How I Would Have Written The Last Jedi
A little over six months ago, Star Wars: The Last Jedi released on the big screen. With its release, however, came an unexpected and unfortunate divide as fans came face-to-face with something they never saw coming: a sequel in a trilogy that ignored the plot-lines of the previous movie and betrayed a franchise favorite character. The disemboweling of Luke Skywalker and disrespect for the fandom that has kept Star Wars successful for decades will most likely be the end of Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy.
But eh, let’s not go there in this blog post as I could just as easily burn the people that harassed our beloved George Lucas so much he chose to sell the franchise. Why complain fellow fans? The original trilogy was great. The prequel trilogy was great, minus Jar Jar Binks. The Clone Wars series was great! Rebels series, also great. The Force Awakens was great. Oh, yea. Rogue One was great, too. I never saw Solo. Overall, everything Star Wars was great besides The Last Jedi. We had something good. We have something good. So, here’s an easy compromise.
Dear LucasArts, no more Rian Johnson or Kathleen Kennedy. Please, reedit and re-shoot parts of the Last Jedi so Luke Skywalker still has his family jewels attached and the film connects with the previous film. Also, please, listen to us reasonable fans. Help us enthusiastically give you more money. Help us, help you. Help us, help you. Help us show you the money!
Anyway, after watching the film, and experiencing fan uproar, I thought I'd put together a little something on how I might have written the film instead. I also wrote a post about how to write a proper film or book series. I encourage you to check that out as well, before or after this post.
With that, please enjoy the incredibly rough draft of my remaking of the movie. This is how I may have, could have, would have written The Last Jedi. (And canonized the KOTOR stories in the process.)
HOW I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN THE LAST JEDI
But eh, let’s not go there in this blog post as I could just as easily burn the people that harassed our beloved George Lucas so much he chose to sell the franchise. Why complain fellow fans? The original trilogy was great. The prequel trilogy was great, minus Jar Jar Binks. The Clone Wars series was great! Rebels series, also great. The Force Awakens was great. Oh, yea. Rogue One was great, too. I never saw Solo. Overall, everything Star Wars was great besides The Last Jedi. We had something good. We have something good. So, here’s an easy compromise.
Dear LucasArts, no more Rian Johnson or Kathleen Kennedy. Please, reedit and re-shoot parts of the Last Jedi so Luke Skywalker still has his family jewels attached and the film connects with the previous film. Also, please, listen to us reasonable fans. Help us enthusiastically give you more money. Help us, help you. Help us, help you. Help us show you the money!
Anyway, after watching the film, and experiencing fan uproar, I thought I'd put together a little something on how I might have written the film instead. I also wrote a post about how to write a proper film or book series. I encourage you to check that out as well, before or after this post.
With that, please enjoy the incredibly rough draft of my remaking of the movie. This is how I may have, could have, would have written The Last Jedi. (And canonized the KOTOR stories in the process.)
HOW I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN THE LAST JEDI
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
The Republic is in chaos! While the destruction of Starkiller Base dealt an incredible blow, The First Order have launched a full-fledged war campaign against the remnants of the New Republic. Systems are being seized. Alliances are folding.
But hope is not lost as General Solo reaches out to the survivors of the Hosnian Massacre and a personal correspondence is delivered to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
(Yea!)
After the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital of the New Republic, General Leia Solo leaves the Resistance in the hands of Admiral Ackbar and Captain Poe Damaran while she and C-3P0 reach out to the survivors and calls for an emergency Senate meeting in the old capital building on Coruscant. The message bounces through the holonet. Some agree to come. Others are shaky to be cannon fodder for another First Order attack. Leia assures them that they’ll be safe and requests that scattered and remaining Republic military forces act as escorts.
General Hux gets wind of a supposed emergency Senate meeting and informs Snoke. Snoke already knows but orders Hux to take care of the Solo problem, a task he’s not convinced his apprentice could complete. Hux assigns Captain Phasma with the task of either capturing or silencing General Solo once and for all.
Rey approaches Luke Skywalker with his blue lightsaber. He pulls it from her hand with the force and examines it. He frowns, looks at her, and says, “Where’d you find this?” Rey says, “Maz Kanata. She had it in her bar. It called to me.” Luke frowns again. “Maz. It figures. She’s always into something.” He blinks. “What were you doing at Maz Kanata’s? And with the Millennium Falcon? I thought I told you to go to the ruins of the old Jedi Temple on Dantooine.” Rey stares at him with confusion. “What? I just got here.” Luke’s eyes narrow, scan her, then widen. His mouth drops open. “Rey? I sensed it, but, I couldn’t believe it. After all this time.” He approaches to hug her but stops. “You don’t know who I am.” Rey shakes her head. “Of course, I do. You’re Luke Skywalker.” He sighs.
Rey asks how Luke knows her. He’s hesitant to answer her, but instead asks her to follow him. She follows him to an old Jedi Temple. It’s populated by several temple staff and a few young people, one of which is meditating in midair. He asks what’s been happening. He felt the death of Han Solo. He felt the destruction of worlds. He regrets he could not get involved, but he has been looking for answers about an ancient Sith Lord and Emperor, Darth Vitiate, and studying the means that were used to finally destroy him. Their newest threat, Snoke, is using ancient Sith sorcery to amass limitless power and immortality. Luke has also been using the old Jedi Temple as a school. Rey fills him in and inquires again as to how he knows her. He tells her that she used to be one of his students, before his school was destroyed by Kylo Ren, the Knights of Ren, and Snoke. Rey’s mother escaped with Rey, but left her sister behind, who she thought was dead. Luke found the sister and brought her with him. He’s kept her safe, trained her, while he searched for answers on how to defeat Snoke and prevent a catastrophe. The two (Luke and Snoke) fought at his school. Luke almost destroyed him, but Snoke used dark force sorcery to drain someone’s life force and keep himself alive, flee. (This is why Snoke looks so frail, and why he’s so eager to find Luke and finish Kylo’s training. He’d gladly blow up whatever planet Luke is on rather than face him one-on-one again.) Rey has tunnel-vision. She wonders what could have happened to her mother, since she was left on Jakku alone. Luke doesn’t have an answer for her. But her leads her to a resting place, a meditation rock, and says he has to open her mind. Rey’s mother used a force technique to suppress Rey’s memories. If he unlocked those memories, they would both find answers.
While the Republic military forces act as escort services for the newly-appointed replacement senators, the Resistance forces resettle in their backup base on Taris and are put under pressure to formulate an offensive against the First Order, who are taking advantage of the Republic’s weakened state to claim important systems. New problem, Admiral Akhbar’s ship never made it to Taris and is not responding to hails. Poe sends a scout to find out what happened to Admiral Akhbar. In the meantime, he’s thrust into command. He now struggles with the pressures of coming up with a strategy for a large-scale war campaign. He finds support from a double-blaster wielding rebel, Do’re Mi, who knows the inside and outs of the old rebellion during the times of the Empire, including their strategies. (Inserting brief reference to the Rebel series and key characters.) Do’re Mi encourages hitting key resource points that will slow down the First Order’s campaign. It wouldn’t hurt to steal what’s already there and destroy whatever is left over.
Unconscious, Finn has a vision of two planets and is shown what looks like a shipyard, but before he can recognize it, he is woken up by a rakghoul that found a way into the base. The rakghoul is trying to break into his sleeping chamber and eat him. After the rakghoul is killed by an alerted guard, someone says, “A rakghoul? I thought they were extinct.” Finn asks what a rakghoul is. The guard doesn’t have time to explain but says not to let a rakghoul touch him. Finn follows the guard. The guard rushes to the command center and informs Poe that there might be rakghouls in the base. Poe and Finn are reunited. Poe quickly fills Finn in on what’s happening, including Rey’s whereabouts, and their sabotage plans. Finn tells Poe about his “weird dream”. Do’re Mi says the planets Finn saw are the best targets for covert, guerilla assaults. [PLANET 1] supplies a bulk of First Order weapons. [PLANET 2] is a crucial fuel depot. Do’re Mi thinks it’s a strange coincidence that such things would show up in a dream and keeps a close eye on Finn. Finn isn’t sure of what his purpose is now. Poe says Finn is a hero. “The galaxy, the Resistance. They need all the heroes they can find right now.” Finn agrees to help. What else is he going to do? He can’t keep running. (Except into Rey’s arms. ♫Ooo baby I love your way, everyday.)
