It’s no secret that I love Star Wars, especially the sequel trilogy. I had even Disney bounded as Dapper Rey for Dapper Day. So when Disney announced a Star Wars: Galactic Nights event at Hollywood Studios, I had to go.
Before the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land opened at Hollywood Studios, the most Star Wars we could get in the parks was the simple meet-and-greet area in Star Wars Launch Bay. To be honest, as much as I loved meeting Chewbacca and Kylo Ren, this was pretty weak. I was so stoked at the prospect of getting some Star Wars in the parks.
The first thing I had to do was plan out my outfit. My favorite Star Wars character is Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren, but he’s a boy character, and I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. Then again, I successfully Disney bounded as Donald Duck just fine, so I figured I could pass as female Kylo Ren.
I found a Kylo Ren mask at a local flea market for super cheap, so I figured that was a sign. I then found a leather dress at Nordstrom Rack, and the outfit was starting to come together. I had knee-high black boots with heels, but I opted for my Tory Burch thigh-high riding boots because I figured it would be easier to walk around the park in flats, even if the knee-high heels looked better. I got a plastic toy Kylo light saber and inexpensive elbow-length leather gloves from eBay, and I finished the look with some messy hair and red lipstick.
Because I was pregnant, I couldn’t go on any rides, so I spent most of my time going around, taking photos and admiring everyone else’s outfits. My husband and my friend Joy went on the rides with practically no wait though. That’s the nice thing about going to Disney’s After Hours events or parties like this one. We also got to see a panel hosted by Warwick Davis, who is known for his several appearances in multiple Star Wars movies, starting with his role as Wicket in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. We even watched a live interview with Joonas Suotamo, aka the new Chewbacca.
The whole event was so much fun and totally worth the price. It wasn’t any more expensive than a regular After Hours event, and it had so much more to offer, especially for a Star Wars fan — between the panels, interviews, special photo areas, extra character meet-and-greets (like Rey and Darth Vader), and more. I would highly recommend it if they ever offer this again. And it would be even better now that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open. But if they don’t offer it again, then maybe I’ll try out either the holiday or the Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom next time.
Warning! This post contains spoilers, so if you haven’t seen The Last Jedi yet, I suggest you read no further.
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When Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise, I was stoked at the prospect of a Star Wars land, but I was a little apprehensive about sequels. After all, the prequels (episodes 1–3) didn’t exactly live up to the hype in my opinion. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how well done The Force Awakens was, and I was even more thrilled with The Last Jedi.
If you watched The Force Awakens and you saw the trailers for The Last Jedi, you probably had some preconceived notion as to how it was going to go. I know I did. You were probably expecting some grand moment when Luke took his lightsaber back from Rey followed by an epic training montage. Because Carrie Fisher passed away, you were expecting a way for them to write her out, such as killing off Princess General Leia Organa. You likely thought we were going to find out Rey’s parents were either of Skywalker or Kenobi blood, and you probably thought she was going to wind up with Finn. But as Luke said, “This is not going to go the way you think.”
Instead, we saw Luke lackadaisically toss the lightsaber over his shoulder so he can go find some weird creature to milk. (That scene was probably not necessary.) Kylo chose not to kill his mother, and even though his lackeys blast her out of her ship, she magically flies back and lives. We found out Rey’s parents are nobodies. Finn and Rose seem to strike up a romance. And if you’re like me…you are now fully on the Reylo train. What’s Reylo? It’s the combination name of Rey and Kylo Ren (aka Ben Solo—either way, the name works).
Credit to Halo Ren on Deviant Art
Wait…but isn’t Kylo Ren the bad guy? Yeah. Kylo is. But Ben is not. And I still have hope that Ben will be redeemed in Episode IX.
Before I go off about why Reylo is the answer, let me address one other potential suitor for Rey…Poe Dameron. Some people seem to think that just because when Rey introduced herself to him and he said, “I know,” like Han Solo says when Leia professes her love for him, that means they will wind up together. Why would Rey wind up with someone they waited two movies to even introduce her to? That’s just silly. Plus, I have a theory that Poe is actually going to wind up being the bad guy after all, not Ben.
