If they want to read it, sure. But I am hoping to finish today and I would like tomorrow to edit it. These are all single pass posts, and the language could be cleaned up in places. if I haven't gotten it done by tomorrow night then by all means.

Dreadnought/Cruiser: Finn finds the tracker, and DJ goes to work. He wets the medallion he took from Rose as payment, uses it to short out a system. He just needed a good conductor. Smiling, he returns it to a stunned Rose and Finn, who are forced to reassess him. DJ rewards our faith in the smuggler with the heart of gold. Like Han, and like Lando, we know they will come around in the end. He gets to work as Poe makes contact for an update. Finn tells Poe to prep the cruiser for light speed, which he was on his way to do anyway. Poe’s mutineers clear the bridge, escorting the officers (presumably loyal to Holdo) down t to the hanger. 3PO informs Poe that Holdo was looking for her, to which Poe glibly responds “I know, we spoke.” Although the scene breezes right past this line, it begs the question ‘What did Holdo have to say to him.’ The only answer that makes sense is that she was prepared to tell Poe about the escape plan, and was probably about to do so in their confrontation before Poe changed the subject to buying more time for Rose and Finn. 3PO was about to ask what Poe was doing, and Poe makes it clear he doesn’t want to speak with him. We don’t know if 3PO knew of the plan or not (he was on the bridge, and the other officers know, so it is probable) but had Poe engaged him it may have been another opportunity to avert the forthcoming disaster.

Poe shuts down the fueling to the escape pods. As this jeopardizes the Resistance Holdo springs into action, stunning the guards and retaking control of the ship. The scene (the entire sequence) plays out from Poe’s perspective, and the audience is primed for a climactic confrontation between Poe the hero and the obstacle (Holdo) that is preventing him from acting on those heroic instincts. The way this is all reframed later what we are getting instead is a reminder of Holdo’s competence (recall she is also a war hero famous for actions taken during some major battle) and the fact that Poe should have trusted in Leia’s judgement, her rank, and the Resistance. The Resistance is not a massive military organization. It is basically Leia’s private army. Holdo is in charge for a reason (unlike, say the First Order, where you have incompetent leadership like Hux because Snoke sees talent he can't control as a threat).

Poe sees the mutiny fails, has the door sealed by that Resistance officer (Carrie Fisher’s daughter. I'm sure the character has a name) who is loyal to him, and prepares himself for a firefight. We know how these stories go, and we just need him to hold out long enough for Finn and Rose to succeed.

So of course we segue to Rose saying “we’re running out of time”.

The door is about to be breached, and Poe prepares to open fire. He lets Finn know they need to act immediately. Finn tells DJ “It’s now or never” and, in classic million to one shot style, DJ says “now”, and opens the door. They did it – the tracker is right in front of us. Rose heads in. Finn, Rose, and DJ run across a red ramp (like a red carpet welcoming our VIP heroes to their destination) when they’re stopped by that First Order BB unit, a squad of storm troopers. Poe hears that they failed, BB8 hides in his trash can disguise, and we have the return of Captain Phasma

“FN 2187 – So good to have you back”

It is critical that Phasma be here for this moment, as his old tormentor, and that she refer to him by his old storm trooper number. This is Finn’s low point, the loss of his freedom, independence, and identity. The First Order has triumphed over the Resistence, and over his own personal act of rebellion. This is a total defeat.

Also a note about Phasma and her lack of backstory. She doesn’t need one because she is not a primary character. Phasma is only used in both movies to serve as an obstacle for Finn. She is a personification of the First Order. Sleek, imposing, indestructible (as we learn, her armor is blaster proof), unconquerable. There may be a compelling history underneath her helmet, but for the purposes of this movie, we don’t need to know it, and time spent on it would be a distraction. It is the right decision for the movie, and pretty standard throughout all stories.

(if you are noticing a parallel between the initial attempt to disarm the tracker and the initial attempt to disarm the shield, prior to capture and rescue by the Ewoks in Jedi, you’re right to do so. But we get something much better than Ewoks this time)

Back on the cruiser Poe, in a moment of stunned desolation, mutters to himself “they didn’t make it”. This is utterly inconceivable to Poe, as that is not the way these sorts of stories are supposed to work. On instinct he picks up his blaster as the door is breached (his instinct is always to fight, never to surrender, even when he’s lost). Leia enters, dressed in white (recalling her appearance in a New Hope) while also recalling the doorway breach at the start of that movie, and Vader’s entrance. Leia’s theme plays, and Poe is beside himself with relief – the return of Leia always means the return of hope. And then, out of nowhere (from the audience’s perspective) Leia shoots him, knocking out our hero and establishing that he (and his brand of heroism) is not needed to save the day.

Awesome I’ll wait. They’re fine as they are don’t change too much or anything.

it'll just be copy editing or possibly changing some earlier posts a bit if I make any connections to later events that I missed the first time.

Cruiser Hanger: We get the scene between Leia and Holdo which reframes basically the entirety of one of our major storylines. The Resistance is escaping. Poe is unconscious, and Holdo leans over him, affectionately making sure he is okay.

“That one’s a trouble maker. I like him”

Now that she is no longer burdened with command she can act as herself, rather than her role, and as she makes clear to Leia she quite likes him, and his spirit (perhaps this was a young Holdo prior to Leia’s tutelage)

Leia tells Holdo to board her transport, and Holdo informs Leia of her intention to stay behind and steer the cruiser, maintaining the illusion of escape and providing what cover and support she can. The implications are stark and clear. She is sacrificing her own life to safeguard the Resistance’s escape. When Leia was incapacitated she took on the responsibility of saving the Resistance, and she means to carry it through to the end. It is one of the most quietly heroic moments in all of Star Wars (eclipsing even the infiltration of Scariff on R1) since it is the first time we’ve seen a character engage in a mission they KNOW will end in their death (the R1 crew knew their mission was dangerous, and that there was a high probability of death, but not certainty). She undertakes a mission in which there is no hope, to gift that hope to others (a maternal sacrifice)

The dynamic between Leia and Holdo is wonderful (and it’s rare that you get moments like this between female characters in these sorts of movies). Holdo broaches the conversation with a smile, like she’s asking a parent or teacher to do something that they know they aren’t allowed to do, hoping that their charm will carry them through. What follows is one of my very favorite exchanges in all of Star Wars (rivaled in this movie only by Luke’s final conversations with Yoda and Kylo).