Kylo Ren has recovered from his fight with Rey. His defeat was an embarrassment, but what he sensed from her provided him and Snoke with more answers about her identity. “No doubt, they have found Luke Skywalker.” It is more crucial than ever that they complete Kylo’s training and mold him into a warrior unseen since Marka Ragnos. Training: The Jedi were weak and short-sighted. Instead of learning how to control their passions and natural ambitions for power, they feared them and fell victim to their feelings and the allure of power. The Sith were unhinged, impulsive, reckless, without self-control. They let their passions rule them, instead of ruling their passions. The Knights of Ren understood that true power came from control. Control of one’s self: emotions and passions, control through maintaining peace and order, control through collection and storage of knowledge, control of life and death, control of the Force. Now that Kylo has destroyed Han Solo, he must take his hate, his anger, and harness it, control it, direct it, but not be overtaken by it as he has been so far. He must be patient with it. Mold it. Practice restraint. Sow seeds of rage that can grow, be unleashed in battle, and then stored away. That same rage can be channeled as a weapon or used to restore one’s own strength and health. He sits down with Kylo so they can meditate on a new force ability.
General Leia and an old friend, Fah’so La, (new character for Laura Dern) from her brief Senate days convince the New Republic to stay together and not fend for themselves. Though it was not her intention or expectation, Leia receives a near unanimous vote as the interim Chancellor, with Senator La as her vice. She humbly accepts the position and gets to work, using their New Republic funds to arrange the purchase of a fleet of ships, whatever they can get in short notice. Their contact person is Lando Calrissian. He promises Leia he’ll sweet talk a good deal for her and asks how Han is doing. Leia gives him the bad news. He offers his condolences and promises to get back to her.
Luke guides Rey through Force Meditation while he reaches into her mind to unlock her memories. First, she’s distracted, as she keeps searching for her own answers. Running into the same roadblocks. He chastises her, tells her that they’re both looking for the same answers. Finally, she relaxes, and her memories play out.
Memories: [She’s a little girl, in the old school, training with the other students. Luke is their instructor, guiding them as they each are levitating rocks. Then, her memories flash to her training and sparing with a practice saber. There’s another jump and she’s sparing with, herself. Rey starts to get confused. Luke tells her to stay focused. Another instructor is there: a woman with red hair. But she’s not just an instructor. Memories flash of her and the woman together. The woman putting her to bed. The woman combing her hair. Then, they’re eating dinner. There was someone else there: an older boy, tall, with dark hair. She recognizes him. She gasps. It’s Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. “Focus,” Luke says again in the distance. Luke is also at the dinner table. Rey levitates fruit from her plate to another girl’s plate. No. Not another girl’s. Hers. Memories flash forward again. Little Rey is in the bushes, hiding, watching as a woman (Fahso La) hands Kylo Ren a glowing red holocron. He accepts it, analyzes it. Little Rey is speaking to someone. To her. How’s that possible? Little Rey darts off. One more look through the bushes as Kylo is mesmerized by the holocron. Then, she runs after Little Rey. Another flash forward. Blaster bolts, explosions, fires, and dead bodies in the hallway. The woman with the red hair pulls Rey along, swinging her lightsaber at men in black. They escape the temple before something explodes. Rey slows the explosion with her outstretched hand. They jump into a ship. Fly off. But they’re being pursued. They jump to lightspeed. Red-haired woman reassures Rey and sends a desperate message to Leia and Han Solo for assistance. They jump out of hyperspace and orbit Jakku. Not long afterward, the ships pursuing them also jump out of hyperspace. “They put a tracker on our ship!” They settle on the planet surface. But it won’t be long before they’re caught. Red haired woman closes her eyes, rests her hands on Rey’s head. Everything goes dark. There’s an image of the ship flying away and Rey screaming for the ship to come back. Memories end.]
Rey comes out of her meditation and looks curiously at Luke. Luke sits down, lowers his head, and sighs. “I thought I’d find her.” “The woman I saw was my mother,” she says. Luke nods and says, “Mara.” Rey responded, “And you’re my father?” Luke nods. “And Kylo Ren. I saw him eating with us.” “He’s your cousin. His name was Ben.”
Luke explains that his nephew Ben Solo was a conflicted young man. His heart was good, but there was a darkness that followed him. When it was revealed publicly that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, the father of Leia Organa-Solo and Luke Skywalker, Ben Solo was treated differently by others. Because of his natural inclinations in the force and quick-tempered nature, he was feared by some and ostracized by others. Ben was easily frustrated and his temper didn’t help him make friends. People implied he was Vader junior. There were numerous incidents at school and outside that led to the decision to send Ben away to be trained by Luke. But Ben was treated differently by the students at the school as well. Luke and Mara tried their best to offer the family and guidance he needed, but the darkness was always there. Anyone Ben reached out to in hopes of building a friendship or relationship was told he was dangerous by his peers. Ben decided to embrace it and invested interest in who his grandfather was, both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. He read through all the historic references and collected what pieces of history and his grandfather he could find. His growing fascination with Darth Vader only reinforced people’s fears. That’s when Snoke began to reach out to him in the Force. Luke urged Ben to remember Anakin as a war hero for the Republic, fighting for the light against darkness. One day, Luke found Ben studying a Sith holocron. Beside him was the helmet of Darth Vader. Luke had no idea how Ben acquired it. But when he confronted Ben, and tried to destroy the holocron, Ben lashed out in the Force. What he did not know was that the Knights of Ren had used the delivery of exclusive Darth Vader property to acquire the location of the school. As Luke disarmed Ben, he was ambushed by Snoke. Luke and Snoke fought as Ben watched. While they fought, the Knight of Ren attacked the school and tried to round up as many students as they could. Some of the students were taken. Some of them were killed. A few escaped. Luke defeated Snoke but before he could end the weakened Snoke, he saw Snoke drain the lifeforce out of someone coming to help. Snoke used that extra power to incapacitate Luke. A weakened Snoke and Ben fled. When Luke came to, he found his school on fire and nearly abandoned. He managed to save a girl who was trapped inside. The Knights of Ren had all fled.
Luke concludes that the Knights of Ren chased Mara to Jakku. Mara left Rey to keep her out of their hands. She might have been captured. He sighs, reaches out again to find her. “She’s not dead. I would have sensed it. She would have reached out to me through the Force. What I can sense is faint, as though she’s in a deep sleep.” He wonders. But there’s no time to dwell on that. Now that he’s unlocked her memories, her Jedi training will slowly resurface. Until then, he needs to teach her the essentials so they can help the Resistance. “There’s something wrong with my memories,” Rey says. “How so?” Luke responds. “I feel them coming to the surface. But, there’s two of me. Or I’m seeing myself outside of myself. Is that a side effect?” “No,” Luke says. “That’s not you, you’re seeing.” “Yes, it is me,” Rey argues. “No, it isn’t,” a voice speaks from the doorway. They both turn to see a young woman at the doorway. She’s wearing light Jedi armor reminiscent of a much older age. The young woman says, “It’s me, Anika, your sister.” She hands Luke a holocron. “And I’ve found what we were looking for.”
Snoke puts Kylo in a ring to face off against his strongest guards. When Kylo gets an advantage on one, another guard comes in. When he gets the advantage on two, the third comes in. When he gets the advantage on three, a forth comes in. When he’s surrounded and outnumbered, they continue to shock and torture him. Snoke mocks Kylo, calls him weak. He orders more guards with shock sticks to torture Kylo. This is when Kylo gets taps into his rage. His eyes glow yellow. He channels his force energy into a Force Nova, launching all the surrounding guards away, freezes them midfall, launches them into the air, and then slams them all into each other. He stands tall, alone, and stares at Snoke. Snoke claps his hands and laughs. “Yes! That’s the raw rage I love to see. Now, we will channel that rage into something you can control, call on demand, harness, unleash, sooth. There was once a Lord who could mend his body from any attack. He was nearly indestructible, because he could channel his rage. I will show you.” He smiles. “But first…” He shocks Kylo and knocks him to the floor. “There must be something to mend.” He shocks him more and pulls out his lightsaber. They spare. Snoke gets a few shallow blows in, scarring Kylo’s torso and reopening an old wound. Kylo agonizes and fumes. “Don’t let your anger go to waste on me, boy. Store it. Channel it. Let the Force surround you. Pour raw emotion and power into your wounds.” Kylo is shrouded in a fog of dark energy. One of his wounds heals. Snoke smiles. “So it begins.”
