Star Wars Episode VII THE SPOILERS Strike Back

[ab aeterno]

It kind of does. He's been mischaracterized as saying he doesn't want to hurt anyone. That's not true. His deal is simply he wants to get away from the order, and he has a lot of hatred for them.

In fact, taking away Starkiller Base, I'm pretty sure he has the highest killcount in the movie by far.

[Buckwheat]

I am going to finish reading back, but want to make some general comments:

I like the new main characters, Rey and Finn. I suspect Rey is some sort of a Skywalker relative, although I would prefer she were not - I hope she turns out to be not related to that family and just a strong Force user orphan on her own.

C3PO's introduction was very funny. Although, what is with his red arm?

What bothered me most was that the story was too similar to ANH from the first scene (droid gets entrusted with crucial information, finds a special person etc.) to the Death Star III. I hope the next films will be better in this regard.

I was really confused in the beginning because the guy who gives Poe the pouch looked a lot like Obi Wan. I had to remember he was dead.

Did it bother anybody else that Millenium Falcon was still in such a good state after rotting in a desert being scavenged for spare parts for probably decades? I thought this was the weirdest thing.

[the Greenleif Stark]

If the entire premise of the series is "the story of the Skywalker family," then it's no more derivative than James Bond or just about any other franchise. Oh look, it's another Starship Captain and Another Starship Enterprise. How derivative. By that reasoning just about every franchise with central characters is derivative, and if that's the case, then it becomes a pointless description.Maybe Rey is secretly a Targaryen. [emoji38]

 

If she's a secret Targ she'd be rockin black with the red light saber

[ab aeterno]

As soon as Han mentioned her age, and once we saw her,  I was trying to tell if she was a similar race to Yoda. Obviously not, but I looked.

I quite enjoyed that comment by Han. "Maz's run this hole for a thousand years." Well, not for much longer now, lol.

[Jaxom 1974]

 

Did it bother anybody else that Millenium Falcon was still in such a good state after rotting in a desert being scavenged for spare parts for probably decades? I thought this was the weirdest thing.

Was it being scavenged?  Once I saw it there,  I assumed it's placement was part of whatever plan had left Rey on Jakku.

[Red Tiger]

Did it bother anybody else that Millenium Falcon was still in such a good state after rotting in a desert being scavenged for spare parts for probably decades? I thought this was the weirdest thing.

It was mentioned that the thing exchanged owners multiple times, by theft. It's possible that each owner treated the ship differently, one owner would strip it, the other would keep it in good condition with good maintenance.

[Jaxom 1974]

It was mentioned that the thing exchanged owners multiple times, by theft. It's possible that each owner treated the ship differently, one owner would strip it, the other would keep it in good condition with good maintenance.

Actual lines of dialog that do not match up to my conspiracy theory that the Falcon was there on purpose.  

[Fiddler]

Not quite sure how to get rid of these quote boxes.

I loved how the Falcon was introduced.  From that moment on I knew how Han felt.  I felt like I was home.

Damn, I love this universe!

[HexMachina]

 

Yeah, one of the best side characters. I did wonder if she's a jedi. The whole reading Fin thing as her eyes get closer to him, and her having the lighsabre.

She pretty much says to Rey that she doesn't know squat about being a Jedi/how the force works though...I think she is just a wise alien who has seen enough in her life to know what she is talking about.

[HexMachina]

It was mentioned that the thing exchanged owners multiple times, by theft. It's possible that each owner treated the ship differently, one owner would strip it, the other would keep it in good condition with good maintenance.

Simon Pegg (the alien that exchanges Rey's scavenged parts for food, and seemingly took her in when she was left on Jakku*) seems to have been fixing it up in his own way. He added that thing Rey took out because her and Han both agreed it was a foolish and counter productive addition. So he wasn't stripping it, he was working on it.

 

*Based on it sounding like him in her vision, and a brief glimpse of what looked like a part of him. 

