Kylo’s betrayal ends him definitively, and leaves no room for the reflection that Luke was permitted by his survival.
Reylo Source 