13
A scavenger finds her place
Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens
Writers: J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt
Director: J.J. Abrams
There has yet to be an ending of a Star Wars movie like the one in The Force Awakens. We’ve seen the brave downbeat end to The Empire Strikes Back, the jubilation of Return of the Jedi, A New Hope, and the peace orb happiness of The Phantom Menace, and the look toward new hope in Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Yet, never before have we had this wondrous combination of music, intrigue, purpose, and a look to what comes next. The Jedi Steps are the culmination of Rey’s first steps and the beginning of Luke’s final chapter. There is so much to it, but it all begins with a girl living alone on Jakku. You can’t help but imagine what Rey was thinking as she climbed those ancient steps on Ahch-To. To see it all from her perspective….
You’re on a forgotten planet in the Unknown Regions and landing on an island you’ve already seen in dreams. Only a short time ago you were on the surface of a planet turned superweapon defending your new friend—your only friend in ages—against a maniacal monster that had just killed his own father. With a hallowed blade now in your hands, you fought with your instincts, but it was not enough. As you pushed back against your enemy, fighting to stay alive, he offered you another path, but for the first time, you realized the power of the Force and willingly called to it. A timeless energy was now on your side and controlling your actions. And the steps keep going.
It hasn’t been long since you were held captive and tortured by this enemy as he invaded your very mind to take what he felt was his. Yet, in the process, as your fears were used against you, a strength you didn’t know you had emerged. You turned it against him and uncovered his fears. Soon, you escaped, only to watch one of the only beings you’ve ever trusted die. His spaceship is now fading into the background as you climb higher.
Your mind is still trying to make sense of the visions you received. A lightsaber, breathing, an encroaching evil, but the sense that there is more for you to come. It shocked you and shook you. The sense of it has yet to be revealed and you’re not even sure if you want that. Maz Kanata told you a truth you’re not ready to face. Everything you need is in front of you, there is nothing for you in your past. But as you climb, you’re not sure you want to face what’s ahead.
Your home seems so far away, but you were just there, feeling safe despite the struggles, and kept afloat by the routines. Though you’d don an old X-wing helmet and dream of adventures well beyond your sand-locked life, you never believed those adventures would happen. You never wanted them to, frankly. It was easier to mark each day on the walls of that repurposed walker, each scratched-out day another brick in the wall you built around yourself. Your dreams had promised you more, but your fears kept you firmly nowhere. And, now, you have climbed these steps and crested over a hill. You are not prepared for what awaits.
You were once a lowly scavenger far from the center of this universe. Your fears say that you have no place in the grand stories of the galaxy. You’ve heard the legends of the days of old. They reached your ears even out in the far Western Reaches. The greatest legend of them all was the fabled Jedi Luke Skywalker. He was a myth, a story, a tale from long ago. But now, here you are, standing before him, sent by the Force itself to pull him back into the fight. He’s real. It’s all real, including your newfound place in it all. The hope of many now rests in your hands. Your journey has just begun, and you can’t comprehend the turns it will take, the challenges it will create, and, from here, you have no idea that the most important lessons ahead of you will be learned on your own. But, at this moment, now, with the ancient steps behind you like the life you once clung to, you are at the center of the story. All hope is with you. As the weight of the moment circles around you and the doubts and the fears still threaten to engulf you, as the Jedi before you sees you like a challenge, not a calling, you hold out your hand, not knowing what comes next. There’s only one thing you know: you’ve climbed up from nowhere and the top of these steps is where you belong.