No, that’s okay! I get what you’re saying. I definitely agree that Rey isn’t perfectly written, I think Lessons From the Screenplay explains it well in his video about TFA, I’m just prone to defending her because I think she (and the ST in general) is getting way too much flak than it deserves. But I know it comes from a place of passion, and fans just want these movies to be as good as possible.
A part of me always wonders what if Iger hadn’t felt rushed to get Episode VII out by 2015, maybe given Michael Ardnt the time he needed to finish his script, and maybe have 3 years of production between each film rather than just 2.
But, asking “what if’s” is pretty futile, because even George with complete creative control over the prequels still couldn’t make perfect movies, and I’m fairly happy with what we’ve gotten so far. And the movies that most fans consider to be near perfect (the OT, especially ANH and ESB, were probably the most constrained out of any of the films).
That is another interesting point. I have some theories about IX, but I still don’t know what to completely expect. For a lot of people, it seems this not-knowing was translated into apathy for Episode IX, but to me it was the complete opposite. People couldn’t see where the story could go, but to me that meant that JJ could go anywhere with the final film. He could set it a day after 8, a year after 8, five/ten years after 8. While he obviously has to conclude character arcs, he really has a sandbox to play in when it comes to how he wants to depict it. That is really exciting to me.
I don’t think there is only way to handle our main characters in IX, I do have some thoughts on how they can be handled. I think it would be interesting if Rey, who has been shown to be aggressive and not above killing, has to resolve issues through nonviolence like true Jedi should. I think for her, that would be a bigger challenge than just brute forcing her way through obstacles, especially when you’re in the middle of a war.
It would also be an interesting inverse to Luke, who killed people left and right in Return of the Jedi. And maybe I’m reading too much into it, but my mind goes to the scene where Rey is eagerly practicing with the lightsaber, and her lack of control causes her to cut through that rock and almost kill those caretakers. Yeah, it is a funny moment, but Luke clearly wasn’t amused by it. To me, that little moment was saying something about violence begetting violence, which carries over to Luke momentarily considering a violent solution to the dark future of Ben Solo, and it only causing the violence Luke’s foresaw to actually happen.
Anyway, not saying that has to happen, but it would be an interesting direction to take Rey, who was been portrayed as someone who is quick to anger. But I’m excited about not knowing what is going to happen.
Nev, that is an interesting thought! Are you kind of suggesting that the “will” that the Force might have might be related to past Jedi who have become one with the Force? That’s a really interesting idea.
It is almost paradoxical. If Jedi are meant to follow the will of the Force, but try to guide its will by becoming one with it, then are they not just going with the flow of the Force like they were to begin with?
I do think the Force has an ebb and flow, and when people try to bend the Force to their own selfish will, the Force reacts, but it does seem to be demonstrated that Force ghosts can enact the Force’s will in more direct ways, like communicating directly to certain people, so maybe they are do what the Force wills, just in clearer ways.