STAR WARS The Last Jedi *SPOILERS!*

[Cyke]

I'm warming up to the idea that Rey's parents really should be nobodies, because it cements the age old trope (but truest in Ep. 4) that anybody can be a hero rather than the powerful legend (like Obi-Wan). The "I am Your Father" twist in Ep. 5 is iconic no doubt, but it removed Luke's rise from commoner-to-hero by making him genetically/hereditarily special, and since then ROTJ and the prequels were all about special parentage. If Rey's parents really are nobodies and Rey is one who rises to the occasion, its theme is then added on by that farmboy at the end of this movie with the Force Broom, and that what really the galaxy needs is hope moreso than hero figures.

With the rest of the movie, I love Poe as a character and I think Oscar Isaac continues to do a bang up job, but I absolutely love that each and every one of his plans ended up either failing or making matters worse. Sure, the Admiral could have saved a lot of trouble by simply telling Poe her plan, but Poe being an ace pilot who needs to learn wisdom and humility sets up the great parallel where, like Luke is training Rey, Leia is training Poe to be her successor.

But with that said, this movie is likely even bleaker than Empire Strikes Back since the other major plot in the movie -- Finn and Rose (YAY ROSE!)'s entire mission was a major bust, and really only made things worse. Good intentions really are nothing compared to the results. But it's okay for their plot to fail since it advanced both of their development.

And that leads me to perhaps one of the biggest themes of the movie itself -- Problematic Faves. Rose considered Finn a legend. Leia depended on Finn to lead her forces. Kylo wanted to make Snoke -- his second dad -- happy. Rey sought the tutelage and help of Luke. Even further, both Luke onto himself (his own legend, rather) and young Kylo and Luke. And in each instance, the one who was held in high esteem greatly disappointed their biggest fan (yes, Flashback Luke right at that moment was ashamed of himself for even having to think of killing Kylo). But then how each storyline dealt with disappointment and recovery differed enough to show that there are different ways of coping (or not!) with failure -- Yoda's biggest point -- and how to proceed from there. Rey needs encouragement, whereas Kylo on the other end of the spectrum believes he's the best man to take over. In each case, from commoner to supremely powerful Force user, everyone gets humanized just a bit more.