Leia: “Too many loses. I can’t take anymore”
Holdo, with affection: “ Sure you can. You taught me how.”

It’s a great line in its own right. Framed both by Carrie Fisher’s death, and the historical importance of that character for the girls who grew up with her as a role model, it’s incredibly powerful, and one of those moments I tear up for every time I watch it. Leia’s story goes on for the rest of the movie (to her goodbye with Luke and passing of the torch to Poe), but in terms of an encapsulation of what defined her character I can’t imagine doing this better.

They trip over each other saying “May the Force be with you, always”, and Leia lets Holdo have the final word (the last time, I believe, that the line is uttered in the movie). And the line, delivered to Leia and knowing that this is Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Leia, makes it an incredibly impactful moment, followed by a beautifully shot clasping of hands – two strong female heroes saying goodbye.

The ships leave the hanger, we are informed over an intercom that cloaking devices are active, and the other older Resistance officer (the woman with the larger nose) whispers “lets hope this works.” It’s the line you would have expected Han, or Poe, to say, but this is not about flashy heroics and individual risk and masculine heroes. This is about the community of the Resistance doing their part, and about faith in the (female) leadership of the Resistance taking the steps necessary not to win, but to ensure the survival of the community. And with that line this character is also reframed as someone in on Holdo’s plan, who was in the right, and should be respected as a leader.

The shuttles leave, and Leia stares pensively out the window as Holdo stands tall and stoic, secure in the cost and meaning of her sacrifice.


Although there is one final spectacular moment, this is the end of Holdo's story. Her death is inevitable, just the circumstances of it are up in the air. And Holdo, maybe more than any other character, really opened up for me in a major way in subsequent viewings. I was not particularly impressed the first time through, swept up at first in the narrative conventions that had me thinking she was a rival to the real hero. I loved her exchange with Leia from the gate, and of course she has an amazing death, but it wasn't until I was able to watch the performance knowing the destination that I could appreciate it. Laura Dern is really excellent in this role, giving a nuanced and subtle performance that cannot be fully appreciated in the moment. She plays both her expected character and the real character who exists underneath it at the same time, but the later is only visible once you know to look for it.

And since it is looking like Poe will likely be one of the leaders of the rebellion in IX, I hope he has a moment where he acknowledges the centrality of this character to his own development as a leader.

Throne Room: Like the Emperor before him, Snoke, supremely confident in his own abilities, removes Rey’s restraints. But their motives are different. The Emperor is attempting to turn Luke, to goad him into embracing the dark side and, once he does, opening himself up to the Emperor’s manipulations. But Snoke has no designs on Rey. He only intends to kill her. But he is so confident in his own powers, and his dominance over Kylo, that he is perfectly willing to let her stand before him free and unfettered.

Luke informs the Emperor that his arrogance will be his undoing in Jedi. But that’s not exactly right. What undoes the Emperor was his underestimation of the lingering humanity in Vader – his blindness to the conflict (perhaps it was arrogance that prevented him from seeing it). The arrogance is front and center with Snoke, with the way he ruthlessly toys with Rey and debases Kylo, denying him of any mental agency because he is so confident in his own mastery over him.

Snokes bids Rey “Come closer, child.” Rey refuses, stoic, determined, even strangely confident (Rey is conveying a lot without speaking throughout this scene).

“So much strength – Darkness rises, and light to meet it.” This is an insight into the force, one that perhaps Snoke doesn’t fully grasp – that you cannot have a light side without a dark side, or vice versa. Light and darkness, control and passion, peace and anger – each of these qualities is given shape and defines itself through the presence of the other. Snoke reveals that he, like the audience, assumed that Skywalker would be that light, chuckling to himself and casually pulling Rey’s lightsaber from Ben’s conflicted hands (he isn’t Kylo here, and he is not enjoying Rey’s humiliation, perhaps seeing echoes of how he is treated within it). And if Luke is not the great threat to the dark side that we all anticipated, then clearly it must be Rey, echoing Yoda's judgement and Luke’s final speech.

The casual nature in which Snoke ultimately causes his own destruction, flippantly grabbing and casually discarding the weapon that will kill him should be noted. The Emperor loses track of Vader in his destructive fury, but that was a surrender to dark side impulses. He always treated Luke as a possible threat (which is why he wanted to control him), even as he toys with him at the end. But Snoke envisions himself as so far beyond the people before him. This is pure condescension in the worst sense of the word


Snoke drops his voice to a whisper, full of confidence, malice, and the sort of threatening inflections you use when you know that your power is undisputed. “Closer, I say” and uses the force to pull him towards her. Again, note the way Snoke infantilizes the young adults in his care – children who need to be told what to do, who even need to be forcibly made to do it. The Emperor treats Luke with far more respect. It is impossible to read Snoke as anything other than an abusive father/child predator – he takes his cues much more from the Palpetine we get in the prequels than the Emperor we see in Jedi.

Rey begins to understand that she is overmatched by Snoke as she cannot resist, and can barely move. She starts to show fear, and worry, but not panic. Her faith in Ben sustains her. As she approaches there is a sinister, dirty leer on Snoke’s face.

