8 things that nobody wants to admit about Star Wars

2. They ruined Luke and put Rey on a pedestal

Luke Skywalker – the farm boy turned Jedi Knight who taught us to look to the stars and believe in the impossible. From his moisture farming days back on Tatooine to his face-off with the Emperor, Luke was the star child of the original Star Wars trilogy. When word on the street was that he’d be coming back for the sequels, fans were beyond excited to see him and his character’s progress behind the scenes. Instead, we got a grumpy, disillusioned hermit chugging alien milk on a remote island. He throws his lightsaber off a cliff. The man who once embodied hope and resilience had been turned into a symbol of defeat and cynicism. What happened, Disney? Even Mark Hamill, who is Luke Skywalker, wasn’t the biggest fan of Luke in The Last Jedi.

Now, enter Rey – a scavenger, an apparent Force prodigy, and an immediate fan favorite. But wait a minute, why does Rey get to be good at everything without the challenges and lessons that made Luke, as well as other characters, so relatable and human? She swings her lightsaber like a pro, masters the Force in record time, and solves puzzles that would stump a Jedi Council with no prior knowledge. I

The filmmakers were so desperate to make Rey the Chosen One that they forgot what made her predecessors so special and dear to us: their flaws, their struggles, and their growth. Please do not get me wrong: I am all for strong, capable heroines – one of my daughters’ middle name is Rey, for crying out loud – but even the mightiest characters need a few hurdles to jump, and she… had no hurdle. Only instant mastery.