#edit: she likes the taste | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

phoenixkaptain · 9 months

Text

I don’t consider Rey a part of the Disaster Lineage.

(I got a comment that mentioned her on my Chaotic Padawans fic and I just figured I should make it clear why she’s not going to show up)

The whole point of the lineage is that each of the characters who are part of it are disasters, that’s obvious, that’s the name, after all, but furthermore, characters like Yoda’s Master aren’t generally considered part of the Disaster part, so clearly just being one of a Master-Padawan pair isn’t enough to fit the criteria, and honestly, Rey just doesn’t fit in.

Rey doesn’t act like any of the Disaster Lineage. More than that, there’s an element of tragedy to the Lineage. There’s the idea of dying in the light of becoming a Sith, “living long enough to see themself become the bad guy” sort of thing, but not quite.

But all the members are very important for two reasons. They all struggle with the Dark Side. They all change the Jedi Order foundationally.

Yoda is probably the oldest Jedi we meet in the movies. That doesn’t mean he’s the oldest in terms of extra content like books or games, but in the movies, he’s by far older than everyone else. And you may be thinking “Yoda never struggled with the Dark Side!!!1!!” but let’s look at this with a critical eye.

Other Jedi exist in the universe. Other Orders and other Force users who listen and follow the Force. But the Jedi Order on Coruscant is one of the only ones that has a rule against attachment, a rule Yoda specifically was the one to make. A rule he had to have made because of himself. He’s old, but he isn’t old enough to have been around during the time of the Sith. His struggle with attachment, his fear of falling to his attachment, had to have been the basis for why he created the rule.

And anyway, we can see Yoda’s attachment. Just because he isn’t as unhinged as Anakin and Obi-Wan, that doesn’t mean he isn’t attached. He’s attached to his own lineage. He’s biased towards them. He lets Obi-Wan train Anakin because it was what Qui-Gon wanted. And let’s be honest, if he didn’t want Anakin to be trained, there were a thousand things he could have done to prevent it, even just simply telling Obi-Wan that he fears Anakin will meet a similar fate to Qui-Gon. Which would be technically lying, but we know Jedi aren’t actually the most honest people in the galaxy and we know they aren’t above manipulation tactics.

Yoda let’s Anakin be trained because it was what Qui-Gon wanted. That’s attachment, pure and simple.

Dooku is obvious. I don’t need to write a mini essay within this essay. Dooku did turn to the Dark Side. Dooku was attached to Qui-Gon. Dooku only left the Order because he blamed them for Qui-Gon’s death, he blames them for all that happened. Dooku changes the Order foundationally because he’s the one who reveals that there are still Sith. (They suspect Maul was a Sith, even believe he was, but they weren’t aware of what was going on until Dooku basically just told Obi-Wan everything.)

Qui-Gon is a bit of a difficult case, I will give you that. But that’s just because we don’t spend a lot of time with him. Moreover, we don’t spend a lot of time with his motivations. He’s a very mysterious character. Did he struggle with the Dark Side? I don’t know. I’m inclined to believe he must have, because why else would Dooku be so sure that Qui-Gon, were he alive, would be on his side? Dooku trained Qui-Gon, so he would probably know. Especially since Jedi Masters generally try to look calm and collected in front of their Padawans, so yeah, maybe Dooku knows Qui-Gon’s struggle better than Obi-Wan would.

Now, does that mean I think Qui-Gon would have become Sith if he lived? No. I think the opposite, actually. The main drawing point of the Sith is to go against the Jedi specifically. They offer more power and less rules. That’s the key here: less rules. Becoming Sith is attractive to those Jedi who feel overly contained, confined by the rules they have to follow. Qui-Gon isn’t one of those Jedi.

