The Last Jedi Daisy Ridley as Rey (VIII)

[Greens]

I think what she said in that video was pretty stupid.

 

[JOE]

Rey bay bay. What a beauty!

 

[Adhesive Boy]

[YT]E4e9nnJYJ9E[/YT]

I generally don't like to pick on the actors/actresses that much since they don't have a huge hand in storytelling, but...wow...this just boggles my mind. I expect someone in the film industry (at least this high in it) to have some sort of grasp of basic characterization.

Daisy Ridley doesn't believe that people have flaws? Then what are things like anger and jealousy? (Which she herself acknowledges in the video.) Yes they may be fixable, but they're still flaws. Then she claims Rey doesn't have flaws like this as if it makes the character stronger. Does she not realize that people working through things like anger and jealousy is part of what makes a character interesting? Rey would be a vastly more interesting character if she had anger issues or something. Kylo's jealousy over Vader's reputation is what makes him interesting.

Characters having flaws is a positive!

I haven't laid any blame for Rey being an awfully bland and poorly written character at Daisy's feet but she did sound pretty clueless there. That or she was being rude by responding to a question with a completely pointless semantic point that's still only valid to herself.

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

[YT]E4e9nnJYJ9E[/YT]

I generally don't like to pick on the actors/actresses that much since they don't have a huge hand in storytelling, but...wow...this just boggles my mind. I expect someone in the film industry (at least this high in it) to have some sort of grasp of basic characterization.

Daisy Ridley doesn't believe that people have flaws? Then what are things like anger and jealousy? (Which she herself acknowledges in the video.) Yes they may be fixable, but they're still flaws. Then she claims Rey doesn't have flaws like this as if it makes the character stronger. Does she not realize that people working through things like anger and jealousy is part of what makes a character interesting? Rey would be a vastly more interesting character if she had anger issues or something. Kylo's jealousy over Vader's reputation is what makes him interesting.

Characters having flaws is a positive!

Mary Sue confirmed

 

[godisawesome]

Wrote a whole, huge Tumblr Essay addressing some of my issues with Rey in The Last Jedi. Since I felt that simply stating that I didn't like it by itself was too subjective, I compared it to TFA so I could try a pseudo-objective argument.

Fair warning; I do compare the interrogation scene in TFA to sexual assault, and while I won't use the exact phrase "mind-rape" again in these essays, I felt it was warranted in that film and in regards to the dissonance of TLJ's follow up to Rey and Ren's relationship.

https://franchisewars.tumblr.com/post/171920170140/why-the-force-awakens-is-better-than-the-last-jedi

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thank you Hunter. Thank you very much.

 

[vantheman77]

I'd love to see her play Wonder Woman's sidekick, Wonder Girl Donna Troy.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Collider - Simon Pegg Says J.J. Abrams’ Answer to Rey’s Parentage Was Different from ‘The Last Jedi’

“Well I know what J.J. kind of intended, or at least what was sort of being chucked around. I think that’s kind of been undone slightly by [The Last Jedi]. I don’t know. I don’t know (laughs). I think Unkar Plutt is Rey’s real father.” “There was some talk about, you know, a kind of relevant lineage for her. But I honestly don’t know, and I don’t know if anybody knows. We shall see.”

http://collider.com/star-wars-reys-parents-jj-abrams-answer/#simon-pegg

Simon Pegg confirms what I’ve long heard, JJ had a much different plan for Rey’s parentage.

https://twitter.com/joshuahorowitz/status/981542307605434368

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Collider - Simon Pegg Says J.J. Abrams’ Answer to Rey’s Parentage Was Different from ‘The Last Jedi’



http://collider.com/star-wars-reys-parents-jj-abrams-answer/#simon-pegg



https://twitter.com/joshuahorowitz/status/981542307605434368

Honestly this really isn't a shock. Just another example of Johnson trying to be different for the sake of it.

 

[LoganGambit87]

further proof star wars needs to be more like mcu you know a clear path and collective plan by all involved kathleen kennedy is no kevin feige thats for sure

 

[Spider-Fan]

Honestly this really isn't a shock. Just another example of Johnson trying to be different for the sake of it.

Not correct. Again, we can agree or disagree with Johnson's answer, but he didn't do it that way simply to be different. He did it because he felt it was a logical progression for Rey's story. Plenty of interviews showcase why he did it that way, as does the documentary on the blu ray. The merit of the art you can question to your heart's content, but saying he did it just to do it is simply 100% factually wrong.

Further, if JJ wanted it done whatever way he had planned, maybe he should have made Episode VIII himself. But, he didn't so it wasn't up to him.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Not correct. Again, we can agree or disagree with Johnson's answer, but he didn't do it that way simply to be different. He did it because he felt it was a logical progression for Rey's story. Plenty of interviews showcase why he did it that way, as does the documentary on the blu ray. The merit of the art you can question to your heart's content, but saying he did it just to do it is simply 100% factually wrong.

Further, if JJ wanted it done whatever way he had planned, maybe he should have made Episode VIII himself. But, he didn't so it wasn't up to him.