Lando gets back to Leia. He got a great deal on a fleet of top rate ships through a reliable contact. He sends her the coordinates to the shipyard. Fah’so La suggests she go, since she’s less valuable than Leia. Leia should stay put and ensure the security of the Republic. Leia’s not ready quite yet to sit around and let other people do the hard work. She insists on going. Fah’so La agrees, but insists she goes as well. Leia disagrees. At least one of them should stay on Coruscant. Fah’so La has Republic soldiers escort Leia to her ship and protect her. Leia and C-3P0 fly to the shipyard to meet with the sellers. Fah’so La contacts an unknown person, kneels, and says Chancellor Leia is on her way to the shipyard.
Poe reached out to an old friend, Teedo, a mercenary/bounty hunter/smuggler. He helped the Resistance before. Teedo grew up on [PLANET 1], has plenty of contacts, and intel on how to get into the weapons depot. He also has a man inside. Teedo agrees to help, again. (“Anything for a friend.”) Finn, Do’re Mi, and some Resistance fighters take a transport ship, meet up with Teedo and his group, and go over the plan. There’s a secret and abandoned underground passage. Teedo’s dad used to supply the Rebellion with weapons. They go through the passage, get inside, and find uniforms and access cards waiting for them. Teedo and Do’re Mi flirt with each other. Team One, Teedo’s team, is charged with loading as many blasters, rifles, and explosives as they can and taking them back through the passage. Team Two, Finn and Do’re Mi sneak around and place explosives in sensitive areas, deactivate safety measures, and activate an emergency evacuation alarm that clears the facility. Once the alarms go off, they have to shoot their way out, but escape the weapons depot through the same secret passage they came. The weapons depot goes kaboom. Finn, Do’re Mi, and the Resistance fighters leave with a large shipment’s worth of blasters, rifles, and explosives. Teedo offers to join them, mostly to spend more time flirting with Do’re Mi, and tags along as they head to [PLANET 2].
At the shipyard, Leia, her guards, and C-3P0 meet Lando. He smiles and gives Leia a hug, before giving her his condolences again. They go to meet the seller. The seller hands over the codes to the ships and accepts the credits. He’s very nervous and eager to quickly leave. Lando asks why the seller is so skittish. He says he’s busy and has another meeting to get to. Leia and Lando aren’t buying it. The seller says he’s got to go, but it’s too late. There’s blaster fire outside. Leia secures the ship codes with C-3P0 and tells him to hide. He hides. Soon afterward, Leia and Lando are surrounded from all sides by First Order troops. Captain Phasma walks past the guards to the front line. “General Hux is looking forward to meeting you, Chancellor Solo.” The guards escort Leia to Phasma’s ship. She shoots the seller dead but only shoots Lando in the leg. She tells Lando her father owed him one. But if he helps the Resistance again, she’ll kill him. She leaves. Captain Phasma’s ship jumps to hyperspeed.
There are multiple scenes were Luke trains Rey in the essentials of the Force, including lightsaber combat, while Anika and Chewbacca watch. They have a few clever and comedic responses for each other. Anika implies that at least Rey doesn’t have to carry Luke on her back. Rey looks at Luke in shock and asks if he really made Anika do that. He shrugs and says, “That’s how I was taught. It worked, didn’t it?” Laughter. Luke senses Leia’s peril. Anika says, “I felt it as well.” Luke decides he’s going to have to train Rey on the way. “On the way, where?” “A warzone.” Luke asks Anika to stay behind and keep the students safe. She wants to go with him. He urges her to stay. She reluctantly agrees. They go to the Millennium Falcon. R2-D2 already has the ship ready to go and transmits a signal he received from a panicked C-3P0. They leave the planet. “Where to?” Luke closed his eyes, focused, and opened them. “[PLANET 2].”
Kylo is meditating, brewing in powerful dark force energy. Snoke informs Kylo that he can sense a stirring in the Force. He needs to immediately assemble the Knights of Ren and go to General Hux’s ship. Captain Phasma has captured Leia Solo and is taking her to General Hux’s ship, the Finalizer. There, Kylo will face Luke Skywalker and his daughter, Rey. Kylo stands, collects his mask and lightsaber, and exits his chambers. He walks down the corridor and enters a room where the Knights of Ren are lounging. They all turn to him. Without speaking, he puts on his mask and walks out. They collect their things and follow him. Insert dramatic music as they all enter a ship together and leave the planet.
Poe’s team of fighters slip into the system to execute a surprise attack on the fuel depot on the surface and orbiting [PLANET 2]. Contrary to their expectations, the Finalizer, is attached to the orbital fuel depot. But Poe comes up with another plan. Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 are going to sneak on to the Finalizer, into their weapons room, and fire on the fuel depot. After that, they need to get out immediately. While they’re doing this, Teedo and the Resistance fighters will infiltrate the depot on the surface, setting up explosives at the fuel pumps and tanks, and deactivating safety measures. “Shoot people and blow things up. Stick with what works, right?” Teedo says with a smile. Poe and the fighters will use the opening to finish the job, attack the Finalizer, and offer FDBB an opening to escape the Finalizer. They put their plans into motion.
Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 navigate a small ship, the Legacy, and dock with the Finalizer. They dress in First Order uniforms while BB-8 figures out where the weapons room is located. How are they going to activate the weapons without attracting attention? They needed a distraction for the distraction. They reroute power to overload a conduit in the weapons room. Then, they go to help with repair. On their way, they see Captain Phasma escorting Leia to General Hux’s command center. “Looks like we’re going to need a plan to rescue Leia,” Finn says. “One plan at a time,” Do’re Mi insists.
Captain Phasma escorts Leia to General Hux. He gloats about her capture, says he looks forward to introducing her to Supreme Leader Snoke. Leia has some naturally smart comeback that annoys Hux. He says there’s no point in resisting anymore. They’ve lost. The First Order is claiming new systems. The Resistance is spread thin. And now, the First Order has the New Republic under their control. Leia says, “Over my dead body.” “You read my mind,” Hux says. They’ll broadcast the execution of the new chancellor. After that, the Vice Chancellor will declare a total surrender of all Republic territories as a vassal to the First Order. Leia says, “The people will resist! The Resistance will fight on.” Hux smiles a very confident smile. “You don’t know this, but your resistance is already dead.”
Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 get to the weapons station and start rewiring it to take direct control over the weapons and targeting. BB-8 assists with rerouting and overriding command codes. They succeed and are ready to fire the weapons when another repair crew shows up and wonders what they’re doing there. Finn says, “Taking the initiative.” “Take your initiative elsewhere,” the repair crew argue. Do’re Mi pulls her dual blasters and shoots everybody. Finn freaks out, “What did you do that for?” Do’re Mi rushes to the door and closes it. “He was getting on my nerves. Fire the guns! We have a Chancellor to save, remember?” Finn starts firing all weapons at the orbital fuel depot. He sets the weapons on auto-fire and tells BB-8 to program the computer to keep the weapons controls locked. BB-8 does so. They rush out to save Leia.
As General Hux and Captain Phasma lock Leia in a detention cell, they’re approached by a panicked officer who says, “The fuel depot is under attack!” Hux frowns. “By whom?” The officer nervously says, “By us!” “What?” Phasma chimes in. “If that depot explodes while the umbilical is attached to us, it’ll destroy us!” Hux yells. “Disable the weapons, immediately!” “We’re trying,” the officer says. “Try harder!” Hux commands. The officer nods and runs off. Hux looks to Phasma, say, “Watch her,” and runs off.
The orbital fuel depot is bombarded by weapons fire from the Finalizer. Poe cheers and says, “Looks like the fun’s started. Time to join the party!” The fighters join in on the attack. One squadron focuses on firing at the orbital fuel depot. The other squadron targets the Finalizer. The Millennium Falcon arrives. Poe’s flying around blaster Tie-Fighters but can’t help but to say his hellos and informs them Finn, Do’Re Mi, and BB-8 are on the Finalizer. Luke informs them that he senses Leia on that ship. This worries Poe. The depot could blow at any minute. It’ll cause a lot of damage to the Finalizer. He’s about to tell everyone to pull back when Kylo Ren’s ship jumps into the system, along with two escorts. Poe orders squadron one to refocus their attacks on the new First Order ships in the system. Luke and Rey say they’re going to get on board the Finalizer and save Leia while Chewie stays close. But as the Millennium Falcon moves closer to dock, the fuel depot blows. They quickly turn around avoiding damage from the blast. From Kylo’s point of view at the cockpit, he sees the Millennium Falcon and gives the order to pursue the Millennium Falcon.
