[SPOILERS] A Theory On Rey And The Force

[Valceanu]

in all seriousness i think the weakness of the theory (which i like in general) i think might be the introduction in canon of the Bendu (the middle ground between light and dark). That doesnt exactly lend itself to the theory that the balance is with the light side or that the light side is the natural manifestation of the force. BTH i find it more credible that the Bendu is the natural manifestation and that the force is essentially amoral. It is workable in your theory though in the sense that when darkness arises the force would manifest itself in the light to counteract that.

[Ylliarus]

in all seriousness i think the weakness of the theory (which i like in general) i think might be the introduction in canon of the Bendu (the middle ground between light and dark). That doesnt exactly lend itself to the theory that the balance is with the light side or that the light side is the natural manifestation of the force. BTH i find it more credible that the Bendu is the natural manifestation and that the force is essentially amoral. It is workable in your theory though in the sense that when darkness arises the force would manifest itself in the light to counteract that.

 

Welll I'd actually argue that the Bendu isn't really the one in the middle. I'd say he is an apathetic gray jedi leaning towards the Light that supposedly found truth in the middle road, but it made him a coward. He preferred hiding on some obscure planet instead of acting and trying to better the galaxy. It is the failure of the gray jedi actually.

 

The Gray Jedi are often expected to be the solution to the Light and Dark dilemma, but they actually completely are not. I'd like to point to this video which explains the failings of the Gray Jedi expertly:

 

In essence? As a Gray Jedi you either still lean to the Light and turn apathetic once the decision comes whether to act or hide. Look at Jolee Bindo, at Zesh-Kae Ell, at Luke in the Last Jedi. All of them Gray Jedi that leaned to the Light and what did they do when push came to shove? They hid themselves, claiming to be in exile and try to ignore the galaxy, becoming apathetic. Gray Jedi leaning towards the Dark Side for a time will fight for what they believe in, they will protect what they love and feel passionate about. But in the end their passion makes them give in to their emotions and they become ruthless, falling to the Dark Side nonetheless. Revan and Malak were prime examples of this, they fought for what they loved, the Republic and the innocents of the Outer Rim. That is how they started out, as Gray Jedi one could argue, but their passions devoured them and they fell to the Dark Side.

 

The Bendu is no exception and fits in with the apathetic kind of Gray Jedi. It exiled itself and is content to ignore the galaxy and all that is going on. This would lead to the conclusion that even those in the middle are not a solution to the Light/Dark cyclical conflicts. I simply think that as long as the Force exists in the Star Wars universe, there will never be true peace.

 

And thus the franchise's name "Star Wars" essentially foreshadows the eternal doom the galaxy is facing.

Edited January 8, 2018 by Ylliarus

[Burana]

The most blind people to what is actually happening in the movie is the Star Wars fan community.

Guys, you are watching, but not seeing. Read the book “The Force awakens “, it explains things well. The book and the new movies speak about the balance in the Force. The book begins from the citation from the Jedi annals about the “gray” Jedi.

 

The link between Kylo Ren and Rey has already existed, it was not Snoke who formed it (reinforced, maybe). Rey has beaten Kylo Ren in the lightsaber duel, because he didn’t try to kill her, for very obvious reasons. They together are destined to bring the balance to the Force. He is a Sith with some light in him, she is a Jedi with some darkness. He fell for her in TFA, she understood him and responded in TLJ. They have sort of recognized each other when they first met.

 

Whatever the Force is doing there, is first of all balancing out the light and dark sides. There was nothing wrong with Anakin when he was a Jedi with some darkness in him. He was balanced, he was perfect. The Jedi Order basically misunderstood him, didn’t know how to handle his “grayness” and pushed into Darth Sidious clutches with their stupid rules and dogmas.

Same happened to Kylo Ren, Luke was scared of the dark side growing in Ben Solo, and couldn’t help balance it, because Jedi mistakenly think that Darkness should be destroyed, not contained and balanced. Luke himself had moments of giving in to the Dark side, and it only made him stronger when needed.

