One of the minor characters in The Rise of Skywalker that I noticed right away was Beaumont Kin, the Sith expert who commented on Palpatine’s return with the dread words, “Dark science. Cloning. Secrets only the Sith knew.”
This was, of course, Dominic Monaghan, who played the Hobbit Merry in The Lord of the Rings, and Charlie Pace in Lost, characters that I love. He’s instantly recognizable; and that usually means I can’t get into any new character an actor plays because I’m seeing their iconic roles instead.
But Beaumont Kin was a small enough role that I could get on board, and I wanted to know more about him. Most of what we know about him is from the comic Ghosts of Kashyyyk Parts 1-3. Kin takes part in a mission to free Kashyyyk from a First Order blockade (why does everyone pick on poor Kashyyyk? The Wookiee homeworld got stepped on during the Clone Wars, by the Empire, and by the First Order).
Anyway, we find out that Kin joined the Resistance after his parents told him he was “useless.” Before that, he was an historian, and was particularly interested in the early Republic era after the vanquishing of the Sith. He visited many ancient Jedi and Sith sites in his quest to learn more about them. This is how he was able to help Rey translate the ancient Jedi texts she’d taken from Ach-To.
He was fluent in nine languages, and was on track to become the youngest professor at Lerct Historical Institute. When Hosnian Prime was destroyed by the First Order he abandoned education and became a captain in the Intelligence Division of the Resistance.
Kin, as seen in The Rise of Skywalker, took part in the battle of Exegol in the ground assault on the Star Destroyer Steadfast.
Ghosts of Kashyyyk, by John Barber.
Monaghan got the role of Beaumont Kin in a rather unorthodox way: he won a bet against J.J. Abrams on the FIFA World Cup. So Abrams wrote the part of Kin with Monaghan in mind.
I just love that Monaghan was in three of my favorite stories: LOTR, Star Wars, and Lost (I don’t care how it ended, I love it, lol).
So we’ve come to the last film of the sequel trilogy (and of the Skywalker Saga) and I had to pick out my five favorite moments of The Rise of Skywalker. (Solo and Rogue One will come next, as I forgot to put them in the proper timeline, lol). Here are my picks:
Favorite Scene
“Dad..”” I know.” This scene was incredible in several different ways. First, I never thought Han Solo would make any kind of reappearance in Star Wars again, and yet here he is. And it wasn’t just for nostalgia’s sake; it was a very important thread of Ben Solo’s redemption. I’ve seen some fans comment that it should have been Anakin’s ghost he talked to–No. No, no, no. That WOULD have just been for nostalgia’s sake. It had to be his father. Ben never knew Anakin, and misguidedly worshipped Vader. The conflict and crux of his dilemma had always been his father, and it needed resolution. One of the other ways this scene is amazing is the way it was done. Obviously, Han is not a Force ghost. It’s a projection of Ben’s memory of his father. Maybe it’s so vivid because of his connection to the Force, I don’t know, but it was a way for Ben to seek his father’s forgiveness so he could do what he had to do next. It was also a clever reverse on the dialogue between the two when Kylo killed Han. Maybe it’s Ben’s way of “correcting” that scene. That’s my take on it, anyway. However you interpret it, it’s a powerful scene, possibly the most moving scene (for me) in all of Star Wars.
Favorite Duel
Kylo vs. Rey on Kef Bir. Kylo and Rey had a confrontation on Kijimi, which was interesting in its own way (Kylo doesn’t want to kill her; he’s still trying to lure her in), but this one on the Endor moon is epic. At this point, Kylo is trying to kill her, as she’s proving quite stubborn in not joining him. That makes him, well, mad. She’s also furious at him for destroying the Wayfinder they all worked so hard to find. They battle out their rage at each other on the wreckage of the second Death Star, with huge swells of water crashing down around them. They’re both equally skilled, but Kylo is obviously physically stronger, and Rey is still a bit drained from healing the Vexis. It comes down to Kylo nearly killing Rey, until Leia reaches out to Ben. He hesitates, and Rey takes the opportunity to stab him with his own lightsaber. She then heals him, when she could have left him for dead. The water imagery really comes into play here, as it serves as a kind of baptism for Kylo: he’s reborn as Ben Solo again, all the hate and anger and bitterness is washed away, leading up to the scene with Han. The whole thing is quite visually stunning, as well as emotionally satisfying.
