Force Awakens Re:vised: Episode Four!

We are looking at Force Awakens with parts to make sense, fit in with the expanded material, and in the context of the Star Wars story.  Missed one?  Check here: Part 1: http://geektruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-force-awakens-revised.html,   Part 2: http://geektruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/force-awakens-re-vised-episode-two.html, Part 3: http://geektruth.blogspot.com/2020/04/force-awakens-revised-episode-three.html.  We are at Maz Kanata’s castle, the Resistance and the First Order have been contacted, and Rey has seen visions from touching the lightsaber.  There is no sense of Rey terrified by Kylo Ren in light of that fear not present when she duels with him in the film.  She turns to see Maz Kanata who says the lightsaber belonged to Luke Skywalker (don’t worry an explanation is coming!) and tells Rey that it’s call is for her.  Maz Kanata continues saying that the path is being set for her, not on Jakku, but with someone else.  Rey answers Luke Skywalker.  Maz says she knows about the Force and tells Rey to close her eyes to feel the Force.  

Rey fears taking up the lightsaber and runs away into the forest.  This is about the same as the film, but Maz Kanata will be important later on and not end up as just as a cameo.  The Starkiller weapon is being charged up as we get General Hux’s speech inside of a base.  It seems ridiculous that a powerful weapon is fired with people around it, they would be wiped out from the shockwave alone.  Hux speaks about the New Republic’s treachery, but it seems cowardly to strike at them from a distance.  The Starkiller instead is moved within the Hosnian system.  Also, it seems to fire a blast that goes through hyperspace(?) and splits into multiple beams?  Hyperspace is confused in the Sequel Trilogy.  The New Republic fleet is destroyed so the fleet is on just one planet?  Hux seems angry yet whom in the First Order is he trying convince with his speech?  The scary part of dictators is not the screaming especially with no reaction from the crowd, it is when they are not screaming.  I also find it troubling that Hux somehow turns against the First Order when he is responsible for destroying several planets of people.  

Hux gives a grand speech mentioning the defeat at Endor and that the First Order was rebuilt from the fragments of the Empire.  He continues saying that the First Order will assert its place in the galaxy by eliminating the New Republic.  He puts on goggles (such a blast without protection would probably melt his eyes) and orders the weapon to be fired.  The blast is released from the Starkiller, we get orbital mirrors that split the blast, and Kylo Ren watches it from his bridge.  If the blast can be seen, why is there no evacuations?, everyone seems to be standing around watching it.  The blast impacts against a planet and then fills the sky of Hosnian Prime.  Rey drops to her knees in the forest.  Obi-Wan sensed Alderaan’s destruction, yet Luke and Rey feel nothing?     There is some serious inconsistency with the Force in the Sequel Trilogy.  Finn sees the destruction of the Hosnian planets on a ship screen and races back to the castle.  Rey sees the First Order ships approach and runs back.  Maz Kanata brings out the lightsaber, Han questions her about it (explanation next movie), and gives it to Finn.  Rey sees the destruction of First Order fleet on Maz Kanata’s castle which brings down Maz’s statue.   

There is no arrival of Kylo Ren’s shuttle yet, in the middle of a strike?, very risky.  Rey takes out a stormtrooper after flicking off the safety and then runs.  Han is taking on stormtroopers with his heavy blaster, we gotta have his no-look blast, very cool.  Chewbacca seems to just carry his bowcaster in the film, I see him as showing everyone what it could do, setting it on automatic fire and blasting three stormtroopers!  Droids and the smuggler’s at Maz’s castle fire a blaster cannon and blasters from the battlements.  It’s really strange to see that Maz has no defense for the castle and that the smuggler types are not in the battle.  There is some fighters against the stormtroopers in the film, but they are really in the background.  Maz tells Finn to use his lightsaber.  Word about lightsabers, you can activate them like Han with the Tauntaun, but not use it in combat unless you are a Jedi.  The Sequel Trilogy points out that Finn is not a Jedi, not this revision.  Han and Chewbacca are cornered and firing on stormtroopers.  Han asks for Chewbacca’s bowcaster and the blast is explosive tossing two stormtroopers (also gotta keep from the movie). 

Finn kills a stormtrooper with the lightsaber and then faces FN-2199, his former fellow stormtrooper, who calls him “Traitor!”  The stormtrooper wields a stun baton and knocks back with the stun baton Finn when they duel.  He is saved by Han’s blaster and Han moves to help him up.  There is a series of explosions as the defenders are smashed.  A short alien, Wollivan (this is Warwick Davis’ character), is blasted as the stormtroopers rush to take prisoners.  In the film, Chewbacca is armed and lets stormtroopers surround everyone?  Their weapons are confiscated and they are led away.  We see the landing of Kylo Ren’s shuttle.  Suddenly, we get TIE fighters exploding (a good action cut, it would make sense since X-Wings have long range weapons, proton torpedos), the stormtroopers take positions and set up blaster cannons as we see the waves made on Nymeve Lake.  Why would they use regular blaster rifles against fighters?  We see Poe Dameron’s X-Wing fighter, Black One, take the lead.  

Poe calls in as Black Leader, Rose Tico as Black Three, and Karé Kun (she is from the Poe Dameron comic book) as Black Two. This is important because I really want to see a female, main character, fighter pilot.  Also, the battle is basically just Poe flying, so it is great to have others.   Wait!  How did Rose get to an X-Wing fighter before the First Order arrived?  Rose was slipping away from Maz’s castle to take a speeder to reach the distant rendezvous point for the Resistance fighters.  The Star Destroyer arrived and the X-Wing fighters went to the rendezvous point to avoid detection. Poe might mention that Rose could have been late to the rendezvous point.  Rose engages a TIE fighter and blasts it apart as they are both descending to the castle.  The stormtroopers and cannons are tossed in an explosion.  Han, Chewbacca, and Finn recover their weapons.  In the film, X-Wings have blaster rifle-sized bolts to precisely hit stormtroopers?  They fire on stormtroopers and Finn reaches a stormtrooper lander throwing in thermal detonators from a stormtrooper belt to destroy it.  The Black One X-Wing destroys several TIE fighters and stormtrooper positions.  He is effective in attacking the enemy and lets a command shuttle go?  Finn cheers on Poe’s flying. 

#ForceAwakensRevised, #MazKanata, #PoeDameron, #RoseTico