The Finalizer is heavily damaged. Conduits are exploding. Officers and troopers are running around. Some are headed for the escape pods. Others are trying to repair systems. Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 are seemingly ignored at the command center as everyone’s trying to keep the ship in one piece. But they don’t see Leia. He frowns, thinks, and says, “They must have her in the detention center.” They rush down corridors, to the detention center, and come face to face with Captain Phasma. “FN-2187,” Phasma begins, followed by insults traded between the two. Trigger happy Do’re Mi is the first to pull her dual-blasters and fire shots off as more guards approach. While she’s contending with them, Phasma and Finn battle it out. BB-8 plugs into a wall panel and opens Leia’s detention cell door. Leia uses the Force to throw Phasma against the wall, hard. Phasma lays on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Finn rushes past Phasma to Leia’s cell. “Chancellor, we’re here to rescue you.” Leia says something about him not being the first stormtrooper to rescue her. (Fanboys experience nostalgia and hold back tears.) They rush to escape. Captain Phasma stands up, picks up her blaster, and follows.
Teedo stands in the dark and rain, looks back at the fuel depot, and presses the detonator. He and other Resistance fighters watch as the fuel depot on the surface explodes. He reports to Poe that all’s clear as they load into their ship. Poe informs him that it’s a warzone up there. He should prepare for a rough departure. Teedo says understood.
Kylo Ren and tie-fighters are aggressively pursuing the Millennium Falcon, which is flying close to the Finalizer for cover. Poe and others are providing them cover fire and pulling heat off their tail. But Kylo’s attention is suddenly turned towards the Finalizer as he senses his mother. Camera shifts to Leia’s perspective as she can sense Kylo as well. Captain Phasma fires a blaster shot and hits Leia in the arm. Do’re Mi fires back as Finn pulls Leia into the Legacy. Do’re Mi hops in after BB-8 and they disconnect from the Finalizer. Kylo commits orders to keep pressure on Millennium Falcon. He’ll go after the Legacy.
Luke informs Poe that Leia is on the Legacy. All ships should protect her. Poe asks what Luke plans to do since all tie-fighters keep coming after him. Luke says they’ll go to the surface. A change of terrain should throw the tie-fighters off and provide more cover. Poe orders squadron two to protect the chancellor until she’s clear for lightspeed. Incredible space battle commences as ships fly around blowing each other up. The Resistance starts taking heavy losses until an X-wing fighter jumps into the system, blows away a bunch of tie-fighters and shifts the momentum of the battle. Poe cheers and compliments the X-wing pilot. Anika responds, “You’re not so bad yourself.” The Millennium Falcon is on the run to the surface avoiding blaster fire through a terrible storm. Both Rey and Luke are at the gunner seats. Just as the Legacy seems clear, Kylo blasts its engines, and it’s headed for a crash landing on [PLANET 2]. Poe takes out the last of the tie-fighters in space and informs Rey and Luke that the Legacy is headed for a crash landing.
Luke and Rey spot the Legacy and ask Chewie to turn the ship around. They race after the Legacy. Luke stretches out his hand and slows its decent. It suffers a hard landing in the dark, stormy night, but survives. The Falcon slows for a moment and the exit ramp lowers. Luke and Rey hop out before the Millennium Falcon flies off again. Tie-fighters follow. Luke and Rey rush through the trees to the Legacy, but before she rushes out of the trees and into the open Luke calls to stop her. She either can’t hear him or refuses to listen as she rushes to the Legacy to help Leia and Finn. Kylo’s ship lands, and almost immediately, him and the Knights of Ren step out into the rain.
Rey vision after touching Luke’s lightsaber comes true as the Knights of Ren (Kylo and four others) approach her in the darkness. She pulls out her lightsaber and activates its blue blade. Kylo says that this time, he’ll take it from her. But stops, “You’re alone. Where is Luke Skywalker?” Rey is about to answer but is cut off as Do’re Mi staggers out of the Legacy. Her first instinct is blasters blazing. Finn comes from behind her with a blaster and blaster rifle in hand. He and Do’re Mi shoot at the Knights. The Knights of Ren dodge the blaster fire, find cover, and return with blasts of their own. Two of the Knights have a red lightsaber and deflect the blasts back at Finn. He ducks. Rey charges towards Kylo with saber in hand. Kylo stretches out his hand and pushes her back against the Legacy. She drops her lightsaber. Kylo scoffs and reaches out with the Force for the lightsaber, but it flies into the trees. “Again!” Kylo complains, frustrated.
“It’s not yours,” Luke says as he walks out from the trees. “And it never will be,” Luke continues. He hands it back to Rey, who comes to his side. One of the other Knights of Ren with a saber joins Kylo. Kylo ignites his lightsaber and says, “We’ll see about that.” The four have a serious lightsaber battle worthy of ooos and aahs and gasps. Finn and Do’re Mi continue their fruitless blaster fight against the Knights of Ren. Both are firing from cover. Difference is, while they’re focused on the two in front of them. Another knight sneaks around in the shadows and appears behind them. He ignites his lightsaber, catching both of them by surprise. But just as he swings down to kill Finn, a blaster bolt hits him in the chest. He falls back. Finn turns to see a weak Leia with a blaster in her hand. She drops the blaster and staggers forward. Do’re Mi says, “I could use some help over here.” Both of her blasters fired off rapidly. Finn returns his attention to holding off the other knights but catches Rey in the corner of his eye. He shoots at the sabered knight. He shifts his attention to deflect the blast and Rey chops his left arm off. The knight falls down. His arm and lightsaber meters away.
“Now its two against one,” Luke says. He and Rey circle Kylo. “Give up, Ben.” You underestimate my power, Kylo almost says. “This isn’t what Leia and Han wanted for you. There’s still a chance to turn this around. There was good in your grandfather. There is still good in you.” “LIES!” Kylo responds, “He was a dark lord of the Sith. One of the most powerful ever. The light is weak. Good is weak.”
“But I saved him,” Luke said. “In the end, I saved him. And he defeated Darth Sidious and returned balance to the Force. If you truly want to be like your grandfather, help us defeat Snoke. Help us end this once and for all.” Kylo shakes his head, “Never!” and turns his attention towards his fallen ally. He reaches out with the Force and pulls the lifeforce out of him. Luke stares in shock. “Ben! No!” Kylo launches a torrent of Force Energy at Luke and Rey. This time, however, Luke is prepared for the attack and shields himself and Rey. Kylo continues the onslaught. Luke closes his eyes and focuses as the torrent becomes overwhelming. A red lightsaber goes through Kylo’s stomach. He looks down in shock. The torrent ceases. The lightsaber turns off. Kylo clutches his stomach and turns around. It’s Leia. Kylo falls to his knees, channels his rage, and fumes. Dark energy surrounds him.
The other Knights of Ren see Kylo surrounded and focus their attention firing at Luke, Rey, and Leia. But Luke disarms them. He steps forward to pursue them. But they flee back to their ship. Luke and Rey watch. Rey raises her lightsaber. Luke shakes his head, “Don’t. Let them go.” The Knights of Ren flee. Leaving Kylo alone, agonizing over his wound, screaming. Luke turns around, again in aww, and stares at his nephew. The wound is healing. Luke quickly collects Kylo’s lightsaber. Leia steps away. Finn and Do’re Mi run forward. Rey and Finn hug. (♫Reunited, and it feels so good.) Luke tells them to stay back. Kylo finishes his screams and passes out. Leia leans forward, examines Kylo, and looks at Luke. “He’s healed. His wound. It healed.” They look back at the fallen knight. His body is shriveled. “What kind of power is that?” Rey asks. Luke has a concern on his face. “The worst kind.”
The Millennium Falcon shows up. Chewie calls them, “Raaaarrr rurr roorrror raar ruuurr!” (Which means: get your hairless butts on the ship now. Enemy reinforcements are coming.) They get on the Millennium Falcon, taking an unconscious Kylo with them. The Falcon flies off. The Resistance leave the system excited that they’ve won a serious conflict against the First Order.
