Mirroring, opposites and the personification of Yin Yang in the final fight between Kylo Ren and Rey.
Remember when Harrison ford recently said that the end fight was a masterful piece of storytelling? How you might ask?
Well, I believe the choreography in this fight between Ren and Rey is to show you that firstly, they are two halves of a whole and secondly, it shows you that they are the personification of Yin and Yang. This is all suggested through the use of choreography, theme and shot choices.
From www.personaltao.com:
“A starting definition: Yin / Yang : Two halves that together complete wholeness. Yin and yang are also the starting point for change. When something is whole, by definition it is unchanging and complete. So when you split something into two halves – yin / yang, it upsets the equilibrium of wholeness. This starts both halves chasing after each other as they seek a new balance with each other.
The word Yin comes out to mean “shady side” and Yang “sunny side
Neither Yin nor Yang are absolute. Nothing is completely Yin or completely Yang. Each aspect contains the beginning point for the other aspect. For example: day becomes night and then night becomes day…Yin and Yang are interdependent upon each other so that the definition of one requires the definition for the other to be complete.
Yin Yang is not static. The nature of Yin and Yang flows and changes with time. A simple example is thinking about how the day gradually flows into night.
Sometimes changes in the relationship between Yin and Yang can be dramatic where one aspect can literally just transform into the other.”
NOW BACK TO REY AND REN (Funny how even their names role off the tongue like Yin and Yang does, hmm?)
So here’s the video of the fight. I’ll ask you to watch it now and then I’ll ask you to watch it again once you have seen read my post.
Lets rewind to the moment where she uses the force to grab the lightsaber. This is where the mirroring starts:
Their facial expressions are the same when she is holding the saber.
Rey holds the saber up, Ren holds his down. She then runs at him and this is where one of the most beautifully choreographed parts of the fight happens.
If you watch closely they exchange a few blows. Then Ren runs right just as Rey swipes. She misses and hits a tree, the tree then falls over
More blows, Rey runs right just as Ren swipes, he misses and hits a tree, the tree then falls over:
Not only does the same thing happen in those two shots, they are also exact duplicates of each other, they both run in the same direction, they both hit the tree in the same spot and they both make the tree fall over.
Then they bounce off off each other like they literally hit a mirror, he twirls, she twirls at the exact same time and they end up like a mirror image but opposite of one another. This whole sequence is like a dance:
Then we cut away to Poe’s space battle..This is to give you a breather from the fight. But when we return, boy has the dynamic changed.
In the first part of the fight, we have seen them appear to be the two sides of a whole. “Two sides of a whole” is what Yin and Yang are.
When we rejoin them after Poe’s space battle, we start to see them demonstrate what Yin and Yang DO:
There are a series of forceful blows from Kylo, She is retreating. The choreography obviously makes this look like a chase when she runs up on the wall and leaps away from him, he’s literally trying to catch her feet but she squirms away.
He pursues her right to the edge of the cliff. He asks to be her teacher then something incredible happens. Something JJ WANTED you to take note of, but also wanted to keep an air of mystery about (for now).
Yin and Yang can absorb each others aspects/personality:
Very important to note, this moment seems to happen when they are connected with the lightabers..it is showing a symbolic connection. What I think is happening here ties in with FrolickingFizzgig’s force bond theory.
Rey is absorbing his negativity and aggression which weakens him and strengthens her. The red lightsaber shaft is visible in this scene, the blue is not. Its like a vortex of negative emotion just seeping into her. She opens her eyes, they are red (reflecting the red lightsaber), his eyes reflect the blue lightsaber. This is Yin/Yang. The red in her eyes shows the part of darkness in her and the blue in his eyes shows the part of light in him. Yin and Yang both have a dot inside them which resembles a part of the other.
Now the shots used here ladies and gentlemen…the SHOTS..this is the only time in the movie where they use a choker shot. A choker shot is a rare occurrence in a film, it’s midway between an extreme close up and a close up..it hovers around the eyes, and cuts off part of either the bottom or the top of the face. You don’t just use these shots willy nilly, no sir. You use them when you want to convey a deep intimacy on screen with the characters, They are most commonly used when you want to create romance.
ROMEO AND JULIETT - LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
In fact, the extreme closeness used between Rey and Ren here is closer than any choker shot I have seen in a romance movie. The fact that choker shots are used on both of them here indicates that the intimacy is between them both..they are sharing something here which the audience cant see but we can sense something is happening. The choice of shot is used to ensure that it etches into your mind and you wont forget it. This is the most important part of the entire film because they chose to use those types of shots here and nowhere else. You only use these shots when you want to highlight something about the character/s and make it very important.
The tables turn and she chases him now, the endless cycle of yin yang, an endless dance which can only come to an end when you find balance. And then we have one of the most single symbolic moments in the entire film:
Finding a balance. Yin and Yang, only when joined can find a balance:
This shot resembles the battle between light and dark and compromise. I for one felt that when Ren and Rey grabbed each other’s lightsabers, Ren SHOULD have been able to overpower her, he is physically stronger than her. If he’s trying to stop her from extinguishing his lightaber, well he’s not trying very hard.
It’s almost like he wants it to be gone forever, but cant let it go, this moment reflects his inner turmoil perfectly. They choose closeups here, they want you to see their emotions whilst this is happening. For a fleeting moment, it almost looks like they are on the same side here and she is helping him to extinguish the darkness in him, and he is LETTING her..like a desperate struggle to save his soul..(something which will be played out later in the trilogy, I believe)
This doesn’t look like the face of a man who wants the dark side to win:
Then she she slashes his face. This does not stop him, he still tries to get up and look at her, he wants to get to her at all costs, he is pulled towards her. If she could kill him here..what would it do? It would extinguish the evil and good would triumph,
But fate has another plan the ground breaks them apart. Splits them up just like Yin and Yang. The world does not want the darkness to be fully extinguished or the light to be fully extinguished…a BALANCE must be found..an area of gray. These two are not meant to kill each other…they are meant to find a balance:
The expressions on their faces as the ground breaks do not reflect anger or hatred..its a mutual expression of care and concern, it is suggesting the balance which is needed between them:
Things are split in two quite a few times during this fight
The trees, the ground and Ren’s face which seems to look a bit like the shape of Yin and Yang, there is a distinctive curve on the scar.
So what do I think this scene suggests as a whole? Well the writers have said you should know by the end of the movie, where things are going to go. I think this end scene with them suggests a fight for redemption and then a mutual ground being found between light and dark..An area of gray. Please see below the poem from the novel of the The Force Awakens:
The writers have also called this trilogy a Space Bear and have used the image of panda. Guess what a panda represents in Chinese culture because of its unique black and white coat? That’s right..Yin and Yang.
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