Nervously but still defiantly filling the silence as she forcibly approaches Rey (who never backs down) responds “You underestimate Skywalker, and Ben Solo, and me (added, deliberately, as a slight afterthought. Rey does not yet fully grasp her own power and importance). It will be your downfall.” Snoke immediately begins mugging for Rey (and inadvertently Ben – Snoke, so confident in his mastery, doesn’t understand that independent of whatever feelings he has towards Rey in her humiliation Ben sees his own reflected back at him). In a mockery of fear, Snoke worries that Rey has somehow sensed conflict in Ben that can be used to bring down Snoke (and Rey is thrown off balance by his reaction – not sure if it is genuine, not sure if Snoke’s awareness of it compromises her hopes) , before revealing (insufferably pleased with himself), that the conflict in Ben was stoked, amplified by Snoke. Whereas the Emperor set a trap for the rebellion on Endor, Snoke set a trap for Skywalker/Rey within Ben’s own mind. And while there was a known base of conflict within Ben (Snoke did not create this out of nowhere) he is utterly dismissive towards it. Again, it is his arrogance and confidence - his belief that his faithful children are so beaten down that they could not dare lift a finger against him. The Emperor, in his passions, blinds himself to Vader’s conflict (he knows it is there and alludes to it in earlier conversations in Jedi, taking it seriously). But here it is below Snoke’s notice because Ben Solo is largely beneath his notice – a tool to be manipulated, incapable of action beyond the boundaries Snoke establishes.
It is when Snoke admits that he both “bridged their minds” that Ben looks up, angry, and with a resolve we’ve yet to see since Rey reentered his life. This is not only more naked manipulation, but it compromises the only authentic emotional connection he has made in how many years. Snoke reveals that he “stoked Ren’s conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you, and you were not wise enough to resist the bait.” Again, Ben is reminded that his opening up of his heart was simply ‘bait’. Plus no one likes being told they are weak in front of someone they have feelings for.

Snoke leans in, menacing and hateful, gripping Rey by the head and promising that she will give up her most intimate secrets before killing her in some horrible way – essentially a mental rape by this disgusting predator, and Rey begins trying to resist. She is breathing heavily, and in distress, but she fights. She is flung through the air, forcibly held in place, back arched under the strain, and violated by Snoke. She begins to scream as Ben is forced to watch.

Snokes movements and posture on the throne. You’re looking at Joffrey in GOT. Same movements and poise.

Nm carry on

You're not wrong, and it's a nice comparison, but there is always an element of affectation to Joffrey. He is pretending to be what Snoke is. He is far too insecure to be the real thing.

Resistance Shuttles: Poe awakes from his stunning in a panic, running to the window, terrified that he failed, that the Resistance is doomed, that Holdo won. Leia gets his attention, and gestures for him to join her. As always she is a calming presence (Leia’s presence indicates hope). She gestures to Crait, and explains the plan – that this was not a fight they could win, but they could hide, and they could get help, and live to fight another day if they can make it to a heavily armored previously undiscovered rebel base. Once there they can send distress calls to their allies outside of First Order control.

You can see hope return to Poe as he runs through the plan in his mind. He begins to understand that he was in the wrong about Holdo (he doesn’t yet know she is still on the cruiser) and Leia - sensing that (like Luke with Yoda earlier) with proper guidance Poe is unbalanced enough that he has opened himself up to a real internal change – brings the lesson home.

“She was more interested in protecting the light than she was seeming like a hero”

And with that reminder they both gaze out the window, listening to the dull drumbeat thumping of the cannonfire pounding into the Resistance cruiser, knowing that Holdo is on there, listening to the sound of her imminent death, protecting the light.

We have a brief cut to Holdo watching the ships escape, at peace with her decision, as she whispers ‘Godspeed, Rebels’, understanding that the Resistance is in the process of transforming into something altogether different as we see the Resistance making its way to Crait. This is going to work...

Just as Luke needed to learn that failing doesn’t make you a failure, provided you have the wisdom and courage to learn from it, Poe needs to learn that you win when you protect the things that matter rather than destroying the things that threaten them (his failure with the Dreadnought bombing run, and the problem with his general action hero approach). Rose will get the great encapsulation of this point at the end of the movie.


As a reminder about the state of the galaxy, Leia was running a private militia since the primary galactic government didn’t want another war. But someone was financing her so clearly she had supporters. Plus, in the wake of the Republic’s collapse and the rise of the first order there will certainly be elements of the galaxy that want to resist. This is doubly the case here as, unlike the Empire, which was built out of the Old Republic, the First Order is an outside invader, utterly lacking in legitimacy. The Resistance was never a rebellion. The goal is for it to become one.

Dreadnought: We cut back to Finn and Rose, captured by the First Order. They failed, but right now the failure of Poe, Finn, and Rose’s plan is a personal failure. They may die, but the Resistance is going to survive (although Finnand Rose don’t know that, at least the audience does). But Finn no longer looks scared. Instead he’s angry – having discovered who he is and what he believes in he knows that as long as he cleaves to that he can deny the First Order of a victory of sorts. We open up into a larger hanger bay and an interior reminder of how hopelessly outclasses the Resistance is. In terms of technological might, military might, troops, hardware, all of it. To give a sense of the vastness of the chamber (I believe they are on Snoke’s Dreadnought, but it’s possible this is just a Star Destroyer) we see conveyer belts moving along the AT walkers and Tie fighters buzzing around within the room.

Hux is waiting for them, never one to pass up a chance to gloat, especially given how Finn had previously humiliated him. He slaps Finn, but in a way that only serves to take away from his dignity, especially as Finn refuses to react beyond the look of utter contempt and hatred he has for Hux. Hux is attempting to play Snoke in this scene, to humiliate his prey in the same way, but Finn has too much dignity for that to work.
DJ’s betrayal is revealed (ship and payment). Rose, understandably, responds emotionally (this is still within 24 hours of her sister’s death, and this failure is a raw, open wound. It means her sister died for nothing). Finn, more thoughtfully, wonders what DJ, caught with the rest of them, had to do to win his freedom. “We got caught. I cut a deal”. And we have a third reversal of DJ, although one true to always he claimed to be. He’s not a good guy. He’s not a hero. He didn’t have a change of heart. He is a mercenary through and through, and when the chips were down he cut a deal. This is Han taking the money and running, or Lando not feeling regret. Turns out he wasn’t the archetype of the rogue we expected. He is, instead, a man totally devoid of principle – what Finn may well have become had he walked about in TFA when he had the chance.