Rey is the one who is not afraid of the Dark side, and from time to time embraces it (her rage and hatred moments).

 

So, it this case training would do more harm than help, because the Jedi order was doing it wrong the whole time when some individuals were naturally attuned to both Dark and Light, like Anakin and Ben Solo. Rey is guided by the Force itself (or who knows if Anakin’s spirit is involved somehow), so she gets it right with the balance so far.

[DarthDymond]

To begin, I personally believe people have a misconception of what the Force in the Star Wars universe is and how it works. People often see the Force to be two sides of a whole, the Light and the Dark. [. . .] However, this view is actually wrong. The Force is a cosmic divine entity that binds all life together, it connects and holds the entire galaxy in Star Wars in one piece.[. . .] alance doesn't mean an equal amount of Light Side users and Dark Side users as people often mistakenly claim, but instead it means the total eradication of all those who use the Dark Side of the Force. [. . . snip for length . . .]

Phlebotinum

-noun-

• An impossible or imaginary device which is used to move forward the plot of a TV show, book or film, especially in science fiction and fantasy.
  It's science, it's magic, it's strange things unknown to science or magic. The reader does not know how Phlebotinum would work and the creators hope he or she doesn't care.

 

"Phlebotinum" is a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to what is basically "plot fuel" -- a fictitious "Magic Bean" (my favorite term for it) that a story asks you to accept in order to make a given sci-fi / supernatural horror / fantasy story work. The Force is one such example of Phlebotinum (one Magic Bean) in the Star Wars universe.

 

Some works of fiction set up very extensive, well-thought-out rules for their Magic Beans -- what they can and cannot do, how they work, how they interact with other real or fictional elements of the story, etc. -- and are careful about strictly adhering to those rules. This is probably most common in "hard sci-fi" stories, but can certainly happen in some fantasy and horror stories as well.

 

Other works of fiction play much more "fast and loose" with the rules for their Magic Beans -- those rules, such as they are, are often kept ill-defined, might be all over the map, or might change from one work to the next in a series (or even within the same work). This approach, although it can show up in any genre or medium, is what you'd commonly find in fairy tales, long-running comic book series, ghost stories, etc.

 

Neither approach is inherently better than the other, and it is obviously a spectrum, with most works falling somewhere in between two extremes. Star Wars tends towards the "fast and loose" end of that spectrum, being generally more concerned with telling an interesting / exciting story than it is with consistency and strict adherence to any rules it may have previously set up for its Magic Beans -- if it helps tell a better story, then individual movies / episodes / novels / comics are willing to tweak how the Phlebotinum works. What that means, though, is that there is no one definitive account of how the Force "works" -- the rules have been tweaked and re-tweaked from author to author and work to work (even between works by the same authors, e.g. Lucas himself).

 

"Balance" is certainly a key term that has been used throughout Star Wars when talking about the Force, but it's a malleable aspect of that Magic Bean. From an out-of-universe perspective (a.k.a. an extradiegetic or Doylist perspective), some authors have viewed the term "Balance" to mean "Balance between the Light Side and the Dark Side", while other authors have viewed it to mean that "Light Side = Balance and Dark Side = imbalance / corruption" -- and different individual works have thus reflected both viewpoints. And from an in-universe perspective (a.k.a. an intradiegetic or Watsonian perspective) you have different characters and groups espousing different viewpoints and philosophies as well -- the Bendu and Je'daii believe that Balance is a balance between Light and Dark, while the Jedi believe Balance is synonymous with the Light Side.

 

A Watsonian can reasonably say that no one knows which, if any, philosophy about Balance is the right one, just as in the real world we can't know which, if any, religion is correct. A Doylist can say that how the Force works simply changes depending on the individual movie / novel / episode / comic / whatever. By the same token, the degree to which the Force directly intervenes or manipulates people and events is either (Watsonian: ) a philosophical / religious mystery for the ages, or (Doylist: ) a fluid and flexible aspect of the Phlebotinum.