Johnson can say what he wants in interviews, but in the movie every choice he seems to make felt like he just did it to be different for the sake of it. "Oh, people have been waiting and speculating on who Rey's parents were for 2 years, let's just make them nobodies."

He may have felt it was too progress Rey's character but I would argue it didn't really do anything for the story. Showing her actually getting some more Jedi training would have been much more beneficial.

I am not even someone who hates the movie either, I have just purchased the 4KBD.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Daisy Ridley: “[Was Rey’s backstory completed before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens?] Here’s what I think I know. J. J. wrote Episode VII, as well as drafts for VIII & IX. Then Rian Johnson arrived and wrote TLJ entirely. I believe there was some sort of general consensus on the main lines of the trilogy, but apart from that, every director writes and realizes his film in his own way. Rian Johnson and J. J. Abrams met to discuss all of this, although Episode VIII is still his very own work. I believe Rian didn’t keep anything from the first draft of Episode VIII.” (March 1, 2018)

 

[Spider-Fan]

Johnson can say what he wants in interviews, but in the movie every choice he seems to make felt like he just did it to be different for the sake of it. "Oh, people have been waiting and speculating on who Rey's parents were for 2 years, let's just make them nobodies."

He may have felt it was too progress Rey's character but I would argue it didn't really do anything for the story. Showing her actually getting some more Jedi training would have been much more beneficial.

I am not even someone who hates the movie either, I have just purchased the 4KBD.

Again, argue whether you liked it conceptually all you want, but he has a CREATIVE REASON for doing what he did other than trolling people.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Daisy Ridley: “[Was Rey’s backstory completed before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens?] Here’s what I think I know. J. J. wrote Episode VII, as well as drafts for VIII & IX. Then Rian Johnson arrived and wrote TLJ entirely. I believe there was some sort of general consensus on the main lines of the trilogy, but apart from that, every director writes and realizes his film in his own way. Rian Johnson and J. J. Abrams met to discuss all of this, although Episode VIII is still his very own work. I believe Rian didn’t keep anything from the first draft of Episode VIII.” (March 1, 2018)

Once again, JJ may have had his own ideas in mind, but prior to coming back for Episode IX, all he knew he had was Episode VII. Once his work was done, there was no guarantee his ideas would carry over. It's like how Lucas was mad when they didn't use his ideas for this new trilogy: if he was so married to them, he should have just made them himself. Same applies here. Johnson was under no mandate to use his ideas unless he was forced to by Lucasfilm. They instead let him work on Episode VIII his way. At this point, the plans pre-Episode VIII don't matter, unless JJ gets the greenlight to go back and do what he wanted. Chances are I don't think they revisit the parents at this point. I think they will focus on other things.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thankfully JJ can still possible fix this. Because it still makes no damn sense considering what they sold us for 3 years. The continuous of the Skywalker saga. Especially considering the general reaction to it and the loss of Luke. Leaving no true Skywalker, but a murderous Macbeth. This explains why Rian was hedging his bets. Its not his decision.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Again, argue whether you liked it conceptually all you want, but he has a CREATIVE REASON for doing what he did other than trolling people.

The creative reason is subversion.

 

[Spider-Fan]

The creative reason is subversion.

Per prior comments by Johnson and the documentary, he wanted Rey to face her greatest fear, and her greatest fear was that she was given up by her parents for no good reason. I agree with Johnson on this basically in full. Rey wants to be special, and by denying her that (in regards to her parents...obviously, her force ability makes her special), she is challenged far more greatly than handing her a destiny on a silver platter would have been. Yes, what he did was subversive, but it also was a logical way to progress Rey as a character and help her forge her own identity.

 

[Snow Queen]

It's not like the parentage stuff amounted to anything more than a misfire in Last Jedi anyway. I could have been fine with that direction for the character, but with how poorly that whole plotline was handled in TLJ, I do have a bit of hope that JJ will go back to his idea considering that TLJ's material is easy to work around as it comes from unreliable force visions from the gaslighting mass murderer. There's interesting stuff that could be done with both though, and whether or not he goes back to what he intended with Force Awakens, I at least expect I'll enjoy it.

 

[Snow Queen]

Per prior comments by Johnson and the documentary, he wanted Rey to face her greatest fear, and her greatest fear was that she was given up by her parents for no good reason. I agree with Johnson on this basically in full. Rey wants to be special, and by denying her that (in regards to her parents...obviously, her force ability makes her special), she is challenged far more greatly than handing her a destiny on a silver platter would have been. Yes, what he did was subversive, but it also was a logical way to progress Rey as a character and help her forge her own identity.