Little did they know…
Admiral Ackbar’s ship approaches Taris. A hooded figure with a black mask stands on the bridge, alone. Dead bodies surround her. The proper codes are sent and Resistance forces give the figure the okay. The ship lands with ease. Resistance forces approach the ship with excitement and questions. The boarding ramp lowers. Admiral Ackbar, the only survivor, crawls out. He breathes his final words, “It’s… a… trap!” Stormtroopers race out, trampling him with blaster rifles firing. The hooded figure leaps from a hatch on the top of the ship into the air, a red lightsaber bursts to life, and lands on the ground. A burst of intense Force knocks all of the Resistance fighters down. The hooded figure rushes through, slashing and deflecting. People are tossed into the air. Others are force choked. The hooded figure’s assault is ceaseless until everyone in the Resistance base is slaughtered. After everyone is dead, a stormtrooper approaches the hooded figures with orders. The hooded figure removes the hood. All you see is a mask and flowing red hair. The figure says in a slightly mechanical voice, “Burn it. Burn the base to the ground. Leave them nothing left.” She points at Ackbar’s body. “And post his body on a pike. I want them to know that nothing can stand against the First Order.”
Fast forward. Ackbar’s ship leaves as the Resistance base is engulfed in flames.
MOVIE ENDS!
The Republic is in chaos! While the destruction of Starkiller Base dealt an incredible blow, The First Order have launched a full-fledged war campaign against the remnants of the New Republic. Systems are being seized. Alliances are folding.
But hope is not lost as General Solo reaches out to the survivors of the Hosnian Massacre and a personal correspondence is delivered to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
(Yea!)
After the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital of the New Republic, General Leia Solo leaves the Resistance in the hands of Admiral Ackbar and Captain Poe Damaran while she and C-3P0 reach out to the survivors and calls for an emergency Senate meeting in the old capital building on Coruscant. The message bounces through the holonet. Some agree to come. Others are shaky to be cannon fodder for another First Order attack. Leia assures them that they’ll be safe and requests that scattered and remaining Republic military forces act as escorts.
General Hux gets wind of a supposed emergency Senate meeting and informs Snoke. Snoke already knows but orders Hux to take care of the Solo problem, a task he’s not convinced his apprentice could complete. Hux assigns Captain Phasma with the task of either capturing or silencing General Solo once and for all.
Rey approaches Luke Skywalker with his blue lightsaber. He pulls it from her hand with the force and examines it. He frowns, looks at her, and says, “Where’d you find this?” Rey says, “Maz Kanata. She had it in her bar. It called to me.” Luke frowns again. “Maz. It figures. She’s always into something.” He blinks. “What were you doing at Maz Kanata’s? And with the Millennium Falcon? I thought I told you to go to the ruins of the old Jedi Temple on Dantooine.” Rey stares at him with confusion. “What? I just got here.” Luke’s eyes narrow, scan her, then widen. His mouth drops open. “Rey? I sensed it, but, I couldn’t believe it. After all this time.” He approaches to hug her but stops. “You don’t know who I am.” Rey shakes her head. “Of course, I do. You’re Luke Skywalker.” He sighs.
Rey asks how Luke knows her. He’s hesitant to answer her, but instead asks her to follow him. She follows him to an old Jedi Temple. It’s populated by several temple staff and a few young people, one of which is meditating in midair. He asks what’s been happening. He felt the death of Han Solo. He felt the destruction of worlds. He regrets he could not get involved, but he has been looking for answers about an ancient Sith Lord and Emperor, Darth Vitiate, and studying the means that were used to finally destroy him. Their newest threat, Snoke, is using ancient Sith sorcery to amass limitless power and immortality. Luke has also been using the old Jedi Temple as a school. Rey fills him in and inquires again as to how he knows her. He tells her that she used to be one of his students, before his school was destroyed by Kylo Ren, the Knights of Ren, and Snoke. Rey’s mother escaped with Rey, but left her sister behind, who she thought was dead. Luke found the sister and brought her with him. He’s kept her safe, trained her, while he searched for answers on how to defeat Snoke and prevent a catastrophe. The two (Luke and Snoke) fought at his school. Luke almost destroyed him, but Snoke used dark force sorcery to drain someone’s life force and keep himself alive, flee. (This is why Snoke looks so frail, and why he’s so eager to find Luke and finish Kylo’s training. He’d gladly blow up whatever planet Luke is on rather than face him one-on-one again.) Rey has tunnel-vision. She wonders what could have happened to her mother, since she was left on Jakku alone. Luke doesn’t have an answer for her. But her leads her to a resting place, a meditation rock, and says he has to open her mind. Rey’s mother used a force technique to suppress Rey’s memories. If he unlocked those memories, they would both find answers.
While the Republic military forces act as escort services for the newly-appointed replacement senators, the Resistance forces resettle in their backup base on Taris and are put under pressure to formulate an offensive against the First Order, who are taking advantage of the Republic’s weakened state to claim important systems. New problem, Admiral Akhbar’s ship never made it to Taris and is not responding to hails. Poe sends a scout to find out what happened to Admiral Akhbar. In the meantime, he’s thrust into command. He now struggles with the pressures of coming up with a strategy for a large-scale war campaign. He finds support from a double-blaster wielding rebel, Do’re Mi, who knows the inside and outs of the old rebellion during the times of the Empire, including their strategies. (Inserting brief reference to the Rebel series and key characters.) Do’re Mi encourages hitting key resource points that will slow down the First Order’s campaign. It wouldn’t hurt to steal what’s already there and destroy whatever is left over.
Unconscious, Finn has a vision of two planets and is shown what looks like a shipyard, but before he can recognize it, he is woken up by a rakghoul that found a way into the base. The rakghoul is trying to break into his sleeping chamber and eat him. After the rakghoul is killed by an alerted guard, someone says, “A rakghoul? I thought they were extinct.” Finn asks what a rakghoul is. The guard doesn’t have time to explain but says not to let a rakghoul touch him. Finn follows the guard. The guard rushes to the command center and informs Poe that there might be rakghouls in the base. Poe and Finn are reunited. Poe quickly fills Finn in on what’s happening, including Rey’s whereabouts, and their sabotage plans. Finn tells Poe about his “weird dream”. Do’re Mi says the planets Finn saw are the best targets for covert, guerilla assaults. [PLANET 1] supplies a bulk of First Order weapons. [PLANET 2] is a crucial fuel depot. Do’re Mi thinks it’s a strange coincidence that such things would show up in a dream and keeps a close eye on Finn. Finn isn’t sure of what his purpose is now. Poe says Finn is a hero. “The galaxy, the Resistance. They need all the heroes they can find right now.” Finn agrees to help. What else is he going to do? He can’t keep running. (Except into Rey’s arms. ♫Ooo baby I love your way, everyday.)
Kylo Ren has recovered from his fight with Rey. His defeat was an embarrassment, but what he sensed from her provided him and Snoke with more answers about her identity. “No doubt, they have found Luke Skywalker.” It is more crucial than ever that they complete Kylo’s training and mold him into a warrior unseen since Marka Ragnos. Training: The Jedi were weak and short-sighted. Instead of learning how to control their passions and natural ambitions for power, they feared them and fell victim to their feelings and the allure of power. The Sith were unhinged, impulsive, reckless, without self-control. They let their passions rule them, instead of ruling their passions. The Knights of Ren understood that true power came from control. Control of one’s self: emotions and passions, control through maintaining peace and order, control through collection and storage of knowledge, control of life and death, control of the Force. Now that Kylo has destroyed Han Solo, he must take his hate, his anger, and harness it, control it, direct it, but not be overtaken by it as he has been so far. He must be patient with it. Mold it. Practice restraint. Sow seeds of rage that can grow, be unleashed in battle, and then stored away. That same rage can be channeled as a weapon or used to restore one’s own strength and health. He sits down with Kylo so they can meditate on a new force ability.