Qui-Gon does not listen to the rules in the first place. Qui-Gon wouldn’t become a Sith because they can’t offer him anything. He wouldn’t join for his Master, their relationship is odd and Obi-Wan is better company (we can assume, since Qui-Gon must have kept the pair from meeting on purpose. Which, there are a million reasons why he would have done that, but the funniest option is that he just didn’t want his time with Obi-Wan to be tainted-) Qui-Gon doesn’t seem to desire more power, because he isn’t renowned for his ability with the Force or a lightsaber, two things he had ample time to train up, he’s renowned for his diplomacy. He focused on his diplomacy over his battle prowess. Yes, that’s canon, just watch the movies, they do not mention his ability with the saber being helpful to Padme, they mention his diplomatic ability, I know, I was shocked too. And they can’t offer him less rules, because Qui-Gon doesn’t give a shit about rules in the first place.

Also, I just think that the Sith ultimately have more rules in place than the Jedi, just unspoken, and I think even if Qui-Gon did become Sith, he wouldn’t make it very far in the industry because I truly believe he would follow even less rules.

Qui-Gon is in an interesting position in the Disaster Lineage because he and Luke are the only mavericks, so he’s the only knowingly maverick in the Lineage. Just wanted to mention that. It’s part of why I don’t think he’d turn, he’s already technically in the grey, he doesn’t need to turn.

Qui-Gon changes the Jedi as a whole by becoming a Force Ghost. Something that seems pretty uncommon, seeing how Obi-Wan is excited at the end of Revenge of the Sith to hear that he can speak to Qui-Gon again (“Qui-Gon???? 🥺🥺🥹” that’s how he says it, I promise, those exact words-) Qui-Gon is such a maverick, he also breaks the laws of life and death itself, he’s doing great.

Obi-Wan technically speaking doesn’t struggle with the Dark Side, per se, but he certainly does struggle with staying in the Jedi Order. His backstory with Satine in one of those times (and while it isn’t in the movies, it is one of the more widely known parts of the Clone Wars, so ¯\ _(ツ)_/¯ ). Obi-Wan is willing to bend rules for Anakin (there are scenes of him pretending not to know what Anakin is up to, and he is very unsurprised by the baby being Anakin’s, he was aware, okay, he probably told the Council “Anakin? Sleep with a senator? I raised him better than that thank you very much!”) And Obi-Wan definitely fights the most Dark Side (users) of any other Jedi, all things considered. But yes, he only fits this definition on a technicality.

But Obi-Wan is one of the most influential Jedi in the series. He’s considered a Master of his form and one of the best diplomats. The Council members all trust him. He taught the Chosen One, and he’s the only Jedi the Chosen One ever really actually listened to (he’s definitely the only one who can make the Chosen One guilty enough to tell Obi-Wan that he isn’t the cause of Anakin’s downfall, just because he started crying). Obi-Wan is also the first Force Ghost to actually be fully visible. (That was one thing, since Qui-Gon didn’t train to be a Force Ghost, for the most part, they couldn’t really see him all that clearly, just hear him. Or so I assume, since he only talks to Yoda and the only time we see Force Ghost Qui-Gon is on Tatooine. Is Obi-Wan Kenobi series canon? If it is, this point is moot.)

Obi-Wan is one of the most trusted generals during the Clone Wars, the remnants of the Jedi still follow his advice in the aftermath of Order 66, Obi-Wan is the only one in the series who ever manages to convince Yoda to do something as dumb as train another Skywalker, Obi-Wan is the one who gets Luke off Tatooine, Obi-Wan really gets the most shit done, he’s fantastic, 10/10 Jedi-ing, Obi-Wan, 10/10.

Also, technically speaking, Obi-Wan caused the Clone Wars.

Anakin both struggles with the Dark Side and changes things. But, he changes things in ways you might not expect. Contrary to popular belief, he is not the only Jedi to have a child, however, he is almost certainly the only Jedi who choked out his pregnant wife had children as powerful as his. He is also the only Force Anomaly that we know for sure is canon (I don’t think the others are canon anymore, but I am uncertain) and he is definitely the first Sith Lord who turned back to the Light after Sithing for nearly two and a half decades.

