Why I Love Rey, But Don't Like Rey the Secret Skywalker

[beatrice_otter]

The thing about Rey is that for her to be a Skywalker would betray her whole thematic arc from The Force Awakens, in ways that would be really unfortunate for some of the people who identify with her.  She really has two: first and most obviously, "I'm no one," who becomes powerful.  She doesn't have fancy background or training, she's not some mystical Chosen One, she just steps up and claims her strength and succeeds.  That's a powerful message to send, not just to girls but to all people.

Second, she suffered because of (as far as she knows) her family.  She had years of abandonment, hunger, terrible conditions, because of what was done to her as a child.  Through it all, she had this idea in her head that if they would just come back--they, the very people who left her to that--everything would be fine.  That there would be a happy family.  But she is the one sinned against, here.  There are so many people (and I work with some of them) who have been abused and/or abandoned by their families.  Most of the time, reconciliation is not possible because the abusive family is not willing to change to become non-abusive or non-neglectful.  Any reconciliation requires the victim to make excuses for and buy into the abuser's story, at great cost to their own mental and emotional stability and healing.  (Yes, I know, there may have been extenuating circumstances.  That does not negate the damage Rey has suffered.)  Our society privileges "heartwarming reunion" even if it means papering over and ignoring the damage done.  I want more than that for Rey, and I want more than that for the people who identify with her.  I appreciate that her arc was to let go of her idealization that "when they come back for me, everything will be fine," and go on to a new life not dictated by the family that (whether intentionally or not) left her in hell.

I will be very disappointed if Rey is secretly a Skywalker.  I really hope they're trying to fake us out, and it's Finn.  But regardless, I'd rather no new Skywalkers than Rey being one.

Comments

[senmut]

I'm all for NO NEW SKYWALKERS.

Much as I love the Calrissian track for Finn, I also don't want that. Because no, you don't need to tie your PoC together that way.

I'm just... let Ben/Kylo Ren be the character who FULLY ties back by blood, and let the others be thematic heirs to the legacy.

[beatrice_otter]

Yes absolutely. There are more than two Black people in the GFFA. I would love to see Lando Calrissian again, but Finn does not need to be his kid.

[jedibuttercup]

Yeah. I'm angry enough about Luke abdicating from everything to play hermit for umpty years; I mean, it may make sense for the echoing of the thematic arc and for something a real depressed person uncertain that his power can actually help people anymore might do, but that is not the Luke I identified with from ROTJ and the better (now Legacy) novels, you know?

Having him also be a person who abandoned Rey to yet another generation of growing up hard on a desert world until the grand plotline of the galaxy crosses her path .... yeah, I'd much rather there be no Sekrit Skywalkers, at all. I want more triumphant if difficult plotlines for her, not Added Backstory Angst.

[beatrice_otter]

LUKE, YOU $%&@*^%$!

Ahem. Yes. I agree.

As for Rey ... she needs healing and growth, not Added Backstory Angst.

[muccamukk]

These are pretty well my feelings on the topic.

[vicki_rae]

Luke taking his marbles and stomping off to gaze at his navel really annoys me.

If Rey has to someone's bloodline I'm hoping for Ben Kenobi's granddaughter.

[beatrice_otter]

I hope Rey has absolutely nothing special in her background at all, but I'd rather a Kenobi connection if there absolutely must be one.

OMG LUKE, WTF WERE YOU THINKING?

[alatefeline]

Thank you. Well said.

[beatrice_otter]

You're welcome!

[lilacsigil]

A big yes to all of this!

[melannen]

I'm okay with Rey being a Skywalker (or Amidala) (not *happy*, but *okay*) but only if she's not Luke's daughter - I can't think of any way Rey as Luke's daughter could work with the arc in that movie. I do think her being distantly related - like a grandniece of Padme's or a Skywalker second cousin - could be interesting, because it could point up the way that Luke and Leia have focused on angst about their dad to the exclusion of all the other family they have, without destroying Rey's arc quite the same way. (That would also reflect interestingly on Ben's arc).

But I would rather we move away from "all Force users are Skywalkers". And if we have to have secret children, I vote that she and Finn are both Lando's kids.

