Rise of Skywalker

[rthstewart]

I have seen it.  Twice.  The first time, I saw it with Intrikate, Knitress and Econopodder and this is the third time that Knitress and I have watched the end of the Star Wars trilogy.  We've been watching Star Wars together since ESB in 1980.  And then I got to watch it again with my spawn, who was born the year TPM came out and syrena_of_the_lake 

I'm traveling and sleep deprived and really wish I could respond more to the excellent commentary of all of you.  I don't seem to have brain for it at the moment.  But thank you for sharing your excellent thoughts.

I was thoroughly unspoiled.  I didn't think about the movie very much and I didn't go in expecting any coherence.  Someone on another DW commented that basically, even though the emotional moments of the film aren't really earned, your affection for the characters and the universe carries the film.  I came out of Rise of Skywalker still loving Star Wars** and that was because of Leia. 

Spoilers below







I cried over Leia twice in the film and both times I saw it.  Because... I'd wanted to see Leia training with a lightsaber and having someone call her Master for 40 years.  And I got that and for that immense gift I will forgive everything, because that's what I wanted most out of the film and that's what I got. Leia had a lightsaber that she built. Leia was a Jedi and then a Jedi Master for she successfully trained an apprentice who did not fall to the Dark Side.  She was far-seeing and gifted in diplomacy and military strategy and a better Jedi than her brother was.

In looking at the comments and posts others have made, that seems to be the prevailing view among those who I follow, which is really nice.  I feel a tremendous kinship with all of you who wanted those moments as I did and we got them.  We wanted more but we couldn't get it because of Carrie's death.  We got our General and Jedi Master Leia Organa.  We never had that before. 

So I raise a glass to all my Star Wars fandom friends, spanning over 40 years.  To our General, To our Jedi Master. 


 A few other things,

1. what a hot mess;
2.  I noped that kiss at the end so fast, Intrikate called it a Cask of Amontillado moment and yep, nope nope nope I walled that up and it never happened and I'll just ignore
3.  space horses?  on the deck of a space ship?  Atmosphere?  Gravity?  WTF? Oh right, there I go expecting coherence from Star Wars.
4.  WEDGE OMG WEDGE
5.  all those wonderful wonderful voiceovers, both Obi-Wans, Ahsoka, Kanan, Anakin, Mace, Yoda and Qui-Gon.  Love it.  LOVED it.  All the Jedi living in Rey and I cried hearing those beloved voices.
6.  Zahn did the missing fleet thing WAY better -- I mean how did they get all the people onto those ships when the Sith planet was so hard to get to?  And when they'd only started increasing their recruitment/kidnapping less than 18 hours earlier per the meeting where Kylo slams the First Order into the ceiling? WTF? Oh right, there I go expecting coherence.
7. Letting us see Chewie's grief over Leia.
8. Finn being Force sensitive to Rey, very much like Luke and Leia, I thought
9. Stormpilot.  They were adorable and obviously the actors were enjoying themselves immensely.
10. The only reason Rey would go back to Tatooine to live would be because Finn and Poe are on the ship waiting for her.
11. So many pointless McGuffins.  WTF? Oh right, there I go expecting coherence.
12. It should have been Leia on the Death Star with Kylo, not Han.  Which I know they couldn't do.  Which (heretical thought), I would have preferred that they recast Leia so we could get her story.  I get why they didn't do it, but I wish they had.
13. Palpatine?  OKaaaay  WTF? Oh right, there I go expecting coherence.
14. Rose Tico you deserved so much better.

** Which is why I hate Solo so much -- that movie made me love the Star Wars less, and, in fact, seeing Lando and Chewie piloting the Falcon (whether here or in ROTJ) makes me feel better about Solo because he was back with L3 and I bet that made her SO HAPPY and I bitterly resent that film for making me hate the Falcon and any moments that L3 is apart from Lando.

Comments

[rthstewart]

I got that take from several articles discussing the musical cue in that last scene -- it harkens to Rey's theme, the Twin Suns/Binary Sunset/Force Theme -- and is entitled, A New Home. So, it's from that where I infer she's supposed to be going back there, which makes no sense at all to me. This piece is one example, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/12/the-rise-of-skywalker-ending-explained-rey-lightsaber-staff-tatooine-a-new-home

[rose_griffes]

Ah, thanks! I was wondering if it was something so subtle that most people missed it... and sure enough, that's it. So I can go ahead and ignore it because WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?!

(Musical cues do matter, but I don't think it's enough to say definitively that she's going to stay there. Especially given that there were multiple endings filmed, apparently including one with Finn on Tatooine with Rey. So the song title may not even be relevant to what Williams was able to watch while he was composing.)