Originally Posted by
FredH
My view has evolved a bit since I first saw TROS, but basically:
- How important do you consider the Skywalkers getting a “happy ending” is?
Depends how you mean. It's more important to me that they have a "solid" ending -- an ending that went somewhere and said something. And although I would have done it differently, I do think this mostly happened in the ST; they might not be the fates I'd have wanted for them, but they are all fates that mattered and pushed the story forward at important moments. (And honestly, as an older guy I appreciated the acknowledgment that often enough in life, you don't t stay together with your closest friends forever, even if you all wish otherwise.)
- How important is it that Rey outshine and overshadow Kylo, since thatÂ’s a definite risk of leaving him the only Skywalker?
That's essential. If Rey doesn't overshadow Kylo in the end, he wins, rocks fall (dropped from orbit), everybody dies -- and Rey doesn't become the aspirational figure that the story is all about her becoming.
- Does it actually add something to the mythos, seriously?
Certainly: the Skywalker legend ends (actually, it probably doesn't, once Rey takes the name), but what it fought for is triumphant. (The bloodline ends, but who cares? It came out of the Force, now it goes back to it, its mission accomplished.)
I actually thought this thread would be about Nobody Rey vs Palpatine Rey. Initially I much preferred that Rey have a completely non-mythic background, because that was saying that heroes don't have to come from special backgrounds. But it's occurred to me that as it stands, the ST taken as a whole says with Rey's arc that not only do you not need a special background, but even a background of horror and evil can be walked away from and left behind. Both. That works pretty well for me.