The Last Jedi babble

[lumy12]

Next time, I'm taking the goddamn day off work and going on Friday morning instead of Saturday! I really didn't have much spoiled, but to me, people's general reactions are spoilers, and it's annoying that they stick in my head while I'm watching. Ruins the purity of a first viewing. Perhaps I'm oversensitive. I'm definitely going to go see it several more times in the theatre.

I've been avoiding as much TLJ stuff as I can, and this time I'm going to babble before going back and reading any of it. I've only seen the movie once and I know I didn't catch everything, but this isn't a real review anyway.

I love space battles, but for some reason they confuse me. I wonder if this is connected in any way to the fact that I also suck at space battles in video games? Ha. I get the ships all mixed up. I know the Falcon, I know TIES and X-wings, and a star destroyer -- the rest get all jumbled up in my head. I've been watching Star Wars Rebels for years and I still can't recognize the Ghost. What's wrong with me?

The porgs are so damn cute. For some reason I thought they'd be more relevant to the story... guess I didn't need to avoid reading anything about porgs, huh? The "crystal critters" I already had an idea about, from Rebels :)

I loved Las Vegas Canto Bight! I want to read up on that now. Rose's comment about the worst people in the galaxy being there... awesome. At first I thought she just meant rich snobby people, but it's HOW they got that way.

Finn/Rose... eh. I take it they're supposed to be a thing? Seems forced, in an action movie sort of way, if that makes sense? I didn't feel it, as a romance, but I liked them together as friends, and in general, I like how Star Wars focuses on friendship rather than romantic relationships. Er... maybe not in the PT, so much.

But REYLO! Omg. To all the people who disparaged the pairing because they're RELATED, I say SUCK IT! Hehe. Unless Kylo lied about her parentage, which I suppose is possible, but why would the writers go that route? Really curious to see my brother's reaction -- he likes Finn/Rey. But Rey and Kylo have off-the-charts chemistry, imho. Really curious to see if she ~turns him back to the light~ or if they go a different route there.

And damnit, now I'm tempted to go read fic again. Reading derails my own writing though so I'm going to think on that more before diving into those waters. I wonder if people who have WIPs originating from TFA will now abandon those stories due to the new canon? Or will it go the other way... they have fresh inspiration from the new canon?

Leia... I would've loved to see a nice ending for her in this movie, but I wasn't expecting one since I'd heard that she was supposed to have a major role in Episode IX. I don't understand how she survived out there in space with no suit on or anything? The Force can help you breathe, I guess? [ETA: just read a discussion where it was mentioned that Kanan does this in Rebels. I SO don't remember that. Oops.] I liked the scenes she had with Poe -- and how Poe clearly took her words to heart later in the movie. D'awww.

BB-8 kicking some ass was awesome! BB-9E didn't have as big a role as I expected either, guess I didn't need to avoid reading about him :) Maybe in general I can relax my stance on that. I mean, if I get to go to the next Celebration, I'm sure they'll premiere a trailer for Ep IX, and I'll HAVE to watch it. I'll work on my fear before then, lol.

Loved the Rogue One vibe of how even the "good guys" do bad things. How the only way to stay away from the violence is to walk away from both sides. Of course, this is also portrayed as cowardice, every time Finn tries to run -- or it LOOKS like he's trying to run (not sure that running to protect Rey should count, and I don't think that was just a cover story).

Luke -- guh, I loved how cynical he was. How he didn't just welcome Rey with open arms (and how perfect that we've been waiting 2 years to see what he says to her on that mountain, and then he just flings the saber away and skulks off -- lolz). The things he said about the Jedi order... like, has he been reading the nerd discussions and fanfic? LOL. So spot-on. I suppose it was predictable that he ends up saying Rey will be a Jedi, though. Really interesting, that memory of him and Ben... how they both remember it so differently -- memory IS really tricky that way. I loved that.

And I'm an idiot, because I was like WTF when he walked out of all that blaster fire unscathed (LOVED Hux's "do you think you got him?" LOLOL). Oh and I thought the movie was going to end there, with him walking out to face his old pupil. Glad I was wrong about that! I kinda hate Luke's end... but I also kinda like it, how Rey described it as peaceful and purposeful. And it's really sad knowing none of the old trio will be in the next movie. Unless Force ghosts count? -Yoda was funny as hell! "Page-turners, they were not." Hee!