General Leia and an old friend, Fah’so La, (new character for Laura Dern) from her brief Senate days convince the New Republic to stay together and not fend for themselves. Though it was not her intention or expectation, Leia receives a near unanimous vote as the interim Chancellor, with Senator La as her vice. She humbly accepts the position and gets to work, using their New Republic funds to arrange the purchase of a fleet of ships, whatever they can get in short notice. Their contact person is Lando Calrissian. He promises Leia he’ll sweet talk a good deal for her and asks how Han is doing. Leia gives him the bad news. He offers his condolences and promises to get back to her.
Luke guides Rey through Force Meditation while he reaches into her mind to unlock her memories. First, she’s distracted, as she keeps searching for her own answers. Running into the same roadblocks. He chastises her, tells her that they’re both looking for the same answers. Finally, she relaxes, and her memories play out.
Memories: [She’s a little girl, in the old school, training with the other students. Luke is their instructor, guiding them as they each are levitating rocks. Then, her memories flash to her training and sparing with a practice saber. There’s another jump and she’s sparing with, herself. Rey starts to get confused. Luke tells her to stay focused. Another instructor is there: a woman with red hair. But she’s not just an instructor. Memories flash of her and the woman together. The woman putting her to bed. The woman combing her hair. Then, they’re eating dinner. There was someone else there: an older boy, tall, with dark hair. She recognizes him. She gasps. It’s Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. “Focus,” Luke says again in the distance. Luke is also at the dinner table. Rey levitates fruit from her plate to another girl’s plate. No. Not another girl’s. Hers. Memories flash forward again. Little Rey is in the bushes, hiding, watching as a woman (Fahso La) hands Kylo Ren a glowing red holocron. He accepts it, analyzes it. Little Rey is speaking to someone. To her. How’s that possible? Little Rey darts off. One more look through the bushes as Kylo is mesmerized by the holocron. Then, she runs after Little Rey. Another flash forward. Blaster bolts, explosions, fires, and dead bodies in the hallway. The woman with the red hair pulls Rey along, swinging her lightsaber at men in black. They escape the temple before something explodes. Rey slows the explosion with her outstretched hand. They jump into a ship. Fly off. But they’re being pursued. They jump to lightspeed. Red-haired woman reassures Rey and sends a desperate message to Leia and Han Solo for assistance. They jump out of hyperspace and orbit Jakku. Not long afterward, the ships pursuing them also jump out of hyperspace. “They put a tracker on our ship!” They settle on the planet surface. But it won’t be long before they’re caught. Red haired woman closes her eyes, rests her hands on Rey’s head. Everything goes dark. There’s an image of the ship flying away and Rey screaming for the ship to come back. Memories end.]
Rey comes out of her meditation and looks curiously at Luke. Luke sits down, lowers his head, and sighs. “I thought I’d find her.” “The woman I saw was my mother,” she says. Luke nods and says, “Mara.” Rey responded, “And you’re my father?” Luke nods. “And Kylo Ren. I saw him eating with us.” “He’s your cousin. His name was Ben.”
Luke explains that his nephew Ben Solo was a conflicted young man. His heart was good, but there was a darkness that followed him. When it was revealed publicly that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, the father of Leia Organa-Solo and Luke Skywalker, Ben Solo was treated differently by others. Because of his natural inclinations in the force and quick-tempered nature, he was feared by some and ostracized by others. Ben was easily frustrated and his temper didn’t help him make friends. People implied he was Vader junior. There were numerous incidents at school and outside that led to the decision to send Ben away to be trained by Luke. But Ben was treated differently by the students at the school as well. Luke and Mara tried their best to offer the family and guidance he needed, but the darkness was always there. Anyone Ben reached out to in hopes of building a friendship or relationship was told he was dangerous by his peers. Ben decided to embrace it and invested interest in who his grandfather was, both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. He read through all the historic references and collected what pieces of history and his grandfather he could find. His growing fascination with Darth Vader only reinforced people’s fears. That’s when Snoke began to reach out to him in the Force. Luke urged Ben to remember Anakin as a war hero for the Republic, fighting for the light against darkness. One day, Luke found Ben studying a Sith holocron. Beside him was the helmet of Darth Vader. Luke had no idea how Ben acquired it. But when he confronted Ben, and tried to destroy the holocron, Ben lashed out in the Force. What he did not know was that the Knights of Ren had used the delivery of exclusive Darth Vader property to acquire the location of the school. As Luke disarmed Ben, he was ambushed by Snoke. Luke and Snoke fought as Ben watched. While they fought, the Knight of Ren attacked the school and tried to round up as many students as they could. Some of the students were taken. Some of them were killed. A few escaped. Luke defeated Snoke but before he could end the weakened Snoke, he saw Snoke drain the lifeforce out of someone coming to help. Snoke used that extra power to incapacitate Luke. A weakened Snoke and Ben fled. When Luke came to, he found his school on fire and nearly abandoned. He managed to save a girl who was trapped inside. The Knights of Ren had all fled.
Luke concludes that the Knights of Ren chased Mara to Jakku. Mara left Rey to keep her out of their hands. She might have been captured. He sighs, reaches out again to find her. “She’s not dead. I would have sensed it. She would have reached out to me through the Force. What I can sense is faint, as though she’s in a deep sleep.” He wonders. But there’s no time to dwell on that. Now that he’s unlocked her memories, her Jedi training will slowly resurface. Until then, he needs to teach her the essentials so they can help the Resistance. “There’s something wrong with my memories,” Rey says. “How so?” Luke responds. “I feel them coming to the surface. But, there’s two of me. Or I’m seeing myself outside of myself. Is that a side effect?” “No,” Luke says. “That’s not you, you’re seeing.” “Yes, it is me,” Rey argues. “No, it isn’t,” a voice speaks from the doorway. They both turn to see a young woman at the doorway. She’s wearing light Jedi armor reminiscent of a much older age. The young woman says, “It’s me, Anika, your sister.” She hands Luke a holocron. “And I’ve found what we were looking for.”
Snoke puts Kylo in a ring to face off against his strongest guards. When Kylo gets an advantage on one, another guard comes in. When he gets the advantage on two, the third comes in. When he gets the advantage on three, a forth comes in. When he’s surrounded and outnumbered, they continue to shock and torture him. Snoke mocks Kylo, calls him weak. He orders more guards with shock sticks to torture Kylo. This is when Kylo gets taps into his rage. His eyes glow yellow. He channels his force energy into a Force Nova, launching all the surrounding guards away, freezes them midfall, launches them into the air, and then slams them all into each other. He stands tall, alone, and stares at Snoke. Snoke claps his hands and laughs. “Yes! That’s the raw rage I love to see. Now, we will channel that rage into something you can control, call on demand, harness, unleash, sooth. There was once a Lord who could mend his body from any attack. He was nearly indestructible, because he could channel his rage. I will show you.” He smiles. “But first…” He shocks Kylo and knocks him to the floor. “There must be something to mend.” He shocks him more and pulls out his lightsaber. They spare. Snoke gets a few shallow blows in, scarring Kylo’s torso and reopening an old wound. Kylo agonizes and fumes. “Don’t let your anger go to waste on me, boy. Store it. Channel it. Let the Force surround you. Pour raw emotion and power into your wounds.” Kylo is shrouded in a fog of dark energy. One of his wounds heals. Snoke smiles. “So it begins.”
Lando gets back to Leia. He got a great deal on a fleet of top rate ships through a reliable contact. He sends her the coordinates to the shipyard. Fah’so La suggests she go, since she’s less valuable than Leia. Leia should stay put and ensure the security of the Republic. Leia’s not ready quite yet to sit around and let other people do the hard work. She insists on going. Fah’so La agrees, but insists she goes as well. Leia disagrees. At least one of them should stay on Coruscant. Fah’so La has Republic soldiers escort Leia to her ship and protect her. Leia and C-3P0 fly to the shipyard to meet with the sellers. Fah’so La contacts an unknown person, kneels, and says Chancellor Leia is on her way to the shipyard.
