In The Last Jedi, Rey (rightly) hates Kylo on sight, especially after he killed Han Solo, his own father, and someone Rey had become attached to because... well, Han, who wouldn't love that guy? But, after two or three scenes of them sparring with each other through the Force-bridge, suddenly she's pen-paling Kylo and taking his side of the argument when he suggests Luke tried to kill him. Even after hearing Luke's side of the story, she is convinced that Kylo has good in him, but why is she so invested in his redemption? Now, look, had Johnson followed through with Luke's fear after Rey's first lesson some of this would have made sense.
Here is what I mean - the new generation of Force users are very powerful. The Force Awakens made wielding the Force extremely easy, and Rey is able to channel her powers without any training at all. Kylo, who has training from Luke and Snoke is a powerful user, but somehow is bested by Rey. I put this down to her unconsciously honing her skills as a scavenger.
Having said that, when Luke reluctantly begins her training, in the very first lesson she is tempted by the Dark Side. Luke sees a repeat of Kylo and walks away horrified. And then, goes back to teaching her Lesson 2 and how he hates the Jedi? But, this doesn't at all fall in line with how shaken he was after their first lesson. Had he stopped training her because he couldn't fail another student, or had she insisted that only with his help could she stave off the Dark Side, her insistence that Kylo can be redeemed would have made more sense - redeem him, and she can prove that the Dark Side has no power over her. It's a pretty classic tale, actually. Instead, pedantic viewers can put it all down to an attraction between Rey and Kylo, and honestly, the girl deserves better.
via GIPHY
It seems like Disney and Johnson were too afraid to be seen as not 100% heteronormative. So they've gone and fuelled the fire of a possible toxic romance between these two characters, which honestly is the last thing 2017 needed in terms of women characters. Rey and Kylo's storylines do not run parallel to each other, which would have made an excellent arc for both characters, but run into each other. Yes, Kylo was suggesting to Rey that he could be her teacher back in The Force Awakens, but why is Rey so taken with Kylo's redemption? How is it that Disney finds it easier to green light the possibility of such an ugly romance, but goes out of its way to derail any chance of a happy, fan-favourite gay romance? Hollywood has too much power over our entertainment, but can't be bothered to show us a semblance of the real world on screen.
We see abusive, or potentially abusive relationships in Hollywood products all the time - Han himself is a culprit of non-consensual behaviour (in fact, plenty of Harrison Ford's films have 'romantic' moments that are anything but). This new trilogy is supposed to herald a new beginning. Instead, most sane-thinking viewers are concerned at the possibility of Reylo becoming a Joker/Harley Quinn relationship - championed by fans but worryingly problematic on every level. There is no point in presenting a toxic relationship if you're going to normalise it or not make a comment on it. Yet, most young fans on the internet are aflutter with Reylo art and fan-fiction, thereby shifting the conversation from Rey's character arc to a romance that she doesn't need.
None of this is to say that Rey and Kylo are going to be a romantic pairing in Episode XI - but is there a guarantee? I honestly expected, when Kylo mentioned to Rey that he saw her parents, that the revelation would be that they were siblings. Granted, it would have meant re-treading the original trilogy (not that this film doesn't do that enough), but in hindsight, it seems preferable to a possible romance.
More than anything, The Last Jedi felt at ease creating a substantial character study of Kylo at the expense of Rey, who should be the hero of this trilogy. By adding a misguided attempt to redeem a petulant villain, we fail to see her ambitions come to fruition. The Force Awakens imbued this character with so much potential, only for Johnson to squander it on poorly conceived conceits and archaic attempts at character building. Rey deserves so much better.
 |
| Enemies, not frenemies |
Here is what I mean - the new generation of Force users are very powerful. The Force Awakens made wielding the Force extremely easy, and Rey is able to channel her powers without any training at all. Kylo, who has training from Luke and Snoke is a powerful user, but somehow is bested by Rey. I put this down to her unconsciously honing her skills as a scavenger.
Having said that, when Luke reluctantly begins her training, in the very first lesson she is tempted by the Dark Side. Luke sees a repeat of Kylo and walks away horrified. And then, goes back to teaching her Lesson 2 and how he hates the Jedi? But, this doesn't at all fall in line with how shaken he was after their first lesson. Had he stopped training her because he couldn't fail another student, or had she insisted that only with his help could she stave off the Dark Side, her insistence that Kylo can be redeemed would have made more sense - redeem him, and she can prove that the Dark Side has no power over her. It's a pretty classic tale, actually. Instead, pedantic viewers can put it all down to an attraction between Rey and Kylo, and honestly, the girl deserves better.
It seems like Disney and Johnson were too afraid to be seen as not 100% heteronormative. So they've gone and fuelled the fire of a possible toxic romance between these two characters, which honestly is the last thing 2017 needed in terms of women characters. Rey and Kylo's storylines do not run parallel to each other, which would have made an excellent arc for both characters, but run into each other. Yes, Kylo was suggesting to Rey that he could be her teacher back in The Force Awakens, but why is Rey so taken with Kylo's redemption? How is it that Disney finds it easier to green light the possibility of such an ugly romance, but goes out of its way to derail any chance of a happy, fan-favourite gay romance? Hollywood has too much power over our entertainment, but can't be bothered to show us a semblance of the real world on screen.
We see abusive, or potentially abusive relationships in Hollywood products all the time - Han himself is a culprit of non-consensual behaviour (in fact, plenty of Harrison Ford's films have 'romantic' moments that are anything but). This new trilogy is supposed to herald a new beginning. Instead, most sane-thinking viewers are concerned at the possibility of Reylo becoming a Joker/Harley Quinn relationship - championed by fans but worryingly problematic on every level. There is no point in presenting a toxic relationship if you're going to normalise it or not make a comment on it. Yet, most young fans on the internet are aflutter with Reylo art and fan-fiction, thereby shifting the conversation from Rey's character arc to a romance that she doesn't need.
None of this is to say that Rey and Kylo are going to be a romantic pairing in Episode XI - but is there a guarantee? I honestly expected, when Kylo mentioned to Rey that he saw her parents, that the revelation would be that they were siblings. Granted, it would have meant re-treading the original trilogy (not that this film doesn't do that enough), but in hindsight, it seems preferable to a possible romance.
More than anything, The Last Jedi felt at ease creating a substantial character study of Kylo at the expense of Rey, who should be the hero of this trilogy. By adding a misguided attempt to redeem a petulant villain, we fail to see her ambitions come to fruition. The Force Awakens imbued this character with so much potential, only for Johnson to squander it on poorly conceived conceits and archaic attempts at character building. Rey deserves so much better.
Comments