Star Wars Speculation: Is Rey A Mary Sue?

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I'm not talking about Christmas. Yes folks, we're merely four days away from Star Wars: The Last Jedi (or three, if you're gonna get technical about Thursday night premieres)! I'll be working at light speed to ensure my review is uploaded as soon as possible, so I'd say to expect it to surface online somewhere in the ballpark of Late Thursday night- sometime Saturday. It really just depends on what I'll want to talk about, and how I can best communicate those thoughts without spoiling anything. Anyways, this week I'm keeping up my streak of posts defending common criticisms towards The Force Awakens with my take on the Mary Sue dilemma.

As for other developments, I've laid out some semblance of a schedule for releasing my drafted reviews of more recent releases. I recently let you, the reader, vote for the reviews you would be most interested in reading, and I got enough responses to determine a general consensus. Coco was the clear winner, followed by Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Lady Bird, Justice League, and lastly Thor: Ragnarok. I had Blade Runner 2049 listed on the poll, but it was recently announced that the film would be released on digital December 26th, so you can expect to read my thoughts then. Otherwise, I'll see where I can fit other films in to try and avoid releasing more than one film review a day, but there may be some occasional overlap due to the mass influx that's about to it theaters in these last few weeks of December.

Is Rey A Mary Sue?

So, just what exactly is a "Mary Sue?" Well, I'm glad you asked. 

A Mary Sue is an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character who is usually female, although there's a male term as well (Gary Stu). The reason I'm even invoking this discussion to begin with is because the character of Rey from The Force Awakens came under abrupt attacks for seemingly fitting the mold. 

I, however, venture to disagree with that opinion and feel I have sufficient evidence to do so! 

How is Rey so skilled at so many things?

At the start of the film, Rey has been alone on Jakku for many years. Just taking a gander at Rey's skillset, we know she's a scavenger who knows how to fight with a staff, can speak multiple languages, has some piloting experience, and can repair things. While that may seem like some "perfect person," it only makes sense that she would have picked up various skills in order to survive, especially considering she's force sensitive...

Yes, that's the clincher. Rey is strong with the Force. While that's not my only evidence as to why she's so skilled, I believe it's a contributing factor to her exceptional abilities. I know most people don't like the Prequels, but if you look to that trilogy and The Clone Wars, almost every Jedi in that era has a fairly well-rounded skillset. If you'd rather not look there, Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy also offer plenty of force users with a rather robust skillset. 

But how did she...?

1) Fly the Millennium Falcon

2) Use a Jedi Mind trick

3) Defeat Kylo Ren

These are perhaps the three most cited examples that Rey is a Mary Sue, and I believe all of them can be quickly answered because they're slightly self-explanatory, but I'll break them down one-by-one:

1) How did Rey fly the Millennium Falcon so well through a crashed Star Destroyer?

First of all, Rey mentions that she's flown a Quad Jumper, which just evidences that she has piloting experience.

Secondly, if you're paying any attention at all, you'll notice that the ride's a little bumpy at first as she adjusts to the Falcon's controls having never flown it before.

So, how did she expertly traverse through a crashed Star Destroyer then? Well, as I just mentioned, she has piloting experience and clearly got the hang of things amidst the chase, but there's another piece to the puzzle that's often forgotten by those seeking to whine and complain for the purposes of whining and complaining.

Rey isn't just navigating through some random crashed Star Destroyer. She's flying through a vessel that's been there for the entirety of her life. I'd like to think she knows it like the back of her hand considering she's probably spent years inside the thing scavenging for parts. So I'd imagine her familiarity gave her a huge edge in that chase. Skills and experience truly come in handy when combined, don't they?

2) How did Rey use a Jedi Mind Trick?

I think this one just comes down to the fact that Rey was strong in the Force. Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren even say just that in their conversations after Kylo Ren's interrogated her. I don't believe a force user "requires" training in order to exhibit their abilities. They have the capacity to do these things without the training. The training, to me, is for the purposes of expanding and refining your abilities. It's not the sole determiner of your ability to do something. 

Luke used the Force to destroy the Death Star when he had hardly learned a thing from Obi Wan at the time. Of course, the training naturally helps, but I think it's reasonable to say that a force user strong in the Force can tap into it fairly easily once they set their mind to it. It's a matter of self-motivation rather than having to learn, per say.

