215
votes
If Luke Skywalker didn’t want to be found, why did he leave a map?
Throughout the movie people kept calling it a "map to Luke Skywalker" but I think they were being a bit sloppy with their phrasing.
At one point, Han mentions that everyone believes Luke left to find ...
- 103k
146
votes
Accepted
Why does Kylo Ren wear a mask?
Psychological warfare. Vader was the death dealing wizard right hand man of the evil emperor for well over a generation. More than likely, his image is still enough to put a good portion of the ...
- 22.4k
136
votes
Accepted
Was Kylo Ren's lightsaber activated by the character that it then killed?
The film's official novelisation categorically disproves this theory
Then, as the light from outside was fully blocked by the flow of
descending, accumulating dark energy, Ren ignited the ...
- 652k
115
votes
How could a raw, untrained Force user be so adept at using the Force?
You seem to be forgetting that the character in question was already a more than capable fighter.
Earlier in the movie;
This clearly demonstrates that the character in question has some fighting ...
- 25.6k
113
votes
Which 'finger' was BB-8 sticking up?
The novelisation of the film explicitly states that it is indeed intended to be a "thumbs-up" from BB-8
“Doing the best I can down here.” Rey vanished again. As soon as she
was out of sight,...
- 652k
108
votes
Why does Kylo Ren respond to his birth name?
If you're referring to the scene where...
part of the point of that scene is that, for this once, he takes down the walls around the side of him that's a vulnerable, non-evil emo kid and son of Han ...
- 10.9k
104
votes
Accepted
In Episode VI, what did the good guys really accomplish since the bad guys are back stronger in Episode VII?
The Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star II and the Sith were defeated, leading to the eventual defeat of the Empire. The Empire was forced to sign the Galactic Concordance, which limited the ...
Null♦
- 69.3k
101
votes
Why is Luke searching for the First Jedi Temple?
Right now it's anybody's guess what the in-universe explanation is. But thematically, the entirety of Ep.7 is about trying to find a way home, full stop. The First Order is trying to "make the Empire ...
- 945
95
votes
Accepted
How are Stormtroopers uniquely identified in the field?
There's a canon (even Disney canon) explanation of this in Before the Awakening, in the first chapter, p5-6 (of the paperback):
FN-2187 crouched down and looked in the indicated direction. They ...
- 2,084
90
votes
Why does Rey wear the same outfit in different environments?
I'm not aware of an explicit answer in the movie or the novelization, but it seems pretty self explanatory to me:
Rey is an orphaned, impoverished scavenger who lives a hand to mouth existence. She ...
- 68.5k
86
votes
Accepted
Why was Han Solo acting like he’s never seen Chewbacca’s bowcaster before?
In the now-Legends EU continuity, Chewbacca was constantly tinkering with his bowcasters. That's right - bowcasters, as in plural. He owned several, and liked to upgrade and customize them. Both Han ...
- 62.7k
82
votes
Why did Han seem unhappy that Rey bypassed the compressor?
When I saw that scene, I figured it was two things.
One was that a young thing was moving faster than him and matching him for skill with his ship, his baby. She basically had mastered the thing he ...
- 1,475
81
votes
Accepted
Why hasn't Anakin Skywalker's Force Ghost advised Kylo Ren?
I'm afraid the answer is something unanticipatingly simple and banal: there was no point.
Assuming that you meant Anakin the Good Guy's Force Ghost from ROTJ Special Edition:
Anakin's Force Ghost ...
- 340k
77
votes
Accepted
Why give this character his old lightsaber?
She was reaching out to a man who had shut himself away from the galaxy...
...by giving him something that he has a personal connection to — his long-lost lightsaber.
Even if she was aware of ...
- 110k
76
votes
Accepted
Have we ever seen TIE fighters/bombers operating in atmosphere before?
In The Empire Strikes Back, we see TIE Fighters in the atmosphere of Bespin, not the vacuum of space, when the Millennium Falcon is being chased after rescuing Luke.
...
- 2,033
76
votes
Accepted
Why was the image of Supreme Leader Snoke not "scaled to fit our primitive screens"?
I would say the answer is as simple as an intimidation factor...
From the primary canon, we see Emperor Palpatine use the same technique in The Empire Strikes Back. He wanted to project himself larger ...
- 59.4k
73
votes
Accepted
Why does Kylo Ren's lightsaber look different from normal lightsabers?
TFA Visual Dictionary addresses this on page 26 "Kylo Ren: The Dark Warrior":
The blade looks this way because it is unstable plasma blade Matrix
This has to do with three facts also quoted on the ...
- 340k
72
votes
Accepted
What does the writing on Poe Dameron's flight vest say?
It's clearly in Aurebesh, so we're going to need a translation table1:
Now, what's tricky is that the text is upside-down, so we have to do a bit more detective work. Here's a pretty high-res shot of ...
- 161k
67
votes
Why isn't the First Order the Second Order?
Pure speculation, but I'd like to point out that an in-universe answer may relate to the use of "first" in a context other than to mean chronologically, but instead to mean "primary", or "foremost". ...
- 12.2k
66
votes
Accepted
Why did C-3PO not have a red arm at the end of The Force Awakens?
It was replaced. We don't know why or how, yet, but the WGA script explicitly notes that:
EXT. D'QAR - DAY
The Millennium Falcon RISES.
Leia, with Poe, BB-8, and C-3PO (with his proper arm ...
- 340k
65
votes
Accepted
Is there any in-universe reason for a stormtrooper to use a melee weapon against Finn?
According to a prequel novel "Before the Awakening", the First Order stormtroopers:
Were trained with melee weapons
Were specifically instructed which melee weapons were effective against ...
- 340k
64
votes
Accepted
Where did the sun's energy get sucked into Starkiller Base?
According to the film's official novelisation, the 'dark energy' from the local star is channeled into gigantic "collectors" on the backside of the Starkiller Base planet. It's stored inside the core, ...
- 652k
62
votes
Why was the image of Supreme Leader Snoke not "scaled to fit our primitive screens"?
Don't forget, sometimes holograms are one-way recordings (as was Leia's) and sometimes they are two-way interactions (as with Snoke). In Leia's case, you can see she's looking down. Why? Because ...
- 531
61
votes
In Episode VI, what did the good guys really accomplish since the bad guys are back stronger in Episode VII?
This answer necessarily includes spoilers from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, as well as the original trilogy. Spoiler tags have not been used, as discussing these spoilers is the entirety of ...
- 2,196
61
votes
Why give this character his old lightsaber?
First of all, Rey offering Luke her weapon shows that she means no harm. But there is much more significance to offering that particular weapon.
The lightsaber belonged to Luke's father before him. ...
- 36.7k
60
votes
How did the planets not freeze over after the attack from Starkiller Base?
It will, but the timeframe for that to occur is longer than the few days the movie is set in. Residual heat will keep the planet surface (atmosphere) warm for a few days for the same reason we on this ...
- 4,434
57
votes
Accepted
What is the object in the opening shot of The Force Awakens?
That's no moon...
...or, actually it is; according to the leaked script, anyway (emphasis mine):
PAN across the star field to a bright moon. A RUMBLING is FELT. A VAST STAR DESTROYER -- unlike any we ...
- 161k
56
votes
Accepted
Is there evidence to suggest that Supreme Leader Snoke is Darth Plagueis?
UPDATE #3
As of The Last Jedi release (12/2017), there was almost[1] NO additional canon information that clarified who or what Snoke was. We see a better image of him in Episode VIII, we see details ...
- 340k
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