Favorite Line
“I am all the Jedi.” This is a great line as a counter to Palpatine’s claim that he is all the Sith; it also happens to be true, as all the prior Jedi spoke to Rey and gave her the strength to get up and face Palpatine again. They’re with her. It’s also the culmination of Rey’s character arc, as she accepts who she is, gains confidence from that, and defeats Palpy once and for all.
Funniest Moment
C-3PO: They fly now! Finn: They fly now?! Poe: They fly now!
Most Impactful Character
I adore Rey’s lightsaber.
ReySkywalker. Yes, Rey Skywalker. Some people took issue with her choosing the Skywalker name, but those people are the ones who generally dislike the sequels, and Rey in particular. I don’t really care which name she chose (Skywalker, Palpatine, Solo, Organa); it’s the fact that she chose it. Throughout the entire sequel trilogy, Rey is on a mission of identity–we don’t know who she is, or where she comes from, and neither does she. It agonizes her. “Who are you?” Luke queries her on Ach-To, and the question burns in her. Everyone wants to put labels on her: Kylo claims they are a dyad, and she’s meant to join him in the dark side, even though she’s “nothing”; Palpatine claims her as his granddaughter and heir, the Empress; even Finn, her good friend, thinks he knows her: “Rey, that doesn’t sound like you.” To which she replies angrily, “Everyone thinks they know me. I’m afraid no one does.” This is after she learns of her Palpatine heritage, and now, after finally learning who she is and where she comes from, it’s almost worse than not knowing. By the end of the film, however, after claiming “I am all the Jedi,” she’s come to accept who she is: she is all of these things. Part of a dyad, a Jedi, a friend, a Palpatine (though she ultimately rejects it), and someone who chooses her own destiny. And her own name. You can’t choose your blood family, but you can choose who you identify with, who you honor, and who you love. For Rey, that’s the Skywalker family. And oh yeah, she saved the galaxy and stuff.
What are your favorite moments of The Rise of Skywalker? Comment below and we’ll talk about it!
So with two months to go until The Bad Batch makes its debut, I need a Star Wars show to watch. I’ve watched everything there is to watch several times already, and I need something new to explore. The only thing I haven’t seen yet is Resistance, the animated series set during the time of the struggle against the First Order.
I know, I know: most people don’t like it. It’s for young kids, it’s nowhere near the quality of Clone Wars and Rebels, yada yada. I’ve heard it all. But I like to decide for myself, so I thought I’d start watching and give it a go.
And you know what? It’s not bad. It’s not great, but I’m only two episodes in. I don’t hate it. I’ve heard a lot of people say they don’t like the animation style, but I kind of like it. It’s very different from both Clone Wars and Rebels, and it should be, really. It needs to be its own thing.
Kaz and Neeku
So Resistance is about a young New Republic pilot named Kaz who is recruited by Poe Dameron to spy for the Resistance on a large aircraft refueling station called the Colossus. He’s supposed to work undercover as a mechanic while he roots out a First Order contact. He’s young, has been a bit sheltered, and tends to be found by trouble. Poe Dameron sees something in him, though, and leaves him in the care of Yeager, an old friend of his, as well as BB-8 to keep an eye on him. We meet a few characters who will undoubtedly be regulars, including Neeku, a sweet, wide-eyed alien who takes everything Kaz says literally. I like him; he has a child-like innocence that is endearing. I also like the time period; we’ve had so much Clone War and Empire era stuff, I’m ready for sequel trilogy era stories.