This is the moment where we realize just how badly Poe’s refusal to trust Holdo cost the Resistance. Poe’s worst fears are about to come true – the Resistance on a small fleet of shuttles, no weapons, no shields, no defenses, target practice for the First Order that now knows they are there). And the fact that DJ was in a position to know this information, and share it with the First Order, is entirely because of the million to one shot plan that should not have, and didn’t, work.

It is telling that this is where Finn’s façade cracks. This is where he starts to plead (No, no, no you can’t…) before catching himself. Finn isn’t pleading or even concerned about his own life for once. He understands that dying with dignity is a victory from the First Order. But the threat to the Resistance (both his friends and the cause) hits him hard, a reflection of his commitment to an ideal beyond survival – that it isn’t enough simply to survive the First Order. One must oppose it, and what they stand for.

We have the exterior shots of the cannon fire beginning to assault the powerless Resistance fleet, and panic sets in. They’re compromised, exposed, and powerless. As Holdo reminds them – they can’t turn back – they can only make a run for the planet, knowing full well that they are too far out to make it. It echoes the moment where the Death Star is revealed to be operationally at the Battle of Endor - that the rebels are trapped. But the Rebels could have always escaped. They remain because Lando has faith in Han. Here there are no other options.

Throne Room: Snoke took what he wanted from Rey and releases her, unceremoniously dropping her to the floor. As an indication of Snoke’s power, she was able to resist Kylo but is helpless here. Snoke simply outclasses both of them, whether that is due to raw power, skill, or focus we don’t know.

Snoke laughs, mocking Rey’s memory of a Skywalker who is utterly defeated (no longer true, but Rey doesn’t know that). Note that Ben perks up at the mention of Skywalker – still harboring angry, possibly conflicted feelings about him, but the look on his face does not match the look he gives him when they meet on Crait. (note that the discussions about Luke he had with Rey on Ach To were reflected a profound disappointment, but not hatred. There was some distance and detachment there. He was less a hated figure and more a mistake he didn’t want Rey to make)

Snoke threatens Skywalker, and the Resistance and this taunting angers Rey, helping her recover. As we’ve seen Rey (like Luke) flirts with the darkside – unafraid to draw upon it in times of need, and clearly she is reacting from a place of anger, not balance or peace. She stands, calls for her lightsaber with the force (it should be noted that Ben doesn’t get up here. Unlike Vader he does not rise to intercept her). But Snoke is nonplussed and in a wonderful, humiliating moment simply takes control of its flight and calls it back to him, smacking Rey on the head along the way. It is a complete inversion of the triumphant scene in TFA when she calls and ignites Luke’s lightsaber, embracing her destiny.

Snoke casually restores it to his side, and one half expects him to start shooting her with force lighting, playing with her the same way the Emperor played with Luke. But Snoke seems to prefer mental torture and humiliation. He casually acknowledges her spunk (with the slight childlike implications attached to that word) and drags her to the window, where, like Luke, she can watch the final demise of the Resistance, powerless to act. But whereas the Emperor was goading Luke to act, Snoke is just reveling in his ability to cause pain.

Watching the Resistance get destroyed you start to see the first true moments of fear set into Rey, as she begins to understand that she is likely going to fail. He taunts her again, in the sing-songy voice he uses throughout this entire Throne Room sequence (Andy Serkis does excellent voice acting here) and again, acting out of anger, she calls a lightsaber to her. This time it is Ren’s, and she ignites the red, ragged saber in anger, preparing to strike, refusing to give up. Snoke’s guards draw their weapons, ready to engage, but Snoke calls them off. She charges him, and he casually flicks her away, disarming her in the process. He applauds her spirit, but makes it clear that it amounts to nothing in the face of his strength.

Knowing how the force works this may have saved Rey (insofar as embracing the dark side is a mark of evil. It is less clear than it once was that this is the case). If she was able to strike Snoke down in that moment , with Ren’s lightsaber (a visual manifestation of the dark side) who knows what path this starts her down.

The lightsaber lands in front of Ben, and there is a brief flicker in his eyes, as if resolving an internal debate.

Snoke forces Rey up, spins her around, and lands her on her knees (a position of powerlessness) in front of Ben, who, as Snoke rightfully senses, is no longer conflicted. Snoke uses this moment to give Ben what he has been withholding - willing to bestow upon him the legacy of Vader he knows he craves if he simply strikes down Rey. A final initiation for the pupil who, earlier in film, confessed to having sacrificed everything on behalf of the dark side.

“My worthy apprentice, Son of Darkness, Heir apparent to Lord Vadar, where there was conflict I now sense resolve (note that at this moment Ben’s eyes flicker to Rey). Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training and fulfill your destiny.”

Ben reaches down and picks up the lightsaber, backlit against the red glow of the room, recalling the earlier moment of the ruins of Ren’s smoking helmet, the resolve juxtaposed against the confusion.

