PROFILE: Rey Skywalker
For today's profile, I thought we'd look at this latest Star Wars trilogy's bright hero Rey.
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we see Rey as a young woman who has had to survive on her own in the harshest conditions of the desert planet of Jakku. One would think that this environment would have hardened her, but, from the very beginning of her meeting Finn, she has seen the hero's path. But you can't let the wide eyed and enthusiasm fool you for she uses her cunning and will to get herself out of some sticky situations.
And, after she holds the SKywalker lightsaber, the Force is awakened within her...a power that has almost been forgotten by the light since Luke Skywalker went into hiding.
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, she finds Luke and begs him to train her. She knows she has this incredible power, but she needs focus. She's hoping to learn the old Jedi ways, but Luke warns her about the hubris of the old Jedi Council. Whatever she does to tap into the Force will have to be a new way of thinking. The Jedi is dead.
In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, we see Rey as a seasoned member of the Resistance having been trained in the ways of the Force by Leia Organa. And, while we find out that she is the granddaughter of one of the most powerful Sith, at the end of the day, she was able to find strength in all the Jedi that came before her. In the end, she declares herself a Skywalker.
Which brings me to a point that really bothers me. There are misogynists who describe Rey as a "Mary Sue," a woman character who seems to be all powerful. They point to her indiscriminate use of the Force without any prior training. The thing is that we don't really know how the Force works. In Star Wars: A New Hope and the original trilogy, we never challenged Luke's use of the Force. He had very little training, but by Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, he was very powerful. The prequel trilogy made us believe you needed extensive training. But, Luke explains this is not the case in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. So, people need to get over Rey's use of the Force. Her path is very similar to Luke's.
She will always still be one of the greatest heroes the Star Wars Universe will have ever known.
And that's why she's awesome.