So, i’ve been pondering the teaser trailer and while I’m super into most of the interpretations I’ve seen, I had an idea spark into my head about an alternate interpretation. Now, mind you, I’m not 100% sold on this meta, even though I’m the one writing it, but I figured I’d put the idea out there and see if I can convince myself, or maybe anyone else has some other insight into it.
So first off, this hinges on the idea of “balance” that we’ve been screaming about for 40 years of Star Wars. We know, thanks to The Force Awakens novelization, that Snoke prizes Kylo Ren above anyone else because he is the child of balance.
"It is where you are from. What you are made of. The dark side—and the light.
That being said, even with Kylo Ren knowing this, he still swears that he must be Dark Side, that being called to the light is somehow bad. Snoke views him as like, the epitome of the force, but Kylo Ren is resistant to the idea.
So anyway, let’s get into the actual thought I was having. In the trailer, Luke’s voice tells Rey (assumably) to “Reach out. What do you see?” Rey responds “Light. Darkness. A Balance.”
Most people are interpreting this as Rey reaching out into the force, describing the force as light and dark and balanced. But that seems to over-simplify it. Obviously we as viewers are aware that the force can be dark and light. The balance isn’t a new concept to us, we’ve been talking about it forever. What seems like !!!! GREY JEDI !!!! sort of hint is actually pretty standard fair for what we’ve come to expect from the Star Wars movies, light side, dark side, balance yo.
So what I’m thinking, and like I said, I’m not 100% sold on this idea myself, so I’m really just spitballing here... is that Luke is fully aware of the connection between Rey and Kylo Ren. He can tell that they are linked in the force. And so he tests it, he has her test the limit of the connection. He tells her to “Reach out” and she connects with Kylo Ren (perhaps unknowing that it’s him she’s connecting to). Luke can tell, so he asks “what do you see?”
Rey responds: Light.
And we get a shot of Kylo Ren’s mother. His light. Leia’s voice calls out “You’re my only hope.”
And then Rey says: Darkness.
And we get a shot of Kylo Ren’s helmet - with eyes that look closer to Vader’s helmet. His mask of the dark side. Vader breathing. Obi-wan saying “He was seduced by the dark side.”
And then Rey says: A Balance.
And we see a hand touching an ancient page with a Jedi symbol. I’m doubtful that would be Luke, as I believe he has a black glove? And he wasn’t even wearing a glove in TFA so. I’m not feeling it being Rey because with the exception of her on Jakku, she’s not really been a glove kind of gal. For the sake of this speculative meta, I’m going to say that this is the gloved hand of Ben Solo discovering these books on his adventures with Luke - which led to his falling out with Luke.
SO YEAH. If that’s the case, then Rey’s words, Light, Darkness, A Balance would have all been illustrated in this teaser trailer by something with a direct connection to Ben/Ren. Which would seem to suggest that it’s not just the force she’s reaching out into but, but her connection to Kylo Ren. And what she sees isn’t a growing Sith Lord, but someone who will bring balance to the force with her.
Any thoughts or additions or arguments? This is just stream of consciousness meta-ing here so I’d love to hear other feedback!