And it’s produced by Dave Filoni, so it can’t be that terrible, right?
I probably won’t report on every single episode I watch, but will rather give my opinion on it as a whole when I finish it. Since it’s only two seasons of 21 and 19 episodes (25 minutes long each), it shouldn’t take too long. Stay tuned!
Have you watched Resistance? If so, what did you think? (But please, no spoilers!) Comment below and we’ll talk about it!
Here’s my list for The Last Jedi, the second installment of the sequel trilogy. You can find my thoughts on The ForceAwakenshere.
Favorite Scene
Luke facing down the First Order on Crait. When Luke says to Rey on Ach-To “What, you think I’m going to face down the First Order all by myself with a laser sword?” little did we know that that is exactly what he was going to do. Because in the end, he’s Luke Skywalker, and he does heroic things. He just forgot for awhile, or rather, rejected it. And he did it in the most Jedi-like way: non-aggressive, his actions a subterfuge for a higher purpose–giving the Resistance time to get away. And the fact that he wasn’t actually there just blows my mind. I didn’t see it, at first; I just thought he cleaned up for his appearance, you know? I didn’t notice the clues: the fact that he didn’t leave any red footprints in the salt; Leia’s lack of worry at her brother facing down the enemy alone; his wink at C-3PO; and where the heck did he come from, anyway? His scuffle with Kylo and the “See ya around, kid,” was great, and the fact that he sacrificed himself to do this–and more than likely knew he would die doing it–is just profoundly sad and awe-inspiring. A great scene in a movie full of great scenes.
Favorite Duel
Rey and Kylo vs. Snoke’s guards. This was an eye-popping duel, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the prequels. Everything’s red as blood, and Kylo and Rey are working together rather than against each other. And they are a force to be reckoned with. We don’t hear the word “dyad” yet, not until TROS, but these two clearly work well together, and their connection in the Force is apparent. I love Rey’s savage yells, and how Kylo keeps checking on Rey when he can. It’s a foreshadowing of their working together in TROS at Exegol, but here it’s only their potential. As long as Ben is Kylo, it ain’t gonna happen.
Favorite Line
“You’re nothing. But not to me.” This is one of those “Um, thank you?” statements that insult and gratify at the same time. Kylo doesn’t get any points for charm here, but he doesn’t have time for that. He gets right to the point. And so when he holds out his hand to Rey and asks him to join her, adding a vulnerable “please,” you almost want her to take his hand already, for goodness sake. Almost. Again, Rey feels the connection, but can’t accept Ben as Kylo, and rightfully so.
Funniest Moment
General Hugs. Some people thought that this little exchange between Poe and Hux was dumb or silly, but I thought it was pretty funny myself. But I have a goofy sense of humor. I do think it’s exactly in Poe’s nature to mess with Hux like this, and Hux to be fastidious enough to take the bait. When Poe says into his comm “Yeah, I’m looking for General Hugs,” I chuckled. Good enough for me.
Most Impactful Character
Luke Skywalker. See aforementioned “Favorite Scene,” as Luke saved the day in this film. But it wasn’t just that scene that makes Luke the most impactful here; the whole movie was his, when you think about it. Everyone’s been looking for him, Rey finally finds him and–oh my goodness, why is he so crabby?–and we have to process and react to that; we find out that his moment of weakness was the nail in the coffin of Ben Solo and put him on the path to Kylo Ren. Everything centers and swirls around Luke here. We even get to see Yoda once more! A lot of people didn’t like how Luke was portrayed in this movie, and I understand that. Call me weird, but I liked it from the get-go. My first thought was, “Oh, this is interesting.” I HAD to know what the hell had happened to Luke, what was going on his mind, and if and how it would change by the end of the film. What I loved about The Last Jedi as a whole was how it just subverted all of our expectations. The Empire Strikes Back, the second film of the original trilogy, did much the same. TLJ is following a pattern, where the good guys take heavy losses, and characters surprise us in numerous ways. Anyway, that’s a whole other post, lol, but Luke gets the prize for this one.