Anakin is a fascinating character, just from a narrative standpoint, and if you think about and want to feel bad for the rest of forever, technically soeaking, he did bring balance to the Force. It isn’t his fault that Luke represents balance in the Force, okay? (The whole “bring balance to the Force” thing was an awful addition because of the implication that the Force’s idea of balance was no Jedi, no Sith, only Luke. It is also the funniest addition the prequels gave us)

Ahsoka as a character doesn’t seem to have a struggle with the Dark Side, and she doesn’t seem to change very much, but she fits in the Lineage because of the sense of tragedy that comes with her character. Which is another thing I forgot to mention: all members of this Lineage are tragic. And Ahsoka really embodies this just by being Anakin’s Padawan and being one of the characters who watches his descent. Ahsoka has to watch her Master kill everyone she knows and loves. And that fucking sucks, therefore, Ahsoka fits very well.

Luke is a bit of a special case. He is part of the Lineage, that much is undeniable, but he isn’t like the others in that he was not raised by the Jedi the majority of his life. He didn’t get three or four years under his Master. He technically had two Masters, Yoda and Obi-Wan. (It would be neat if they had Ahsoka teach him, then he’d have three Masters, which is triple the amount a regular Jedi has. But they should also let Force Ghost Anakin teach him, making it four. And Force Ghost Qui-Gon can’t be left out, bump it up to five. And I just think it would be really funny if he found old Jedi writing or something and learned from Yoda’s Master- okay, Kacie, stop this). Luke, by all means, shouldn’t fit in, but he does. He struggles mightily with the Dark Side. There’s a constant, lingering fear over Return of the Jedi that he will turn, even when we know it won’t happen. The slow pace of the scenes with Luke, Palpatine, and Vader makes the tension build. You can see the uncertainty in Luke. You can see how close he is. You can see the moment when he makes the conscious decision not to be seduced. But up to that point, he’s right on the edge, he’s toeing the line, and it’s legitimately concerning to the audience because there’s a fear that he will fall for Sidious’ trap, just like Anakin did.

There is perhaps no Jedi who changes the Order as much as Luke does. That’s just what happens when one creates an Order by themself.

Now, I explained all of the others because I think they have similar, for lack of a better word, vibes with each other. They are all fundamentally different. They have different wants and different backstories and are all technically different species (except for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, who are both from Coruscant, unless you believe Obi-Wan being from Stewjon is still canon, which I don’t know, but would make this parentheses point moot). But all of them are also similar. Similar in the tragedy inherent in their characters, similar in their struggles with the Dark Side, similar in their influence on both the series internally and externally.

Rey just doesn’t quite fit. She doesn’t quite mesh. She feels like a puzzle piece that’s the exact right shape, but the picture just doesn’t work.

Rey feels like she was supposed to fit. She has that tragedy inherent in her character, but it’s a different tragedy than the ones we’ve seen. The only two who are concerned about their parents in this lineage are Anakin and Luke, and they aren’t searching for answers about their parents. Anakin’s mom dies and he watches it. His dad is the Force. Luke is told in no uncertain terms that his dad is dead, and he believes that until Vader reveals that it was a lie. Luke has to come to terms with his father, but that happens offscreen, for the most part. Return of the Jedi implies that he has already mostly accepted it. That’s why he’s in black, that’s why he Force chokes a Gamorrean Guard. He came to terms with his parent, and he accepted that Darth Vader was that parent.

(Much like how Anakin never has any questions or concerns about his father, Luke never has any questions or concerns about his mother. The one time he brings it up, he does so to reveal to Leia that they’re siblings. He’s never actually all that concerned about who she is. I like to think it’s because he has an irrational fear that she’ll turn out to be an even worse thing than Vader was. “My dad turned out to be Vader after I asked questions. I don’t want to ask any questions about my mom.” That sort of thing. It’s definitely not canon but by god is it funny to think about.)

Rey doesn’t get to come to terms with her parents. She’s told they left her behind for her own safety, even though they left her on the second worst option (first worst would’ve been Tatooine, obvs) and left her without anyone to watch her and basically made her feel abandoned. She doesn’t get to come to terms with their abandonment because the movie doesn’t want the audience to see it as abandonment. They want us to think it was heroic, tragic, and so Rey doesn’t get to come to terms with that aspect.

