• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments on Cult of Whatever
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Lethal Weapon: Danny Glover and Mel Gibson as Roger Murtaugh and Martin Riggs

      Lethal Weapon is still awesome thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 9, 2022
    • Nope: Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya

      REVIEW: “NOPE” wants to be more than it is, which is just good enough

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 22, 2022
    • Brave: Kelly Macdonald voices Princess Merida

      Ten years later, BRAVE remains Pixar’s most underrated film

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 21, 2022
    • A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Heather Langenkamp as Nancy

      A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 20, 2022
    • Where The Crawdads Sing: Daisy Edgar Jones and David Strathairn

      REVIEW: Where the Crawdads Sing deftly blends genres to good effect

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 19, 2022
    • Thor Love and Thunder: Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth as The Mighty Thor and Thor

      REVIEW: THOR – LOVE AND THUNDER is an adventure of mirth and sadness alike

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 9, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Lennon Working Class Hero Album Cover

      John Lennon's final recordings are so full of joy it breaks your heart...

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 17, 2016
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • American Horror Stories S02e04 Cody Fern and Seth Gabel as Thomas and Walter

      American Horror Stories S02E04 Review: Milkmaids – Very ambitious

      By Salome G
      | August 14, 2022
    • Roswell New Mexico S04e09: Allie Myers and Jeanine Mason as Shiri Appleby and Liz Ortecho

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E09 Review: Wild Wild West- Okay…

      By Salome G
      | August 11, 2022
    • Evil S03e09: Party Time

      Evil S03E09 Review: The Demon of Money – Dark moments…

      By Salome G
      | August 8, 2022
    • American Horror Stories S02e03: Bella Thorne as Marci

      American Horror Stories S02E03 Review: Drive – Unsettling experiences

      By Salome G
      | August 8, 2022
    • The Orville S03: Penny Johnson Jerald and Mark Jackson as Dr. Claire Finn and Isaac

      The Orville season three finale review: Don’t say goodbye

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 8, 2022
    • Roswell New Mexico S04e08: Michael Vlamis as Michael Guerin

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E08 Review: Missing My Baby – The truth hurts

      By Salome G
      | August 3, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Nintendo Switch Logo

      Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 15, 2022
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Dark: Ricky Starks (22/09/20)

      The future of the AEW World Championship

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 14, 2022
    • AEW Forbidden Door 2022: Claudio Castagnoli

      ROH Death Before Dishonor 2022 kickstarted a new era with a bang

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 25, 2022
    • Vince Mcmahon Stone Cold Podcast

      Vince McMahon is out as WWE chief. First reactions here…

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 22, 2022
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Looking ahead to the Switch 2: Predictions and Wants
    • American Horror Stories S02E04 Review: Milkmaids - Very ambitious
    • The future of the AEW World Championship
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E09 Review: Wild Wild West- Okay...
    • Lethal Weapon is still awesome thirty-five years later
    • Evil S03E09 Review: The Demon of Money - Dark moments...

    The Force Awakens: Breaking down Rey’s trippy Force Vision

    By Matthew Martin
    | January 25, 2016
    Movie Blogs

    “Through the force…things you will see; other places. The future, the past…old friends long gone.”

    -Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

    Coming exactly at the halfway point in The Force Awakens, viewers were treated to the Star Wars equivalent of a vision quest. It’s not the first time we’ve seen one, but it’s the first time we’ve seen one. We watched Luke experience one while meditating on Dagobah, but we only had his recollection to walk us through it (“I saw….I saw a city in the clouds…”). Here, we got to experience the sights and sounds alongside our heroine.

    Star Wars Awakens Daisy Ridley Rey

    There was a lot to take in and a lot of it was jumbled and almost impossible to decipher, but let’s do our best because it may end up being one of the most pivotal scenes in the whole sequel trilogy.

    It begins with the lightsaber. It’s the blade passed down from Anakin to Luke and was thought lost when Vader sliced off his son’s hand during their duel above Bespin. How Maz Kanata recovered it, when it was last seen flying past Luke (while he was hanging from the Cloud City antennae) down to the gas giant below, is never addressed. It probably never will be either, and Maz’ “a good question for another time” line was likely written just to make it mysterious without having to figure the details out.

    Once Rey touches the saber is when things get trippy. I’ve provided some screenshots that are low quality but get the point across.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 1

    The sights and sounds of this vision have to be separated, because at times the sights match the sounds and other times they are very different. For example, the first thing we see is the area change from Maz’ basement to the Cloud City corridor that Vader and Luke dueled in. It’s the spot where Vader used the force to hurl objects at Luke, just before they took their fight to the catwalk outside.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 2

    That’s the sight, but what about the sound? The first sound you hear is the ignition of the lightsaber. That is followed by—and this can be hard to discern, but it’s definitely there—the sound of young Rey screaming “No!”

    After that, the corridor begins to break apart, and you hear Yoda’s voice repeating his line from his training of Luke about the Force. He says “it’s energy…surrounds us…” the line doesn’t finish, at least not initially.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 3

    Everything collapses and Cloud City is no more. Rey loses her footing and lands on the ground. As she does the environment changes to what at first looks like a lava planet, but upon closer (and repeated) inspection, it seems instead to be an ordinary world. Rey has come upon a roaring fire. As the caption in the picture says, the sound we hear is of Luke screaming “No!” when he discovered Vader was his father.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 4

    The background of the scene doesn’t change and the flashes of the fire and the burning embers tell us this is just another angle of the same scene. We see a robed figure touch R2 in a way that conveys comfort, as though the droid is sad. There’s no doubt this is Luke. His robotic hand matches the final scene of the movie, as does his off-white shirt.

