Wow! That is absolutely the first and only word I can start with. When I embarked on this journey, I never expected it to turn out like this! Who'd have thought that I'd churn out over 60 chapters to tell this story? Certainly not me!  I had an outline, but, wow!

I absolutely have to thank all of the readers and other authors in this community from the bottom of my heart. You are all awesome, and have made this so very special to me. When I joined this community just over a year ago, like many of you, I did so to heal my broken heart – caused by TROS. Never had a movie affected me as deeply as TROS did. I've always been a die hard Star Wars fan (Like many, I can probably recite almost every line from the original trilogy), but I fell in love with the characters of the sequel trilogy after TLJ. I'll freely admit that I am a romantic at heart. Even before I knew what "Reylo" meant, after I'd seen TLJ, I remember thinking about whether they'd actually have Ben and Rey end up together in the final installment – and how they might make that happen. I was so excited! I thought, "Hey, its Disney now! The Prince and Princess usually get a happily ever after!" 😊 Little did we know however.....

So, after reading a good many fanfics, I set out to write my own – my very first fanfic. And oh wow – what a ride! I am an avid reader, but hadn't written anything in a very, very long time. And I've never written anything as long as this fic. Its opened the door to a passion I had completely forgotten about, and for that I am eternally grateful.

When I started writing this fic, I mentioned that once I got to the end, I'd outline the reasons why I was so disappointed in TROS, so here are the four key reasons that I originally hated the movie. It's a bit (okay, a lot) of a rant – so if you don't want to read things like that, feel free to stop here. I won't be offended 😝.  And I have potty mouth and won't be holding back... 

1. BRINGING BACK EMPEROR PALPATINE WAS LAZY WRITING

I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I heard that fucking voice in the trailers. My immediate thought was, really? Seriously? I mean, lets face it, if they were going to bring the guy back, they really should've sprinkled some breadcrumbs through the previous two movies – but they didn't. Nada. Zip. Absolutely nothing. The only reason for that is because they had no clue that they were going to do that at the time. And so someone at some point (probably JJ Abrams) came up with this eureka moment when they were struggling to find the main plot of the story (likely after they fired the first guy and got rid of his story).

There was soooo much they could've done had they planned it in advance, and the whole thing could've ended up far, far better than it did. The one thing that I do have to say is that I did like the notion of the Grandson of Darth Vader having a Force Dyad with the Granddaughter of the Emperor – and them ending up together – it was quite eloquent. But unfortunately they fucked that up too. (sorry – I really do have quite a potty mouth in real life).

Because of this nonsense and lazy, shitty writing, I will never, ever willingly pay money to go see any movies by JJ Abrams ever again. (and I used to like the new Star Trek movies....).

2. REY STARTED THE MOVIE ALONE AND SHE FINISHED IT ALONE

My first thought at that ending scene was WTF? I can't say how much this entire circumstance pissed me off, and just disturbed me on a purely human level!! Regardless of everything that had happened till that point, Rey was supposed to have found a new family with the Resistance, yet she was utterly and entirely alone at the end. Where were these newfound friends? At the very least, they should've been waiting on the Falcon for her, with the ending showing her walking towards them once she finished burying the sabers and watching the dual sunset. But no. Oh no.

Somehow, I think that there were two things at play here. The first being Kathleen Kennedy's belief in a strong, female heroine – one that needs no man. (BTW I am so glad that crazy bitch is gone because I honestly believe that it was her vision of the sequel trilogy that fucked it all up.) But not needing a man (hence her not getting a happily ever after) is entirely different from being alone. I would've thought that, with all the loneliness, etc that Rey experienced growing up, they wouldn't have let her end it like that. Again, if she didn't get a happily ever after, her friends should have been waiting nearby.

Secondly, I honestly believe that there was some deep seated misogyny at play here. The strong woman succeeded in saving the galaxy – but she still ended up alone. Because men don't want strong women, right? They like weak minded women whom they can rescue and then pound their chests. Strong women are crazy, angry women, that strong men don't want. My response to this? Fuck you JJ and Kathleen – strong women can have equal partnerships with their equally strong husbands (or whatever significant other). Rey and Ben were equals – equally strong – how perfectly eloquent would that have been! And THAT is a message that I would have thought that Disney – of all corporations out there – would have wanted reinforced.

Imagine what they could've done with Ben Solo surviving and ending up with Rey Palpatine/Skywalker??? I believe that Rian Johnson used to refer to them as the Prince and Princess of the galaxy (or something like that). How appropriately Disney!! Yes, Kylo Ren was a BAD MO-FO, but they could've leveraged the notion (and value) that EVERYONE can change for the better. (yes, they tried to do that by having him turn and then give his life to save her – but.... Nope, it just wasn't enough). There were ways they could have done it – and used some variations in the story to make it work (e.g. we all get that its hard for the bad guy to become good without facing justice)....but they could have done it – with good, old fashioned creativity and good writing.  (e.g. they could have made him good at heart, but convinced to do bad things for really good reasons... whatever...).