Poe reached out to an old friend, Teedo, a mercenary/bounty hunter/smuggler. He helped the Resistance before. Teedo grew up on [PLANET 1], has plenty of contacts, and intel on how to get into the weapons depot. He also has a man inside. Teedo agrees to help, again. (“Anything for a friend.”) Finn, Do’re Mi, and some Resistance fighters take a transport ship, meet up with Teedo and his group, and go over the plan. There’s a secret and abandoned underground passage. Teedo’s dad used to supply the Rebellion with weapons. They go through the passage, get inside, and find uniforms and access cards waiting for them. Teedo and Do’re Mi flirt with each other. Team One, Teedo’s team, is charged with loading as many blasters, rifles, and explosives as they can and taking them back through the passage. Team Two, Finn and Do’re Mi sneak around and place explosives in sensitive areas, deactivate safety measures, and activate an emergency evacuation alarm that clears the facility. Once the alarms go off, they have to shoot their way out, but escape the weapons depot through the same secret passage they came. The weapons depot goes kaboom. Finn, Do’re Mi, and the Resistance fighters leave with a large shipment’s worth of blasters, rifles, and explosives. Teedo offers to join them, mostly to spend more time flirting with Do’re Mi, and tags along as they head to [PLANET 2].
At the shipyard, Leia, her guards, and C-3P0 meet Lando. He smiles and gives Leia a hug, before giving her his condolences again. They go to meet the seller. The seller hands over the codes to the ships and accepts the credits. He’s very nervous and eager to quickly leave. Lando asks why the seller is so skittish. He says he’s busy and has another meeting to get to. Leia and Lando aren’t buying it. The seller says he’s got to go, but it’s too late. There’s blaster fire outside. Leia secures the ship codes with C-3P0 and tells him to hide. He hides. Soon afterward, Leia and Lando are surrounded from all sides by First Order troops. Captain Phasma walks past the guards to the front line. “General Hux is looking forward to meeting you, Chancellor Solo.” The guards escort Leia to Phasma’s ship. She shoots the seller dead but only shoots Lando in the leg. She tells Lando her father owed him one. But if he helps the Resistance again, she’ll kill him. She leaves. Captain Phasma’s ship jumps to hyperspeed.
There are multiple scenes were Luke trains Rey in the essentials of the Force, including lightsaber combat, while Anika and Chewbacca watch. They have a few clever and comedic responses for each other. Anika implies that at least Rey doesn’t have to carry Luke on her back. Rey looks at Luke in shock and asks if he really made Anika do that. He shrugs and says, “That’s how I was taught. It worked, didn’t it?” Laughter. Luke senses Leia’s peril. Anika says, “I felt it as well.” Luke decides he’s going to have to train Rey on the way. “On the way, where?” “A warzone.” Luke asks Anika to stay behind and keep the students safe. She wants to go with him. He urges her to stay. She reluctantly agrees. They go to the Millennium Falcon. R2-D2 already has the ship ready to go and transmits a signal he received from a panicked C-3P0. They leave the planet. “Where to?” Luke closed his eyes, focused, and opened them. “[PLANET 2].”
Kylo is meditating, brewing in powerful dark force energy. Snoke informs Kylo that he can sense a stirring in the Force. He needs to immediately assemble the Knights of Ren and go to General Hux’s ship. Captain Phasma has captured Leia Solo and is taking her to General Hux’s ship, the Finalizer. There, Kylo will face Luke Skywalker and his daughter, Rey. Kylo stands, collects his mask and lightsaber, and exits his chambers. He walks down the corridor and enters a room where the Knights of Ren are lounging. They all turn to him. Without speaking, he puts on his mask and walks out. They collect their things and follow him. Insert dramatic music as they all enter a ship together and leave the planet.
Poe’s team of fighters slip into the system to execute a surprise attack on the fuel depot on the surface and orbiting [PLANET 2]. Contrary to their expectations, the Finalizer, is attached to the orbital fuel depot. But Poe comes up with another plan. Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 are going to sneak on to the Finalizer, into their weapons room, and fire on the fuel depot. After that, they need to get out immediately. While they’re doing this, Teedo and the Resistance fighters will infiltrate the depot on the surface, setting up explosives at the fuel pumps and tanks, and deactivating safety measures. “Shoot people and blow things up. Stick with what works, right?” Teedo says with a smile. Poe and the fighters will use the opening to finish the job, attack the Finalizer, and offer FDBB an opening to escape the Finalizer. They put their plans into motion.
Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 navigate a small ship, the Legacy, and dock with the Finalizer. They dress in First Order uniforms while BB-8 figures out where the weapons room is located. How are they going to activate the weapons without attracting attention? They needed a distraction for the distraction. They reroute power to overload a conduit in the weapons room. Then, they go to help with repair. On their way, they see Captain Phasma escorting Leia to General Hux’s command center. “Looks like we’re going to need a plan to rescue Leia,” Finn says. “One plan at a time,” Do’re Mi insists.
Captain Phasma escorts Leia to General Hux. He gloats about her capture, says he looks forward to introducing her to Supreme Leader Snoke. Leia has some naturally smart comeback that annoys Hux. He says there’s no point in resisting anymore. They’ve lost. The First Order is claiming new systems. The Resistance is spread thin. And now, the First Order has the New Republic under their control. Leia says, “Over my dead body.” “You read my mind,” Hux says. They’ll broadcast the execution of the new chancellor. After that, the Vice Chancellor will declare a total surrender of all Republic territories as a vassal to the First Order. Leia says, “The people will resist! The Resistance will fight on.” Hux smiles a very confident smile. “You don’t know this, but your resistance is already dead.”
Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 get to the weapons station and start rewiring it to take direct control over the weapons and targeting. BB-8 assists with rerouting and overriding command codes. They succeed and are ready to fire the weapons when another repair crew shows up and wonders what they’re doing there. Finn says, “Taking the initiative.” “Take your initiative elsewhere,” the repair crew argue. Do’re Mi pulls her dual blasters and shoots everybody. Finn freaks out, “What did you do that for?” Do’re Mi rushes to the door and closes it. “He was getting on my nerves. Fire the guns! We have a Chancellor to save, remember?” Finn starts firing all weapons at the orbital fuel depot. He sets the weapons on auto-fire and tells BB-8 to program the computer to keep the weapons controls locked. BB-8 does so. They rush out to save Leia.
As General Hux and Captain Phasma lock Leia in a detention cell, they’re approached by a panicked officer who says, “The fuel depot is under attack!” Hux frowns. “By whom?” The officer nervously says, “By us!” “What?” Phasma chimes in. “If that depot explodes while the umbilical is attached to us, it’ll destroy us!” Hux yells. “Disable the weapons, immediately!” “We’re trying,” the officer says. “Try harder!” Hux commands. The officer nods and runs off. Hux looks to Phasma, say, “Watch her,” and runs off.
The orbital fuel depot is bombarded by weapons fire from the Finalizer. Poe cheers and says, “Looks like the fun’s started. Time to join the party!” The fighters join in on the attack. One squadron focuses on firing at the orbital fuel depot. The other squadron targets the Finalizer. The Millennium Falcon arrives. Poe’s flying around blaster Tie-Fighters but can’t help but to say his hellos and informs them Finn, Do’Re Mi, and BB-8 are on the Finalizer. Luke informs them that he senses Leia on that ship. This worries Poe. The depot could blow at any minute. It’ll cause a lot of damage to the Finalizer. He’s about to tell everyone to pull back when Kylo Ren’s ship jumps into the system, along with two escorts. Poe orders squadron one to refocus their attacks on the new First Order ships in the system. Luke and Rey say they’re going to get on board the Finalizer and save Leia while Chewie stays close. But as the Millennium Falcon moves closer to dock, the fuel depot blows. They quickly turn around avoiding damage from the blast. From Kylo’s point of view at the cockpit, he sees the Millennium Falcon and gives the order to pursue the Millennium Falcon.
The Finalizer is heavily damaged. Conduits are exploding. Officers and troopers are running around. Some are headed for the escape pods. Others are trying to repair systems. Finn, Do’re Mi, and BB-8 are seemingly ignored at the command center as everyone’s trying to keep the ship in one piece. But they don’t see Leia. He frowns, thinks, and says, “They must have her in the detention center.” They rush down corridors, to the detention center, and come face to face with Captain Phasma. “FN-2187,” Phasma begins, followed by insults traded between the two. Trigger happy Do’re Mi is the first to pull her dual-blasters and fire shots off as more guards approach. While she’s contending with them, Phasma and Finn battle it out. BB-8 plugs into a wall panel and opens Leia’s detention cell door. Leia uses the Force to throw Phasma against the wall, hard. Phasma lays on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Finn rushes past Phasma to Leia’s cell. “Chancellor, we’re here to rescue you.” Leia says something about him not being the first stormtrooper to rescue her. (Fanboys experience nostalgia and hold back tears.) They rush to escape. Captain Phasma stands up, picks up her blaster, and follows.
