At this point most of you will have seen J.J. Abrams' triumphant return to the galaxy far, far away, so let's discuss it in more detail. It's surprising how much of the early plot "leaks" were way off base, but a couple of the biggest rumors did turn out to be true. Obvioulsy there's lots to break down, but let's focus on the major reveals for now.
Kylo Ren's Parentage And The Death Of Han Solo
It didn't go down exactly as we'd been led to believe it would, but close enough. After confronting his son Ben, AKA Kylo Ren, and attempting to bring him back to the light, one of the most iconic characters in cinema history met his end by lightsaber. It was a pretty devastating moment (even if it was signposted), made all the more powerful by Kylo giving his father false hope that he may have actually got through to him before igniting his saber.
Rey The Jedi
Another thing many fans rightfully guessed is that Rey, not Finn, would turn out to be force-sensitive and take up the mantle of Jedi. Advertising seemed intent on throwing us off the scent with posters and shots of Finn wielding Luke's old lightsaber, but in the end it was the Jakku scavenger that channelled the force and bested Kylo Ren in the snow. Some took issue with how quickly Rey came to grips with her powers and managed to take down a far better-trained warrior the way she did, but remember Ren was pretty badly wounded, and Rey wasn't exactly helpless before discovering the force.
Snoke
Another thing a lot of fans didn't seem to be delighted with was the depiction of Supreme Leader Snoke. At first he appeared to be absolutely massive, but when that was revealed to be a holographic projection it seemed to suggest he'd be quite a bit smaller in person. We never got a very detailed look at him because of the lighting, but he most definitely wasn't Darth Plagueis as many believed he would turn out to be - so who the heck is he? Andy Serkis did hint that he had ties to the original trilogy in a recent interview, but no clues at all were given in the film as to his true identity.
Luke Skywalker
Well, now we know why Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker wasn't featured in the movie's promotion. The character does appear once (twice if you count the brief shot of him and Artoo in the flashback) at the very end, as Rey and Chewie journey to his place of self-imposed exile. Why did Luke choose to flee the situation after his pupil Ben Solo turned to the dark side? It's suggested that he programmed R2-D2 to reveal the rest of the map to his location at a very specific time, so was it always his plan to be found... and by Rey specifically? Unfortunately we'll have to wait for those answers - and a lot more besides!
All Those Questions
Star Wars: The Force Awakens left a LOT of unanswered questions by the time the credits rolled. It's hard to know what was intentionally left unexplained to be addressed in the other two movies, and what was simply glossed over, but one would have to assume we'll at least discover more about the following: who was Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) and what was his connection to Leia and Kylo Ren? Who were Rey's parents and why was she abandoned on Jakku? How did Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o) come by that lightsaber? Who are the Knights of Ren and how did they recruit Ben Solo? Why did Artoo reactivate at such a precise moment?
Hopefully those questions and more will be answered at some point, but for now please give us your theories below.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.