And when it comes to Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter, I have a lot of problems with how it was handled. First of all, she shouldn’t have had to be someone’s daughter/granddaughter to be considered important. There are exactly two characters who are important because of their parentage, Anakin and Luke, and literally every other Jedi in the history of fucking ever has not given a single shit. Obi-Wan didn’t turn out to be Yoda’s secret grandson to explain why he was powerful, because needing to be related to someone is bullshit. Anakin is the exception because he became a Jedi so late, and also his parent was the Force. Luke was an exception because the story is about Darth Vader and so Darth Vader’s son should give a bit of a shot about him, but also everyone constantly tells Luke he’s like his father.

Rey doesn’t fit! She’s never told that she’s like her grandfather, not like Luke is with Anakin. Her grandfather is a fucking fish-faced dumbass old man who managed to lose to a Care Bears Special (the power of love). Palpatine is powerful, sure, but he’s powerful because he trained himself to be powerful. He isn’t inherently powerful. That’s just not how the Force works. Blood relation doesn’t make it easier to use the Force, this is shown time and time again. Anakin still turns to the Dark Side despite being the Force’s child. Luke still manages to have trouble learning to focus despite being the Froce’s grandchild. They both still have to learn to use the Force. And while yes, it does come a bit easier to them, that doesn’t actually mean it should come easier to Rey because Palpatine is not the literal actual Force, therefore his ability to use the Force is not transferable.

Think of it this way. If you are a mermaid, that means that you are half human, half fish, just as Luke and Anakin are part human, part Force. So of course a mermaid could learn to swim easier than a regular person could, they have a tail. They are a fish person. But, if your grandfather was an Olympic swimmer, that doesn’t translate to you being able to be better at swimming. Just because your grandfather was on the same level as the mermaid, that doesn’t mean anything. He was still human. He trained to get that ability, so you would have to do the same if you wanted to be on his level. Get it?

But also, Rey never comes to terms with Palpatine being her grandfather. Also, she kills him, which is what he wanted her to do. Yes, she is empowered by the souls of the Jedi before her, but she still kills him.

There’s a reason Luke doesn’t kill Vader. A few reasons, actually. For one, Vader is helpless in that moment. He had his hand cut off. He’s lying on the ground, overwhelmed. He’s having trouble breathing. To kill him there would be to kill an unarmed opponent, and that goes against the Jedi. Two, killing Vader was what Sidious wanted. And giving Sidious what he wants leaves a nasty taste in my mouth and makes me want to throw things. Luke going against Sidious, literally throwing his lightsaber aside, basically going “fuck off. I’m a Jedi, just like my dad. Yeah, like my dad. You turned him to the Dark Side? Guess what bitch, I’m literally not turning to the Dark Side and invoking his name, which means I am literally to your face mocking you and belittling what you did. Sucker.” From an audience perspective, Luke doing this is super satisfying. We want Sidious to fail, we want to see the smirk wiped off his face, we want his overconfidence to be his downfall, and it ultimately is.

Rey killing Sidious just isn’t as satisfying. Vader is killing the man who turned him against everyone he loved and everyone who loved him. Vader is killing the man who told him his Master didn’t respect him. The man who told him the Jedi would never understand him. The man who groomed him. He’s killing his abuser, the person he’s been enslaved to for twenty plus years. And he does it in a fit of passion. He does it because he realizes that Palpatine never kept any of his promises. Palpatine promised that the Dark Side would save Padme and the baby, and now he is being forced to watch as the Dark Side takes the baby Padme died giving birth to away from him. It’s poignant. It’s meaningful. He’s finally finally free of the man who turned him against the people who loved him.

If Luke had killed Sidious, it might have been satisfying, but it wouldn’t have been as impactful. It wouldn’t have been as meaningful. Palpatine dies because he was overconfident, the same thing that killed his own Master. Palpatine doesn’t believe he can lose, and he’s proven wrong as the last person he expects to turn on him does.