What did you like about The Last Jedi? Comment below and we’ll talk about it!
Having gone through the prequel and original trilogies, it’s now time to check out my five favorite things about the sequel trilogy films. So let’s get right to it with The Force Awakens:
Favorite Scene
Chewie, We’re Home. I think this was the most anticipated scene in the movie. We hadn’t seen Han Solo and Chewbacca onscreen together in about 30 years. It was beyond exciting. Sure, Rey and Finn are cool, and BB-8 is adorable, but we know who we really want to see: the “Legacy” characters. And these two were the first to make an appearance in the sequel trilogy (unless you count the Falcon, which is kind of a character in its own right). But reuniting these two with the Falcon, leading to the iconic line “Chewie, we’re home,” signalled to us fans that we, too, were home.
Favorite Duel
Rey and Kylo Ren at Starkiller Base. Again, not many lightsaber duels in this film, unless you want to count the short confrontation between Finn and Kylo just prior to this. The fact that Rey held her own in this battle–and won (probably because Kylo was an injured, emotional mess, but even so)–shows that there indeed is something special about Rey. The mystery of her, of who she is and where she comes from, intensifies. And the fact that Kylo even survived Chewie’s blaster bolt and can still fight is amazing. The way he pounds at his wound with his fist is disturbing and chilling–drawing upon his pain and rage for his power. Apart from the emotions going on in the battle, I loved the look of it: the red and blue blades glowing against the whiteness of the snow in the darkening gloam. The visuals are just stunning in this scene.
Favorite Line
Hearing Han Solo admit to the reality of the Force in a serious way is surprising, and alerts us to how much he’s changed over the course of 30 years; and our next thought is, Wow, shit must have gone down, and in a real personal way for him. I think this is before we learn that Kylo Ren is his son, so it’s a foreshadowing that Han has had some heartbreaking experience with all this mystical stuff, especially since he’s clearly not with Leia anymore.
Funniest Moment
I thought the little scene with Han Solo and Finn on the Falcon was pretty funny. When Finn calls Han “Solo”, and Han just looks at him and says, “Did you just call me Solo?” Then when Finn refers to himself as a “big deal” in the Resistance, Han says, “Listen Big Deal, you’ve got a bigger problem. Women always figure out the truth. Always.” I just loved that, lol.
Most Impactful Character
Kylo Ren. When we first meet Kylo Ren striding down the ramp of the shuttle to confront Lor San Tekka, he seriously gave me the creeps. His distorted voice behind the mask didn’t help much. Who is this guy? I thought. When later in the movie we learn he is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, I was genuinely shocked. I hadn’t seen that coming at all. And it truly broke my heart, for I had imagined the child(ren) of Han and Leia to be the Child(ren) of Light or something, heroes in their own right. But no. This dark, rageful, emo being. And the moment he betrayed his own father, speared him with that unholy lightsaber, and let him fall into the abyss like so much meat, I hated him. HATED him. Intellectually, I knew his character’s arc was probably meant for redemption over the course of the trilogy, but I didn’t care. I hated him. I would never forgive him. Do you here me? Never!! And then of course proceeded to understand his character a bit better in The Last Jedi (a softer, kinder Kylo, at least in his relationship with Rey), and the return of Ben Solo in TROS, and by then I was cheering him on. But in this film? The quintessential, irredeemable villain.
What are your favorite things about The Force Awakens? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Okay Star Wars peeps, I’m not one to rant, so I’m only going to address this once, and then I’m done.
After a childhood and adolescence obsessed with Star Wars in the 1980’s and early ’90’s, I went ahead, as they say, and “got a life.” Got married, had stepkids, had my own child, explored other obsessions.
At the time the prequel trilogy came out, they didn’t impress me (note: I adore them now). And though I was still a fan of Star Wars at heart, it wasn’t in the forefront of my mind for many years. Probably 25 years, to be honest.
