Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we get what appears to be a direct answer to the question of Rey’s parents’ identity: it doesn’t matter who they were because they were deadbeats. A lot of people who’ve seen the movie have taken that at face value, and found it in keeping with The Last Jedi’s themes of leaving the past behind and embracing the future. Here’s why I don’t buy it, and the direction I hope her story takes instead.
First of all, consider the source: Kylo Ren. Though Sith (or whatever they are) have certainly been known to tell the truth, such as when Darth Vader revealed himself as Luke’s father after Obi-wan’s lie – they most certainly can’t be trusted, either. Remember, this is the same Kylo Ren who was himself just manipulated by his master’s berating – Supreme Leader Snoke even brazenly boasts about his manipulative skills immediately before laying into Kylo, calling him a child in a mask. The final lesson Snoke taught his pupil was how to use emotional abuse to grind down a victim’s sense of self-worth in order to make them see their abuser as the only one who values them.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we get what appears to be a direct answer to the question of Rey’s parents’ identity: it doesn’t matter who they were because they were deadbeats. A lot of people who’ve seen the movie have taken that at face value, and found it in keeping with The Last Jedi’s themes of leaving the past behind and embracing the future. Here’s why I don’t buy it, and the direction I hope her story takes instead.
First of all, consider the source: Kylo Ren. Though Sith (or whatever they are) have certainly been known to tell the truth, such as when Darth Vader revealed himself as Luke’s father after Obi-wan’s lie – they most certainly can’t be trusted, either. Remember, this is the same Kylo Ren who was himself just manipulated by his master’s berating – Supreme Leader Snoke even brazenly boasts about his manipulative skills immediately before laying into Kylo, calling him a child in a mask. The final lesson Snoke taught his pupil was how to use emotional abuse to grind down a victim’s sense of self-worth in order to make them see their abuser as the only one who values them.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...