Nymeria said:
| thismeintiel said:
2. Girl Power, again. It is more evident than before Rey is just a Mary Sue. Some people tried to explain away her being so in tuned with the Force, without a single bit of training, because it would be revealed later that her father or mother, or both, were great Jedis. Welp, surprise, she's a big nobody. Sold into slavery for some cash. Now, don't get me wrong, anyone can be a Jedi if they practice enough. But, the fact is, some are more keyed into the Force than others. It has already been established that the Skywalker line is very Force sensitive, but training is still needed. So, what's with Rey? In the FA, she takes on a Jedi, Kylo, that has been trained for probably 15+ years in the force, and on both sides of it. She can resist him reading her mind. She could control troops with her mind. She took on Kylo in a one on one battle. And was able to beat him by willing a light saber to her, even though he was bringing it to him, as well. Again, not a single second of training.
Now, for the LJ. And keep in mind that she gets ONE lesson from Luke, period. She can stare in the Dark Side, instantly, without being tempted by it at all. She takes on Snoke's elite guards, with not a single bit of light saber training. And no, her flailing it around all by herself for a minute does not count. Is once again shown to be Kylo's equal by having the same pull on a light saber, only this time it rips in half. In what was probably the most ridiculous display, she lifts a ton of boulders out of the way with barely any concentration or stress. Now, just remember how tough it was for Luke to do 3 smaller ones. Or how hard Yoda had to concentrate to lift the X-Wing out of the swamp on Degobah. I guess they both didn't have the right part between their legs. It's really such a shame, because Daisy Ridley is a great actress and I just know she, and her character, deserve so much more than to just be lowered to the status of a Mary Sue.
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I wanted to respond to this point as a female and someone who tends to like "girl power" when handled well. I was a Rey apologist for two years. I had a bit of bias of liking her personality scavenging and thought the actress was good. I excused the abilities as teasing at something and a reveal as to why she could do things others cannot.
I was hoping to see her struggle, to have a glimpse at her capacity and then work to control it. She spends maybe a week on the island, half of which she is denied training, gets one lesson, and suddenly she can just do anything. This is insulting and cheap to actual character development and story progression. When I should have been cheering Rey, I felt exactly like some did two years ago of her being a audience insert power fantasy.
How would I have done it? Nothing special maybe, but I'd show her train, fail, learn, improve. For example, she'd want to swing the light sabre around and Luke would say "Start simple, just moving rocks". Rey would struggle, move a rock, get excited, then be given a larger rock she cannot move failing. Then at the end when she has to move rocks she struggles, but for her friends connects to the force and pulls off the feat. Emotional catharsis with clear set up and pay off. Instead, she just does it with no strain or tension.
A character I should adore I now care nothing for. If she dies in IX, I'll shrug, if she succeeds, I'll shrug.
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