Star wars episode 8 May (contains spoilers)

-Snoke is killed so easily another annoyance I felt was terrible. Their was such mystery behind this guy and rumors of him and for him to be killed so easily...terrible.

Same with Palpatine. Sometimes those that know they're above reproach become easily tricked by those they trust.

-no epic light saber battle between kylo and Luke. I, get the reasoning behind the the plot but, it could have been Still had a battle. It was appearing it was going there.

I distinctly remember a duel between them though. Yeah, not what we wanted, but its still there, lightsabres and all. He was just showing he didn't need it to school the Supreme Leader of the First Order, that for all their power they were nothing compared to a geriatric space hermit.

I think it is the same Luke, but just a bit more isolated and therefore less reactionary in the moment - being instead absorbed in the past by pretending to avoid it. As for Snoke demise and Rey's origins, I was fine with it, as to me the movies serve as spiritual metaphors and not actual universes to be populated with personalities in depth - and so the only waste would then be for those events to not serve that metaphorical potential. I much prefer that the Force is not inherited but rather developed by effort.... though that assumes one is to believe Kylo!

Luke’s attitude is different because he has closed himself off to the Force so that he can do no more harm. He is afraid of creating another Kylo. He believes he has failed as a Master. Yoda corrects him later when he encourages Rey’s training. He says “But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.”. This is what motivates Luke to face Kylo and sacrifice himself to save the others.

Snoke also understands the balance. He says so when he explains to Rey that the “darkness rises, and light to meet it.” He knows that no one side will ever dominate. That is why he connects Rey and Ben through the Force. They are both moving toward the middle with Kylo losing the mask and caring for Rey while she puts faith in him to turn back to the light. There is no light and dark, only gray. That is the message of this film.

We also don’t know if Kylo is telling the truth about Rey’s parents, if Luke will return as a ghost, or if Snoke is truly gone as well. Obi Wan has a way of reappearing at the right times just as Yoda does, so who knows?

And finally, a part often overlooked but very important to the whole saga is Anakin’s lightsaber. It went from Anakin’s death into the hands of Kenobi who passed it to Luke. Luke lost it with his hand, but it made its way to Rey through Maz and Finn. Kylo tried to recover it, but is instead struck down by it. Rey then returned it to Luke who discarded it, only to be recovered and used by Rey. Then Kylo kills Snoke with it. This one weapon is the key to the whole saga. It recognizes the next in line to continue the tradition of powerful Force users, and it always finds its way to the light. This saber was destroyed at the end of this movie, and Rey is left asking if “this is all we have” while holding the broken halves. Leia responds by saying “we have all we need”. It is a strong statement. There is no longer need for the weapon of light in a world of gray. It is the people, not the sides of the Force that determine the outcome. As Rose says, “we don’t win by killing what we hate, but by saving what we love.”