“STAR WARS” appears on screen to traditional fanfare. Yellow words scroll off into distance.
“The Republic is no more. General Leia Organa has ordered the survivors of the Resistance Army to scatter beyond the outer rim of the galaxy to seek refuge and aid.
Although the First Order has suffered the destruction of Star Killer Base, there remains little hope on the side of the Resistance. Defeat seems only a matter of time.
General Huxly, eager to put an end to the rebells, reluctantly obeys Supreme Leader Snoke’s order to deliver Ren for his final training.”
As words fade away, the stars of the screen blur into hyperspace travel. Engines roar and then abruptly stop as a ruined planet and darkened moon pop suddenly into view.
Seen from the inside of an ancient temple on the planet’s surface, Snoke observes the arrival of Huxly and Ren’s entourage of ships.
Huxly wordlessly delivers Ren to Snoke, and is then waved away to seek and destroy the Resistance.
SNOKE
We have come to it at last: your final lesson.
REN
(hesistant, as though remembering Han Solo’s warning about Snoke) …I have done everything you have asked.
SNOKE
With ambition. And deception. Now you must learn… seduction.
shot – description
The Jedi Island. Rey stands just below Luke, offering the lightsaber. Luke grips lightsaber, and then lets go. Rey is confused.
LUKE
It’s yours now.
REY
Thank you, but no. (holds it out again)
LUKE
(Luke warns) Rey…
REY
You… know me?
LUKE
Yes… I… am your father.
REY
(choked up) …No. That’s not possible. I…
LUKE
Never knew your father… (sitting down on the grass) It seems to run in the family.
REY
(Still standing) I… I don’t believe you. This is some trick, some way for you to stay here, safe and away from it all, while the rest of us are out there fighting—dying, people are dying for the sake of the Resistance—and you… What are you doing?
LUKE
Waiting for you.
REY
For me?
Luke motions for Rey to sit. She defiantly stands. Luke brightens at a memory.
LUKE
You are so much like your mother…
REY
You never knew my mother.
LUKE
Not like I should have, no.
Luke turns to the gravestone next to him, lays a hand on it, and we are transported into scenes of memory. Luke narrates.
LUKE
It didn’t take long. Once I began training the young Jedi, I realized I still wanted what I couldn’t have: my own family.
Children are so special. Wonderful. Training them and their natural closeness with the Force aside, I loved their faces, their laughter, their joy. I was reminded of Leia, my sister, and how special that bond had seemed when I first discovered it.
I trained the young ones on a remote island where we surrounded ourselves with beauty. We sculpted it, shaped it, grew it, strengthened it. We traveled inland to be with others, to nurture and care for them and share with them the light side of the Force.
Your mother, Mara, ferried us back and forth in her rustic ship, harnessing the wind to carry us over the waves… I had seen stars and galaxies, I drank from a waterfall every day, but I’d never seen anything as beautiful as her. The sun danced in her eyes. Her voice calmed me as the sea…
After a few years, I allowed myself to fall in love.
Rey interrupts the narration.
REY
And then you left her?
LUKE
No.
REY
She left you?
LUKE
…no.
Back to memory narration. We see a now newly pregnant Mara navigating the boat. Kylo Ren (still young) and other young Jedi are on board. Looks are exchanged.
LUKE
Love should not be kept a secret.
Luke talking to Leia and Han.
I decided to resign the Jedi order. But I could not simply abandon the young Jedi without first finding a suitable replacement.
Luke training Ren. Ren grows older.
I had high hopes for a young man whom I thought to be a natural leader, one who showed great promise with the Force.
Ren training in the dark, alone, reaching out.
But there was a risk involved. And I knew it. The Dark Side of the Force offers power quickly. Too quickly.
Ren hearing Snoke.
And at a price.
Ren’s force actions become reckless, then destructive, then flagrantly aggressive as he ages. Clearly, he is becoming a match for Luke.
I was conflicted. You had been born, and I was missing the very thing I’d wanted, but I could not leave.
Ren’s actions become more aggressive as his night visions with Snoke increase. We see Ren accuse Luke of not following the Jedi order and storm out.
I arranged to disband the training quietly, to send the younger ones home discretely so I could confront Ben. But I had played into Snoke’s hand.
Ren has gathered some knights to himself. They attack the younger ones as they flee to the boat.
Seduced by the Dark Side, and misguided by me, Ben had become a betrayer. In his thirst for power…
A great battle happens between Luke and many of his students. Luke is clearly grieved as he defends the younger ones and Mara. When Mara is killed, Luke’s grief Force-pushes all opponents off the island.
REY
…he killed my mother…
LUKE
(nods and swallows)…She had the wisdom to hide you far away. Afterwards, I knew I couldn’t be the one to protect you. If Ben could feel my presence, he’d find you.
REY
So you left me?
LUKE
Eventually, yes.
REY
I needed you! (standing, turning to leave)
LUKE
And I loved you! (standing)
REY
(spinning on Luke) You didn’t know me! You loved my mother! You loved yourself!
Movie flows from here.
Rey seeks revenge, but wrestles with giving into the Dark Side.
Ren seeks to seduce Rey to the Dark Side as his final lesson with Snoke.
Luke, with the help of Chewy, seeks to win back Rey AND Ren, but Ren’s turning back to the Light hinges on his relationship with Leia, who ends up dying.
And the Resistance, while following the story of a team led by Po and Fin, recruits new fighters from the outlying galaxy for a climactic battle against Huxly involving new ships and new tech.
Can Luke save his own daughter?
Will Rey be seduced to the Dark Side?
Can Ren forgive Luke for the burden placed upon him that led him to seek more power?
Will Rey find love in her friendship with Fin? Will Fin be able to turn her away from vengeance to forgiveness?