An obsession rekindled.
That all changed with the sequel trilogy. I was excited for them, but wary; and once I did see them, I had to sit with them for awhile and absorb what I saw. But each time, from The Force Awakens to The Rise of Skywalker, I came to love each one. I mean, LOVE them.
Suddenly, I was obsessed again and began to delve deep into the galaxy that I’d been far, far away from for a long time. I had to catch up. I watched The Mandalorian, Clone Wars, and Rebels. I became active on SW fan groups on Facebook. I began reading the new canon books, and some of the EU/Legends. I was so taken with the world of SW again that I began a blog (now two blogs) about it.
And I love it. It’s the greatest fun I’ve had in a long time, and exactly what I needed in this time of my life.
What I didn’t expect, and what continually surprises me, is the amount of controversy that exists in the fandom. In fact, the very existence of Star Wars “haters” within the fandom totally perplexed me at first. How can you be a fan of Star Wars but also hate Star Wars? It seemed a troubling paradox.
Call me naive and out of touch, but I was greatly taken aback at the amount of vitriol I found on social media surrounding certain SW subjects. I’m continually flabbergasted at the amount of rudeness and downright cruelty that certain groups of people level at any part of SW they don’t like, as well as anyone who disagrees with their opinion.
You said it, Yoda.
I hadn’t even been aware of the terrible harassment that the actor who played Jar Jar Binks received at the time of the prequel trilogy; so much so that the poor man considered taking his own life.
Excuse me? This is beyond the pale. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t care for the Jar Jar character when the prequels came out (but in my gray-haired wisdom I’ve come to love the goofy guy).
But to harass an actor on social media with hate and scorn? SHAME on them.
The same goes for Jake Lloyd who played young Anakin in The Phantom Menace; and more recently, the ugliness that was spewed at Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose in the sequel trilogy.
And don’t even get me started on the hate the sequel trilogy has received. Or the Disney takeover of Lucasfilm in general; or Kathleen Kennedy, or Rian Johnson, or JJ Abrams. All targets of bewildering criticism and hatred bordering on the pathological.
Ruined your childhood? Betrayed George Lucas and Star Wars? Bad writing, lazy writing, writing you could have done so much better yourself? Death threats?
Did I miss something? Call me a geezer, call it a generational gap, call it whatever you want, but I find this behavior appalling and unacceptable. I already knew that the anonymity of the internet age had caused common courtesy (and sometimes even humanity) to fly out the window.
But Star Wars? Really? Damn, what’s not to love?
I don’t understand it, I probably never will, and I don’t think it even matters that I understand it.
There are more of us, Poe. There are more of us.
I also know that it’s not the whole fandom–nowhere near. There’s a small but very vocal group of fans (trolls) and some unscrupulous Youtubers out there that feed off controversy and bad feelings. It’s the Dark Side of the fandom. They accept their miserable attitude as part of their nature, and embrace it, I suppose. They’re downright Sith-like. That doesn’t make it right.
I’ve always been a fan and champion of the Light Side. As such, I will only ever focus on the love, the positive, and quite simply the greatness of Star Wars.
That said, Star Wars isn’t perfect. It never was, and it doesn’t have to be. The fate of nations doesn’t rely on that to be so. They’re movies. Art, to be sure, to be studied and discussed with passion, yes, but also respect and, I’ll say it, old-fashioned courtesy.
And in the end, Star Wars is meant to be fun. If the haters can’t find the fun in it, or worse, suck the fun out of it, then that’s just plain sad. I pity them.
Okay, rant over, and you’ll never get another one again. Have fun with Star Wars, peeps, and of course–
Even with the same character, Adam Driver is a chameleon.
Emo kid in The Force AwakensSad/resentful Kylo in The Last JediMessy hair warrior Kylo in The Last JediDetermined desert Kylo in The Rise of SkywalkerRegretful son Ben in The Rise of SkywalkerSupportive Ben in The Rise of SkywalkerHappy savior Ben in The Rise of Skywalker.