[Calibandar]

I am reading various articles about the film on Screenrant, they have some nice stuff, but they keep saying that Rey cut off Ben Solo's hand. This did not seem apparent to me during my viewing, but it all went very fast, I don't think we got to see what she does with his light sabre, just that it goes out at some point.

Did you guys think she cut off his hand, was that visible, or apparent in any other way ( his reaction for instance). Clearly he got slashes in the face, but the hand cut off as well?

He'll certainly be wearing the mask now, and that is a good thing, they shouldn't have taken it off.

[Buckwheat]

Was it even mentioned how many years are supposed to have passed between ROTJ and TFA? It is odd that Rey does not believe the Force is real and the Jedis and so on, and thinks those are just myths ... but then, the universe is giant and she probably did not have a very thorough history education.

Maybe Rey is secretly a Targaryen.

TWOW spoilers do not belong in this thread, for Force's sake!

Was it being scavenged?  Once I saw it there,  I assumed it's placement was part of whatever plan had left Rey on Jakku.

I really still hope that Rey was not on Jakku by any plan, but that her family just sold her and left her there.

And as Red Tiger said, it was not there by any design connected to her. I think it is logical to assume it would have been scavenged just like Rey did with the other crashed starship, unless it has not been there long (but then I seem to remember Rey saying it was there for years) and has been guarded since it was parked.

I am reading various articles about the film on Screenrant, they have some nice stuff, but they keep saying that Rey cut off Ben Solo's hand. This did not seem apparent to me during my viewing, but it all went very fast, I don't think we got to see what she does with his light sabre, just that it goes out at some point.

Did you guys think she cut off his hand, was that visible, or apparent in any other way ( his reaction for instance). Clearly he got slashes in the face, but the hand cut off as well?

I think she just slashed at his shoulder.

[Jaxom 1974]

Rey was quite obviously hidden on Jakku deliberately.  

I suspect that it will be revealed she was hidden from Snoke and Ren after a mind wipe due to her part  (deliberate or otherwise) in Ben Solo turning to the dark side. Her leaving Jakku when she did likely upset some plan of Luke's. 

The Millenium Falcon was left there for the eventual departure.

Those are my guesses.

[Buckwheat]

Oh, I forgot to add that every time Snoke was mentioned, I nearly started snorting/laughing. By far the most ridiculous name in the film.

Maybe you are right about Rey being left there on purpose after being partly trained in the Force ... I could see that, just lets not have her a lost relative.

I do not buy that Falcon was there for her though, I think it is completely plausible that it was left there by the last smuggling group that stole it and not everything needs to be tied into the same conflict.

Phasma was a bit of a disappointment in the end, we never even saw her without the helmet and it looked like she was going to be a more important character in the beginning.

[Fiddler]

Rey was quite obviously hidden on Jakku deliberately.  

I suspect that it will be revealed she was hidden from Snoke and Ren after a mind wipe due to her part  (deliberate or otherwise) in Ben Solo turning to the dark side. Her leaving Jakku when she did likely upset some plan of Luke's. 

The Millenium Falcon was left there for the eventual departure.

Those are my guesses.

Maybe Luke had a Force vision.

He realized that Snoke was a major threat that he needed to draw out.  Once Ben turns to the dark side, Luke stashes Rey on Jakku, blocks her training and steals the Falcon to stash it for her.  Eventually her block would loosen and she would then search out Luke (eventually finding the old man on Jakku who had part of the map).  This will then draw out Snoke to handle this new "upstart" and Luke will strike, be struck down and leave a legacy of revenge for Rey.

Sounds good.

[DaveSumm]

Was it even mentioned how many years are supposed to have passed between ROTJ and TFA? It is odd that Rey does not believe the Force is real and the Jedis and so on, and thinks those are just myths ... but then, the universe is giant and she probably did not have a very thorough history education.

