force awakens

Finally saw The Force Awakens, Episode 7 of the Star Wars saga. I enjoyed the show especially the nostaligia it brought back, but I have questions about the film that I need to capture.

Needless to say, spoilers ahead. So don’t read any more unless you’ve seen The Force Awakens or don’t mind learning a few details from the movie.

Who’s Your Daddy?

Kylo Ren’s father was identified in The Force Awakens but there are still mysteries behind Rey and Finn’s lineage. Is Rey the daughter of Luke or Han? Could be either. First, I thought Luke, but then Rey’s familiarity and taking command of the Millenium Falcon hints at a Solo background. Sharing an embrace with General Leia looked materally intimate.

Who’s Finn’s daddy? For obvious reasons, Finn’s dad has to be the Lando Calrissian. Possibly Mace Windu (as the only other prominent brother in all of Star Wars) but I don’t think the timeline matches up.

Is Maz Kanata daughter of Yoda or possibly Mrs. Yoda? Too many hints indicate her ties with the Force are just a little more than coincidental.

Names without Flair

Sorry, I’m just not digging the names of the new characters – Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, Maz Kanata. These just don’t have the flair like the originals of Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Boba Fett.

Star Wars Redo

The storyline of The Force Awakens surely felt like that of the original A New Hope. This has to be intentional, but will Episodes 8 and 9 follow this familiar pattern? Maybe. Is Jedi Master Luke essentially replaying the past timeline to make corrections leading to a different outcome?

We know something went wrong leading to Luke’s disappearance. While the details haven’t been revealed, we know establishing his new order of Jedi didn’t succeed, bringing the rise of the new bad, Kylo Ren. After Return of the Jedi, the good guys with the help of the Ewoks had won, defeating the Empire. Ultimately was balance of the Force achieved? Seemingly not.

After the downfall of the new Jedi, perhaps Luke realized that everything that had transpired was not the end game. He and his father had not brought order to the Force…yet. So why not redo the past, but this time make different decisions, leading to different outcomes that could stabilize the balance of good and evil forever.

So maybe, we’ll see familiar storylines in Episodes 8 and 9 but with slight wrinkles, orchestrated by the last Jedi. Or maybe, all of this is just a ruse to draw out the new holographic big bad, Supreme Leader Snoke (another name without flair).