Rey just doesn’t have that connection to Palpatine. She barely knows him. She wasn’t a slave to him for years and years. She wasn’t groomed by him. Her being related to him is ultimately meaningless, because their relation doesn’t cause her to hesitate. And while Sidious dying is satisfying on a lizard brain level, it isn’t impactful or meaningful. It doesn’t mean anything. It just means that he died again. It doesn’t change her in any way.

Killing Sidious changed Vader, freed him from the chains, allowed him to finally remove his mask and see his son with his own eyes. Watching Vader kill Sidious changed Luke. He begged his father to save him and ultimately ended up killing him because his begging worked. He believes that Vader is good, wholeheartedly and completely, because he was there and saw everything that happened. Luke burns Vader on a pyre, respects his identity as a Jedi, mourns for Anakin Skywalker. Rey isn’t changed by killing Sidious. It doesn’t affect her. It’s meaningless, narratively and literally. It doesn’t mean anything to her, to Sidious, or to us.

Rey just doesn’t have that struggle with the Dark Side. There’s no fear that she’s going to turn. There’s no dread. We know she isn’t going to, and the pacing isn’t slow enough to draw out our “but what if…” feeling like it was with Luke. They try to make it a fear, but it has no payoff. Sidious tells Luke to kill him, to kill Vader, and the payoff is that Luke literally throws away his lightsaber. He talks back to the Emperor of the Galaxy, to the man nobody has ever dared to speak back to. He basically says “There’s nothing you can do to make me kill anyone. I’m not going to kill anyone, in rage or otherwise, and so you’ve lost.” Luke refusing to kill out of anger is a loss. That’s the moment Palpatine loses. That’s the first time Palpatine loses. Sidious tells Rey to kill him, and Rey does. And the movie pretends that that’s just fine, nothing bad happens, everything is a-OK. There’s no payoff for his taunting. There’s no fear that Rey will fall.

Rey isn’t a Jedi. Not really. Because she got to kill Sidious out of fear and anger. The rules don’t apply to her. She gets to have psychometry when it’s convenient to the plot, then she gets to turn it off so that touching Darth Vader’s lightsaber doesn’t send her into a coma, like it shOULD- She gets to be trained by Luke and Leia both, just because. She gets to fall in love and the only consequence is that the love interest dies. Which, honestly, barely seems like a consequence since it doesn’t actually seem to change her, not like losing Padme did to Anakin. She gets to have attachments and friends and she isn’t expected to restart the Jedi Order and she just doesn’t become a Jedi. She doesn’t make the sacrifices, she doesn’t go through the pain, she doesn’t have to change herself. She isn’t a Jedi, because she doesn’t really want to be a Jedi.

And that’s why I don’t want to add Rey to my Padawan Chaos. The point of the Padawan Chaos is to give them a break. These characters suffer and suffer and hurt and break apart, and I took them out of the narrative before any of that happens and I let them be happy. Rey just doesn’t need a break as much as the others do. She never struggles as much, her powers are all over the place, her character is inconsistent, she just doesn’t fit.

“But, Kacie, why did you add Leia then?” Easy. Leia is more similar to Anakin, attitude-wise, and she almost certainly struggles with the Dark Side. She’s a politician and a Jedi. She has a character that’s consistent and can play off of not only the other Padawans, but also off of the Jedi Council. She’s allowed to be a badass and feminine at the same time, her femininity is never diminished by how powerful she is, she killed Jabba the Hutt with the chains he put her in, she’s a quick learner and she’s good with a blaster and she’s fucking pissed and she’s so happy to learn that Luke is her brother and she is, as all of the others are, the embodiment of a Jedi, because she puts other people above herself and she’s empathetic and she’s kind without expectation and she deserves to be a Jedi because she and Luke build each other up in a way that’s unique to their relationship and powerful and-

Leia is a better female character than Rey, but she’s more than that. She’s a better Jedi.

53 notes · View notes