[beatrice_otter]

Yes, this! But, you know, I want Calrisian back ... but we do not need a Black Deadbeat Dad. If he has a kid, can the kid be not a kid who was abandoned and raised without him?

[melannen]

Oh, yeah, I see your point. I mostly just really want Rey and Finn to turn out to be siblings, TBH. Still prefer them not being related to anyone.

...one of the problems with having One Black Person in your movie is that anything you do with them starts to smell like Problematic Trope, because they have to stand in for All Black People in your universe. :/

[monanotlisa]

I too hope v. much she is not a Skywalker; her arc works so much better if not.

[lastscorpion]

Could she be Anakin's Last Byblow (and let's hear it for the EwwwVaderSex!!!) or does the timeline not work out?

[beatrice_otter]

Both Rey and Finn were born several years after RotJ, so no, the timeline doesn't work.

[(Anonymous)]

I largely agree with and respect your reasoning, but I disagree with your conclusions.
For your first point, yes, I agree that it's great to have a "nobody" protagonist. This trope in SciFi helps bring the genre back to planet Earth and makes it much more rewarding for the audience. However, I think it isn't Rey who will fulfill this role-- it's Finn. The guy who literally has had no life and no name in The Force Awakens is going to make the decision to be a hero for himself. He's the one who makes that choice--not Rey. I think Rey referring to herself as "no one" is an element of dramatic irony-- she will be literally the most un-no one person there has ever been. She's a Skywalker from a line of messiah-like chosen ones who have continuously decided the fate of the whole galaxy for generations, starting with her grandfather, the "midochlorian born Anti-Jesus." The inspirational part in her story comes from her THINKING she is no one, and thinking that she is alone, unimportant, and unwanted. But in actuality, many people will have been searching for her for her whole life-- people who love and hate her. And she will come to be more powerful and important than any other member of her family.
Also important is your second point. If Luke Skywalker IS Rey's father, then I do agree with you on everything in terms of the abuse in her story. But again, that would be the point of the story. Luke Skywalker--the chosen hero--turns out to be a terrible goddamn person and father to Rey. Rey will have to struggle with resentment of herself AND her resentment of him once she finds out who he is. She'll have to overcome this abuse WHILE becoming the most important person in the universe. And--if Disney plays their cards right--it would be EXTREMELY rewarding to see her NOT forgive Luke entirely. She could forgive him in order to move forward in her life, and to move forward in her Jedi training, but I think her story arc will lead to her realizing that she's NOT "no one--" she's important. She DOESN'T need her family to come back to her-- she will find them herself, and when she does, she will no longer need them to be there. She'll utilize her new, self-designated family-- the other protagonists, Finn, BB-8, Leia, Chewie, and possibly Poe (if they someday interact with each other down the line)--and they'll end up staying together without Luke, as a family made of love and respect.
This is important because she has idolized regaining her family with almost child-like hopefulness thus far. Her maturing would, by extension, entail her realizing she DOESN'T need to wait for anyone. Especially not those who won't willingly come back to her and be by her side. The Rey we meet in the beginning has built everything she is off waiting for her family, and to serve up a good story arc, she will have to dismantle everything she knows and build herself back up again.
To me, that's more relatable than a protagonist who doesn't have much relevance to the surrounding events of the main story. If Rey were literally just someone plucked off Jakku and is just super force strong, it which feel a little too inexplicable, and a little less poetic in nature.

[(Anonymous)]

(same person here)
ALSO, I would hate for Rey's story and background to be more meek/empty/unjustified just to save Luke's reputation. I know a lot of people don't WANT Luke to have abandoned Rey--even for a seemingly "just" reason--but I believe there would be a lot more for the two characters to overcome internally if they are father/daughter. I don't want to sacrifice that potential story just because people value Luke's rep over Rey's poetic integrity as a character.
Plus, we've seen that Luke has abandoned just about everyone else that he loves--his sister, brother-in-law, friends, nephew...--so it really would undeniably fit the character we've already been presented with for him to have abandoned Rey too. The connection there is just too clear-- Rey's Big Thing To Overcome is having been abandoned, and Luke's is having abandoned everyone at their time of need. It just fits together too well for it not to be the case.