In The Last Jedi, after Leia is injured, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo takes command of the Raddus, the command ship of the Resistance fleet (if you can call it that) fleeing the First Oder.
And Poe immediately dislikes her and causes trouble.
Despite knowing that Holdo is Leia’s good and trusted friend (and Poe nearly worships Leia), he immediately distrusts her and whips up a mutiny on the ship. Why?
Because she won’t tell him–or anyone–her plan for escape.
He proceeds to have a hissy fit about it and demands–demands!–to be told what she plans.
Now, at first viewing, I shared Poe’s frustration. Why doesn’t she just tell him and get him out of her hair? But on reflection, Poe’s antics on the Raddus just shows how much growing up he needs to do.
Holdo knows this about him, and maybe this was a test for him. A test he failed miserably. It can be argued that this probably wasn’t the best moment to teach Poe a lesson.
But think about it. Holdo is a Vice Admiral-she even outranks Leia–and Poe has just been demoted to Captain, for his reckless, foolhardy ignoring of orders, a recklessness that caused them to lose their bombers. And she has to explain herself to him? Or to anyone for that matter? I don’t know much about the military, but I’m pretty sure questioning orders from your superiors is frowned upon.
Holdo speaks to what’s left of the Resistance
So why does Poe feel he can get away with it? I get it–the situation is critical, they’re up against a wall–but to me, it seems that maintaining the chain of command is essential in these situations.
Is it the purple hair? And I hate to even go here, but it has to be said: is it because she’s a woman? Would he have done the same if Holdo were a man?
Star Wars has been pretty good at getting women equal footing in the Galaxy, especially in the prequels and sequels. They’re everywhere, doing everything and anything, and that’s all to the good.
Still, with this Poe/Holdo standoff, I can’t help but think, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. If I think about Poe’s character–Holdo herself called him a “trigger-happy fly-boy”–he probably would have been that way to anyone. He has no patience; he can’t sit still. It’s a mark of extraordinary arrogance to believe that your superiors don’t know what they’re doing or that you deserve to be in the know in all things. He lacks trust in anyone but himself. He even disobeyed Leia, which caused them to lose their bombers, leading to the death of Rose’s sister, Paige. I wonder if Rose knows this?
Trigger-happy Fly-boy
I also know this is the Resistance, not the First Order. The First Order is a well-oiled machine, with clear hierarchies and chains of command. There’s a lot of order to the First Order, and Poe’s insubordination would not have been tolerated.
But the Resistance isn’t a fighting military machine. It’s a group of people coming together to fight for freedom. Like the Rebellion before it, they’re a rag-tag bunch, and though they try to maintain an orderly chain of command out of necessity, they’re a bit more forgiving. They understand Poe’s value as a pilot. And they just like him. In the Resistance, people are individuals, not cogs in a machine.
Even after Poe’s shenanigans are stopped by Leia, Holdo says, “That one’s a troublemaker. I like him.”
“Me, too,” Leia replies with a smile.
I don’t know if I would have been that forgiving. But in essence, these older women are regarding him like some wayward child who misbehaves. Oopsie! That little rascal almost derailed our entire escape plan. Oh well! He’ll grow up someday, right?
And I’m glad to see that he does in TROS, after some further tests. Even in The Last Jedi, he’s sobered by Holdo’s sacrifice.
Naturally, this showdown between Holdo and Poe was a kind of forced conflict in the movie, as some tension was required in that part of the story. I found it a little over the top on Poe’s part, and Holdo seemed unreasonably stubborn on keeping her plan a secret. Oh well. It seemed to work, I guess.
But the whole thing left me feeling baffled.
I wouldn’t look happy, either.
What was your take on the Poe-Holdo showdown? Comment below and we’ll talk about it!
Your source for everything Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is the companion blog to the @AllThingsKenobi Twitter. Because our love doesn't always fit into 280 characters.
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 