Rogue One

[Mr Mystery]

Though now I think about it, Star Wars doesn't have a sexual reward waiting for the hero at any point.

Even Han doesn't get the girl until the third film, not properly. And even then, it's because they've been denying their feeling for each other for different reasons.

When Han thinks Leia is leaving him for Luke, he's clearly putting a brave face on it - and she's quick to reassure him.

[Erik Setzer]

I'm not even sure if it's stated that Leia's parents bought it along with Alderran?

If she's able to bury that in the name of her duty, then exactly where does that strength stem from? Has some other tragedy in earlier life steeled her?

There is a LOT about Leia's life that isn't covered. I'd like to see more of that. Especially as the portrayal in TFA and in the comics (even the ones set shortly after ANH) shows her as just always taking charge and being pretty much unshakable.

In the case of ANH, though, I think it's less some gender-based thing and more that Lucas didn't really think about some things. Like how Leia gets tortured, but shows no signs of actual duress. No physical signs of any bruising or punctures, she's not showing emotional wear, her clothes are spotless, her hair is perfect. You'd think the Empire was treating her like some kind of honored guest with a personal spa.

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Though now I think about it, Star Wars doesn't have a sexual reward waiting for the hero at any point.

Even Han doesn't get the girl until the third film, not properly. And even then, it's because they've been denying their feeling for each other for different reasons.

When Han thinks Leia is leaving him for Luke, he's clearly putting a brave face on it - and she's quick to reassure him.

And then they do hook up, and have a son... and it all goes downhill from there.

Kind of like when Anakin and Padme hooked up, and it turned into an abusive relationship that ended up with her dead, their kids raised by other people, and eventually said kids destroying the Empire he helped build.

Okay, so maybe romance and Star Wars don't go together very well...

[Mr Mystery]

Well we don't know what happened with Kylo Ren, other than the aftermath.

But good point about Leia in ANH. Though I suppose being a (by then former) Diplomat/Senator, they had to be careful about what they did. Deathstar now looks to have been the beginning of Palpatine throwing away any pretence at democracy (I've got the Vader comic which goes into more detail. It's ace, so I shan't spoil it)

[Kirsten]

Well we don't know what happened with Kylo Ren, other than the aftermath.

personally I am hoping he is dead and never mentioned again

[Erik Setzer]

Well we don't know what happened with Kylo Ren, other than the aftermath.

We know some, from the story scattered through the various books released alongside the movie. Apparently this guy Snoke showed up out of nowhere and knew a lot about the Force, and realized Ben had a lot of potential. So he started trying to train Ben on the side, which seemed harmless at first... and then things went downhill.

They also seem to be saying that Snoke's trying to teach Ben/Kylo how to walk a line between Dark and Light, not really hardcore Dark Side (and not Sith, either).

Somewhere along the line they *did* look into Sith stuff, or at least the Jedi-vs-Sith battle, because Kylo went to Malachor, which is where he found the inspiration for his saber... but as we saw in Rebels, there's not really any functional examples left to work with, so it's no surprise it wasn't done perfectly. (Also, in Rebels, it's not a Sith saber that Ezra found, if that's significant at all.)

If we want to go into tinfoil hat territory here, Malachor (Malachor V, to be exact, IIRC) is involved in the struggles involving Revan... a Force-user who tried to wield the Light and the Dark. And given the outfits used by the Knights of Ren and how they resembled Revan and company, it's possible that they're including the Revan story in all of this, and Snoke somehow heard about Revan and decided Ben could become a modern day Revan, only without being a Jedi and/or Sith at any point.

But that bit's conjecture.

Seems like they thought maybe someone had shown up who could help train their son, and that guy ended up being a really bad influence instead. And killing all of the other students? Well, if you're going to tear down the old Jedi/Sith duopoly and build a new middle ground, you can't go having some guy teaching people to walk one extreme on either side.

There's some serious potential for cool stories in there, but it's not translating well on-screen, and they need to put out more of the backstory.

[Mr Mystery]

Hold on...which books?

I've got Aftermath, and the four short stories?

Soon as you mentioned other books, I skipped to the end for fear of inadvertent spoilers, so apologies if you did in fact list them!

[Erik Setzer]

Hold on...which books?

I've got Aftermath, and the four short stories?

Soon as you mentioned other books, I skipped to the end for fear of inadvertent spoilers, so apologies if you did in fact list them!

The Visual Dictionary for TFA is a good source. Among the notes:

"...Kylo Ren is no Jedi, nor is he a Sith."
"The Supreme Leader believes Ren to be the ideal embodiment of the Force, a focal point of light and dark side ability."
"...Kylo Ren is the embodiment of conflict, drawing upon contradictory teaching and deriving power from discord. ... Through his veins courses the bloodline of the most powerful Jedi and Sith..."
"...it was his deadly lightsaber skills that prevented the return of the Jedi Order."

With the lightsaber it notes:

"Kylo Ren's lightsaber is an ancient design, dating back thousands of years to the Great Scourge of Malachor."



It also makes a note about Leia that ties into earlier conversation here:

"Despite the loss of so many loved ones, Leia simply never surrenders to grief. Leia's brother, Luke, speculates that the strength of her will is how the Force manifests in her."

That makes sense... the peace of the Force is giving her strength. If so, that's definitely a show of being as in-tune with the Force as Luke or Anakin.

It also mentions that she kept trying to warn them about the First Order but was called an alarmist and warmonger. Ouch. I don't think the Senate's going to be calling her that any more (because they're not going to call anyone anything, 'cause they're dead).

[Psychosplodge]

OKAY BUT GUYS I DON’T THINK YOU REALISE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THIS MAN IS WEARING



That guy in the Rogue One trailer, with the white Imperial uniform? There’s only ever been one rank in the entire Imperial Navy which wears a white uniform: Grand ****ing Admiral.

For those unfamiliar with the old EU, in the entirety of the Galactic Empire, which at its peak ruled over literally trillions of sentients, there were never more than twelve Grand Admirals at any given time. These guys outranked Grand Moff Tarkin, the old dude who kept Vader in check in Episode IV. There were only like four people in the galaxy more powerful than them, and one of those was the Emperor.

But what made these guys so important wasn’t just their rank. It was that they were all hand-picked by Palpatine for their sheer genius. Their tactical brilliance was literally the stuff of legends. Five years after the second Death Star was destroyed, just the rumour that a Grand Admiral might have survived the fall of the Empire was enough to cause all sorts of strife in the New Republic.

When that rumour turned out to be true, Grand Admiral Thrawn single-handedly brought the New Republic government to its knees, holding the entire planet of Coruscant hostage to terror for months with a brilliant tactical ploy.

Like. If this film does this character anywhere near the justice the Grand Admiral rank deserves, he is going to be one hell of a ****ing villain.

Now paint him blue.

[Denzark]

I'd be surprised if he is a Grand Admiral. There is an Imperial Officer wearing similar in ANH - although without the 6 wide double rank. Also, Thrawn is usually shown with the 3 yellow tabs identical to Grand Moff Tarkin.

Further edit - this chap is apparently Wullf Yularen, a Colonel with the ISB. So White don't guarantee Grand Admiral.

[Psychosplodge]

Someone might have just liked the uniform.