MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Discussion > Rey is a better character than Luke Skyw...

Rey is a better character than Luke Skywalker

posted 7 years ago by [deleted]
10 replies | jump to latest

She truly is. Is that even controversial? I have never connected with a Star Wars character so deeply. For real though, I was frequently moved and inspired by Rey.

What other character in this universe contains so many multitides? She is fierce but compassionate. Eager and ambitious but also a little freaked out. She has vulnerability and yet somehow also has all the things Luke was missing. Luke was often whiny and could be a little dumb; Rey seems to have already transcended that. She is endlessly likable and has a kind of maturity that Luke rarely demonstrated.

But now the best part. Has there ever been a better revelation of powers in these movies? The answer is no. Rey is backed into a corner and finds herself in a circumstance where the force must awaken. Her inner strength and her determination is literally what activates it.

Crucially, it’s not that a magic randomly or even naturally surfaces; it is only her will and her own strength of character that causes her powers to be revealed. She chose to fight back. She chose to flip the switch.

And last but not least, she's not entirely like Luke and indeed better than him because she doesn't follow the whiny kid becomes fierce Jedi trope of both previous trilogies.

[–] MaximRecoil (4843) 7 years ago

She's a blatant Mary Sue, and a Mary Sue is strictly the product of bad writing; not just bad in the conventional way, but the worst of the worst, which is why it is usually only seen in fan fiction; particularly bad fan fiction, that is. You've pointed out her Mary Sue characteristics as though they are virtues, and your criticisms of the Luke Skywalker character are actually the very things which made him a well-written character (in the original trilogy), which is comically ironic. In other words, you're not the fastest car on the lot.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

She's a blatant Mary Sue

She isn't, this article does a good and detailed job explaining why that is:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2016/01/04/no-rey-from-star-wars-the-force-awakens-is-not-a-mary-sue/

She is further developed on this film and the claims about there being a Mary Sue are even less valid now.

[–] MaximRecoil (4843) 7 years ago

>She isn't

Yes, she is, and the most blatant Mary Sue I've ever seen in a mainstream movie, no less.

>this article does a good and detailed job explaining why that is

I'm not interested in your article. I've seen, and easily refuted, every possible Rey-apologist argument out there, starting the night after I saw TFA in the theater in 2015. If you have arguments then present them.

>She is further developed on this film and the claims about there being a Mary Sue are even less valid now.

LOL! Saying things which are the exact opposite of the truth seems to be a habit of yours. Here are a couple of quotes from user reviews:

"Who is Snoke and where he comes from is not explained and thrown into garbage since he dies, Phasma dies as well but without the Boba Fett effect, she's just useless, Rey confirmed a Mary Sue at 200% because she's the daughter of no one (literally, that's her heritage) and she's strong in the Force 'because yeah'"

"REY: Oh my god, what did they do with their leading female character??? The whole Mary Sue stuff of the first movie was already annoying, but now she's a force user who LEARNS EVERYTHING BY HERSELF after Luke does not train her and dies?"

And a quote from the Yoda character:

"Oh. Read them, have you? Page-turners they were not. Yes, yes, yes. Wisdom they held, but that library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess. Skywalker, still looking to the horizon. Never here, now, hmm? The need in front of your nose."

Mary Sue Alert

[–] Threadkiller (3089) 7 years ago

It's been said many times and it still remains true. Rey is a bigger Mary Sue than the original Mary Sue

[–] TheUltimateHippo (2250) 7 years ago

Rey is absolutely a Mary Sue, although it was refreshing to watch her get hit in the head.

[–] JohnnyUtahx (161) 7 years ago

Rey is without question a Mary Sue. For reasons unexplained she has expert level fighting skills, ace piloting skills, and advance force skills. She has advanced engineering skills that are likely not learned from being a scavenger, such as what would stress a hyperdrive.

She's a boring, one-dimensional character with no developmental arc who is there to pander to those who prefer feminist propaganda to good storytelling.

[–] FilmBuff (7435) 7 years ago

Luke Skywalker has a few things going for him, probably the most important of which is primacy. Since he came first, he's who we associate with Star Wars. However, if you watch the original three films again through fresh eyes, doing your best to let go of 40 years of mythology and baggage, he isn't as interesting or well-developed as Rey.

Luke is a pretty whiny, one-dimensional guy. He is never shown to have much depth, and his personality is never developed beyond a basic, surface level. He blunders through things, ignores the advice of Yoda, and more or less relies on luck and The Force to carry him through whatever situation he's in.

As to the "Mary Sue" complaint-- it's nonsense. Just like Rey, Luke achieves mastery of The Force with minimal training, and is guided by powers beyond him in much of what he does. If you think about it, he knew Ben Kenobi for perhaps an hour or two, had no training from him other than a quick "follow the ball" game. Yoda didn't do much more than crack jokes at his expense and tell a couple riddles. That's just how The Force works in the Star Wars universe: either you got it or you don't.

You can chalk up some of this to modern filmmaking. Movies are longer now, and more attention is given to creating a well-rounded character, hence our knowing a lot more about Rey, and seeing more sides to her, than we ever did Luke. Some is also due to what the filmmakers hoped to accomplish. Lucas was not concerned with creating deep characters. He was making an homage to the serials he'd loved as a kid, and part of the beauty of them was that the characters were one-dimensional stereotypes.

Whatever the reason(s) you decide are responsible, it's hard to dispute your statement without being blinded by an irrational love for the original films.

[–] MaximRecoil (4843) 7 years ago

>he isn't as interesting or well-developed as Rey.

Rey, "well-developed"? LOL at that. There's no such thing as a well-developed Mary Sue.

>Luke is a pretty whiny, one-dimensional guy. He is never shown to have much depth, and his personality is never developed beyond a basic, surface level. He blunders through things, ignores the advice of Yoda, and more or less relies on luck and The Force to carry him through whatever situation he's in.

There's no such thing as the type of "depth" you're talking about. You probably think you're "deep", for example. You're not. No one is, least of all you. Also, those things you mentioned are reasons why he's not a Mary Sue, and are also part of a character arc.

>As to the "Mary Sue" complaint-- it's nonsense.

No, it definitely isn't.

>Just like Rey, Luke achieves mastery of The Force with minimal training, and is guided by powers beyond him in much of what he does. If you think about it, he knew Ben Kenobi for perhaps an hour or two, had no training from him other than a quick "follow the ball" game. Yoda didn't do much more than crack jokes at his expense and tell a couple riddles. That's just how The Force works in the Star Wars universe: either you got it or you don't.

First of all, even if Luke were a Mary Sue (he wasn't; he was the exact opposite of one in fact), it wouldn't change the fact that Rey is a Mary Sue. Second, you don't know how much training he did with Kenobi, just as you don't know how many times he went to the bathroom during that trip. Third, he never did any Jedi Master-level force stuff in the first movie. In the second movie, a lot of time had passed, plus he had additional training from Yoda, and he still got his ass kicked by Vader, losing his hand in the process.

>Movies are longer now, and more attention is given to creating a well-rounded character, hence our knowing a lot more about Rey, and seeing more sides to her, than we ever did Luke.

This is precisely the opposite of the truth.

[–] Threadkiller (3089) 7 years ago

I see people still regurgitating the standard canned "Rey's not a Mary Sue... But if even if she is SO IS LUKE" excuses since 2015

[–] furiousstyles (4392) 7 years ago

Please, just no , Rey cannont compare to Luke, suggest you go watch the original trilogy again, much rather watch the Luke story unfold than the Rey one, i dont mind Rey , shes ok , but Luke, it aint even the same mother fucking game