RogueLeader said:
Legit question, what do you need to know to be able to do a mindtrick?
I think that’s the wrong question. How has the mind trick been used so far in the series, storytelling-wise?
In the Original Trilogy it’s performed by Ben on Star Wars and then by Luke on RotJ, really showcasing to the audience how much he’s grown since the first 2 films and how he’s had his coming of age and is now a master. I don’t mean that as a literal Jedi Master, but as someone with an infinitely better grip of the force than on the previous 2.
On the Prequel Trioogy it’s frequently used by Qui-Gon, the Jedi Master in TPM, and Obi-Wan, but only when a fully realized master in AotC.
So I thought everyone assumed, like me, that it was a power that required a master’s knowledge of the force. For Rey to have learned that the force is real mere hours before successfully doing the mind trick for the first time kind of undermined all that I said above.
But it could’ve been any force power really. Luke didn’t do anything with the force (except for trusting his instincts) in the first film, and Anakin didn’t do anything besides having shown to have very quick reflexes in TPM, and he was very Gary Stu-ish already in that film, so Rey… ugh.
If she had been handled like Korra, as someone with different problems than the previous protagonist with a plot and story being completely different it probably could’ve worked better. But I also think the rehashed setting and plot of the first film doesn’t help Rey stand on her own without being drawn comparisons between her and Luke, especially “power”-wise.
But I disagree that “lack of motivation” is a problem with her character. Quite the contrary, while I couldn’t see why a lot of things that happened to her, well, happened, I could see that her reaction to said things and the shifting in her line of thoughts was very cohesive throughout the 2 ST films.
Anyway, a bit of a ramble towards the end, so, sorry about that. Thank you for your time.