Is Rey from Star Wars a Mary Sue?

[Soundwave]

greenmedic88 said:

Soundwave said:

Neo isn't a weakling at the beginning of the Matrix. He fails the first jump but that's it. He only fails because he doesn't trust in his inate powers. 

The very first time he spars with Morpheus it's clear to the audience that he's already more powerful than Morpheus who's presumably the most powerful of the "good guys". 

The only thing he has to do is believe in himself and he can basically beat anyone, it's pre-destined in him.

Harry Potter beats Dracoy at quiddich right away and becomes like the best little wizard in Hogwarts within a week, lol.

Gimme a break with this shit.

This is a common archetype, the messiah/Chosen One/Golden Child archetype, it's just not commonly applied to women.

The only lesson for Harry Potter/Neo is not that they needed to work hard, it's that they were already better than everyone else, they just needed to believe it. That's the character arc, like it or not. 

Yep. There are examples everywhere of the Special/Chosen Protagonist. This is not a Gary Stu/Mary Sue. 

There is a strong argument that Rey is not a Mary Sue under the assumption that she is a "vergence" in the Force, which means the Force chose her as a conduit for whatever her ultimate purpose is. 

The only problem with Rey comes after the revelation in TLJ that Rey is nobody, or at least comes from nowhere, which contradicts the Chosen Protagonist notion. 

The audience is left with no explanation for who she is or why she's important, other than because that's how she was written as the protagonist. This is not to say that audiences won't be given an explanation of sorts in the final chapter, but like many other things in TLJ, the obvious expectations were definitely bucked. 

What this implies, is that the Force can choose a nobody as a conduit. Everything doesn't have to be explained through lineage, and genetics, which frankly is more in line with notions of royalty and superior genetic blood lines, which is definitely not the message any child should be gleaning from Star Wars. I want to say that the point of Rey is that anybody has the potential, which is not to say that everybody is special (this kind of thinking is generally not helpful), but that the lottery doesn't just apply to genetics. Sometimes good fortune is simply the will of the cosmos. 

Actually "Chosen Ones" often do come from "nobody" parents. 

Neo doesn't have remarkable parents or anything special in his blood line. 

Anakin in the prequels is the son of an unremarkable slave woman. 

Sometimes they do have noble ancestry though, but they can also be "nobody" the point of that is that the universe "chooses" them. Once "chosen" by the universe they are basically destined for great things. They often come from humble upbringings too, that is almost always universal. The story arc is pretty much always this:

1.) "You're The Chosen One! How'd You Do That? I Don't Believe It!"

2.) Chosen One doubts themselves despite being told by mentor characters not to doubt themeselves. Or they are afraid of their own inner power.

3.) Chosen resolves this doubt and goes on to win, whether through outright victory or self sacrifice that saves everyone else. 

That's basically it, lol.