I wrote twitter meta about the one good thing about this film (Adam Driver’s acting, the PURE character work he did with zero dialogue) because I finally figured out what he was talking about when he said he was using “mask work” with Kylo Ren. He wasn’t playing through a mask only when he wore the helmet, he was acting as if his very FACE was a stoic blank mask he was looking through. That’s why Kylo Ren as a character has such a specific feeling to him, and why the audience instantly responded to Ben Solo, who could show his emotions.
This character was always 100% a young boy hiding behind a mask that hid and disallowed every emotion except for his anger, the only emotion that men are allowed to feel. This character is an exploration of how toxic masculinity harms men. And what miracles can happen for men internally when they embrace emotionality and forgive themselves and use their energy to do good. (I’m crying about him again.)
Jyn and Cassian with their kyber crystals
Insp. by Pete Wentz after he called The Last of the Real Ones a reylo anthem on Twitter ✨
just like our last || last kiss by @taylorswift
SO handsome
Reblog if you agree
The Future of Star Wars...a theory:
Anyone else wonder if they decided to end the saga this way because they want us to be deeply invested in whatever else could be coming down the line for Rey and Ben and the rest of our ST characters? I mean...it seems like a pretty corporate thing to do.
We have strong evidence that a different ending was filmed—changing that ending to be more “ambiguous” could have easily been a late decision made to keep possibilities for other stories open. An ending like the one we we given in TRoS keeps people talking—it leaves people wondering what could be. And when DLF announces that a new story is continuing on with our ST characters (Rey, Ben, Rose, Finn, Poe and the rest of the gang) people will be more than ready to roll.
But the Skywalker Saga is over. Where do we go from here?:
Yes, the Skywalker Saga has ended...in the sense that the nostalgic-ridden story that lives in the shadow of our OT characters has ended. LF closed the book on the Skywalker Saga and gave “traditional” OT lovers the nostalgic film they wanted to “satisfy” them at the end of their nine film storyline. Rey literally laid The Skywalker legacy to rest by burying the family sabers.
But now, our new characters that were introduced in the ST don’t have to live with the shadow of Luke, Leia, Han, and Lando looming over them—These characters can grow and change and have their own story arcs separate from the OT characters. Gone are the days of catering to the OT audience—it’s time for a new generation of stories.
Do I think our OT characters will be erased and never talked about again? Of course not! But this isn’t their story anymore. Star Wars is about a new generation now. 💜
There is so much left open for us to explore: Rey’s story arc isn’t complete—she still has to finish her heroine’s journey. Ben Solo isn’t dead. He’s somewhere in the Great Unknown—the World Between Worlds was introduced for a reason. There can be no balance without the Dyad together—Ben and arey must reunite. Finn is Force Sensitive—there is so much to explore there! And Rose, Jannah and Poe all have stories brewing, too.
I’m excited for the future. Wether these stories are explored in comics, novels, animation, Live Action TV shows, or (we can all hope) films—I am ready for any of it. I’m craving these stories. So many of us are.
“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you’re thinking but because you’re feeling. Because you’re feeling too much. And you can’t always control the things you do when you’re feeling too much.”
— Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe