Is Rey the daughter of Luke? (TFA spoilers)

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

4. The more I watch it, the more I think Han knows who she is. Not at first, but by the time he's giving her a gun and wanting to keep her close with a "a job" the looks he gives her tells me he's realized who she is, but doesn't feel it is his place to say anything-- but he clearly wants to protect her.

 

This, exactly. Han treats her exactly the way he treats Luke in A New Hope, right down to offering him a job.

[Driver]

Holy shit I didn't even think of that-- great point!

 

I mean-- OMG TFA COPIED ANH SOUNORIGINALL HURRR ME LIKE EATING LED PAINT

[ShadowDog]

I don't know. I mean there's some shit pointing to Han knowing, but it's kinda a dick move to say nothing to her. It would make Ben her cousin. Kinda need to know info. This is why I don't believe Han knew.

[Driver]

But how long is Han in denial for? He sees Ben at Maz's and says nothing. She even tells him he's running. Han is doing his best to avoid destiny. Even in the OT it wasn't until Jedi that Han was ready to stay put. In ANH and ESB both he wanted to run. From his perspective, taking Rey under his wing and getting her away from what she was about to fall into seems very Han to me- but he always comes around

 

There's clearly two off-camera talks Han has about Rey, one with Maz and one with Leia. But by then Rey is gone.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

I don't know. I mean there's some **** pointing to Han knowing, but it's kinda a dick move to say nothing to her. It would make Ben her cousin. Kinda need to know info. This is why I don't believe Han knew.

 

I think it'd be more of a dick move for him to tell her before Luke got the chance to do it himself.

[pavonis]

It's possible that Rey's parentage really doesn't matter. Abrams loves his mysteries, but he doesn't really distinguish between little ones and big ones, as far as I can tell. I'd not be surprised if she's really a "nobody" based on her past, but will be someone very important in the future.

 

If parentage were important, why not trace Shmi Skywalker's line back further? Why don't we know her story? Did Shmi have any siblings, possibly separated from her by enslavement? For that matter, what if Rey is a Skywalker from another branch of the family? Maybe Luke isn't Rey's father, but her third cousin, twice removed (or whatever)?

[ShadowDog]

Any questions about "Why didn't happen in the PT" can be answered by "George Lucas was smoking that blue meth"

[James Madison]

1. Because she grew up not knowing him, but Luke Skywalker has become a huge figure int he galaxy, and as such sometimes his story is no doubt exaggerated.

 

2. We don't know when he went into hiding into relation as to when Rey was dropped off. We also don't know the circumstances of her being left behind and whether Luke was even a party to it.

 

3. Memory can be unreliable-- especially when you're around people who can manipulate minds with space magic. Just theorizing.

 

4. The more I watch it, the more I think Han knows who she is. Not at first, but by the time he's giving her a gun and wanting to keep her close with a "a job" the looks he gives her tells me he's realized who she is, but doesn't feel it is his place to say anything-- but he clearly wants to protect her.

Wait, if he has become such a huge figure, then is it plausible for her to think he is s myth?

 

And, I have some issues with her "growing up not knowing him." She was a child when left in Jakku, old enough to recall her parents.

[Driver]

I think I answered both of those points.

[Poe Dameron]

 

 

But how long is Han in denial for? He sees Ben at Maz's and says nothing. She even tells him he's running. Han is doing his best to avoid destiny. Even in the OT it wasn't until Jedi that Han was ready to stay put. In ANH and ESB both he wanted to run.

 

A New Hope, yes.

 

But Han didn't try to run in The Empire Strikes Back. He'd been with them for years apparently, but had to leave because of the bounty Jabba placed on his head. He went to General Rieekan to explain his decision, say goodbye to Leia, and maybe give her a chance to talk him out of it. She gave him the cold shoulder, he got upset, and somehow hot Leia/Chewie action found its way into the script.

 

You point out Leia still being in the command building when everyone else had left, but who went back to get Leia? Who risked his life to save Luke immediately after he told everyone that he was leaving? Who went out and blew up the Imperial Probe (something anyone could have done)?

