SPOILER ALERT. Do not read this post unless you (want to) know about the latest Star Wars episode, The Last Jedi.
Writing about Star Wars makes me nervous. Some fans are interested in the special effects, some in the tone of specific characters, some in the advancement of the plot, some in the relationship of each episode to the originals of the late ‘70s/‘80s. The part of each episode, very present in all, that gets the blood of my soul pumping is the conflict between good and evil roiling inside characters and across the galaxy, so I can roll with specific details in a generally optimistic way. If you are the type of Star Wars fan who has a stick up your wormhole, you likely won’t take me seriously. I hope you find relief somewhere in the galaxy! May the force be with you!
• Old Luke — I thought the lines and directed attitude of this old hermit, out-of-touch with anyone or anything except his fears and regrets for years, was spot-on with the stubborn, headstrong young man of decades ago. His perspective of what happened when Kylo Ren destroyed the temple touched me. His heart was damaged by his doubt in his “sister’s child” affecting his nephew in such a way. As a sister and an aunt, that held a lot of weight for me about how and why a Jedi Master would run away and hide when the Dark Side had seized Ben Solo’s heart. And then his interaction with Leia before he faced Kylo Ren on Crait? And then how he handled Kylo’s volatile, childish, untethered wrath, brushing off his shoulder... hahahahaha! I was proud of his last effort. And I really hope the next episode has the spirits of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, and Luke guiding Rey. Please, movie people, please?
• The burning of the tree & texts — This part made me uncomfortable at first. The way everything in our culture becomes a war, instead of a creative stroke of communication toward progress, had me initially worrying that they were saying we should burn the Bible. (Unconnected, illogical cognitive distortion... yup!) But, no-no-no. When Spirit Yoda and Luke had that conversation about what’s inside of Rey moving the next generation past the masters before, I saw so much of Jesus ridiculing the Pharisee’s idolatry of tradition in that moment. And Rey kept all the texts — Did you catch that at the end, in the drawer of the hospital bed? The text IS an important foundation—the tree grows out of it, and out of ashes. I have no idea of the Star Wars writers use the Jedi mythos alongside Christian faith, but I obviously get a lot out of those associations. I know I annoy people. But I know I’m loved anyway. (Cute face with hands framing my chin.)
• The emotions between Kylo and Rey — The way Adam Driver portrays emotional turmoil has me fangirling. The bridge Snoke conjured between the two of them, and the connection they had over their relationship to their parents and the force ... and then the defeat of Snoke, and then Kylo’s deceptive motive ... I was literally jumping in my seat through the feels of triumph and despair. Sigh. Driver and Daisy Ridley did an excellent job with the heart and body of that intense action scene. Can I see it again now, please!? We all have a place we came from. And we all have a choice in where we will go. I can’t decide if I feel disappointed or satisfied that Snoke ended so anti-climactically. Will we gain more perspective about who he was to add depth to his defeat? Or is there meaning in his unexpectedly lackluster end?
•The salt planet, Crait. Did anyone else’s adoration of metaphorically- and aesthetically-pleasing art feel giddy about the war scene on this white planet of salt with red soil bleeding through with every mark made by man or machine (except Spirit Luke)? Wow! I couldn’t get enough of that creativity. And then, to top it off, those crystal foxes, vulptex—these are so much more than just bubble-gummy glitter creatures. Crystal creatures would totally evolve and thrive on a mineral planet. Back off, haters, and think creatively. Or don’t.
• Admiral Haldo and Rose — I am a big fan of all the female empowerment happening in our culture, even though some specific attention makes me uncomfortable. Because I am also a big fan of male empowerment. Build each other into kinder, more courageous versions of ourselves. All of us. But I loved Laura Dern’s strong, beautiful, aged, courageous, bold-even-in-doubt, purply character. She makes me look forward to 60! And Rose, the adorably strong mechanic with a heart of gold, made me happy too. I also get uncomfortable around animal-rights activism and anti-capitalist agendas, which I felt on Cantonica, the casino planet—but cruelty and greed ARE wrong. Making profits and thriving, or using animals in certain ways, is NOT wrong... but profiteering off war for the sake of greed, and treating animals terribly are not how God made us to use our thinkers and tools. So I talk myself trough that all-or-nothing thinking and find a lot of good progressive messages from Rose’s emotions related to Cantonica. I’m a good little conservative American girl, learning how to grow with the reality of a gray world. Just like Po, those women made me feel like a fighter for good! As do pretty much all the heroes in all the Star Wars episodes.
I could have done without the poor CGI-created creatures, porgs, on Luke’s island. They were unnecessary. I say this as a fan of Ewoks — just stop trying to match them, please. As a currently lactating mother, I actually felt uncomfortable with the sea cow Luke drank from — but Rey’s revulsion helped me deal with my own. Even though I did like getting a glimpse of Leia’s Jedi Powers, I thought her space flight was weird. Less would have been more in that situation.
And I have been thinking about it... but I think Kylo Ren was lying to Rey about her parents being nothing but drunk junk traders. He was planning to manipulate her. And his weakness is a strong bloodline, so he thought the lure of his own would appeal to her in that choice? She had memories of being left behind on Jakku. And it seems like a spaceship left her there, which sounds different than being neglected by intoxicated junk traders. I dunno. I obviously like the idea that greatness can come from nothing. But I just don’t think her ancestry is a finished mystery yet. And her facing the multiple frames of herself in the reflective surface in that dark pit... I can’t figure that out. Discussion?
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