 

It always bugged me in ANH that that guy tells Vader  that no one believes in that superstitious nonsense anymore, when the Jedi were rife probably in that guys lifetime. Doesn't seem plausible that they could've been so effectively wiped from history (or that word of Vader regularly chocking people hadn't been swiftly passed around). But, if we take that as a given, then since this time there's only been Vader and The Emperor (who apparently didn't go round shouting about it), Obi Wan and Luke who were part of the resistance, and so wouldn't have been big news, and then Luke's attempt at training more which has apparently ended in failure. So the notoriety of the Jedi certainly wouldn't have picked up much since the events of the OT.

 

I assumed they set it to match the actors ages; 32 years but I don't know for sure.

[Fiddler]

It makes no sense that Ren had any real connection with Rey, otherwise surely it would have had to have been acknowledged when she was captured.

And if some of the speculation is true, then Luke Skywalker is a bit of a cunt for leaving his daughter alone to scavenge for food for a bunch of years.

I don't know though, it did look like she was left with someone in that vision.  Maybe Luke trusted them to look after his daughter.

[Buckwheat]

 

It always bugged me in ANH that that guy tells Vader  that no one believes in that superstitious nonsense anymore, when the Jedi were rife probably in that guys lifetime. Doesn't seem plausible that they could've been so effectively wiped from history (or that word of Vader regularly chocking people hadn't been swiftly passed around). But, if we take that as a given, then since this time there's only been Vader and The Emperor (who apparently didn't go round shouting about it), Obi Wan and Luke who were part of the resistance, and so wouldn't have been big news, and then Luke's attempt at training more which has apparently ended in failure. So the notoriety of the Jedi certainly wouldn't have picked up much since the events of the OT.

 

I assumed they set it to match the actors ages; 32 years but I don't know for sure.

I do not know, lets say there was a civil war ~30 years ago, I would think most people would either rememeber it or hear about it from their elders and they would know how it ended and the main players in it. That would include Luke and Vader.

I don't know though, it did look like she was left with someone in that vision.  Maybe Luke trusted them to look after his daughter.

She did not look like she had somebody who was looking after her.

[Kalbear]

The jedi were already mythic in the prequels. They were known by the upper governments but largely unknown or vaguely talked about by most others.

20 years later and the jedi are gone. How powerful could they be if they were wiped out?

[ab aeterno]

 

It always bugged me in ANH that that guy tells Vader  that no one believes in that superstitious nonsense anymore, when the Jedi were rife probably in that guys lifetime. Doesn't seem plausible that they could've been so effectively wiped from history (or that word of Vader regularly chocking people hadn't been swiftly passed around). But, if we take that as a given, then since this time there's only been Vader and The Emperor (who apparently didn't go round shouting about it), Obi Wan and Luke who were part of the resistance, and so wouldn't have been big news, and then Luke's attempt at training more which has apparently ended in failure. So the notoriety of the Jedi certainly wouldn't have picked up much since the events of the OT.

 

I assumed they set it to match the actors ages; 32 years but I don't know for sure.

We discussed this a few times in the older Star Wars threads, but the thing is, we're talking about a galaxy with millions of planets and trillions of people, and (at their absolute peak) ca. 10,000 Jedi.

Now, at that peak, the Jedi were heavily concentrated within the Republic, especially Coruscant, and the Republic itself is massive enough - 99.9% of people in the Republic would probably not ever have seen a Jedi during their lifetimes, and of the ones who had, most probably just saw some random priests - the Jedi try to remain low-key and not use their powers/lightsabers when it can be avoided.

Then look at the Outer Rim - places like Tatooine and Jakku, and those people are even less likely to have ever seen a Jedi, maybe for generations. So it's actually quite plausible that for many people their powers (if not their actual existence) is legendary or mythic.

Even if you look at the Clone Wars - all the soldiers were basically either Jedi, droids or Clones, so again, very few people would have actually seen the Jedi in action.