 

By The Empire Strikes Back, Han still hadn't fully committed, but at no point does he ever consider simply running away from his destiny. Han stepped up to the plate without hesitation every single time he was called on.

[Dark Wader]

Yeah, he had made up his mind when he went back to help Luke destroy the Death Star.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

 

But how long is Han in denial for? He sees Ben at Maz's and says nothing. She even tells him he's running. Han is doing his best to avoid destiny. Even in the OT it wasn't until Jedi that Han was ready to stay put. In ANH and ESB both he wanted to run.

 

But Han didn't try to run in The Empire Strikes Back. He'd been with them for years apparently, but had to leave because of the bounty Jabba placed on his head. He went to General Rieekan to explain his decision, say goodbye to Leia, and maybe give her a chance to talk him out of it. She gave him the cold shoulder, he got upset, and somehow hot Leia/Chewie action found its way into the script.

 

 

Yeah, Han treated Leia wonderfully in Empire.

[Svenn]

 

1. Because she grew up not knowing him, but Luke Skywalker has become a huge figure int he galaxy, and as such sometimes his story is no doubt exaggerated.

 

2. We don't know when he went into hiding into relation as to when Rey was dropped off. We also don't know the circumstances of her being left behind and whether Luke was even a party to it.

 

3. Memory can be unreliable-- especially when you're around people who can manipulate minds with space magic. Just theorizing.

 

4. The more I watch it, the more I think Han knows who she is. Not at first, but by the time he's giving her a gun and wanting to keep her close with a "a job" the looks he gives her tells me he's realized who she is, but doesn't feel it is his place to say anything-- but he clearly wants to protect her.

Wait, if he has become such a huge figure, then is it plausible for her to think he is s myth?

 

And, I have some issues with her "growing up not knowing him." She was a child when left in Jakku, old enough to recall her parents.

 

Rey's flashback shows that Kylo saved her from being mauled, apparently by killing one of his own. From that, I have assumed that he's the one who left her on Jakku, and that he manipulated her mind before he left. While she is force sensitive, and able to avoid that manipulation if she wants (as she did at the end of the interrogation scene), she has also shown that she is susceptible to Kylo getting into her mind (when she is captured, Kylo enters her mind to determine that she has seen the map and later, at the beginning of the interrogation scene, is able to see her visions of the ocean world). I imagine that she would have been much more vulnerable as a child. Being abandoned on a world where nobody knows who she is, and where she has no frame of reference for who she is connected to, would only reinforce that manipulation I think.

 

Also, Kylo seems pretty pissed when the officer informs him that Finn and BB8 escaped with the help of a girl. I'm not sure his anger makes any sense in that scene unless he already knows a girl on Jakku.

[Jacen123]

 

 

But how long is Han in denial for? He sees Ben at Maz's and says nothing. She even tells him he's running. Han is doing his best to avoid destiny. Even in the OT it wasn't until Jedi that Han was ready to stay put. In ANH and ESB both he wanted to run.

 

But Han didn't try to run in The Empire Strikes Back. He'd been with them for years apparently, but had to leave because of the bounty Jabba placed on his head. He went to General Rieekan to explain his decision, say goodbye to Leia, and maybe give her a chance to talk him out of it. She gave him the cold shoulder, he got upset, and somehow hot Leia/Chewie action found its way into the script.

 

 

Yeah, Han treated Leia wonderfully in Empire.

 

I know. He never did arrange having her kiss a wookiee like he promised he would.

[Driver]

 

But how long is Han in denial for? He sees Ben at Maz's and says nothing. She even tells him he's running. Han is doing his best to avoid destiny. Even in the OT it wasn't until Jedi that Han was ready to stay put. In ANH and ESB both he wanted to run.

A New Hope, yes.

 

But Han didn't try to run in The Empire Strikes Back. He'd been with them for years apparently, but had to leave because of the bounty Jabba placed on his head. He went to General Rieekan to explain his decision, say goodbye to Leia, and maybe give her a chance to talk him out of it. She gave him the cold shoulder, he got upset, and somehow hot Leia/Chewie action found its way into the script.

