These 3 'Force Awakens' Facts Are Crucial For Your 'Last Jedi' Viewing
Very recently in a galaxy far, far away.
Tomorrow night, on December 14, the first public screenings of Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi will finally begin. And even though the previous installment, The Force Awakens only came out two years ago, you may need a quick refresher course before seeing its sequel. But, don’t worry, you don’t need a ton of time, nor do you need to read long articles on Wookipeedia to become a Star Wars fact Jedi. Here are the only three things you really need to know before you see The Last Jedi.
Spoilers for The Force Awakens follow. However, there are no spoilers for The Last Jedi below.
3. Luke Skywalker “Walked Away From Everything” For a Reason
In The Force Awakens, Han Solo tells Rey and Finn that after “one boy” turned against him that “Luke felt responsible. He Just walked away from everything.” This is important because this one line informs almost the entirety of Luke Skywalker’s arc in The Last Jedi. This might seem like a big “no duh,” but when you see The Last Jedi it’s important to remember one specific word Han said. Responsible. The story of why Luke feels responsible will perhaps become the most important moment in all of Star Wars.
2. The Resistance is Really, Really Small
In the classic Star Wars trilogy, the Rebel Alliance is scrappy, but they do have a bunch of resources. But that’s very different than the Resistance in both The Force Awakens, and now, The Last Jedi. Unlike other Star Wars sequels, literally zero time passes between the end of The Force Awakens and the start of The Last Jedi, meaning The First Order already know where the Resistance Base is located. Relevantly, The First Order also already blew up a bunch of Republi planets in The Force Awakens, all of which were the primary lifeline to the Resistance. This is important to the story of The Last Jedi for two reasons. First, knowing the Resistance doesn’t have any additional back-up will help you feel how crazy dire the stakes are this time. And second, this fact means the story of this Star Wars film can play out differently than any previous movie in the series.
1. Rey Already Knows Who Her Parents Are
Without a doubt, the biggest mystery of The Force Awakens is figuring out who Rey’s parents really are. The thing is, the character herself, already knows. In The Force Awakens she tells numerous people that her “family” will come back to Jakku. Smartly, Maz Kanata told Rey in The Force Awakens that “Whoever you’re waiting for, they’re never coming back.” And in The Last Jedi, this line is not only prescient, but also, slightly revealing. There is an explanation as to Rey’s origins in The Last Jedi, and the explanation already lives inside fo the character herself. It wouldn’t be a Star Wars movie if people weren’t searching their feelings, but in the case of Rey, searching her own feelings becomes a pivotal moment for her, and the audience’s understanding of her destiny.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens everywhere on December 15, with some screenings occurring on the evening of December 14. Come back to Inverse after you’ve seen the movie for our full-coverage, including a breakdown of all the big twists.