For Rey, I believe she simply had a mental block till that point. She had no idea how powerful she was till Kylo Ren opened her eyes to her potential whilst interrogating her. 

Another question related to this that I commonly see crop up is "How could Rey have possibly known about Jedi Mind Tricks when the Jedi Order of old is long gone?" I think the answer is quite simple. Just because the Jedi are gone doesn't mean the legend surrounding them has vanished. Just look to A New Hope, where Han Solo, Luke, and numerous Imperials see the Jedi as a myth and hokey religion (I could cite various quotes, but I won't for the sake of length). When The Force Awakens opens, it's been several years since the Jedi Purge (Order 66) and Luke Skywalker has gone into hiding, so the Jedi practically are just a myth to the average person in the galaxy.

Rey clearly had heard stories of the Rebellion and Luke Skywalker based on her reaction to hearing Han Solo discuss everything. Therefore, I don't think it's a stretch to say she may have heard about the Jedi Mind Trick and just decided to test it out upon learning she was force sensitive to see if the stories were true. On top of that, she wasn't even successful on her first attempt so she's not exactly perfect...

3) How did Rey defeat Kylo Ren?

This is, without a doubt, the most annoying grievance of them all. There are so many contributing factors to this that I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just run through all of Kylo Ren disadvantages.

Does no one remember Kylo Ren getting shot in the gut by Chewbacca's crossbow in Chewbacca's epic fit of rage?

Keep in mind, this is after we've seen the thing blow away Stormtroopers and Han Solo has commented on its power. This hit Kylo Ren directly in the gut... which probably left more than a mark.

While it can certainly be argued that Kylo Ren used this to his advantage by pounding his chest to increase the pain and his connection to the Dark Side, there's no arguing against the fact he was bleeding out and dying. 

That's not to add that right before he dueled Rey, he was fighting Finn. Even though he easily disposed of Finn, he took a nasty blow to his shoulder. So before he's even had a chance to fight Rey, he's already critically wounded.

Oh, and let's not forget that he was under orders to capture Rey and bring her to Snoke alive. Now that we've acknowledged everything going against Kylo Ren in this fight, let's talk about Rey's advantages...

While it may be true that this was her first time ever wielding a lightsaber, she's pretty proficient with that staff of hers, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that the fighting styles would line up closely. Plus, we've already seen she's quick to adapt to things as she fared well piloting the Falcon for the first time.

And once again, her strong connection to the Force was especially critical in this fight. She's only just awakened to this newfound strength in the Force, so it's fair to say she had a slight edge there as well.

None of this is to say that Kylo Ren isn't adept with his saber, because that's obviously not the case. I'm merely supporting why Rey would be able to fight so well with a saber and why Kylo Ren wasn't at his A-game. Also, this wasn't some quick and easy duel for either side. It was a genuine, hard-fought struggle for both of them.

Now that I've offered my insight into how Rey could possibly be so proficient in many areas, I think it's time I defend against the belief she's some perfect character with absolutely no character flaws and who's never been defeated. 

Rey's flawed traits

Rey exhibits two particular personality traits that I believe make her inherently flawed (which is actually a good thing because you don't want a "perfect" character). She's naive in regards to thinking her family will return to Jakku and she's also afraid to embrace the unknown. When the lightsaber shows her various Force visions, she runs as far away as she can get because she's scared to take up some greater calling and become a hero. That's not how Rey pictures herself, but it seems to be her destiny, and she initially avoids it at all costs.

If Rey were truly a Mary Sue, I think she would have been far less reluctant to take up the saber and fight the First Order head on. She would have embraced the calling and experienced no internal conflict. 

Her moments of weakness

For my last hoo-rah against the "Rey is a Mary Sue" complaints, I offer examples of her major moments of weakness...

It's probably easy to forget, but Rey was the one who unintentionally released the Rathtars (the large round aliens from Han Solo's frigate). I don't think a "Mary Sue" would have made that mistake...

The most obvious example of Rey being caught in a moment of weakness though would be when she's easily apprehended by Kylo Ren on Takodana. Kylo Ren uses the Force to freeze her and make her unconscious so he can take her prisoner and interrogate her to learn of Luke's location. She was hardly able to resist whatsoever... 

