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Millions of people are going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens this weekend, and a majority of them aren’t diehard fans with knowledge of every character, planet and event that they’ve seen in the Star Wars movies, let alone could read about elsewhere. Most of us don’t know the details of what’s been going on in the Galaxy since the end of Return of the Jedi. Most of us haven’t paid attention to everything rumored or leaked or officially divulged about the new installment ahead of its release this week. Most of us just want to go to the theater, sit back and enjoy the show.
Afterward, we understandably have questions. Many of which are probably easily answered by fans who’ve read the new canon books or have other information. Some of which will likely be revealed as the trilogy continues. And a few of which will likely remain complete mysteries. God knows there are a lot of those already with this franchise. The following questions are a mix of all three, but for most of us it doesn’t matter what category each fits into. They simply concern things in The Force Awakens that have no explanation, for at least most viewers, and we want answers.
1. Should we know who Lor San Tekka is?
The character isn’t named in the movie, but Max von Sydow’s briefly appearing character is credited as “Lor San Tekka.” What is known in the context of the movie is he’s an ally to the Resistence and is apparently very familiar with Kylo Ren’s true identity, and with his family. It seemed maybe the old man was an aged version of a character we’ve seen before. If that’s the case, it’s not yet been let out of the bag. There’s a chance he actually will remain just some minor character who helped start the plot along, and his backstory reportedly involving him being a vicar of the Church of the Force is not important. Now I could ask what the Church of the Force is but that’s already brought us out of the movie enough.
2. Why hasn’t the Stormtrooper armor improved in the last 30 years?
Stormtroopers are defined by their uniform, and that uniform is not just something to conceal the identities of, and pretty much eliminate individual identity from, the drones who serve the First Order (and previously the Empire). But the clunky uniform should also be armor that protects them from being easily shot or lightsabered. Sure, they’re treated as disposable pieces of an army, but that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to be so vulnerable. They’re raised and trained to be soldiers, so they are assets. Make their suits blast proof!
3. Why is Captain Phasma so bad at her job?
Maybe the First Order isn’t very focused on maintaining those assets. After all, they’re not very well trained, and their superior, Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), is very bad at screening them for loyalty, before and after they’re thrown into important missions. She let one of her Stormtroopers, “Finn” (John Boyega), slip through her control and not just perform treason but do so by helping the First Order’s current most prized prisoner escape. Later, she was easily captured and then presumably thrown into a garbage compactor — which everyone seems to be in agreement is pretty much her Sarlacc pit. Perhaps one day she and Boba Fett find each other and realize they’re meant to fall in love, a union of cool-looking yet worthless characters.
4. Where did Poe Dameron go after crashing on Jakku?
Nobody thinks Poe (Oscar Isaacs) really died during his and Finn’s crash on Jakku, so why does the movie act like we might? Never mind, don’t answer that part. Worse is that when he landed on Jakku, he obviously didn’t try very hard to locate his little buddy, BB-8, despite the fact that he promised the droid he would and it was important that he locate the special puzzle piece MacGuffin he was responsible for. Instead, he retreats to the Resistance base and waits to hear, along with everyone else, if someone reports a sighting of the ball of cuteness. It’s also just a shame that we don’t get to follow the character more, maybe as a side plot. He’s so much fun in his scene with Kylo Ren, then he’s abandoned a while and when he returns for the battle against Starkiller Base he’s suddenly not that interesting.
5. How likely was it for Han Solo and Chewbacca to show up so quickly after the Millennium Falcon got into space?
What a weird and miraculous coincidence it seemed for it to be Han and Chewie pulling in the Millennium Falcon almost immediately once Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn and BB-8 are safe in space. Eventually we hear that the duo has been searching for the ship and were able to track it once it started moving, but why couldn’t they also so easily locate it while it was sitting on Jakku? Even with the explanation, it was one of the most difficult to believe story beats. At least that quickly.
6. How has Han never tried out Chewie’s bowcaster before?
Another hard to believe thing with Han and Chewie is that Han has never tried his friend’s awesome weapon until their battle on Takodana. Of course, he loves it and wants to use it more. Actually, maybe Chewie never let Han use it for that reason. But maybe they could have gotten another one. They’re clearly powerful and accurate shots, so everyone should want one.
7. Was that nurse flirting with Chewie?
Obviously this isn’t an important question for the plot of The Force Awakens, but it’s an important question for the whole Saga and Chewie’s role in it. He has never gotten a lot of respect in these movies, from his being denied a medal after the Battle of Yavin (in Star Wars) through all the name calling and being undervalued and taken for granted at every turn, to his primal hunger shaming on Endor (in Return of the Jedi). Finally he’s acknowledged as a hero by this nurse. Whatever her name is, she’s one of the best new characters of the franchise for that.
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