 

I know I'm the first one to say Star Wars is not overly complicated, and I also give you crap for being so literal with things-- but there is subtext you're missing.

 

Sure he has to pay off Jabba, and morally, yes, he chose a side-- but he's still leaving. They bring it up all through the movie-- midway through at Bespin when he says "we're as good as gone," Leia then replies, "Then YOU'RE as good as gone."

 

Where was he going to go? He was too high profile to go smuggling to pay off Jabba-- he was wanted by Jabba and the Empire. He wasn't asking Leia to borrow any money. He was going to hide.

 

I'm not saying Han is a coward, and again, he'd made the moral choice to help and be a hero-- but his solution to his biggest problem in 3 of the 4 movies he appears in is TO LEAVE.

 

 

You point out Leia still being in the command building when everyone else had left, but who went back to get Leia? Who risked his life to save Luke immediately after he told everyone that he was leaving? Who went out and blew up the Imperial Probe (something anyone could have done)?

 

By The Empire Strikes Back, Han still hadn't fully committed, but at no point does he ever consider simply running away from his destiny. Han stepped up to the plate without hesitation every single time he was called on.

Right-- I'm not saying he DOES leave. That's what makes him a hero-- he does always go back. But his instinct is to run. The fact he ignores it is what makes him a hero. Maz literally tells him he's been running too long. He and Leia agree they both avoided the Ben issue and each other by going back to what they knew best-- her fighting, him hustling and living on the run.

 

 

Rey's flashback shows that Kylo saved her from being mauled, apparently by killing one of his own. From that, I have assumed that he's the one who left her on Jakku, and that he manipulated her mind before he left.

I think you're misinterpreting the vision.

 

She was a witness. She saw herself as a child, she saw Luke, she saw Kylo killing Jedi. She wasn't actually there.

[Justus]

Daisy Ridley is having none of this.

People will skip over Ridley's statement, or chalk it up to as being evasive, instead of accepting that maybe...just maybe Rey is no Skywalker:

 

 

Ridley told MTV, “I’m not being funny, you guys, but just because she’s white and got brown hair… it doesn’t mean she’s my mom.” But, get this: Ridley doesn’t think we should care so much about the mystery of who Rey’s birth parents are. She also told MTV, “I think the amazing thing about [Episode VII] is that Finn and Rey don’t come from anywhere, and they find a place… So to me, it’s funny that people think it’s so important, because I don’t really think it is.”

MTV mentioned that Ridley knows who Rey’s parents are, and if she doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, that probably means that her mom and dad aren’t the most well-known Star Wars characters.

[3 & 6 years to go...]

I must say, Luke's expressions were very interesting.

[Driver]

 

Daisy Ridley is having none of this.

People will skip over Ridley's statement, or chalk it up to as being evasive, instead of accepting that maybe...just maybe Rey is no Skywalker:

 

 

Ridley told MTV, “I’m not being funny, you guys, but just because she’s white and got brown hair… it doesn’t mean she’s my mom.” But, get this: Ridley doesn’t think we should care so much about the mystery of who Rey’s birth parents are. She also told MTV, “I think the amazing thing about [Episode VII] is that Finn and Rey don’t come from anywhere, and they find a place… So to me, it’s funny that people think it’s so important, because I don’t really think it is.”

MTV mentioned that Ridley knows who Rey’s parents are, and if she doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, that probably means that her mom and dad aren’t the most well-known Star Wars characters.

 

The star of a high profile movie not giving away what would be the biggest spoiler is hardly shocking.

 

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't know because her parentage won't be revealed until episode 9.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

Daisy Ridley's comments only mean that Rey's parentage isn't important to Rey. Which, if she is a Skywalker, is a super interesting idea to explore. Here you have Kylo Ren and all he cares about is legacy and finishing what his grandfather started. Meanwhile you have Rey who's like, who cares if I have famous/powerful parents? It's what I do that's most important.