I want to see more of a pissing match between Hux and Kylo, with Snoke gone. That would be FUN :)

...Phasma's dead now, right? I guess in SW you never know... you can get cut in half and thrown down a shaft and still survive... I wish we could've seen more of her.

Rey and Poe at the end... are they setting up a pairing (or a triangle) there? Or are we just supposed to think that? What I really want to see is Stormpilot!

Oh, as for the actual ending, with the little kid -- OMG that was AWESOME. Made me cry, though I feel like that's an overreaction. It was like the perfect punctuation to the hope theme. And reinforces the "nobodies can be somebodies too" thing -- which is the real reason I wanted Rey's parents to be nobodies (I could've still shipped Reylo if they were cousins, cuz SW fandom has twincest, after all!), so yay.


I guess that's enough babbling... now, to fic or not to fic?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nisa_/]

To fic, of course!:)

I loved the movie, too.

[luminations.livejournal.com]

This fandom is really intimidating, though! I miss the glory days of LJ, where I could hide in my Palpakin corner with the other Palpakin freaks and we had this cozy little bubble goin' on :)

I'm glad you loved it too -- I'm kinda surprised how many negative reviews I saw.

[dancingdragon3.livejournal.com]

Hey, if you don't want spoilers and don't watch trailers, that's your business! We all have our little things. Like me - I won't watch the last episode of something if it's been cancelled a lot of times. I still haven't watched the end of Once Upon a Time, Dollhouse, or Parks and Recc because I like how they are in my mind and don't want that to change.

I find space battles confusing too. But I think in movies...maybe they are more busy on purpose, to look more impressive? I should probably watch more war documentaries, lol. But now I'm curious as to whether you have face blindness? I think I'm better at recognizing voices than faces.

Ok, I do not remember crystal dog foxes or Kanan breathing in space from Rebels. But then, I binge watched this half season and only remember the Mandalorian plotline! But as to fic writing, I still never got back to my Zeb/Kallus fic after canon derailed it :-/ But I think TLJ didn't interfere with Poe/Finn, not really. They spent some quality joking time together and I def don't think Finn is attracted to Rose. She's kind of....fan girling on him, lol. That whole plotline lost me a bit. I liked that the writers are trying to put some social justice in there, but it seemed a bit forced, and maybe belongs more in Rebels or another TV show, where topics can be explored more deeply (like droid slavery!)

Good point about the Rogue Onishness. I was hoping Finn would take Benecio del Toro's advice to run, as it would make an interesting plotline for him, and connect with his plotline in TFA. And give him something real to do. I swear, if it was Poe who was supposed to die in TFA, then why does it seem like they have no idea what to do with Finn, while Poe is getting the good action?

I also loved the little force sensitive kid at the end. I'm guessing the new trilogy will center around him and those other kids? I don't care as long the director keeps giving us deep Force stuff. Which is why I was very okay with Luke at the end. It was just so damn moving and he did say he went there to die...(sobs quietly). I've been rewatched the original trilogy and just so many feelings.

Ok, so, so much yes to the Kylo and Rey chemistry. Wooboy, those scenes were straight outta fan fic, so hilarious to me. You know I was wanting Rey to be gay or asexual, but I am on the Reylo train now, oh yes. I can't wait to see them fight in the next movie!

But strangely enough, I also got some interest in Kylo and Hux from this. I guess Hux being so picked on is making me sympathetic to him. But yeah, that 'did you get him' line was awesome. I would watch a whole movie of just them trying to run the Galaxy while fighting against each other. The First Order is Dooooomed!

Im betting Luke will return as a Force Ghost for Rey at least. that will follow the whole history repeats itself theme they have going on. Haha, good point on him still not saying anything at the beginning! Like that really put us in Rey's place, with her anticipation and then confused disappointment. (TBH, I was ecstatic when he threw the lightsaber away because it was such a classic martial arts story thing to do.)

I'm really hoping we get Phasma back. She still hasn't been utilized enough for me. Gwen Christie is the best, and says she likes Phasma because we don't get to see her face/looks and she wears smart armor, which made me appreciate Phasma in a whole new way.

About Leia, I read a comment that said they should do a time skip, which I think would be great. That way, whatever they had planned for Leia to do could still have happened, like if shes going to Rey some of her more esoteric Force knowledge or leadership or something, then have those lessons refered to by Rey or Poe, or passed on to others even. But with JJ Abrams coming back, I doubt we'll get something that mature :-/

I love the black BB9 and I need one now!

