Here’s the Zorii scene we were talking about https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1413620/action/topic#1413620
I like it. I think it flows a lot better, honestly.
I mean, the way I always interpreted it is that he knows Zorri would never actually shoot him. They had a thing going for a while there and he probably believes she’s just venting her frustrations at him.
Furthermore, I personally feel like it’s a good idea to try to make the audience feel a bit better after the last portion of the movie “killed off” a beloved character. Sure, maybe it isn’t right for the trio to be acting that upbeat but it might be what the audience needs to keep them invested until Chewie is revealed to still be alive.
Why do we want a film that coddles the audience? I’ve already said my piece about this, but I don’t think the film should be trying to make the audience feel better. The film should want you to feel sad that Chewie is dead, not, “Lol it’s fine! Here are some jokes!” The emotional beat doesn’t land if the film undermines it in the next scene - that’s the same exact reason why the Chewie Reveal scene was cut from Ascendant in the first place. The surface-level clash of showing that Chewie isn’t really dead has been removed; but the emotional clash of not being sad for him is still there.
The banter works in the moment (yeah, obviously Zorii isn’t going to shoot him in the head); but in the larger context of the film? It’s pretty horrendous.
The only thing there that I’m inclined to agree with is the reverence paid to Rey by Zorri saying she thinks she’s okay. However, I recall fielding that idea dozens or hundreds of pages ago and someone convinced me not to for reasons I can’t recall. I think it was so that Zorri doesn’t appear to only help them out of a gunpoint threat.
The line is god awful, but Hal makes a good point. Plus, I like the idea that Rey “cares” that someone else “thinks she’s okay,” considering how much guilt and uncertainty she’s feeling right now. (Look, guys! I’m defending the original script!!) Maybe it could be trimmed to just “You’re okay”? I don’t have strong feelings either way.
I’m still trying to find a way to re-contextualize Poe’s Spice-Runnin’ days. It’s tricky, because Zorri says exactly 266 words in the entire film. What an valuable character.