Conclusion

Ultimately, the reason people are so passionate about whether Rey qualifies as a Mary Sue or not is because fictional characters should ideally not be perfect. Of course, I disagree with the Mary Sue claims, and feel I've reasoned enough of an elaborate explanation as to why Rey is not a Mary Sue that I'm extremely satisfied with her as a character. In fact, she and Kylo Ren are my two favorite new characters in this sequel trilogy if you couldn't glimpse that from this post and my Inferiority Complex of Kylo Ren write-up. So, of course we still don't know what the future holds for Rey, but we'll finally get a taste of that this weekend when Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally hits theaters!!

-As always, May the Force be with you!

Star Wars Speculation: The Poetry of the Star Wars Saga

Welcome readers to another installment of Star Wars Speculation!! I took a break to bring you my first "In Defense Of" entry, In Defense Of: 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' (The "Martha Scene), but today I'm back to dive deep into Star Wars again in the mere weeks leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This week's topic I'll be tackling is "The Poetry of the Star Wars Saga" and I'll be using that as the basis of my argument that The Force Awakens isn't a rehash of A New Hope. Also, keep in mind that I'm writing this with the base assumption that you'll have at least seen A New Hope and The Force Awakens so there could be somethings you may consider spoilers if you haven't seen either for whatever reason... Although, I suspect you would not be here if that were the case. 

The Poetry of the Star Wars Saga

So I'm sure many of you are wondering what the heck poetry has to do with Star Wars, and the answer to that comes from the Saga's creator himself, George Lucas.

Back in 2002, Lucas told Entertainment Weekly "I create themes, and I repeat those themes, in different chords and different arrangements" regarding how the Prequel Trilogy mirrors the Original Trilogy. Within the Skywalker Saga, there are many moments that reverberate and are echoed across the Saga. Lucas explained it like this, "It's like poetry. Every stanza kind of rhymes with the last one." There are quite a few story beats that carry thematic significance within the Saga, and these are absolutely integral to the DNA of Star Wars. Naturally, these aforementioned segments resurface as a means of strengthening the overall narrative.

Evidence of Lucas' comments can be found all throughout the Star Wars saga, but I've embedded a link to a brief Vimeo video from Pablo Fernández Eyre that keys in on some of the prominent examples below:

Now that you've hopefully watched the video and have some idea of what I'm talking about, let's dig in.

Lucas' approach refers back to the ancient style of poetry commonly found in The Old Testament of the Bible that is often called parallelism.

Now you may have noticed in the video that the Prequel Trilogy and Original Trilogy relate to each other in this way with The Phantom Menace correlating with A New Hope, Attack Of The Clones with The Empire Strikes Back, and Revenge Of The Sith with Return Of The Jedi.

How does this apply to Star Wars now?

I suspect the ongoing sequel trilogy will fit into this pattern as well. The Force Awakens has already broken into the cycle by mirroring A New Hope, and subsequently The Phantom Menace, but it remains to be seen how much The Last Jedi will evoke The Empire Strikes Back or Attack of the Clones. Based on the trailers though, it seems that there will at least be a few similarities so I suspect it's very possible it will jump in while also differentiating itself.

The brilliance of this technique though is how it permits wiggle-room for the storytellers to deviate the pre-established path and simultaneously incorporate the integral elements of the franchise. I think people get hung up on the idea that just because a film homages something, it automatically means that it ripped the other one off. However, Star Wars is a franchise that has always stayed true to itself in the face of exploring such an expansive galaxy.

Why 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' isn't a remake of 'A New Hope'

I remember when The Force Awakens first came out, just about everyone loved it. It wasn't until a few weeks afterwards that someone on the Internet pointed out some similarities harkening back to A New Hope.

Of course, this spread like wildfire and people turned on the film saying things like "OMG, J.J. AbRaM5 rU1N3d St4R W4r5!" or "tH3 f0Rc3 4W4k3n5 5ux 4ND T0R3 Ap4Rt MY CH1LdH00D!!" Yes, the fandom whined. Like they always do. Now, I'm not here to refute that there are some similar story beats to A New Hope. That much is crystal clear, and I can see the reasons why the parallelism was implemented.

First of all, people need to take into account the state of the franchise at this point. Star Wars was not as commercially viable as it once was. The Prequels had soured the general moviegoer's appetite for anymore Star Wars. Sure, there were The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, comics, novels, and video games, but there hadn't been a live action Star Wars film since Revenge of the Sith... There was a lot riding on the success of The Force Awakens, and fortunately it decimated the box office, but Disney was taking a gamble buying Lucasfilm. What if they were unable to create something that would appeal to both old and new fans? That's where the parallelism comes in.

