!We Got (Almost) Everything!
Guys. I’ve seen it twice, I’ve had time to think it over, and my husband put it best when he said Reylo fans have “an embarrassment of riches” coming out of TROS. No matter what else happened, these things happened. I’m beyond sure this is not the first such post, but allow me to list them for your and my appreciation:
The Force Bond Connection still exists and happened multiple times.
Kylo/Ben did not want to kill Rey for one second of the film and instead spent the entire thing chasing her obsessively to win her hand.
The previous attempt to win her hand was discussed at length. Yes, I know “at length” is a relative term given the pacing of this film, but there is now no longer any question of interpretation of that scene in TLJ and the GA/antis/whomever can shut up about “KyLO rEn just wanted her P0w3R” and “ReY don’t need no mAN” forever.
Ben Solo was a victim and this was finally spelled out for the GA and we have been vindicated for believing this.
Ben Solo managed to get closure not only with his mother but also with his father, in a beautiful beat-for-beat inversion of his greatest sin.
Bendemption happened and he threw away the red saber and we literally heard the words “Kylo Ren is dead. My son [Ben Solo] is alive.”
Ben and Rey are literal soulmates. Say that again with me. A plot device was created to convey beyond any doubt that these two characters are cosmic-level soulmates.
Rey gave what must have been a not-insignifcant part of her own life force to heal Kylo/Ben after realizing the mistake she’d made.
Ben ran like a bat out of hell and then finally fought with raw confidence and poise the way he always deserved to in order to come to her aid when she needed it most.
Ben crawled out of a pit with all the strength he had left so he could come to her aid when she needed it most, again.
He held her tenderly, held her ACHINGLY close, trembled with a perfect puppy-dog look in his eyes, swiftly comprehending that she was all he needed now and then that maybe there was something he could do about it.
He. Gave. Her. All. His. Remaining. Life. Energy. So. She. Could. Live. This was the ultimate selfless act. You’ve seen it in movies before; you’ve seen it in books, in plays, in songs, in sonnets, but there’s a reason it’s an age-old trope and an unambiguous ultimate declaration of pure love. Yeah, the price was high, and yeah, it’s gonna hurt for awhile, but narratively speaking, this bolstered the credibility of his love more than anything else could have. It may be raw as hell right now, but I have a feeling it will age well, not least because:
Reverse Anidala happened. C’mon fam. Just let it sink in. “Grandfather, I will finish what you started.” Don’t make me gesture at empty air, folks. In the context of the films that came before, and in the context of Kylo/Ben’s stated goal throughout this trilogy, this is poetry and the ultimate Triumph of Love and also a fitting conclusion to the Skywalker saga and to Ben Solo’s personal arc.
The. Smiles. THE. PURE. SMILES. WITH. THEIR. ENTIRE. GODDAMN. FACES. AND. THEIR. WHOLE. SOULS.
The. Kiss. IT HAPPENED. No more “will-they-won’t-they”, no more doubt among the GA, no plausible deniability for anyone who wants to try to claim that they were not canonically in love. Also, Rey initiated the kiss and it was a kiss with Ben Solo, so the word “toxic” can be buried in the sand (deeper than those lightsabers - push it to the core of Tatooine and let it melt!). This was a kiss for the ages and I believe it will go down among the greatest moments in the Star Wars saga. This was the kiss we’ve all deserved since the Prequels tried and failed to make us feel romantic chemistry. This kiss wins everything.
It has already been well established in this universe and reinforced in this very film that ghosts can appear and speak to the living. Earlier in this same film, Luke Skywalker pushed the envelope further than ever, interacting with physical objects both with his hands and with the Force. In this universe, not only can ghosts appear and speak to the living, they can also touch and interact with the living world. We have a built-in obvious “out” here, folks. It could not be more apparent that they will be able to see each other (and perhaps much more) again in the future, whether that occurs on-screen or not. And there are still yet other possibilities for where his “soul” ended up after we last saw him. Compare this luxury to other franchises that have no such mechanism at hand in their universes. Really, how much more fortunate could we be in this situation?
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