[Justus]

 

 

Daisy Ridley is having none of this.

People will skip over Ridley's statement, or chalk it up to as being evasive, instead of accepting that maybe...just maybe Rey is no Skywalker:

 

 

Ridley told MTV, “I’m not being funny, you guys, but just because she’s white and got brown hair… it doesn’t mean she’s my mom.” But, get this: Ridley doesn’t think we should care so much about the mystery of who Rey’s birth parents are. She also told MTV, “I think the amazing thing about [Episode VII] is that Finn and Rey don’t come from anywhere, and they find a place… So to me, it’s funny that people think it’s so important, because I don’t really think it is.”

MTV mentioned that Ridley knows who Rey’s parents are, and if she doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal, that probably means that her mom and dad aren’t the most well-known Star Wars characters.

 

The star of a high profile movie not giving away what would be the biggest spoiler is hardly shocking.

 

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't know because her parentage won't be revealed until episode 9.

 

No, its not shocking and is a standard practice...but in an honest moment, who knows--she might hint that E8 & 9 will not feature another "I am your father" moment that too many fans jumped on after seeing TFA.

 

I would prefer she not have a connection to the Skywalkers, and that Ren simply sensed another person that--after decades of no opposition--poses a curiosity / threat. The galaxy is big, and Rey coming from "nowhere" to be opposition plays into the classic myth as much as the "child of--" type of story.

[Driver]

I certainly don't mind her being a nobody-- or at the very least the child of some of the Jedi Luke was training... but it is certainly being written so hard toward her being Luke's daughter that if she isn't it will feel like a cop out.

[Poe Dameron]

Where was he going to go? He was too high profile to go smuggling to pay off Jabba-- he was wanted by Jabba and the Empire. He wasn't asking Leia to borrow any money. He was going to hide.

 

Han already had the money to pay off Jabba. He got it way back in A New Hope. Han flat out says that he intends to pay back Jabba:

 

If I don't pay off Jabba the Hutt, I'm a dead man.

So, either he's lying about that and planning to completely disappear, or paying off Jabba was his intention. If simply hiding is all he's doing, he's just as likely to be as safe with the Rebels as he is anywhere else. My own view of the subtext was that he was simultaneously worried that he'd get his friends killed if he stayed near them (the bounty hunter on Ord Mantell) and simple frustration with Leia herself.

 

Re-watch that scene after he tells Rieekan he's leaving. He practically begs her to ask him to stay for her, but she won't do it. Leia chose to feign ignorance and disinterest. Of the two, it's not Han that changes the most in The Empire Strikes Back, it's actually Leia. Han was already 90% there when the movie began. Han's practically open about his feelings for Leia from their first scene together. It's Leia who continually rebuffs him, builds walls, lets Han walk away, or runs away herself.

 

People sort of fixate on the "I know" line, but Han wasn't playing it cool the entire movie. He was, in fact, doing all the heavy lifting in getting Leia to confess her love in the first place. To answer Mara's complaint about Han's treatment of Leia, I would argue that Han takes more grief from her than he deserves and would be plenty justified in giving up on her. Which, I would posit, he was finally doing after years of waiting.

 

That he kept giving her chances showed remarkable tenacity on his part, not a willingness to give up easily.

[Driver]

If he was just going to pay Jabba-- why was the impression that he wasn't coming back? It wasn't "Hey, I'll be back in a few days, gonna go pay Jabba" it was 'Okay, this is it, goodbye forever maybe!"

 

He didn't say to the General "I need time to take care of something," it was "I have to leave."

 

And I never thought he kept that reward money that the Alliance could use. How heroic would that be? That's why in the years between films he didn't pay of Jabba. I'm sure he could have wired him some credits.

 

Anyway, those specifics aside, even if I buy your interpretation of Han's actions, it doesn't change my point-- he was still LEAVING to go be awesome space pirate.

[Darth Krawlie]

If Han was gonna pay off Jabba, what stopped him after blowing up the Death Star?

[Driver]

Bounty hunters on Ord Mantell. Get with the program ***hole.