one of the main reasons i dislike the movie, this line is too meta, it is a surprise for fans, not a surprise for her.
when Rian Johnson talks about it, he said "It was the hardest thing in the world for her to hear" that her parents aren't famous. this seems pretty dumb to me. she was never hoping her parents were famous in the last movie. she was just wishing they would come back, whoever they were. the only people hoping they were famous were fans and theory crafters.
of course this is a shock for fans who thought she would have famous parentage. but what about those who didn't? they don't matter, the film isn't written for them, it is for the specific fans who have the specific theory that he is shooting down. everyone else is kind of ignored.
so there is a specific intended audience for that line. the characters are not even speaking to their own pre-established desires, they are simply mouthpieces for Rian to address fans directly. it's a pandering or manipulative way of writing a film, and it ends up making the whole thing feel very hollow and intentional.
Someone hoping your parents really care about you and are special finding out they're nobodies who sold her for booze money or whatever would be pretty crushing honestly, like maybe human psychology is tough for you guys but if anyone in the real world figured that out they wouldn't be like "well at least they weren't movie stars, then I'd REALLY be crushed".
One of the biggest and most controversial complaints is that Rey would be a Mary Sue. Some even claim this opinion is rooted in sexism. Somehow he doesn't address that point, despite it being one of the most important. Just seems a bit too convenient to be a coincidence.
Despite discouraging him to do so, Yoda literally tells Luke he could help his friends if he went to Cloud City. They're obviously connected.
Yeah but we're talking about Rey here!
How is she not self-reliant? She doesn't need anyone to help her, because anything she attempts to do she's just naturally good at. She's good at piloting, engineering, fighting, using the Force, and no one teaches her any of these skills or helps her with them. She never fails at any task she decides to do and when she does there's absolutely no consequences. Of course she's self-reliant.
The film never criticizes anything she does. How was her following Solo, who had connections to the Resistance, a bad thing? How was her seeking out Luke, which everyone was trying to do and was literally the entire point of the first film, a bad thing?
I just don't think we're going to agree here. Seems like you've a lot more slack to give to these movies than I. Besides, we're kind of hijacking a thread that's about something else. It's not really about Star Wars itself, but rather the response to the fans' response to these new movies and everything surrounding it.
The Mary Sue stuff was a bigger complaint about TFA, since TLJ adequately explored her flaws in comparison it really isn't the most pressing critique to go after.
You might not be remembering the Yoda scene well.
Yoda:
Luke! You must complete the training.
Luke Skywalker:
I can't keep the vision out of my head. They're my friends. I've gotta help them.
Yoda:
You must not go!
Luke:
But Han and Leia will die if I don't.
Obi-Wan Kenobi:
You don't know that. [appears in spirit] Even Yoda cannot see their fate.
Luke:
But I can help them! I feel the Force!
Obi-Wan:
But you cannot control it! This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force.
Yoda:
Yes, yes! To Obi-Wan you listen. The cave! Remember your failure at the cave!
Luke:
But I've learned so much since then. Master Yoda, I promise to return and finish what I've begun. You have my word.
Obi-Wan:
It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants. That is why your friends are made to suffer.
Luke:
That's why I have to go.
Obi-Wan:
Luke, I don't want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost Vader.
Luke:
You won't.
Yoda:
Stopped they must be. On this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the Force as his ally will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.
Obi-Wan:
Patience!
Luke:
And sacrifice Han and Leia?
Yoda:
If you honor what they fight for, yes!
Obi-Wan:
If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.
Luke:
I understand. R2, fire up the converters.
Obi-Wan:
Luke. Don't give in to hate. That leads to the Dark Side.
Yoda:
Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
Luke:
I will and I'll return. I promise. [flies off with X-Wing]
Yoda:
Told you I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.
Obi-Wan:
That boy is our last hope.
Yoda:
No. There is another.
How is Rey a disconnected entity from the resistance? What is she without a real army?
What is Luke not good at in the OT, btw? What skill does he not very quickly get good at or already know how to do? You guys see character flaws in terms of who wins fights or who can do cool tricks and fix things, not the actual psychological flaws that matter and it's really weird.
The film criticizes those things regardless of whether you feel they were bad decisions. When Luke asks why she's there she can't answer, she has no defined purpose, Kylo even straight up tells her it's her greatest weakness! This is in the text!
I don't care about hijacking a thread, I feel like it isn't hijacking anyways, he's defending these personalities as just being pedantic nitpickers when to me that shit is legitimately cancerous.