 

Thus, OP's theory is, I think, a perfectly reasonable and coherent vision of the Force that's compatible with how some authors and works have treated it and how some in-universe philosophies view it -- it's just not the only approach that genuinely exists within Star Wars, and can't really be called a definitive, true explanation of The Force (because there simply isn't one).

Edited January 10, 2018 by DarthDymond

[TalonVII]

I would urge you to read my theory carefully, which explains why Rey was able to gain such strengths in the Force. I also urge anyone else not to discuss the subject of Rey's gender in this thread because it derails the subject. The subject is the way the Force manifests itself in the Star Wars Universe and I would very much appreciate if we remained on topic

 

Rey's strength without being trained actually make perfect sense within the Star Wars universe if you view the Force the way I do, which results in me not seeing Rey as a Mary Sue, but rather as a tool used by the Force to obtain balance.

Ok bit late but I saw this and HAVE to chime in. There is a BIG damn difference between being very strong/talented in the force and having the skill and knowledge to what to do with it.

 

Take Gohan from DBZ. Child prodigy. Had tons of power, but in the early days of being a fighter, he couldn't even control it, not his ability with it.

 

But as time went on and he learned what to do with his enormous potential, he manages to topple an early upgraded Frezia and destroys cell.

 

Now apply this to Rey. She shows actual SKILL, not potential SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE. That is my ultimate problem with Rey. She shows advanced skills she hasn't learned yet with EASE.

 

I mean let's take the fight with Kylo. When she opens up tontye force she just powers up from nowhere and beata him with little to no effort, and it's as natural as breathing. Which is CRAP. Had she opened up to the force, beaten Kylo, then had that moment of confusion going into "how the hell did I just do that?!" Showing she can use the force, and under duress like she was reach a level she didn't know she could, but has no idea how to do it on her own, THAT would be so much more believable.

 

Same with at the end when she levatates the rocks at the end of THJ. If she'd of at first lifted them like she did, and then she just chucks the rocks into high heavens or the rocks explode showing lack of control and she goes "on, oops", it makes her more HUMAN and believable.

 

Sure plenty powerful, but BELIEVABLE.

 

Top it off I think the time elapsed on TLJ was too short, my major issues.

[AlienEyeTX]

Ok bit late but I saw this and HAVE to chime in. There is a BIG damn difference between being very strong/talented in the force and having the skill and knowledge to what to do with it.

 

Take Gohan from DBZ. Child prodigy. Had tons of power, but in the early days of being a fighter, he couldn't even control it, not his ability with it.

 

But as time went on and he learned what to do with his enormous potential, he manages to topple an early upgraded Frezia and destroys cell.

 

Now apply this to Rey. She shows actual SKILL, not potential SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE. That is my ultimate problem with Rey. She shows advanced skills she hasn't learned yet with EASE.

 

I mean let's take the fight with Kylo. When she opens up tontye force she just powers up from nowhere and beata him with little to no effort, and it's as natural as breathing. Which is CRAP. Had she opened up to the force, beaten Kylo, then had that moment of confusion going into "how the hell did I just do that?!" Showing she can use the force, and under duress like she was reach a level she didn't know she could, but has no idea how to do it on her own, THAT would be so much more believable.

 

Same with at the end when she levatates the rocks at the end of THJ. If she'd of at first lifted them like she did, and then she just chucks the rocks into high heavens or the rocks explode showing lack of control and she goes "on, oops", it makes her more HUMAN and believable.

 

Sure plenty powerful, but BELIEVABLE.

 

Top it off I think the time elapsed on TLJ was too short, my major issues.

 

When Rey fought Kylo and called on the Force, all she did was tap into rage. There was no skill in her strikes, though she should have been fairly skilled, as we see later in TLJ when she is practicing. All she did was lash out at Kylo and try to overpower him. And he didn't want to kill her.

