), Rey asks for a vision of her parents.
The revelation is enigmatic.
She doesnt appear to know what to make of it, and neither does the audience.
Jules Heath/Lucasfilm
All she sees is herself.
These movies rhyme with each other, Johnson said.
Reys parents, revealed
Later, Kylo Ren touches her hand and sees what she saw.
He eventually lays out the answer she was seeking as painfully as possible.
Do you know the truth about your parents?
Or have you always known?
Youve just hidden it away.
They were nobody, she says, fighting back tears.
They were filthy junk traders, he says.
Sold you off for drinking money.
Theyre dead in a paupers grave in the Jakku desert.
You come from nothing.
But not to me.
So is he telling the truth, or playing on her emotions and a confusing cave-vision?
I cant speak to what theyre going to do.
But for me, in that moment, Kylo believes its the truth, Johnson added.
I dont think hes purely playing chess.
I think thats what he saw when they touched fingers and thats what he believes.
And when he tells her that in that moment, she believes it.
He was free to resolve it as he liked.
I was thinking, whats the most powerful answer to that question?
Powerful meaning: whats the hardest thing that Rey could hear?
Thats what youre after with challenging your characters, Johnson said.
We have to start thinking of this person in more complex terms.
We need to start thinking in terms of a redemption arc.
In our movie, its kind of the opposite, Johnsons said.
The easiest thing for Rey and the audience to hear is, Oh yeah, youre so-and-sos daughter.
That would be wish fulfillment and instantly hand her a place in this story on a silver platter.
The hardest thing for her is to hear shes not going to get that easy answer.
More post-screening insights (these are heavy spoilers, but if youve read this far…)