J.J. Abrams was brought on to direct and also had a huge hand in the script alongside Star Wars scribe Lawrence Kasdan and Pixar writer Michael Arndt. The thing is... Abrams is a fan of Star Wars himself, in addition to being a fantastic filmmaker. As a part of the Star Wars fandom, he knew what they would respond well to and so naturally he knew what would click with audiences and what wouldn't. He shot on film, used practical effects/locations, the cast of the Original Trilogy was brought back, and incorporated as many references as possible.

Abrams and Lucasfilm understood that the structure of this new Star Wars had to resemble something audiences were already familiar with if it were to be accepted and jettison a new era of Star Wars, so naturally they pulled from Lucas' pattern itself and echoed some beats from the Original Trilogy. This mirroring technique has already been implemented in Star Wars, yet fans feel the need to complain for whatever reason. They act as though most other film franchises don't do this in order to keep the franchise DNA intact.

Just look at Jurassic World and Creed. The plot of both films are essentially the same base premise of the original film in the subsequent franchise (Jurassic Park and Rocky). Both films also feature pivotal moments homaging back to the original with the same sense of nostalgia utilized by The Force Awakens.

Both films were released in 2015, the same year as The Force Awakens, yet I hardly have ever seen anyone call out either for "copying the original." I've never seen anyone complain about the Prequel's use of parallelism and mirroring either... Although, that could be due to the multitude of problems present in the Prequels...

If someone still wants to complain that The Force Awakens is a remake of A New Hope after reading all of my informed arguments, I ask them to please elaborate on how The Force Awakens blatantly rips off A New Hope. 

Sure, you can tell me that something pivotal to the plot is put inside a droid, there's a desert planet, on that planet is our protagonist who longs for more, there's a super space weapon capable of destroying planets, the antagonist is masked and wears dark clothing, there's a cantina, and the heroes' mentor is killed by the antagonist on the Death Star/Starkiller Base, BUT those are the familiar elements of The Force Awakens I mentioned earlier. I've constantly found that in the internet's insistence to force these two films to fit the same framework, they have to describe the plots with incredibly vague terminology. The further you narrow in on the films, the more different they become. The Force Awakens tells the same story in broad strokes, but the specificity is drastically different.

Also, the whole complaint about The First Order building another Death Star seems sorta stupid to me. Realistically, if you were an evil organization and knew there was a weapon that had previously been built with the capability to destroy entire planets, wouldn't you have a desire to reconstruct it with major modifications to cause even more destruction? Just a thought... Sure, the last two were taken out, but that just shows there's room for improvement. With that being said, I'd still rather not see a fourth iteration of a planet-sized weapon in either The Last Jedi or Episode IX.

So yes, I can agree with the sentiment that Lucasfilm played it safe, but Lucasfilm needed something that could be conceived as commercially safe in order to take some secluded risks. Just take a look at the film's cast... The sequel trilogy's leads are diverse both ethnically and in terms of gender. Rey was the saga's first female protagonist who turned out to be the TRUE protagonist as the force user many had already dismissed the possibility of thanks to marketing showing Finn holding the saber. Finn was the first African American protagonist in Star Wars (sure you could make a case for Lando I guess... but he's more of a side supporting character in my eyes), who was positioned as a turncoat stormtrooper. Lastly, Poe Dameron was the first Latin protagonist.

**Spoiler Warning for Star Wars: The Force Awakens**

Kylo Ren's STILL rather controversial (but I'll dig more into that in my next post), and I don't think the fact he killed Han Solo did him any favors in that regard... Much less, make him a safe choice as an antagonist.

**End of Spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens**

In conclusion, The Force Awakens had a difficult task ahead of it in introducing new characters, bringing back revered, classic characters, continuing the story left off in Return of the Jedi, and making Star Wars commercially viable again, but I think it did all of that beautifully and I still appreciate the film as one of my favorites in the franchise! I'd still even consider the first time I saw The Force Awakens to be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in a movie theater because it's simply something I longed for most of my life and it delivered everything I possibly could have imagined. For all of those reasons and even more that I won't get into for the sake of length, I absolutely adore Star Wars The Force Awakens and it's use of parallelism to accomplish the daunting task of revitalizing Star Wars.

-As always, may the force be with you!!