 

So, you really have a problem with Rey lifting the rocks? Why? That's like Jedi 101. She sees the rocks, knows that she has the ability to move them, and then does so.

 

Having just watched TLJ again, I really have a hard time figuring out why people think Rey is so overpowered. She doesn't actually do all that much, Force-wise. She pulls a lightsaber, she lifts some rocks, and she feels some things. That's about it. Not the crazy power that some people would have you believe.

[TalonVII]

When Rey fought Kylo and called on the Force, all she did was tap into rage. There was no skill in her strikes, though she should have been fairly skilled, as we see later in TLJ when she is practicing. All she did was lash out at Kylo and try to overpower him. And he didn't want to kill her.

 

So, you really have a problem with Rey lifting the rocks? Why? That's like Jedi 101. She sees the rocks, knows that she has the ability to move them, and then does so.

 

Having just watched TLJ again, I really have a hard time figuring out why people think Rey is so overpowered. She doesn't actually do all that much, Force-wise. She pulls a lightsaber, she lifts some rocks, and she feels some things. That's about it. Not the crazy power that some people would have you believe.

 

Rey did not tap into rage to beat Kylo. Want someone who tapped into rage to beat someone? ROTJ Luke beating down Vader and just bashing on Vader's saber after Luke knocked him down. THAT was rage.

 

What Rey did. Was simply open up to the force and did the equivalent of a Kaio Ken without even knowing how to do it.

[AlienEyeTX]

Rey did not tap into rage to beat Kylo. Want someone who tapped into rage to beat someone? ROTJ Luke beating down Vader and just bashing on Vader's saber after Luke knocked him down. THAT was rage.

 

What Rey did. Was simply open up to the force and did the equivalent of a Kaio Ken without even knowing how to do it.

 

On this, we shall disagree.

[TalonVII]

On this, we shall disagree.

 

Agree to disagree. I don't have a problem with Rey overall. She has an interesting arc. It to me though is coming too easily. She has no real struggle.

 

Why I said, if she really struggled to control her vast power, she'd be more relatable.

[AlienEyeTX]

Agree to disagree. I don't have a problem with Rey overall. She has an interesting arc. It to me though is coming too easily. She has no real struggle.

 

Why I said, if she really struggled to control her vast power, she'd be more relatable.

 

As you would have it. To each his/her own taste. I haven't seen "vast power" except when Rey cracks the ground or accidentally cuts through the stone while training.

 

I mean, we know she has the potential, but they haven't done anything with it yet.

[Celise]

The op opened up with a well written bit on the force and how the dark side must be pushed out, but what if the light side is also another such perversion? order 66 proved that the jedi had manipulated the conflict to grow more powerful than the darkside had ever been, i mean a single jedi could take on sidious and if Windu hadn't been interrupted there would be no more dark side, but what if the force decided that the light side is too pervasive? what if the force decided through sidious and vader and the countless clone troopers that the force required balance and the jedi needed to be slain, all of them, including the children and infirm?

 

it isn't just the dark side that need balancing, it is clear that the light side is also just as dangerous to have. so what if the force decied that Rey is too manipulative in the force for the lightside and the force decided it had enough and got rid of her one day? it is all well and good learning how to use the force but when it comes right to it, would Rey push her luck to take on Kylo Ren and take him out only for the force to manifest itself and have Rey taken out as well?

 

sometimes a complete reset is needed when things are going on for long enough, the old republic tottered and fell in on itself, the force swept the board clean, countless times since with both light and dark side users.

 

what isn't included in this is if there are any neutral aligned force users out there and how the force views that.

[Anynos]

Your theory is solid, but I have to disagree with most of it.