    It’s here that we hear the end of Yoda’s statement from before, as the old Jedi says “…and binds us.” Maz later described what Rey experienced as the Force calling out to her. It seems the way it’s doing that is not only through sights and sounds of her past and future, but also through some words of wisdom about the force from one of its greatest disciples.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 5

    The fires leave us and the scene changes to a rainy night. There’s no detached audio clues here, just the sound of rain pelting the ground. Rey turns around and sees a man holding what looks like a medieval mace, ready to strike her down. Just before he does…

    Star Wars Rey Theory 6

    He gets run through with a red lightsaber. It shouldn’t be lost on the viewer (at least not the second time around) that this is the same manner of death that Kylo used to kill Han Solo. We’re seeing this from Rey’s perspective, and I think that’s important. The camera is about the change to a more neutral overhead shot, but here we’re seeing this through Rey’s eyes.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 7

    We get a clearer look at what’s going on and the sight is overwhelming. Dozens of dead bodies are spread across the ground and Kylo Ren stands prominently in front of a motley crew of unknown individuals. Are these the knights of Ren, of which Kylo is “master” according to Snoke? They are clearly taking a submissive position behind him, which means the individual Kylo killed in the previous frame was very likely among the group. Did he step out of line? Is that why he was run through with the lightsaber?

    We can only speculate, but my theory is that he was a knight of Ren about to strike down Rey, but for whatever reason Kylo intervened and saved her life. It’s interesting to note that, on the rainy planet, Kylo shows no offensive posture toward Rey. The only time he does is at the end of the vision, which we’ll get to shortly.

    Star Wars Rey Theory 8a

     

    The source of the voice who says “quiet girl!” to young Rey (and I think there’s no doubt that’s a young Rey) is of some debate, but I think it’s clearly Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer to whom Rey goes to sell her scrap metal. The voice matches the large hand that’s holding her arm too. Why he’s got possession of her is anyone’s guess, but there’s clearly someone she loves on the ship that is flying away. Clearly Rey was left, but by whom?

    Reading the novelization of the movie it is clear that Kylo knows who Rey is. When they are having their duel in the snow on Starkiller base, in the book Kylo at one point says “It is you” and the writer points out that it’s not the first time that Rey had the suspicion that people knew more about her than she knew about herself. Could it be that Kylo left Rey on Jakku as an act of mercy? Perhaps he killed the knight that was trying to kill her and decided to spare her life by hiding her. That of course raises more questions, for which I have no answers. Just speculation!

    Star Wars Rey Theory 9

    The scene changes from Jakku in the past to Starkiller base in the future. Rey witnesses the sunlight being extinguished (which would happen just before Kylo kills his father) and then from behind the snowy trees Kylo himself appears with saber ignited. Rey stumbles backwards and as she does she hears the voice of Obi Wan Kenobi saying “Rey?” It is interesting that JJ Abrams talked about how they edited down a clip of Sir Alec Guinness saying “don’t be afRAId” in order to get the word “Rey” and that he was so happy when he heard it because it was exactly how he wanted it to sound. So how did it sound? It sounded like a question. It sounded like Obi Wan, in tune with the force, was surprised to find Rey experiencing a force-induced vision. So many intriguing possibilities to explore with that.

    As the vision ends, Rey stumbles backwards and falls on her butt. As she lands everything returns to the basement of Maz’ castle. And as she falls we hear again the voice of Obi Wan, only this time it is a new line recorded by Ewan McGregor: “These are your first steps” he tells her. Maz tells her that the Force is calling to her, but she refuses the call (in keeping with the Joseph Campbell rules of mythology). Later, in the snow-fight with Kylo she does finally close her eyes and “let it in.” When she does, the Force “Awakens” within her, guides her actions and helps her to fend of Kylo Ren’s attack.

    The ending is exhilarating, but the real intriguing part of the film is the minute-long vision the force allowed her to see. It provided hints of her past, hints which hopefully will be explained as we go forward in the sequel trilogy.

    If you have any theories about Rey’s vision, or anything you picked up on that was missed here (JJ and company have said that a lot was going on in the vision and that a lot of sound effects and voices were featured), let us know in the comments below!

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    Star WarsThe Force Awakens

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest

    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest

    0 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments

    You might also like

    • The Force Awakens works due to a strong trio of trios (spoilers!)

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 21, 2015
    • Review: Star Wars -The Force Awakens (no spoilers)

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 21, 2015
    • MACHETE: The “other” way to watch Star Wars

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 19, 2015
    • “A New Hope” and the mythology of Star Wars

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 12, 2015
    • Star Wars: Battlefront Review: Pew Pew, you’re dead.

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 25, 2015
    • The Star Wars prequels of politics: Why Anakin’s origin is overshadowed by Palpatine’s rise to power

      By Charlie King
      | May 8, 2015

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Movie Topics

    Recommended for you

    • Lethal Weapon is still awesome thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | August 9, 2022
    • REVIEW: “NOPE” wants to be more than it is, which is just good enough

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 22, 2022
    • Ten years later, BRAVE remains Pixar’s most underrated film

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 21, 2022
    • REVIEW: THOR – LOVE AND THUNDER is an adventure of mirth and sadness alike

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 9, 2022
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
    • Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Read the Book Instead: The most disappointing book-to-film adaptations

      By Oliver Johnston
      | September 20, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz