Thursday, January 30, 2020

The Eternal Message of Hope


Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2020 is treating you well.

Recently, I was one of several SFR authors who contributed to a blog about our takes on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Below is my contribution:

BIG FAT SPOILER ALERT!
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, turn away from the dark side!

As one of my besties & I took our seats in the theater to see The Rise of Skywalker, a sense of finality came over me. This was it, the last movie of a surprise franchise that began over forty years ago. I was a skinny, bespectacled seventh grader when A New Hope released. I was also living in Japan, and at that time new cinema releases were out for a year in the U.S. before they were sent overseas. (They did send Mark Hamill to visit his old high school, which was on the same Army base as the middle school I attended, but that’s another story.)

All we could do was wait. As fate would have it, my dad was transferred stateside and we left the week before Star Wars arrived at the base theater. The first thing my mom did after we arrived in California was to take my sister and I to see the movie—a whole week before my friends got to see it! It was awesome, and it seemed like the story (like the lines) would never end.

But, it has.

Did The Rise of Skywalker live up to my expectations? Overall, yes. Do I have questions? Most definitely. Would I change anything? Yes! The most glaring issue to me—which started in The Force Awakens—is the relationship between Poe and Finn. OMG, people! These two should’ve gotten together!

Now, I’m not a Rose-hater…I actually love her character. And since the powers that be did not see fit to romantically link Poe and Finn, then why not let Finn and Rose hook up? All in all, it would’ve been great if they hadn’t even tried to force that relationship to begin with, but to turn around and cover it up in the latest movie like it’d never happened? Messy loose end.

My biggest heartache was that Rey and Ben will never get together. He dies, she lives, minus the greatest love of her life. This is, of course, my internal romance writer soul crying out at the injustice of them not getting their happily ever after. How-e-ver, there is always a price that must be paid, and Ben’s death—his separation from the woman he loves—is his price. And most of me is good with that.

If I could, what one thing would I change in this movie? Simple. When Luke and Leia appeared to Rey (beautiful and touching, imo), Ben should’ve been with them. He found the good within himself at the eleventh hour, much like Anakin did. And, he quite literally gave his life for her. (Tell me you didn’t cry about that! I did. Like hormonal teenager.)

Bottom line: Despite the still unanswered questions, J. J. Abrams did a phenomenal job wrapping up the Skywalker saga. I wish it could go on forever, but after forty plus years, I’m happy.

I wonder if Abrams would consider going back and remaking parts 1-3…?

~*~*~*~*~

Laurie A. Green did a brilliant follow-up piece on this blog yesterday, and really nailed it. (Read here

And gang, you REALLY need to see this see this Rey + Ben video!


~*~*~*~*~

This is happening right now in my world!

My next book in the Prophecy series will release March 10th! Skylar’s Gift is a novella set shortly after Collision, Book Three in the series.



Reserve your copy now for a special preorder price! (Price goes up after release.)

~*~*~*~*~

USA Today Bestselling Author, Lea Kirk, loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her sci-fi romances. 

When she’s not busy writing about the blue and green aliens of her Prophecy series, she’s hanging out with her hubby, five kids (the nerd herd), and a spoiled Dobie mix pup. 

She's currently working of the fourth book in her Prophecy series, and three new books for a new series to be released this fall. 

For more on Lea's writing journey, check out her:



6 comments:

Nancy Gideon said...

How many series can you say you took your kids AND your grandkids to see when they premiered? Ep. 1-3 - yeah, not so much. What a hero's/heroine's journey tale. Nice wrap up, Lea.

Diane Burton said...

In our family we now have 3 generations of Star Wars lovers--and we're training the younger ones. :) When I read your first post (on Spacefreighter's Lounge) I hadn't seen the movie yet, so I sort of skimmed the spoilers. Now, rereading it after seeing the movie, I loved how accurate I found your observations. Still, I never saw the romantic connection between Rey and Ben until you all mentioned it. He killed Han Solo. He couldn't be the romantic hero. Now you're forcing me (lol) to rewatch the other films to see how I got it wrong. Can't wait until this comes out in DVD so I can rewatch it to my heart's content.

BTW, John Williams' score made me want to see "A New Hope." That's what turned me on to science fiction, esp. sci-fi romance. So glad it did.

Maureen said...

I haven't seen the movie- so had to do some skimming to miss any spoilers. I'll have to come back to review once I watch the movie. :)

Lea Kirk said...

Thank you, Nancy! Yes, Star Wars is a multi-generational saga.

Oh, my gosh, Diane, I felt Rey and Ben's attraction from the moment he held her captive. There was so much sexual tension in that scene for me. She was the light to his dark, and vice-versa. It did seem like the Rey/Finn romance was being pushed on us as a distraction, but I've never been able to see them as more than the best of friends. In the end, though, we each have our own take aways about what happened. Next time I watch it, I'm going to look for the reasons you didn't see a romantic connection. ;-)

Yes, Maureen, I'd LOVE to hear what you think. Enjoy the movie!

L. A. Green said...

Loved your take, Lea. Actually, most of the fans I've talked to have said overwhelmingly favorable things about the wrap of the main saga and I think they did a great job of closing the loop on the main family saga. Like Diane, I'll order all the DVDs/Blurays so I can watch them again and again (and again and again and again). Hey, I saw the first 27 times and that was before the DVDs existed! LOL

Unknown said...

As reported by Stanford Medical, It is really the SINGLE reason women in this country live 10 years more and weigh 19 KG less than we do.

(And by the way, it is not about genetics or some hard exercise and really, EVERYTHING to "how" they are eating.)

BTW, I said "HOW", and not "WHAT"...

Click on this link to determine if this short test can help you find out your real weight loss possibility