 

You're right that the Force has a will and it is constantly influencing events in the galaxy. But if Force's goal is to purge the Dark Side, why it constantly fails to do so? Why the Force allowed Sith to continue after what Bane did, and why didn't influence Jedi to discover that the Sith are still alive under rule of two and kill them off, especially when it is capable of engineering galaxy-wide civil war within 20 years. Instead Sith took over the galaxy and ruled it for more than 20 years, and when the Sith are finally killed off, Luke fails to restore Jedi Order and galaxy is once more took over by Dark Side users. This doesn't make much sense if Force's goal is to reach balance through Light Side

 

Constant struggles between Light and Dark happens, because Force's goal is to purge both Jedi/Light Side users and Sith/Dark Side users. Because both are anomaly created from one of shizms that happened in the Je'daii Order. Force's goal is to kick-start a new Force Users Order, that once more will use both Light and Dark, because that's the meaning of "Balance in the Force" No Jedi, no Sith, no Dark Side users, no Light Side users, only those who see the Force as a whole.

 

I believe that because of what both sides represent, both sides has positives, and negatives.

Light Side is usually associated with peace, calmness, but it also leads to stagnation, decay and self-supression(we all saw where it led Anakin), which we can see in the prequels and millenium before them.

Dark Side is associated with chaos, destruction, corruption, which is shown in OT, but i also has positives, emotions, passion, love.

Now bind both of them together, in form on Force User that uses both sides, his Dark Side part prevents stagnation, decay and self-suppression, but also his Light Side part keeps in check Dark Side's corruption and chaos. In one word, this force user achieved ORDER, and this is Force's goal.

 

Also I believe that the Chosen One isn't one person, but a group of people which emerge in different times, for example Bane was in some way Chosen One, because he laid path for Sith destruction, Anakin's destiny as a Chosen One was to start destruction of Jedi and finishing-off Sith. Luke's destiny was to redeem his father, to allow him to finish-off the Sith. Revan in some way also was a Chosen One, I believe that he originally was meant to be THE Chosen One by the Force, and he was supposed to bring balance (he understood what real balance was), but ultimately failed. Rey and Kylo are both Chosen by the Force, but they job is to finish-off what remained of Jedi and Sith, and start new order of those who walk between Light and Dark.

[gsummers]

Interesting theory.... but then why did Luke need training? According to your theory he should have just been imbued with auto force powers to rise up and counter the Emperor and Vader. For that matter, why did Palpatine need training? Why didn't he just have auto dark-side powers to rise up and counter the dominance of the light side jedi at that time. Why does anyone need training? I respect the thought you put into this, but I can't see it working as a theory that can hold over the whole cannon.

 

And I GUARANTEE you that Disney did think nearly as deep as you did trying to come up with an explanation.

[jarjarloves]

Interesting theory.... but then why did Luke need training? According to your theory he should have just been imbued with auto force powers to rise up and counter the Emperor and Vader. For that matter, why did Palpatine need training? Why didn't he just have auto dark-side powers to rise up and counter the dominance of the light side jedi at that time. Why does anyone need training? I respect the thought you put into this, but I can't see it working as a theory that can hold over the whole cannon.

 

And I GUARANTEE you that Disney did think nearly as deep as you did trying to come up with an explanation.

Luke needed training so he didn't fall to the dark side. He never really get's any straining on any force powers outside of lifting rocks. But we see him use powers like Force Persude and Force Choke with out ever being trained on them.

 

We also see him use Force pull in Empire with out ever being trained or told that was a power that existed.

 

Also remember it's Vader who was there to balance the force, he was the one that gained the power to defeat the Emperor not Luke

[AlienEyeTX]

Luke needed training so he didn't fall to the dark side. He never really get's any straining on any force powers outside of lifting rocks. But we see him use powers like Force Persude and Force Choke with out ever being trained on them.

 

We also see him use Force pull in Empire with out ever being trained or told that was a power that existed.

 

Also remember it's Vader who was there to balance the force, he was the one that gained the power to defeat the Emperor not Luke

 

All true. And Luke got his backside handed to him just as many times as not. And he would have died on the Deathstar II if it weren't for Vader.

