So in reference to rey kicking kylo's ass, why do you think that it would be boring or poor writing to watch her do it over again a few times? (I hope I'm not misinterpreting your tags) Why not let her kick his ass in every movie, I mean I'm down for it. I kind of think having her loose to him in ep 8 and then win again in ep 9 would be cool.
Ella!! No, no worries you read my tags right. :D
I mean, if you feel this way than there isn’t really anything I can say to make you change your mind because … I disagree. :D We’re at a stalemate. I think that Rey beating Kylo up over and over again (with no intervening change in their dynamic) would be the worst thing the movies could possibly do. If they were to have her lose in the next one and then win in the last, that would be better but still, to me- boring. Because they would end up exactly where we saw them at the end of TFA- Rey the victor, Kylo the defeated.
That already happened. We literally watched that happen. And all of that emotional ground has been covered. We’ve experienced the thrill of her overturning him and relished in the shock of her victory, in her intensity, in his surprise and helplessness, in the way his world crashes around him because of the strength of the scavenger girl. Victory against an enemy who started out with the upper hand over the hero is fun and satisfying to watch because it’s about shifting the dynamics and turning the tables. Rey has already (beautifully) upset the power dynamic and transformed before our eyes from prisoner to conqueror. Yes, the conqueror could keep conquering over and over, but to me that’s closer to cruelty (not because Rey defeating Kylo if he needed to be again and again would be cruel but because narratively the rehashing of violence again and again suggests it). Yes you could create a situation every movie where Kylo tries to gain the upper hand, plot Rey’s demise, and then eventually get what he deserves, but where’s the interest (really) in that?
TFA gave us Kylo’s defeat way too early if his defeat as this trilogy’s Big Bad was their only aim. He was crushed far too completely for the cycle to repeat itself over and over in a way that would be interesting and exciting. Had they left it ambiguous, had his defeat been less certain, then sure. That would obviously still be Rey’s aim. But that isn’t what happened. He’s left in the snow with his face and shoulder ripped up. The last time Rey and the viewers see him he’s literally lying on the ground in defeat.
Let’s consider Darth Vader. He’s defeated (to some extent) at the end of A New Hope, and he comes back stronger but the Empire Strikes Back doesn’t end with a similar defeat for him, or even an exactly reversed scenario. It complicates the entire thing by Vader revealing to Luke that he’s his father. The entire villain-hero dynamic is shifted because the bad guy is literally the dude’s dad!! Luke is left stranded with a broken arm in bad need of rescuing, so here is his defeat in Act II that should set him up for victory in the third installment. But much more crucially than that he’s left with the knowledge of who his father really is and it has upset his entire world in a way he never imagined. Return of the Jedi creates a scenario in which (again) Vader and Luke are on opposing sides, but instead of giving you a one-sided victory, the movie gives you sacrifice, redemption, forgiveness, and love. That’s better, That’s so much better!
Obviously the next two installments of this trilogy cannot end the same way because I think we can all agree that whoever Rey’s father is it’s probably not Kylo. :D (We can all agree on that one right? :D) And I’m not even necessarily saying that the movie has to end in redemption, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love. I know what I prefer in my movies but I’m honestly, truly not saying that that is the only viable option here. But something, s o m e t h i n g has to happen between Rey and Kylo. Some revelation, some change of heart, some complication that alters their relation to each other as pure enemies has to take place for the movie to move these two characters forward. Something has to throw a wrench in one or both of their plans in order for the story to have any real conflict or anywhere to go. To keep both single-handedly intent on destroying each other with no other goal or purpose besides that, with nothing that makes at least one of them reconsider their situation at all is just bad storytelling. I know (personally) what I want to happen, but I’m not going to say it’s the only way. There are a lot of ways to play this as long as we don’t watch Rey continue to destroy Kylo over and over until the final credits roll. And no, Kylo as temporary victor and Rey as defeated for a short period of time before she rises in glory to defeat him one last time is not going to do it for me.
One final thing to consider that just occurred to me: I understand when people say they want Kylo to become fully dark and strong and committed, like actually reach his goal of being as strong as Darth Vader but go even farther in stomping on the last bits of light in him. I disagree but I understand it. That is not what most people are saying when they say they want Rey to continue to defeat him. They don’t want her to defeat the Fully Bad Kylo; they want her to continue beating up the conflicted mess we see at the end of TFA. And, again, to each their own but that is just the weirdest and cruelest desire I’ve ever seen. It’s not like Kylo is the kind of villain who is so incredibly wicked and depraved and perverted that watching his defeat over and over would be enjoyable. like Joffrey from game of thrones or whatever. Most people who hate him admit that he’s not very impressive/or even that evil in terms of villainy so wanting him to just get repeatedly thrashed is the weirdest thing to me. But I’ve seen a lot of posts on here that want that so...