Teedo stands in the dark and rain, looks back at the fuel depot, and presses the detonator. He and other Resistance fighters watch as the fuel depot on the surface explodes. He reports to Poe that all’s clear as they load into their ship. Poe informs him that it’s a warzone up there. He should prepare for a rough departure. Teedo says understood.
Kylo Ren and tie-fighters are aggressively pursuing the Millennium Falcon, which is flying close to the Finalizer for cover. Poe and others are providing them cover fire and pulling heat off their tail. But Kylo’s attention is suddenly turned towards the Finalizer as he senses his mother. Camera shifts to Leia’s perspective as she can sense Kylo as well. Captain Phasma fires a blaster shot and hits Leia in the arm. Do’re Mi fires back as Finn pulls Leia into the Legacy. Do’re Mi hops in after BB-8 and they disconnect from the Finalizer. Kylo commits orders to keep pressure on Millennium Falcon. He’ll go after the Legacy.
Luke informs Poe that Leia is on the Legacy. All ships should protect her. Poe asks what Luke plans to do since all tie-fighters keep coming after him. Luke says they’ll go to the surface. A change of terrain should throw the tie-fighters off and provide more cover. Poe orders squadron two to protect the chancellor until she’s clear for lightspeed. Incredible space battle commences as ships fly around blowing each other up. The Resistance starts taking heavy losses until an X-wing fighter jumps into the system, blows away a bunch of tie-fighters and shifts the momentum of the battle. Poe cheers and compliments the X-wing pilot. Anika responds, “You’re not so bad yourself.” The Millennium Falcon is on the run to the surface avoiding blaster fire through a terrible storm. Both Rey and Luke are at the gunner seats. Just as the Legacy seems clear, Kylo blasts its engines, and it’s headed for a crash landing on [PLANET 2]. Poe takes out the last of the tie-fighters in space and informs Rey and Luke that the Legacy is headed for a crash landing.
Luke and Rey spot the Legacy and ask Chewie to turn the ship around. They race after the Legacy. Luke stretches out his hand and slows its decent. It suffers a hard landing in the dark, stormy night, but survives. The Falcon slows for a moment and the exit ramp lowers. Luke and Rey hop out before the Millennium Falcon flies off again. Tie-fighters follow. Luke and Rey rush through the trees to the Legacy, but before she rushes out of the trees and into the open Luke calls to stop her. She either can’t hear him or refuses to listen as she rushes to the Legacy to help Leia and Finn. Kylo’s ship lands, and almost immediately, him and the Knights of Ren step out into the rain.
Rey vision after touching Luke’s lightsaber comes true as the Knights of Ren (Kylo and four others) approach her in the darkness. She pulls out her lightsaber and activates its blue blade. Kylo says that this time, he’ll take it from her. But stops, “You’re alone. Where is Luke Skywalker?” Rey is about to answer but is cut off as Do’re Mi staggers out of the Legacy. Her first instinct is blasters blazing. Finn comes from behind her with a blaster and blaster rifle in hand. He and Do’re Mi shoot at the Knights. The Knights of Ren dodge the blaster fire, find cover, and return with blasts of their own. Two of the Knights have a red lightsaber and deflect the blasts back at Finn. He ducks. Rey charges towards Kylo with saber in hand. Kylo stretches out his hand and pushes her back against the Legacy. She drops her lightsaber. Kylo scoffs and reaches out with the Force for the lightsaber, but it flies into the trees. “Again!” Kylo complains, frustrated.
“It’s not yours,” Luke says as he walks out from the trees. “And it never will be,” Luke continues. He hands it back to Rey, who comes to his side. One of the other Knights of Ren with a saber joins Kylo. Kylo ignites his lightsaber and says, “We’ll see about that.” The four have a serious lightsaber battle worthy of ooos and aahs and gasps. Finn and Do’re Mi continue their fruitless blaster fight against the Knights of Ren. Both are firing from cover. Difference is, while they’re focused on the two in front of them. Another knight sneaks around in the shadows and appears behind them. He ignites his lightsaber, catching both of them by surprise. But just as he swings down to kill Finn, a blaster bolt hits him in the chest. He falls back. Finn turns to see a weak Leia with a blaster in her hand. She drops the blaster and staggers forward. Do’re Mi says, “I could use some help over here.” Both of her blasters fired off rapidly. Finn returns his attention to holding off the other knights but catches Rey in the corner of his eye. He shoots at the sabered knight. He shifts his attention to deflect the blast and Rey chops his left arm off. The knight falls down. His arm and lightsaber meters away.
“Now its two against one,” Luke says. He and Rey circle Kylo. “Give up, Ben.” You underestimate my power, Kylo almost says. “This isn’t what Leia and Han wanted for you. There’s still a chance to turn this around. There was good in your grandfather. There is still good in you.” “LIES!” Kylo responds, “He was a dark lord of the Sith. One of the most powerful ever. The light is weak. Good is weak.”
“But I saved him,” Luke said. “In the end, I saved him. And he defeated Darth Sidious and returned balance to the Force. If you truly want to be like your grandfather, help us defeat Snoke. Help us end this once and for all.” Kylo shakes his head, “Never!” and turns his attention towards his fallen ally. He reaches out with the Force and pulls the lifeforce out of him. Luke stares in shock. “Ben! No!” Kylo launches a torrent of Force Energy at Luke and Rey. This time, however, Luke is prepared for the attack and shields himself and Rey. Kylo continues the onslaught. Luke closes his eyes and focuses as the torrent becomes overwhelming. A red lightsaber goes through Kylo’s stomach. He looks down in shock. The torrent ceases. The lightsaber turns off. Kylo clutches his stomach and turns around. It’s Leia. Kylo falls to his knees, channels his rage, and fumes. Dark energy surrounds him.
The other Knights of Ren see Kylo surrounded and focus their attention firing at Luke, Rey, and Leia. But Luke disarms them. He steps forward to pursue them. But they flee back to their ship. Luke and Rey watch. Rey raises her lightsaber. Luke shakes his head, “Don’t. Let them go.” The Knights of Ren flee. Leaving Kylo alone, agonizing over his wound, screaming. Luke turns around, again in aww, and stares at his nephew. The wound is healing. Luke quickly collects Kylo’s lightsaber. Leia steps away. Finn and Do’re Mi run forward. Rey and Finn hug. (♫Reunited, and it feels so good.) Luke tells them to stay back. Kylo finishes his screams and passes out. Leia leans forward, examines Kylo, and looks at Luke. “He’s healed. His wound. It healed.” They look back at the fallen knight. His body is shriveled. “What kind of power is that?” Rey asks. Luke has a concern on his face. “The worst kind.”
The Millennium Falcon shows up. Chewie calls them, “Raaaarrr rurr roorrror raar ruuurr!” (Which means: get your hairless butts on the ship now. Enemy reinforcements are coming.) They get on the Millennium Falcon, taking an unconscious Kylo with them. The Falcon flies off. The Resistance leave the system excited that they’ve won a serious conflict against the First Order.
Little did they know…
Admiral Ackbar’s ship approaches Taris. A hooded figure with a black mask stands on the bridge, alone. Dead bodies surround her. The proper codes are sent and Resistance forces give the figure the okay. The ship lands with ease. Resistance forces approach the ship with excitement and questions. The boarding ramp lowers. Admiral Ackbar, the only survivor, crawls out. He breathes his final words, “It’s… a… trap!” Stormtroopers race out, trampling him with blaster rifles firing. The hooded figure leaps from a hatch on the top of the ship into the air, a red lightsaber bursts to life, and lands on the ground. A burst of intense Force knocks all of the Resistance fighters down. The hooded figure rushes through, slashing and deflecting. People are tossed into the air. Others are force choked. The hooded figure’s assault is ceaseless until everyone in the Resistance base is slaughtered. After everyone is dead, a stormtrooper approaches the hooded figures with orders. The hooded figure removes the hood. All you see is a mask and flowing red hair. The figure says in a slightly mechanical voice, “Burn it. Burn the base to the ground. Leave them nothing left.” She points at Ackbar’s body. “And post his body on a pike. I want them to know that nothing can stand against the First Order.”
Fast forward. Ackbar’s ship leaves as the Resistance base is engulfed in flames.
MOVIE ENDS!
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