Passing on the Lightsaber

With the release date of the Last Jedi inching closer and closer, I've been analyzing Force Awakens and trying to find something that I haven't noticed before, maybe something that will be important in the upcoming movie. I've noticed something so simple, so small that I had overlooked it when first seeing it two years ago.

The scene I'm referring to is when Leia and Rey meet for the first time.

Now, granted, others have noticed things from this scene also, maybe even the same things I noticed. But when I figured it out it grabbed my attention and it all clicked: it was the passing of the lightsaber.

The original phrase is "passing the torch," which means to pass on responsibilities or duties to the next person or group. I tweaked this phrase to fit in with the Star Wars galaxy, and then my mind began to break down this scene over and over.

Rey and Leia had never met, although they must have heard about each other. But when they meet, it's a beautiful thing. Leia had sensed when Han had died. Rey had seen her father-like figure pierced with the lightsaber. Both ladies felt the deep pain that came with this loss, and both sensed the others sadness.

This scene is so touching. When Rey walks off the Millennium Falcon she looks incredibly sad. Hurt. Broken. Leia looks deeply sorrowed. They look at each other for a few moments and then embrace. Rey's expression is broken and hurt. Leia knows the feeling all too well. This embrace is so touching and motherly that I noticed immediately a friendship was born.

This scene sets up for Leia passing the lightsaber to Rey when she was about to leave to find Luke. As Rey is about to leave when Leia says, "Rey, may the force be with you." Rey smiles and walks away.

And that, my friends, is why Star Wars is beautiful.

Star Wars is about family, as Carrie Fisher herself said, and you feel it here. After three movies and forty years, Carrie, Harrison and Mark are passing on the lightsaber to the new crew, the ones who are now tasked to bring peace and security to the galaxy. Although Leia and Luke will, hopefully, still be around in the movies to come, it is Rey, Finn, and Poe's turn to lead the rebels.

It's time for them to be the heroes the galaxy needs them to be. The responsibility is on them now. The significance of this scene is crucial to understanding this new trilogy.