[Ioue]

Thank you for sharing your theory, OP

 

When I watched TLJ, I, too, couldn't help but think of Kreia and of her conclusions that led to her hating the Force itself. Although she is not a canon character, I do find her an interesting one. (I wonder if Rian Johnson played KOTOR I and II... or he could have gotten ideas from different resources.) What I mostly enjoyed about TLJ's story was the exploration of the Force between Luke, Rey, Kylo Ren, and Snoke. While I didn't pay much attention to how Rey's character was crafted, I am learning to understand more why there's frustration.

 

Back to the theory... The idea of the importance of No. of Dark Side users did not come across to me. I think your theory is the first time I'm thinking about it. I also thought about the Balance as a zero-sum game or number to number. Very interesting! I do agree the Dark Side is a perversion of the Force given how it warps DS users' body as proof. And if perversion is due to the effort of using the Force selfishly, I wonder if another word to explain perversion would be the effort to contain the Force? As in a person, a self, would be a container when as old Luke explained in TLJ, the Force is connected to all living beings. The Force cannot be contained, literally. And to combat abnormalities of the Dark Side, the Force manipulates in a linear fashion because time to living sentient beings in SW can only be interpreted in a linear way. So, the Force works to propels certain agents toward combating not just Dark Side users, but what those users crafted. Like how Palpatine was killed and his Empire was taken down for the New Republic.

 

I think I watched a YT vid (can't find it right now) about Jedi & Sith Code where someone explained the Jedi Code by attaching "when" before every line. Then I thought perhaps by Jedi teachings emphasizing selfless, it could also lead it being timeless, too. As in the Force is an entity that cannot be bound by a self and time. (I've been bouncing ideas of how time could fit into SW universe since I saw TLJ for some reason... )

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your theory. It was an interesting read, indeed

[TalonVII]

My feeling is this. Without darkness light loses any and all meaning. That's where the whole "natural state of the force is in the light side." That is total and complete crap. Natural state of being is without one side, the other side is meaningless. Without death, what does life mean?

[Jarvus]

It's special snowflakes in space now, the franchise. It makes zero sense why some street urchin with no known Force-using bloodline would be a strong, perhaps one of the strongest yet, force users, and with nearly zero training. Luke was a different story. He was son of Anakin Skywalker. Padme, back when midichlorians were canon, was said to have had high levels of those, so a union between those two bloodlines, with half the stock being the Prophecied One, meant Luke could get by with a couple days on Degoba with Yoda and his experience plunking womprats.

 

On the other hand, Rey is nobody, if Ren is to be believed. How then can she possibly hang in combat with him, grandson of Anakin Skywalker? The only satisfying answer would have been one the writers didn't make, that she was somehow offspring of Kenobi or another strong force user. The force runs in families, I have it, you have it, our father has it, etc, etc.

 

So the real explanation for why Rey is a strong force user who can split boulders and make Luke scared is that it is politically correct that a nobody with no training and no bloodlines can be excellent.

[DarthDymond]

It's special snowflakes in space now, the franchise. It makes zero sense why some street urchin with no known Force-using bloodline would be a strong, perhaps one of the strongest yet, force users, and with nearly zero training. Luke was a different story. He was son of Anakin Skywalker. Padme, back when midichlorians were canon, was said to have had high levels of those, so a union between those two bloodlines, with half the stock being the Prophecied One, meant Luke could get by with a couple days on Degoba with Yoda and his experience plunking womprats.

 

On the other hand, Rey is nobody, if Ren is to be believed. How then can she possibly hang in combat with him, grandson of Anakin Skywalker? The only satisfying answer would have been one the writers didn't make, that she was somehow offspring of Kenobi or another strong force user. The force runs in families, I have it, you have it, our father has it, etc, etc.

 

So the real explanation for why Rey is a strong force user who can split boulders and make Luke scared is that it is politically correct that a nobody with no training and no bloodlines can be excellent.