(Before we move into the end of this showdown I admit the conflict did not play out the way I thought. This is part II of a trilogy and, with the parallels to the Emperor I expected Snoke to live to see part III. The struggle for Ben’s soul before Snoke should be the climax of the entire trilogy. If Ben is going to turn it was too soon. And given the earlier admonition by Yoda for Luke to not lose Rey I half expected him to crash the throne room and engage Snoke, giving Rey the chance to escape and giving Luke his final light saber battle. It’s what our expectation are primed for. It’s how this story is supposed to work)

Rey stares at Ben, full of doubt, who softens when he looks at her. I know what I have to do, he tells her (his words to Han Solo before he kills him). She pleads and Snoke laughs, reveling in his perceived control over Ren, blind to the threat before him. As Snoke reveals she cannot turn him because he can see his mind, and knows what he is going to do, reveling in his mastery. But Ben also knows this, and in a brilliant case of misdirection allows Snoke to narrate his own destruction, describing Ben turning his lightsaber on his true enemy and striking him down , never realizing that Snoke, an abuser and a symbol of the past Ben is so desperate to leave behind, is his true enemy, the man who was the architect of the destruction of his former life and (from Kylo’s perspective) the guiding force behind every horrible decision he ever made.

“I cannot be betrayed”
“I cannot be beaten”
“I see his mind”
“I see his every intent”
“Yes, I see him turning the lightsaber to strike true” (it is at this moment that we get the shot of the lightsaber twitching, and the first few times I saw this you could hear gasps in the theater.)
“And now, foolish child, he ignites it, and kills his true enemy.

We cut briefly to Rey, stoically resigned to her fate, no longer pleading, and back to snoke, where this is the hum of a lightsaber activating, a blue glow, and a pained gasp from Snoke. Rey is released, and we pull back to see that Kylo Ren has destroyed one of the few remaining links to his past (only Skywalker remains, to his knowledge), and ended his cycle of abuse.

The first few times I saw this the theater cheered at this moment. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was a deeply flawed character, one who did unspeakably evil things but did so out of hurt and confusion. He has suffered, and we want to believe, with Rey, that he can be redeemed. Rey rolls over, stunned, and sees Snoke struck down. Ben calls the ignited lightsaber to him and Rey holds a hand up, catching it as the music swells. She stands up, stares at Ben, both of them struggling to process what happened. He ignites his lightsaber, as they turn away from each other in slow motion to fight together against Snoke’s elite guards, the fight scene we all wanted but didn’t yet expect, the happy redemptive ending that should have come a movie later. They barely communicate throughout this exchange, the assumption being that they don’t need to, their bond intimate to a point that they don’t really need words (Rey knew Ben was calling the lightsaber for her). By fighting alongside each other they cement it, back to back and unwilling to allow these forces to tear them apart now that they've finally come together - fulfilling their respective visions of the future. When the time came they stood together.

The Resistance Retreat: We cut back to Resistence, Poe ordering the ships to fly faster – more because he feels helpless and wants to do something than because he expected this to be useful tactical advice (as the pilot reminds him they are going as fast as they can). It’s a useful reminder that the stakes are still high, that despite the death of Snoke and Rey/Ben’s triumph the Resistence is still being destroyed

Inside the Dreadnought Finn, frantic, confronts his alter ego. DJ, calmly, dismisses his rage.
“Take it easy, big F. They blow you up today, you blow them up tomorrow. It’s just business.”

Finn, doubling down on his principles, the only thing he has left to him in this moment, tells DJ “you’re wrong.” To which DJ shrugs, “maybe.” And the importance of that line is just how dismissive it is. It’s not a question of doubt. It’s a refusal to even enter the moral space Finn finds himself where questions like that might matter. And again, this was who Finn was on the path to becoming before he met Rey and fell in with the Resistance.

I do hope we see DJ again in the third movie, but I hope his character stays exactly the same. Entirely self serving. Characters like him are necessary to help give moral clarity to the people around them.

Throne Room: The fight against the guards, is well underway and while there is a ton of cool visual stuff happening here (the imagery is wonderful – the weapons, the throne room on fire, the red ash from the guard incinerated in the fan) I don’t have much in the way of commentary. It is worth highlighting how violent Rey’s fighting style is, as she screams and snarls her way through it – a reminder that the dark side is alive and well within Rey (compared to the placid combat we have come to expect from Jedi)

I’d also like to praise the choreography. The two big lightsaber duels we’ve had in the new trilogy have been outstanding, and here in particular we really fuse the strengths of the OT fights (the emotional intensity) with the far more advanced choreography of the prequels, but instead of the slick martial arts quality (and frankly too much casual waving of sticks) we have something much more grounded, visceral, brutal. These fights hit hard, and the people involved in them hurt.

And by getting basically one fight per movie they feel special. The battles serve as major moments, not punctuation sprinkled throughout a movie.

The fight ends with Rey throwing her light saber at Ben so he can defeat his final opponent, and it says something that Rey willingly disarmed herself. She now fully trusts in Ben, trusts in his conversion. But they’re both in very different head spaces after what they went through.

Although Rey wanted to save Ben and sensed his conflict, she was saving Ben so she could save the Resistance. And her thoughts go immediately to the battle at hand, as she starts pleading wth him to call off the attack on the shuttles.

But Ben is somewhere eels entirely. He has destroyed Snoke, a major link to his past. He understands he is now the most powerful person in the First Order, and likely its Supreme Leader. Rey came to him, fought with him, supported him, believed in him. For Ben this moment has everything to do with him finally having (he thinks) cleared away the wreckage of his former life and attracted to him the person, the support, he needs to redefine himself, to figure out who he needs to be and become it. Rey is the one person in the galaxy who can start this journey with him, the one person who understands what it is like to have the power he does, and the need to stop holding on to whatever has come before.

“It’s time to let old things die
Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels, let it all die
Rey” (extending his hand, uncertain but determined, knowing this is what he needs and not knowing how she’ll respond) “I want you to join me
“We could rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy” (the chance to not only let the past die but remake the world that hurt him over again in a way that would ensure he would never hurt again)

Rey, for the first time in this whole Throne room confrontation, begins to understand that she may have misread him, and misunderstood the conflict within him. Luke was right. This is not going to go the way she thinks. She looks truly defeated. And in tears.

“Ben, please don’t do this. Please don’t’ go this way”
“No, no, you’re still HOLDING ON! Let go!”

