Since what feels like the beginning of time, Star Wars fans have been debating anything and everything they can about the series. But these “super fans” are not ultimately the majority of the people spending money at the box office seeing these films. What about the casual fans? The ones who are just looking for a good time at the theater? Well, I decided to ask a few of them some of the controversial hot topic debate questions from the Sequel Trilogy. To try and get the opinion of fans that don’t talk about Star Wars every day of their lives. For this I went to the most casual fans I know:
My Family.
Let’s set the scene. You have my parents: both of which had seen the Original Trilogy in theaters. They raised me on Star Wars but when asked who Ahsoka Tano is, neither of them could answer. They’re movie fans. That’s it. And then my sister and her husband. They’ve seen the movies, but had no problem waiting a week or two for the crowds to die down if that tells you anything. So here we are at the dinner table and they’ve agreed to answer my questions. Maybe in the hopes that I will finally stop talking about Star Wars after this, but either way, they appeased me.
What is your favorite trilogy?
Both my parents settled easily on the original. My brother in law said the sequels. And then my sister, the wildcard coming in with the prequel trilogy, because I quote, “Anakin is hot.”
Is Rey a Mary Sue?
This question caused some very confused looks. None of them had ever heard this term before. And so I quickly explained. Only my sister said yes. And this caused an all out war. There was actual yelling. She questioned why she had so much power and her husband yelled at her from across the table, ‘BECAUSE SHE’S A PALPATINE!”. If anything this was more entertaining than actually getting to the bottom of this question.
Is The Last Jedi a Good Movie?
Unanimous yes.
Is The Rise of Skywalker a Good Movie?
Surprisingly also yes. All four of them liked both of these movies and did not question retcons.
How Do You Feel About Rose Tico?
All of them really liked her. My sister expressed frustration that she was not used in TROS enough. And my brother in law seemed genuinely upset that her and Finn did not end up together romantically. I see you, you little Finnrose. You’re not alone.
How Do You Feel About Holdo?
And this is where I was shocked. None of them knew who this was. I quickly explained the woman with the purple hair. To which my sister asked if she had “blacked out” during that part of the movie. And then my mother finally annouced, “Oh! Laura Dern!” Once they figured that out, they said they didn’t like her. I asked why. My father said that he liked her part in the movie but didn’t personally like that she was secretive.
Is Rey a Skywalker?
Oh boy. My family seemed to agree that yes, at the end of TROS, Rey is now a Skywalker. But…my dad seems to think it was because she married Ben? He was very adamant about it. Like their dyad meant they were married so she was part of the family now. Even as a Reylo I was stunned.
Was Reylo Romantic? And Do You Like Reylo?
Well, obviously we know where my father stands on this. But all of them agreed that the Reylo kiss was of course romantic. However, they were split on liking it. My father and brother in law did like it. My mother said Kylo was creepy. And my sister apparently wanted Rey to end up with Poe. So fifty/fifty on this one.
Are You Okay With Ben Dying?
Shockingly, no. No, they all wish that he had lived.
Are You Okay With Palpatine Coming Back?
Yes. They all were.
Do You Wish You’d Learned More About Snoke?
Most of them said no, they really didn’t care. But my father said yes, he wished he’d learned more.
Overall, this was a fun experience. So often we see the opinions of a very vocal minority. It was nice to hear the answers to these questions from a group of people who would NEVER in a million years go to twitter to talk about Star Wars. But love the movies all the same. I think it’s important to remember as super fans, that the casual fan exists. And that their opinions might not be what you expect.