Poe cares about power…a lot. We’re all supposed to believe he’s the good guy, but there’s something about him that just seems off to me. What did Poe Dameron do basically the entire movie? He screwed things up for the Resistance. The very first scene sees him going against General Organa’s orders and being the reason the Resistance loses many of its pilots and all of its bombardiers. Leia smacks him right in the face (literally) and tells him he’s demoted. If he didn’t send Finn and Rose off, they would have never brought the code breaker back with them, and he wouldn’t have sold their secret about the cloaked transporters to Captain Phasma and the First Order. He holds Vice Admiral Holdo at gunpoint to get his way. Leia contrasts them by saying, “She was more interested in protecting the light than being a hero.” And then there’s this:
Why is Poe on the dark side if he’s a good guy? I’m not buying his nice guy charm. Disney would not put him on the side of Hux and Phasma by accident. There has to be a reason for it. And my bet is that he’s going to turn out to be the bad guy with Rey and Ben on the other side by the end of the next movie.
Like many of you, when I saw The Force Awakens, I thought Rey had a striking resemblance to Padme (Ben’s maternal grandmother), which could mean that maybe they’re related. However, Rey blurts out that she knows her parents were nobodies, and Kylo confirms that they sold her for drinking money and are now dead in pauper’s graves. I actually believe Kylo when he says that her parents are nobodies even though some people think he’s lying. He’s always told her the truth, even when she didn’t want to hear it. Maybe her parents were literally nobody, the same way Anakin’s dad was nobody. His mother says there was no father. She couldn’t explain it; he was just born. Maybe Rey was just born of the Force with no mother and no father. And the people who sold her were just the random people who found her.
Credit to The Real McGee
When Kylo tells Rey that her family is nothing and that she’s nothing—but not to him—I couldn’t help but be reminded of Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. And it basically had about the same reaction. (Come to think of it, Rey looks even more like Padme’s double, who is played by Keira Knightly aka Elizabeth Bennett in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.) I wanted Rey to say, “You are the last man in the galaxy I could ever be prevailed upon to marry.” While we know that Rey and Ben are not related, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still some kind of connection between Rey and Padme. Kylo is supposed to be the new Vader. So couldn’t Rey be the new Padme? When Kylo asks Rey to rule the galaxy with him, she pleads with him to not go that way. It’s just like when Padme tells Anakin that he’s going down a path she can’t follow.
Credit to The Real McGee
The story of Rey and Ben seems to be the story of Padme and Anakin in reverse. Rey starts out hating Kylo and thinking that he’s a monster, but I think she is already starting to fall in love with Ben. You could see it when he tells her that she’s not alone, and she says, “Neither are you.” They both see a future with the other standing by their side. Rey thinks she’s going to turn Ben to the light, and he thinks he’s going to turn her to the dark. I think they had the same vision but with different interpretations. And I don’t think either is 100% accurate. Rey is not all light, and Ben is not all dark. Luke points out that she goes directly to the dark, and Ben confesses that he feels the call to the light.
Credit to Eliza Kitty
I think the problem with all of these movies so far is that they’re trying to get balance in the Force. But like…why? Why in the prequels would they even think they need balance? Everything seemed pretty good with the Jedi as-is. So why do they need someone to bring balance to the Force if everything is hunky dory? Maybe (stay with me here) just maybe it was too much light. And in the days of Vader and now Snoke, it’s too much dark. Maybe Kylo/Ben and Rey are meant to be together to finally bring true balance to the Force. There’s no way Disney is going to let the Star Wars saga end after Episode IX because it is a huge cash cow—plus, they’re building an entire extension of Hollywood Studios dedicated to the franchise. And we’ve been told that the whole saga will always be about the Skywalker family. With Luke becoming one with the Force (and Leia likely getting killed off in the next movie), that leaves only one Skywalker descendant left—Ben. That means Ben needs to procreate. And I don’t see any better (or any other at all) candidates to be Ben Solo’s baby mama other than Rey.
If Luke hadn’t busted in on their Force Skype and broken up the hand touching, Rey probably would have already turned Kylo back into Ben, and she might be carrying a couple Force babies around. After all, they say twins skip a generation. I think episodes 10–12 will focus on Reylo’s children. We saw her reaction to him shirtless. She hopped in a box and shipped herself to him. If that doesn’t say she wants to have his babies, I don’t know what does.