Ben’s temper gets the better of him, infuriated that Rey doesn’t understand, needs her to understand, can’t fathom that Rey, unlike Ben, has at this point largely let her past die. She’s not holding on to her past. She is embracing her present.

Ben plays the last card he has, bringing up her parents, dredging up memories that Rey had suppressed. And we have the reveal that Rey is not a Skywalker, or a Kenobi, or anyone special. Her parents were no one important, and they abandoned her for their own selfish ends. They’re dead, never to return (Maz warns her of this in TFA). There will be no reconciliation with them. It’s a devastating moment for Rey, because it’s a painful memory, and Ben hopes to use that pain to his advantage. It is nakedly manipulative, but it’s all he knows.

“you have no place in this story. You’re nothing. You come from nothing.
But not to me.
Join me….please”

We’ve had the join me to rule the galaxy moments in Star Wars before, but I’m not sure we’ve had one with this sort of naked desperation (perhaps Anakin makes a similar plea to Padme, which would make sense since it’s a similar dynamic in play) It’s a powerful moment but one that Ben misreads. A child of privilege, of a world historic lineage, the idea of coming from nothing would be a crushing blow to Ben, who always knew he was a major player in a larger story. Stripped of that meaning Ben offers her love, and a place. But Rey never needed her parents to validate who she was, or who she is. In the she just wanted a family, to be loved. Settling the fate of her parents, confronting that truth, enables Rey to leave behind the part of the past that was holding her back, and fully embrace the family she has. And it is this family that Ben solo is destroying.

The truth is that Ben will always need Rey because she is the only possible source of that validation. But Rey will never need Ben. Not in the same way. She may pity him, she may want to save him, she may be attracted to and compelled by him. But she is complete without him in a way that Ben will never be. Rey is forced to confront her past., and grow beyond it. Kylo seeks to systematically destroy it to avoid confronting it, and as such he’ll never escape it. Luke warns him of as much during their confrontation on Crait.

Dreandought Hanger: Our three major stories (Rey/Ben, Finn/Rose, Poe/Resistance) are converging on one moment, and this whole sequence is masterfully edited. Phasma gives the order to have Rose and Finn killed and, in typical bond fashion, decides that shooting them is too good and orders a more painful decapitation, buying our heroes a few precious seconds.

Resistance Cruiser: We see the Resistance Cruiser turning to face down the First Order (and since this is Poe’s arc, note the parallel to the opening of the movie with Poe, in his lone X-wing, facing down the First Order). Leia’s daughter notes to Poe that she’s running away. Poe, understanding and now fully in awe of Holdo, senses her true intention moments before they become apparent to the First Order.

In a wonderfully framed shot we have our solitary cruiser on one end of the screen, the entire First Order fleet arrayed against her, and at this point the audience starts to realize what is about to happen

In an absolute panic Hux orders for the ships to fire on the cruiser. We cut to the throne room and see that Kylo and Rey are ripping the lightsaber apart, and that it is about to explode. Rey and Ren scream, Phasma gives the command to execute, the lightsaber explodes and Holdo engages the final light speed jump of Raddis.

This is, I think, arguably the most powerful visual effect in all of Star Wars. It’s debatable. Therefirst ever shot of a star destroyer is incredibly iconic, and there are some beautiful images in Rogue One. But this is incredibly powerful– in utter silence we just have white beams of light literally ripping the First Order fleet in two. Stylized shots, unusual angles, there is something otherworldly about the experience – that in a movie that blew up a planet in its first showing it finally had something new to show us. It is a breathtaking moment, and then the speed of sound catches up with the speed of light and the screen rumbles with a sound somewhere beyond an explosion and something more akin to the sounds we should have gotten when the Death Star destroyed Alderran.

Cut to Leia, Poe, and 3PO honoring her sacrifice as the few surviving transports make their way to Crait, leaving behind them the ruins of the First Order fleet

Dreadnought Hanger: It says something about how truly massive this ship is that, ripped in half, it still somehow survived (parts of it, anyway). Rose is dragging Finn from the wreckage, having spot a working shuttle, but marching through the ruins of the hanger, wreathed in smoke and flame, is Phasma and First Order Stormtroopers. Phasma calls Finn a traitor (echoing that storm trooper he fought on Maz’s planet) but before the First Order can finish off our beleaguered heroes an AT-ST turns and opens fire. As we learn, it was commandeered by BB8/Chopper, with echoes of Return of the Jedi. The storm troppers move to deal with BB8, leaving Finn and Rose free to face down Phasma. We learn that Phasma’s armor is blaster proof, and Rose is forced to take cover, leaving us with only Finn and Phasma, as it should be. It’s a brief but savage fight, backlight against the destroyed hanger – Phasma embodying Finn’s hatred of the First Order, Finn, escaped storm trooper and hero of the Resistence who keeps thwarting the First Order in their moment of triumph in turn embodying the truth that, for all its pretenses to the contrary, the First Order is not actually in control.

Phasma looks really intimidating int his fight, and I’m glad they gave her these moments – both in terms of her invulnerable armor and how cool it looks against the flames, but also by how large and intimidating she is, hulking over Finn who, while overmatched, refuses to surrender. Not against her. Not anymore.

Phasma knocks him into an elevator shaft and turns her attention to Rose (who assumes Finn is dead), only to have Finn ride up one of those elevators (like we saw in the Death Star hanger in a New Hope) to lay out Phasma with a powerful blow to the head, ripping open her invulnerable armor. As the ground shifts under Phasma and she realizes she is about to fall, she curses Finn as scum. Smiling, satisfied, Finn owns the insult, but transforming into the bdage of honor ‘Rebel Scum.’ Finn’s arc within the movie is almost complete, as he’s now fully identified himself with the cause, but there is one more lesson he needs to learn.