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Yay for the long reply!!!

Oh wow I don't remember you mentioning that before, how you don't watch the finales of things... that's quite unique! Most people are just DYING to know how everything turns out, right? Don't other fans tell you what happened anyway, perhaps indirectly?

Face blindness... not exactly, but I'm definitely not a "I never forget a face!" person. And my brother thinks I have strange ideas about who resembles whom sometimes. I used to say I was more that way with not forgetting names, but that's not really the case now as I'm getting older! Bah.

Kanan did that Force floating thing in Season 2, I think they said, so it's not something we've seen recently... still, it seems like something we might remember, doesn't it?

Yeah, I still see Finn/Poe as very much intact, and I'm sure the shippers are happy. Rose did seem to have that fangirl thing going on... and he didn't exactly return that kiss, but I thought it was because she surprised the hell out of him, not because he's not into her, which is what peeps are saying? Finn really seemed to have a thing for Rey in TFA and I remember being surprised to learn that they were only ever meant to be seen as friends there.

A time skip to keep Leia's parts the same? That's a cool idea. Has anyone even mentioned doing a CGI Leia? That was probably discussed along with Tarkin from R1 and I've just forgotten. If they did a good job (like I feel they did with Tarkin), I'd be cool with it, but I understand people's reservations about it. I think I remember them saying they were going to have to rewrite her parts from 9 because she was supposed to have a fairly major role :(

I'm hoping for Force ghost Luke in the next one too! I've read that a lot of people are upset about Luke being killed off. That surprises me, because wasn't it totally expected?? Mentor passing baton to pupil! Classic! The way it was handled was just brilliant.

You're right about the new trilogy being about that kid at the end -- if the rumors are true! Maybe it's too early for them to reveal that if it's the case but I've seen that mentioned.

Hope you enjoyed your second viewing, as you mentioned in the other post, as much as the first!

[wicked-jester.livejournal.com]

Hi Lumy!

Honestly, I had been consuming every TLJ rumor/spoiler for the past two years and still managed to get caught off-guard by Supreme Leader Ren. I can say that the marketing for the movie was very consistent and deliberate in making Kylo seem sympathetic and remorseful, like he was on the verge of turning back to the light. Admittedly I took it all at face value and was therefore stunned when we ended up with 'Renperor', lol.

I don't think Kylo is lying about Rey's parentage. If he is, then that means Snoke is also lying ("Skywalker, I assumed, wrongly"), and Rey is lying since she even says it herself first that they were 'nobodies'. It would essentially make everyone a liar, and Luke clueless about his lost daughter up until his death. And I just don't see the point of doing that when IMO the stronger message is that anybody can be special regardless of where they came from.

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Heyyyy good to hear from you :D I was hoping that now that TLJ is out, you'd feel inspired to continue your fic... and you can tell us how they ripped off your idea, lol

Star Wars is pretty good about keeping us in the dark on the big stuff, or perhaps in guessing wrong (like with misleading marketing), so maybe I shouldn't freak out so much about spoilers, and "ruining the purity of my experience" -- honestly it was more ruined by what little I heard prior to my first viewing, so I really need to see the last one earlier. "Tainted" I suppose is a better word than ruined. Then again, I would still rather have NO expectations from the trailers whatsoever. But like... I was all annoyed that porgs were everywhere, and I tried to avoid it all, didn't want to learn anything about them that the movie didn't tell me... and it soooooo didn't matter one bit, they had nothing to do with anything! LOL.

I wouldn't think of that as Rey lying, just being clueless. But good point about Snoke. Bastard should've known if she was really a Skywalker. Are you still into the reylo scene on tumblr or wherever? I should think now that the pairing's exploding in popularity, cuz if people's only issue was them being related, or that Kylo was just SO BAD... well, you could still say he IS, but Adam did a wonderful job humanizing him, and there was so much reylo goodness in TLJ. I do intend to check out some fic... eventually. I also kind of like the idea of Rey NOT having any romantic relations at all in the last movie (which I've seen Daisy supports). Friendships can be just as powerful, as the OT showed us. I mean, yeah, Han & Leia, but that wasn't the focus -- it was way more about friendship.