3. REY WAS COLD TO KYLO/BEN FOR MOST OF THE MOVIE

When I saw TROS, the first time Rey and Kylo Force connected, I was so confused. I was like WTF? Yes, of course she was hurt and angry at him for staying Kylo after the Supremacy (and the shit he did on Crait and in the time afterward), but she was a COLD HEARTED BITCH to him every time they connected in this moving. Even though she was conflicted internally about her darkness, I wouldn't have expected her to be so cold to him. There was always emotion literally pouring off of Kylo/Ben towards her (I've now seen the movie several times so I know I'm not imagining it), and she didn't respond/react to it at all. I would have expected her anger (after all, he did continue to be kill her people and others), tempered by a little understanding. And although their epic lightsaber battle on Kef bier was amazing, I still don't actually understand the reason for it – but maybe I'm a bit thick..... would love to hear other people's perspective on this, since it felt very much like an unnecessary gratuitous but grandiose fight scene up until she healed him.

IMHO there was no warmth from Rey towards him until the moment she healed him. That just seems very incongruous with who Rey is. She has boundless compassion – and understood him better than anyone else (having been in his head). So her attitude towards him was just weird – and felt off most of the time. I don't blame Daisy Ridley at all – she was likely just doing what she was told.

4. KILLING OFF BEN SOLO CHANGED THE SKYWALKER LEGACY TO A TRAGEDY

This is my biggest, and the most insurmountable issue with TROS. The Skywalker legacy, although flawed and not perfect, was the embodiment of the notion that good conquers evil. But killing them all off – making the line just END was not only the stupidest thing (from a future story and moneymaking perspective) but it was also the most short sighted thing they could have done in terms of the overall congruity of the story. Why? Because it required the ultimate sacrifice. There are no Skywalker's left. None. Poof. Gone. Bye bye. (I have seen rumours etc that there will somehow magically be children that Rey has that are supposed to be Ben Solo's but... yeah... good luck waving your magic want to create that story).

So, the entire Skywalker line is gone – their only purpose having been to rid the galaxy of the evil Emperor. Now, there is some eloquence to that – but the family – their legacy – should be able to have had some reward, by living on and creating more little Skywalkers. This could have been accomplished by..... oh my? What a thought? Have Ben Solo survive. Even if they didn't want Ben and Rey to end up as a couple, they could have left him alive (again, the future story possibilities are endless if they had done so...). Instead, if they want to build upon it now, they have to invent shit related to the Force and the World Between Worlds. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

So, thanks JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, and Disney execs. Your lack of foresight, focus on making money, and trying to keep everyone happy (while ultimately satisfying no one) has literally ruined an iconic movie franchise. I've seen so much amazing imagination from the authors in this community. So if little ol' us can come up with creative ways to make the story work FOR FREE, how could your well paid lackeys fail so abysmally?

I'd love to see the ending of TROS retconned – and I'd love to know what they'd originally planned for the ending before Kathleen Kennedy supposedly changed it, causing them to have to do a whole bunch of last minute re-shoots. I'm pretty sure that we'll never know, unless someone involved eventually talks. But Disney's reach is likely far too powerful for anyone to risk it. 😢

JJ Abrams has been adamant that Ben Solo was always supposed to die in TROS – and he's maintained that that never changed. Okay....a little bit of truth to hide the big lie. BUT......One of the many rumours about the original ending is that Ben Solo – not Rey - was supposed to be the ultimate hero – the Chosen One. He was supposed to "turn" and go to Exogol to fight Palpatine (which he did), and that the Jedi of the past were all there – especially Anakin - who imbued him with their strength – and helped his Grandson to defeat Palpatine. He was not supposed to be thrown into that pit and out of the action. It is just plainly odd to most of us that Adam Driver had not one single line (other than Ow!) after he turned. Hmmmm. Something was clearly amiss....

So, rumour is that he was the one to have fought Palpatine – and he successfully killed him. But when he did, Palpatine's spirit transferred into Ben (just like he'd taunted Rey would happen if she killed him), and that Rey had to kill Ben to finally get rid of Palpatine's spirit (and the Jedi of the past who were still "there" helped take Palpatine's sprit away so it couldn't attach to Rey). And of course.... Rey then healed Ben afterwards ... and tah dah! Happily ever after. Ben was supposed to be beside Rey watching that dual sunset on Tatooine... there was a lot of speculation about that - and the weird space between her and BB8. Google it if you haven't seen it....

Honestly – if that's what they had originally shot – and they changed it to the ending we got (again, because KK wanted REY to be the savior), they were idiots. Complete and utter idiots. This "rumoured" ending would've been amazing, and IMHO would've fit into the entire story, tying the many threads together that were left hanging from not only the entire trilogy but the saga as a whole...

Again, I don't think we'll ever know. If in the animated series or comics, Disney does try to somehow use some magic to bring Ben Solo back or use some cosmic kink to make Ben Solo the father of Rey's children – then that's great for the Star Wars universe, but bad for us fans who were basically gipped of Rey and Ben's happily ever after! Its so stupid that its okay to do this in the animated series, comics, and novelizations, but not in the movies.

Anyhow, now that I've gotten that off my chest (whoo! That was cathartic!), I have to thank all of you – from the bottom of my heart – for reading, liking (or not LOL), commenting, and otherwise making this such a fun and amazing part of my life for the past many months. I will probably eventually write a sequel, but I have a few other stories that are bursting to get out first. Namely, a shorter Reylo AU, as well as a post-TROS fic to fix all the BS that I've outlined above.

THANK YOU TO YOU ALL.  You are all amazing!

May the Force be with you. Always.