Phasma falls, and BB8, Finn, and Rose escape in a shuttle (Rose greets him with a ‘need a lift’ which, in a nice callback, is the same thing DJ says to him and Rose when t hey escaped Canto Bight), in a beautiful shot flying through the wreckage of the fleet.. I presume Phasma survives since she’s in her armor, and the Dreadnought doesn’t actually explode. If they wanted her dead we would have seen her die.

During Phasma and Finns battle, you can see bb8 is in the walker in the background blowing shit up. It’s brillaint total chopper

Throne Room: We cut to Hux in the wreckage of the Throne Room, staring at the severed corpose of Snoke, its lower half unceremoniously falling to the floor. He is thunderstruck at what happened, completely at a loss. He sees Kylo unconscious and senses an opportunity to settle a score (pulling out his blaster), but changes his mind when he sees Kylo twitch. He’s seen him stop blaster bolts with the force and understandably doesn’t want to take that chance.

Ren tells Hux that Rey killed Snoke, and assumes command of the First Order. Hux, in a fit of self righteous spitting pique, contests that leadership until Ren, in his most Vader like moment thus far, force chokes Hux into accepting his command.

Looking on the wreckage of the fleet out the window (now that the curtain wall has burned away) we get an insight into Ren’s state of mind. He wants the First Order as a tool, but primarily as a tool for vengeance - something with which he can finish the destruction of his past. His concern is with how many troops they can get down to the planet to punish the Resistance, and punish Rey (who he now refers to as ‘the girl). In fact, the Resistance is clearly a means to an end - a way to get to Rey. When Ren calls to ‘finish this’ he is referring to Rey, not the Resistance. Kylo is practically in tears, raw, wounded, angry, hurt, unbalanced. The way he was after he killed Han Solo and didn’t feel any inner peace. The way he no doubt was the night he destroyed Luke’s Temple. Once again Kylo Ren has been betrayed by someone he trusted. Rey’s may hurt the most, since she was a kindred spirit and the person who was going to help guide Ren into becoming whoever it was he was meant to be (as he would have done the same for her)

Crait: We see Leia standing at the door looking out over the salt flats of Crait, no doubt reliving Hoth, except this time there is no evacuation – just the hope that they can hunker down long enough for someone to save them. They made it to a defensible position, but with only a tiny fraction of the already tiny resistance, and the First Order knows exactly where they are.

She orders the door shut and we see a pack of crystal foxes run in as an imperial shuttle and an advance wing of tie fighters barrel down, the shuttle making it through the door before it closes. We learn that the Tie Fighters were in fact trying to destroy the shuttle, which contains Finn, Rose, and BB8.

We get a brief return to the joyous Poe, who is overjoyed they aren’t dead and has a happy reunion with BB8 (again treating him like a dog, to the point of giving him tummy rubs. It’s kind of adorable). He’s on the ground, and he’s trapped, but he can fight again, and so his old spark is returning.

Rose asks the sobering question “is this all that’s left” which is important coming from her given her final lines in the film. If this is all we have left it becomes that much more essential that we protect it.

They set up a makeshift command center to defend the base and broadcast their distress signal. Leia instructs them to use her personal code and let them know “ if there are any allies to the Resistance, it’s now or never”. Leia is staking her reputation on someone coming to help. Rose reveals the assets that are left in the base, and they aren’t impressive. While the rebels were always outgunned, for the most part their equipment could hold its own against the Empire. Here we start to get a sense of just how hopelessly outclassed they are.

Poe, having learned from Holdo, is not contemplating an attack, and understands that they just need to hunker down and wait for help. They feel the dropships landing First Order equipment and see new and improved walkers (with extra plating around all the places that the rebels exploited during the battle of Hoth) and a battering ram cannon that could cut through the door. They won’t be able to hide. They begin contemplating escape, and discover that there is no way in or out of the base other than the main door.

This time it is Finn who gives the inspirational speech – telling everyone that people believe in Leia, and they’ll come as long as they can hold the door. They’ll need to destroy the cannon. Poe gives a subtle smile, is happy to hear it since there is now a proactive step they can take. Rose smiles much more broadly, proud of Finn and what he is becoming.

The Resistance soldiers set up some basic trench defenses, and we learn that Crait is really a red planet covered in a sheet of white salt. The Resistance launches their skimmers, and these are just have rusted garbage ships (in fact Poe kicks through the floor of one. There isn’t even a cockpit shield). But they don’t need to win. They just have to draw out the big cannon and destroy it.

Although they are garbage ships the design of the skimmers is something we haven’t really seen before, and this is a beautifully shot sequence with the salt kicking up and exposing the bright red lines underneath.

This is the first time Finn has self consciously engaged a fight as a Resistance soldier, and while he’s nervous and a little lost, t is also clear that he is proud of himself and his choice. Rose on the other hand ( a mechanic, not a warrior) is terrified, but steels herself by touching her necklace, reminding herself of her sister, and why she is fighting.

Hux and Ren are onboard Ren’s shuttle, overseeing the fight. Hux counsels that they clear the light craft before engaging (it seems that the sobering decimation of his fleet has made him less cocky and perhaps started to turn him into a better commander). Ren, obsessed, orders them to ignore the craft and push through. He wants the door down, the Resistance destroyed, Rey punished. Tunnel vision born of open wounds and a desire for reciprocation.

The skimmers scatter under the bombardment of the tie fighters. They are hopelessly outmatched, but again the point is not to win. It is to stall long enough to get a shot at destroying that cannon.

Rose is about to be overwhelmed when we see the triumphant return of the Falcon to the Resistance/Rebellion (piloted by Chewie and some adorable porgs, this time with Rey in the gunner position), coming in unexpectedly to save the day just like it did at the end of A New Hope. It’s the only piece of Resistance hardware on the battle that can handle the tie fighters. But more importantly, it is a symbol of Ren’s past, a monument to his failures, a reminder that the spirit of his parents still opposes him, and he orders all the First Order air support to follow “Blow that piece of junk out of the sky.” It’s also possible that he senses Rey on the ship. In either case, it is not the tactically sound move, as it gives the Resistance time to regroup and eventually retreat, which would have been next to impossible under the unanswerable fire the Tie Fighters were unleashing from the air. In any case, the Falcon draws them off.