The greatest fear is a fine thing to go with, I can see the value in exploring that angle. However, what you go on to explain, and what is in the movie, I'd argue wouldn't be this character's greatest fear. During The Force Awakens, her questions and hopes are about them coming back, about why they left. Not who they were, not if they were special. She has no desire to be someone special until Last Jedi abruptly changes the basis of her desire for her parents' return. Instead of why did they leave me, it's now who were they, and potentially this could work but we don't see any progression from question A to question B. Last Jedi begins and suddenly the question is different without any reason why this character's motivations have changed in such a condensed span of time. The hardest thing then becomes for her not that her parents left her for nothing, but admitting that they were no one. A few tweaks and the arc, minus that there is a massive failure with the final act in regards to it, could work fine, but as presented in the film, it feels like Rian Johnson being meta and speaking to the audience instead of writing for the character.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Per prior comments by Johnson and the documentary, he wanted Rey to face her greatest fear, and her greatest fear was that she was given up by her parents for no good reason. I agree with Johnson on this basically in full. Rey wants to be special, and by denying her that (in regards to her parents...obviously, her force ability makes her special), she is challenged far more greatly than handing her a destiny on a silver platter would have been. Yes, what he did was subversive, but it also was a logical way to progress Rey as a character and help her forge her own identity.

Here is the obvious flaw with this. She is special. Obviously so. TFA and TLJ both confirm this. This is Star Wars. Where all the heroes are special. Even good ole Han Solo, the best pilot in the galaxy. Beyond this though of course, the idea of her not being special is all that is necessary there. Not her actually not being related.

Also it goes along with other such things that were there for subversive reasons.

The reaction to TLJ and its lesser crowd pleasing nature is exactly why I feel Rian hasn't been definitive on this in interviews, confirming it isn't his decision. IX is an open door for JJ. The creator of Rey and spent a year teasing she is the light side of the Skywalker lineage.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The greatest fear is a fine thing to go with, I can see the value in exploring that angle. However, what you go on to explain, and what is in the movie, I'd argue wouldn't be this character's greatest fear. During The Force Awakens, her questions and hopes are about them coming back, about why they left. Not who they were, not if they were special. She has no desire to be someone special until Last Jedi abruptly changes the basis of her desire for her parents' return. Instead of why did they leave me, it's now who were they, and potentially this could work but we don't see any progression from question A to question B. Last Jedi begins and suddenly the question is different without any reason why this character's motivations have changed in such a condensed span of time. The hardest thing then becomes for her not that her parents left her for nothing, but admitting that they were no one. A few tweaks and the arc, minus that there is a massive failure with the final act in regards to it, could work fine, but as presented in the film, it feels like Rian Johnson being meta and speaking to the audience instead of writing for the character.

Thisi s a great point. Rian had to create a completely different question to even make his argument. And then when "revealing" the answer, it was in the most 4th wall breaking way. Because he is "answering" the question the audience had. Not Rey. Hence the subversion problem.

 

[Spider-Fan]

The greatest fear is a fine thing to go with, I can see the value in exploring that angle. However, what you go on to explain, and what is in the movie, I'd argue wouldn't be this character's greatest fear. During The Force Awakens, her questions and hopes are about them coming back, about why they left. Not who they were, not if they were special. She has no desire to be someone special until Last Jedi abruptly changes the basis of her desire for her parents' return. Instead of why did they leave me, it's now who were they, and potentially this could work but we don't see any progression from question A to question B. Last Jedi begins and suddenly the question is different without any reason why this character's motivations have changed in such a condensed span of time. The hardest thing then becomes for her not that her parents left her for nothing, but admitting that they were no one. A few tweaks and the arc, minus that there is a massive failure with the final act in regards to it, could work fine, but as presented in the film, it feels like Rian Johnson being meta and speaking to the audience instead of writing for the character.

It's an evolution of the idea. In TFA, she still is trying to tell herself her parents are returning for her. By the time TLJ comes around, she knows that to not be the case. Now she's looking for questions about her past and seeing if maybe they had a good reason to leave her. Her father say being Ben Kenobi instantly gives her a good excuse for why she was abandoned. Since her parents were no one of consequence, and they gave her away for a potentially awful reason, now she has to face the idea that not only was she abandoned like garbage, maybe she is garbage (metaphorically speaking). While she never outright speaks this in the movie (which I agree they could have made this more clear), I definitely think that was what was in Rey's head with the revelation.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Here is the obvious flaw with this. She is special. Obviously so. TFA and TLJ both confirm this. This is Star Wars. Where all the heroes are special. Even good ole Han Solo, the best pilot in the galaxy. Beyond this though of course, the idea of her not being special is all that is necessary there. Not her actually not being related.

Also it goes along with other such things that were there for subversive reasons.

The reaction to TLJ and its lesser crowd pleasing nature is exactly why I feel Rian hasn't been definitive on this in interviews, confirming it isn't his decision. IX is an open door for JJ. The creator of Rey and spent a year teasing she is the light side of the Skywalker lineage.

Like I said before, if JJ had something else in mind he very well could revisit it. I honestly hope he does not as I like the answer Johnson gave us more. To me, it's more interesting. I get people are attached to the Skywalker lineage and bloodline, but I see her as an extension of the Jedi/Skywalker lineage spiritually. I don't need that to be literal, and I think her coming from nothing to be one of the Galaxy's great heroes thematically works better for me.