# Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Seen It (Assume Spoilers Within) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645 "2015-12-16T23:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 64
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1261 "2016-01-06T14:58:40Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I don’t know, why was a major battle fought in some shitty no-name backwater town like Gettysburg? Battles happen in a lot of places. By far my favorite historical example of a backwater battlefield is the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution, which took place near an area primarily known for being a popular place to graze cattle (now the site of the thriving metropolis of Cowpens, South Carolina, population a touch over 2,000, making it bigger than the high school I graduated from by a small portion). Sometimes battles happen where they do because that’s where you catch up with the enemy, or because it happens to be an important crossroads for the moment, or it’s simply on the easiest navigable route between two important places. The fact that Jakku was some podunk backwater could have made it an ideal place to stage a fleet or set up a base away from the prying eyes of the enemy, the discovery of such leading directly to the massive battle. And of course, some places aren’t podunk backwaters until after they’ve been torn up by a war. Those with the means might head towards greener pastures, with those left being those who lack the means. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1262 "2016-01-06T15:41:22Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Aww, that spoils all the speculation! 🙂 I read another article that it was the hug between Leia and Rey that triggered some sort of localized Force ripple that then triggered R2’s awakening (perhaps something Luke programmed into R2 before he left), not BB’s earlier “knock”. Maybe he had a bad motivator. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1263 "2016-01-06T15:51:57Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I don’t know, why was a major battle fought in some shitty no-name backwater town like Gettysburg? Battles happen in a lot of places. The irony is that what were, for towns like Gettysburg, unimaginable catastrophes at the time - especially as the wounded and dying filled their houses, churches and schools - became lucrative sources of tourism dollars ever after. Jakku doesn’t get much tourism, though, it looks like. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1264 "2016-01-06T19:01:35Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Have you ever served in the military? I’ve got a secret to share with you: Generals typically tend to act like someone’s grandparents (because they often are someone’s grandparents). And not everybody’s grandparents are gonna act like James Mattis. Some of them are gonna act like Jimmy Stewart. Unless you’re Ms. Fisher (who I was overly snarky towards in my last post and would apologize to), save your condescension for something important, not just someone who has a different opinion than you. 1. We’re talking movies here, not real life. 2. We’re talking Star Wars here, which is even more stylized. 3. Generals often are grandparents and act like grandparents at home, but don’t act like grandparents on base and in their high-level military meetings. If you’re satisfied with her depiction of a general, fine, but I didn’t buy it. MHO. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1265 "2016-01-06T19:02:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The irony is that what were, for towns like Gettysburg, unimaginable catastrophes at the time - especially as the wounded and dying filled their houses, churches and schools - became lucrative sources of tourism dollars ever after. > > Jakku doesn’t get much tourism, though, it looks like. I guess Galactic Civil War reenactment isn’t a thing in the Star Wars universe. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1266 "2016-01-06T19:04:37Z")
New plot speculation: not only is Rey Luke’s daughter - but Luke is really “Snoke”! He really turned to the dark side just like his dad, but wants to play both sides (for his own evil purposes of course). It’s obvious once you think about it! - Han Solo Jr.? Who just happens to ‘turn to the dark side’? And who is now “Snoke”'s loyal follower? Who trained him in the force? Luke! - You never actually see “Snoke”. Just a hologram projection. That could be anyone from anywhere. - Luke’s “disappearance” may be when his GF found him transmitting as “Snoke”. She flees, drops their kid off at a nearby planet, Luke kills her. Luke makes himself scarce in case anything incriminating turned up, leaving his faithful pupil - Han Solo Jr. - to carry on his “work”. - This explains why Luke was glaring at Rey when she turned up. He was all “WTF do you know about me?” - The First Order wasn’t really hunting Luke. They were hunting anyone who knew shit about Luke, to keep his secret. That’s why they killed everyone in that little village. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1267 "2016-01-06T19:11:55Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Unless you’re Ms. Fisher (who I was overly snarky towards in my last post and would apologize to), save your condescension for something important, not just someone who has a different opinion than you. > > 1. We’re talking movies here, not real life. > 2. We’re talking Star Wars here, which is even more stylized. > 3. Generals often are grandparents and act like grandparents at home, but don’t act like grandparents on base and in their high-level military meetings. > > If you’re satisfied with her depiction of a general, fine, but I didn’t buy it. MHO. I dunno, they made Calrissian and Solo generals, I don’t think it means what we think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1268 "2016-01-06T19:14:23Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > Unless you’re Ms. Fisher (who I was overly snarky towards in my last post and would apologize to), save your condescension for something important, not just someone who has a different opinion than you. > > 1. We’re talking movies here, not real life. > 2. We’re talking Star Wars here, which is even more stylized. > 3. Generals often are grandparents and act like grandparents at home, but don’t act like grandparents on base and in their high-level military meetings. > > If you’re satisfied with her depiction of a general, fine, but I didn’t buy it. MHO. Well, I bought it, for the reasons \*\*Raguleader \*\*mentioned. In fact, I saw the Resistance’s no-bullshit, egalitarian manner as a deliberate contrast to the First Order’s fascist posturing. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1269 "2016-01-06T19:24:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He powers up _before_ he sees the map which BB-8 was carrying. > > What if Darth Emo, er, Kylo Ren worshipped his grandmother instead of his grandfather?: [In an alternative universe where Kylo Ren admired his grandmother instead of his grandfather - Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/PXQEhVN.png) Wait, why are you showing us stills from _Dune_? I thought we were talking about _Star Wars_, not some half-baked but far too long epic tale set in a galaxy that has space travel and blasters but is still based on sword fighting and poorly justified psychic powers, set around a young hero thinking he’s abandoned on a desert planet, but finding out he’s psychic and destined to avenge his father’s murder and exploit low-tech natives’ religion to recruit them to defeat the galaxy-wide Empire… um… … Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1270 "2016-01-06T19:29:01Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > New plot speculation: not only is Rey Luke’s daughter - but Luke is really “Snoke”! He really turned to the dark side just like his dad, but wants to play both sides (for his own evil purposes of course). > > It’s obvious once you think about it! > > - Han Solo Jr.? Who just happens to ‘turn to the dark side’? And who is now “Snoke”'s loyal follower? Who trained him in the force? Luke! > > - You never actually see “Snoke”. Just a hologram projection. That could be anyone from anywhere. > > - Luke’s “disappearance” may be when his GF found him transmitting as “Snoke”. She flees, drops their kid off at a nearby planet, Luke kills her. Luke makes himself scarce in case anything incriminating turned up, leaving his faithful pupil - Han Solo Jr. - to carry on his “work”. > > - This explains why Luke was glaring at Rey when she turned up. He was all “WTF do you know about me?” > > - The First Order wasn’t really hunting Luke. They were hunting anyone who knew shit about Luke, to keep his secret. That’s why they killed everyone in that little village. I am going to have to disagree with this. To know the secret identity of Snoke you don’t have to look any further than his name. Switch the first and last letters, flip over the n, and then double the u Snoke -\> Enoks -\> Euoks -\> Ewoks ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1271 "2016-01-06T19:54:06Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I dunno, they made Calrissian and Solo generals, I don’t think it means what we think it means. Heh, you have a point. Probably didn’t make that much sense then, either, though it may have made sense a little more that the pickings were _really_ slim at the time, so they were more generals by default than real generals. And in that sense, I guess it would work for the depiction of Leia now. But I was under the impression she’s supposed to be a grizzled veteran of thirty years of fighting and commanding, not a general-by-default, so I expected a little more sense of leadership, which would have been awesome if done right. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1272 "2016-01-06T20:11:20Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > 1. We’re talking movies here, not real life. > 2. We’re talking Star Wars here, which is even more stylized. > 3. Generals often are grandparents and act like grandparents at home, but don’t act like grandparents on base and in their high-level military meetings. And this is why General Kenobi in ANH was in no way whatsoever portrayed as a grandfatherly figure. …Right? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1273 "2016-01-06T23:07:35Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I dunno, they made Calrissian and Solo generals, I don’t think it means what we think it means. It’s a George Lucas thing. I gave up on it when Jar Jar became a General. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1274 "2016-01-07T00:40:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And this is why General Kenobi in ANH was in no way whatsoever portrayed as a grandfatherly figure. > > …Right? I guess I don’t recall all of it. Which military bases and high-level military meetings did he participate in? How many divisions was he commanding at the time? To wit, you’re completely missing the point. Alec Guinness did just fine portraying a wise old man who also happened to be a former general. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1275 "2016-01-07T00:47:13Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > I guess I don’t recall all of it. Which military bases and high-level military meetings did he participate in? “And don’t say ‘Death Star’!”😃 ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1276 "2016-01-07T00:55:28Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > “And don’t say ‘Death Star’!”😃 😃 > [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s a George Lucas thing. I gave up on it when Jar Jar became a General. :smack: Too right. I take back all of my expectations of a General now. ---
**Author:** ![Dajn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@Dajn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dajn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1277 "2016-01-07T03:27:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Because it’s only natural for fiction to depict only white men in important roles. Anything else is throat-shoving. Maybe someday Finn can be a Chinese man. Lol. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1278 "2016-01-07T05:15:59Z")
Another thought… Han seemed pleased and surprised by the effectiveness of Chewbacca’s crossbow. Hard to believe he’d never used it in the 30-some years they’ve been shipmates. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1279 "2016-01-07T05:27:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another thought… Han seemed pleased and surprised by the effectiveness of Chewbacca’s crossbow. Hard to believe he’d never used it in the 30-some years they’ve been shipmates. IIRC, Chewie barely used it himself in the original trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/1280 "2016-01-07T05:46:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another thought… Han seemed pleased and surprised by the effectiveness of Chewbacca’s crossbow. Hard to believe he’d never used it in the 30-some years they’ve been shipmates. Throw away scene to make Darth Emo seem badder for having survived it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645.md?page=65)