Finn, cheering, gets the great line “oh , they hate that ship” which I love insofar as the Millennium Falcon itself is practically a character, a thorn in the side of tyranny for two generations. It's also a powerful piece of symbolism insofar as the Falcon, a piece of junk ship, is nothing special in itself - but it's been made special by the people who cared for it, believed in it, fought with it. If a Dreadnought or Death Star is a product of a large, terrifying military industrial complex, the Falcon represents the scrappy DIY spirit of the rebellion

Chewie leads them underground, gradually losing/destroying the ships in the underground caverns of Crait. It is a fantastic hero moment for Chewie, as this flying looks about as difficult as anything Han ever did, and Chewie is flying without a copilot.

Crait: The surviving speeders approach the massive gun. They’ve drawn it out, but they can’t get close enough. The First Order is too strong. Realizing they’re all going to get destroyed before they can get there, and that now that the cannon has started firing they can’t stop it, Poe calls off the attack, privileging the survival of the group over the hero play. Poe gives the order to retreat , echoing Leia from the opening battle. Finn, like Poe earlier, refuses to listen. Whereas for Poe it was about what makes a hero, for Finn this is personal. The First Order is the embodiment of everything he stands against. Determined, resolute, and furious, he yells that “I won’t let them win.” This is a personal vendetta for Finn, not allowing the First Order to destroy the Resistance, the source of his new identity. Rose begs for him to retreat and ,crying at the profound unfairness of the universe and determined to stand against it, Finn rips off his headset (similar to what Poe does at the start of TLJ and when Luke shifts off his targeting computer during the first Death Star trench run).

The cannon starts pounding into the bunker door, shaking the complex. Finn, flying underneath the blast, sees his ship start to melt. He’s left with no choice but to sacrifice himself by crashing the ship into the cannon and hoping that maybe this is enough. It is a hero martyr moment (the music, the lighting and the entire scene is played this way), and the audience is prepared to see Finn die to save the Resistance (a satisfying enough arc for Finn) until, at the last second, Rose crashes her ship into Finn’s, knocking them both clear.

Finn goes to pull Rose from the wreckage of her speeder, not understanding what just happened. “Why would you do that? I was almost there. Why did you stop me” Rose smiles.

“I saved you, dummy.
That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love”

And Roses kisses Finn and passes out as the door to the Resistance base is destroyed behind them.

It’s an powerful line, and a wonderful encapsulation of the central theme running through the story of Finn, Rose, Poe, and Holdo. That this is not about punishing the bad, but protecting the good. Preservation, not destruction. It’s the light side philosophy behind resistance and struggle and a message that resonates really powerfully (with certain audiences) in the age of Trump.

It is also the moment that concludes Finn's arc thus far. He has both identified with a cause larger than himself, and allowed that cause, and the values within it to define him, rather than his desire to punish those who have wronged him.

The kiss moment does feel slightly abrupt and unearned, but the seeds are scattered throughout he movie. The Rose/Finn story had the most cut scenes so it’ll be interesting to see if this feels more organic when we see those scenes.

Crait: Watching the wreckage of the shield door Ren orders the advance. No quarter. No prisoners. Ren’s past ends here. Inside the base there is a moment of desolation. The distress signle has been heard, but no one is answering. The door is compromised. There is no way to fight back, no hope of survival. They look to Leia for answers, but even she has surrendered to the despair.

“We fought to the end, but the galaxy has lost all its hope. The spark is out.”

Leia staked her reputation on this distress beacon, but Leia, in the end, is not mythic. She is just a person. Inspiring, brilliant, but in a war against something like the First Order they needed something more powerful than that – a symbol of power and resistance that transcends mere physical might (the First Order is unchallenged there). No doubt Leia had allies, but if they came how could they get past a First Order fleet. How would they be punished for helping. The momentum is with the First Order. They destroyed the Republic, they crushed the resistance. It would be so easy to give up, to look after your own, and carve out what space you can for yourself in their order. No one wants to surrender to tyranny. But fighting requires a belief that you can somehow transcend the strength and authority of what you’re righting against. The Jedi, and especially Luke Skywalker, were a symbol of that – the possibility of triumph against impossible odds that, when enough people believe, makes the impossible possible

And it is at that moment, at her lowest, that Leia senses Luke’s presence, sees him reveal himself at the moment when Leia, and the galaxy, may need him the most.

Luke and Leia have their reconciliation. Leia forgives Luke for what happened to Ben, and takes comfort in his presence. She can possibly sense that he’s not there (it isn’t clear at what point she realizes this), and from Leia’s perspective this is a comforting farewell at the end of her time. When he reveals that he is going to confront him, and that he cannot be saved, she seems genuinely surprised, but also gives Luke her blessing. She knows that her son is gone, and that whatever’s left isn’t him. To which Luke responds that no one’s ever really gone.

It’s a great line in that it speaks to Luke’s death (and the existence of force ghosts). He hands her the dice he pulled from the Falcon, a symbol of Han’s spirit (living on in the people he touched ), and although Luke can’t save Ben, he doesn’t indicate that Ben can’t be saved (just that he can’t do it). And the nothing that is ever really gone, in this context, is referring to the part of her son that is still in there. It may just fall to someone else (rey) to be the one to do it.

Luke winks at Threepio, and then the legendary hero, the remains of the Resistance looking on in awe, strides out through the wreckage of the door, preparing to face down the First Order. It is theatrics, but for the people watching it is the kind of moment that stays with you forever, that inspires you to keep fighting long after you’ve given up. By simply walking out to meet them, Luke restores hope to the galaxy.