The Forced Questions (Spoilers)

So, we are a few days into the release of the Force Awakens and those…less impressed…have gone out to offer their challenging questions.  So, this is all spoilers.  If you have not seen the film and are avoiding spoilers?  Do not read this.

I have seen people talk about the major plot holes, but have not seen them presented.  Most of what I see is people saying “This new mystery has come up, PLOT HOLE!”  A new mystery in a franchise is not a plot hole.  How does Maz Kanata have Luke’s Lightsaber?!  That is a mystery, not a plot hole.

One of the busiest memes I have seen is Rey-centric.  It can be summed up as “How does this scavenger know how to fly/fix ships/use the force?  The film establishes that Rey has flown ships before.  She states that she has flown ships before, but has never flown outside the atmosphere.  So, we know she has flown.  Which pretty much answers how she was able to fly the Millennium Falcon.  This is not a magical thing.  She has never flown it, but she was left in the care of Unkar Plutt, a junk dealer.  It seems highly likely she spent plenty of time around the Falcon.  She knew all the modifications Plutt made.  As she and Finn are running to escape the First Order’s attack on Jakku, she says they should not take the Falcon, as it is a garbage ship.  She is clearly, in fact, very familiar with the Falcon.

And it should be noted, we see proof of Rey’s flight skills far sooner than we ever see of Luke.  In Episode IV, Luke tells Ben that they do not need Han Solo, he is a decent enough pilot.  But we see no actual evidence of this until the final moments of the film where Luke flies and X-Wing.

Rey is very likely a skilled mechanic.  I have known a few mechanics in my days, as well as people who fixed up cars with no formal education.  There is literally no reason that “scavenger” equals “lacking Technical Knowledge”.

How does Rey know how to use the Force.  Luke could barely use the Force without training.  Except, he really had no training before Yoda, and he was using the Force.  Ben really did not train Luke, he told him a few things.  Rey appears familiar with Jedi lore, more than Luke did, he had to be told the basics.  But Rey was experiencing the Force in ways Luke did not.  What this suggests is Rey has a more raw connection.  It is not out of line that between Han Solo’s comments about the reality of the Jedi and Luke Skywalker, her experience with Luke’s Lightsaber and finally Kylo Ren’s attempts to interrogate her, Rey had the confidence to at least try and use the Force in her escape. And there is no way she would have beat Kylo Ren if he were not severely wounded.  And we know she was a skilled fighter with a staff, quickly picking up a lightsaber is hardly a stretch.

Finn is the black Storm Trooper that had some folks upset.  Yes, we all know there are clones in the prequels, based on the talk of the Clone Wars from the original Trilogy.  The film establishes they are no longer using clones.  It is impossible to completely ignore the prequels, and the film only makes reference when it needs to.  An interesting note is the reference by Lor San Tekka “balance to the Force”.  As Peter Chattaway (who has a very different reaction to the film than I) has noted, the whole concept of “Balance” within the Force is a prequel thing.  However, in the prequels, it was specifically in reference to Anikan Skywalker.  Here, the comment is a reference to the Jedi.  Lor is stating there need to be Jedi, and with Luke missing and no one to take his place…the Force is out of balance.

Weird criticism?  Darth Vader’s helmet is in perfect condition.  I think the person making that claim blinked.  The Vader Helmet was a melted mess.

Finally, the dumbest complaint comes Brian Godowa… Rey has a “boys name”.  His ass backwards mentality on women as heroic leads is the real problem.  But he falls into a camp that sees Rey as “pandering”.  Six Star Wars movies that focused on Male leads.  One animated feature and two animated series focused on male leads as the central heroes.  But one film where the heroic Force wielder is a woman, and the series is “pandering”.  How ridiculous.