Looking Through A New Lens

We are used to this epic saga as it has always been told. It's only natural that we would draw parallels to such things as Tatooine and Jakku. And yet in truth, much has changed.

The saga we have long known is breaking brave new ground.

If we are to understand this new and yet familiar world, we will have to dig a little deeper. We will have to search for the HIDDEN TRUTHS tucked away, in brief scenes and bits of dialog. Lucky us.

J.J. Abrams has given us the adventure we have long sought. There are mysteries to unravel; questions that need answers; and he also gave us the connective tissue we craved with the legacy players.

So what of this new world, this new Star Wars?

Gone is the Empire. Not a Sith Lord to be found. There's a new planet to house the Senate (only to be obliterated) and a whole new group of baddies, The First Order.

And the characters all felt far more... real, accessible, human. All brave moves. I doubt such bravery ends with EP 7.

Hunting Backstory - The Knights Of Ren

Snokes very specifically notes that Kylo is the Master of the Knights of Ren. We accept this and move on. In fact throughout, Snokes seems rather impressed by Kylo and is shocked whenever he is bested.

Again, we accept this and move on.
But what kind of event would need to happen to cause Snoke to buy into Kylo's powers so unconditionally?

According to the Solos, Ben goes to the Dark Side, becomes Kylo, and as a result the Jedi Academy crumbles. But why? There has to be more to it than that.

One student going dark would not shut down the entire Jedi Academy. And nowhere do we hear, in spite of what's being posted, that Kylo went all Vader and killed everyone.

I think we find our answer in one simple word/title: "Knight."

The title "Knight" is NEVER used by Dark Force anything, it is exclusive to Jedi Knights. It is my view that not only did Kylo turn, he turned other Jedi Knights/Padawans, forming what would become, The Knights of Ren.

It is because Snoke calls Kylo the de facto Master of the Knights Of Ren that I believe the latter are ex-Jedi Knights.

And such a mutiny would pit Luke Skywalker, heartfelt and ever swaying in The Force's wind, against his prized students, one of which is his nephew. It is easy to see why such a battle would lead to his exile.

We find more evidence of this in the recently released script that tells us the vision of violence that Rey has when touching Luke's saber, is indeed, The Knights Of Ren sacking the Jedi Academy!

Hunting Backstory: How Rey Is Set-up As A Character

Assuming there is some truth to my Knights Of Ren theory, they become the evil force Rey must fight. So the crazy level of Force Power she enjoys would make sense, as a plot device.

But her massive Force powers seem to have caught everyone by surprise, Dark and Light — and even her! Perhaps, there is more to this story of Rey the human being than merely her Force powers? Which requires a different path.

And remember, unlike Luke and Leia, she was not safely tucked away

She was entrusted to the care of Simon Pegg's character (Unkar Plutt) which we find out via her flashback (which has now been confirmed by multiple sites).

And we know by Plutt's actions, ratting BB-8 out, that he is aligned with the First Order.

Would Luke or the Solos abandon their daughter to a known supporter of the The First Order in the middle of nowhere to starve and face potential death?

The movie goes to great lengths to establish, in my view, that her father was a somewhat well known to a very well known Republic pilot. She has the Republic pilot doll, she lovingly pops on an X-wing pilot's hat (as though it were her dad's). It's the tone of these moments that struck me.

She also states very clearly that she is already a pilot (to Finn) and her knowledge and judgments about the Falcon (it's a piece of garbage) tell me, clearly, she had already flown it. How else would she know the Millennium Falcon so well mechanically or as a pilot, to call it a piece of garbage to begin with? The devil is in the details. < many haters all never bothered to notice this detail.

And yet, here we are again, she was totally clueless as to her Force powers. Totally! All this tells me that she is a part of a prophecy, known or unknown, that we have yet to hear about. And I think Maz knew of this prophecy. And I think that Force-imbued locker knew of this prophecy. But the biggest evidence of this comes from the novelization of this movie.

According to the book version, when Rey uses the Force to retrieve Luke’s lightsaber from the snow, Kylo remarks ‘It is you.’ Many have taken this to mean she is of Luke's heritage. I think he is referring to a prophecy we have yet to hear of. The Force visions embedded within Luke's saber connected her to the path that would reveal her destiny, to herself, to Maz, to Luke.

Essentially, when such a person shows up, whoever that might be, the Force awakens. When Ben became Kylo, the Force awakens; and when Snokes musters all that he is capable of, the Force awakens.

Hunting Backstory: Skywalker/Solos As Horrible Parents?

Which takes us back to how she was left as a child. Either she (a) had crappy parents that just dumped her for some credits and she took on the rebel pilot idea to make herself feel better or (b) her parents did care for her.

If it's the latter, why did they entrust her to a First Order loyalist?
And if Lars was her guardian, why would he not have immediately let her know who she was when his death was certain? And would he have let her suffer as she had? Obi-wan did not interfere because Luke's adopted parents were good parents.

None of this adds up for either Luke being her dad or the Solos being her parents.

Hunting Backstory: Luke Skywalker's Reaction To Rey

Does Luke's look seem like an, "Oh beloved daughter of mine, you have come home!"? Now that the script is out, it specifically calls for a tortured look. But it never connect Rey as his daughter. People assume that but in truth, I think it's the sacking of his academy that is behind his tortured look.

Rey represents going back, starting over, facing these demons, facing his nephew- again. Weight. Agony. Doubt. That is what I see in Luke Skywalkers face.

There is nothing about Luke's emotional tone that says father/daughter reunion. In fact, the tone is just the opposite.

Why? What was he sensing? What inspired such a fierce look?

Now that the script has been released, I think it's partly all that I have noted. But it is clear in that final scene, and in the script, Luke knew who Rey was. But it was not father/daughter familiarity in mind, it was her power in The Force.

Specifically, her Kenobi Force Powers.
There was also a rumor that in Disney's Infinity game, Kylo called Rey "cousin". Disney has since come out to say the word uttered was, "curses" not cousin.

I think our deep examination of various backstories when coupled with her flashback montage (wherein the younger and older voices of Obi-wan are heard calling her by name), we are left with a heritage that is rather complex.
Rey Is Somehow A Descendant Of Obi-wan Kenobi!

The Dark Force savant Kylo Ren, named after Ben Kenobi ("Help me Obi-wan, you're my only hope!") does battle with the bloodline of Kenobi... Rey. The story remains about good versus evil, dark versus light, and yet again, about a family at very center of it all.

Skywalker blood gone Dark versus Kenobi blood blossoming toward the Light. The saga continues ...

Rey is a Skywalker

Rey is a Kenobi

Rey is something else entirely, I'll tell you in the comments

Would Luke or the Solos (or rebellion sympathizers) abandon their daughter to a known supporter of the The First Order in the middle of nowhere to starve and face potential death?

there's also a rumour that a younger Lor San Tekka (Sydow's character) might be appearing in Rougue One.