Yeeesh. Someone's been drinking the Voldemort brand Kool-Aid.

Edited January 29, 2018 by DarthDymond

[jarjarloves]

It's special snowflakes in space now, the franchise. It makes zero sense why some street urchin with no known Force-using bloodline would be a strong, perhaps one of the strongest yet, force users, and with nearly zero training.

.

 

why is this a thing? Why are people so hung up on the idea that you have to have a strong bloodline with the force to be strong in it?

 

The whole point of the Jedi Order was they were monks who didn't have kids. So if it is strong in bloodlines then why would there be any jedi at all? They would all die off since no one is having kids?

 

Luke's "strong bloodline" only goes back 1 generation to when his father was an immacualte conception.

 

Also there was nothing in Star Wars canon that said Padme was strong in the force. Luke is a half breed at best and was never super strong with the force in the movies.

 

 

So the real explanation for why Rey is a strong force user who can split boulders and make Luke scared is that it is politically correct that a nobody with no training and no bloodlines can be excellent.

 

 

what do you think Political Correctness means?

Edited January 29, 2018 by jarjarloves

[TalonVII]

It's special snowflakes in space now, the franchise. It makes zero sense why some street urchin with no known Force-using bloodline would be a strong, perhaps one of the strongest yet, force users, and with nearly zero training. Luke was a different story. He was son of Anakin Skywalker. Padme, back when midichlorians were canon, was said to have had high levels of those, so a union between those two bloodlines, with half the stock being the Prophecied One, meant Luke could get by with a couple days on Degoba with Yoda and his experience plunking womprats.

 

On the other hand, Rey is nobody, if Ren is to be believed. How then can she possibly hang in combat with him, grandson of Anakin Skywalker? The only satisfying answer would have been one the writers didn't make, that she was somehow offspring of Kenobi or another strong force user. The force runs in families, I have it, you have it, our father has it, etc, etc.

 

So the real explanation for why Rey is a strong force user who can split boulders and make Luke scared is that it is politically correct that a nobody with no training and no bloodlines can be excellent.

 

I disagree with 1 thing. Force sensitivity can come from literally nowhere. Revan was incredibly gifted with the force and was so from a VERY young age and was not the son of anyone.

 

Raw strength in the force can literally come from nowhere. I have zero issues with Rey having that much raw power and talent. Now actual skill to use all that power, yes that's where I have the issue with Rey. If she was more like early Gohan from DBZ, all that power and no control, Rey would be more believable.

[AlienEyeTX]

It's special snowflakes in space now, the franchise. It makes zero sense why some street urchin with no known Force-using bloodline would be a strong, perhaps one of the strongest yet, force users, and with nearly zero training. Luke was a different story. He was son of Anakin Skywalker. Padme, back when midichlorians were canon, was said to have had high levels of those, so a union between those two bloodlines, with half the stock being the Prophecied One, meant Luke could get by with a couple days on Degoba with Yoda and his experience plunking womprats.

 

On the other hand, Rey is nobody, if Ren is to be believed. How then can she possibly hang in combat with him, grandson of Anakin Skywalker? The only satisfying answer would have been one the writers didn't make, that she was somehow offspring of Kenobi or another strong force user. The force runs in families, I have it, you have it, our father has it, etc, etc.

 

So the real explanation for why Rey is a strong force user who can split boulders and make Luke scared is that it is politically correct that a nobody with no training and no bloodlines can be excellent.

 

As others have stated, this is ridiculous. Bloodline may or may not contribute to Force sensitivity/ability/power. Was Palpatine's dad strong in the Force? Who knows? What about all those Jedi kids? Apparently not all of their parents would have been strong in the Force, or they would be Jedi, too.

 

Sure, certain families may be stronger in the Force and it may be hereditary, but that is certainly not a requirement.

 

And who ever "split boulders?" Rey lifted some rocks. Not split them. But, really, who cares if she did?