By Molly Briggs ’19, News Editor and Nellie Shih ’19, A&E Editor

Warning: spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Sorry, Ms. Thornberry)

            In this eighth installment of the Star Wars universe, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has his world turned upside down (again). When Rey (Daisy Ridley) shows up on his doorstep asking for his help to train her and to help his sister General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) lead the Resistance against the First Order, he realizes he has more of a connection to the fight than he’d originally thought. The First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Luke’s nephew Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), is determined to wipe out Leia and the Resistance and gain control of the entire galaxy. We asked our resident Star Wars experts what they thought of the newest film:

Q: Oscar Isaac (Poe) has said before that he loves Porgs, and that he’s ‘pro-Porg’. John Boyega (Finn), on the other hand, hates Porgs. What are your thoughts on Porgs?

            Mr. Christiansen: I really don’t care enough.

            Mr. Ditullio: I love the Porgs and their interaction with Chewy.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Anti-porg.

Q: What’s your favorite character?

            Mr. Christiansen: Oh sweet Jesus. See I’m biased because my favorite character in Game of Thrones is Brienne so I want to like Captain Phasma, but she’s a “zero character.” On the other hand, I have such an emotional connection to Luke Skywalker that I can’t see anyone overtaking him.

            Mr. Ditullio: Poe. I love fighter pilots, and to me he’s the new Wedge Antilles.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Rey.

Q: How did you feel about Luke’s characterization?

            Mr. Christiansen: It started off hermitted and curmudgeonly for me. I felt like there were two Lukes – he  was classic whiny Luke at the beginning then he transitioned to the Jedi master you were hoping for.

            Mr. Ditullio: The first time, I hated it. Then I grew to like it. I liked how they grew him; he wasn’t as predictable and he almost escalated to Yoda’s level when he died.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Awesome. For the first time in the series, he actually behaves like a Jedi Master.

Q: What did you think of Laura Dern’s character Vice Admiral Holdo?

            Mr. Christiansen: I wished there was more about her. It was such a clear attempt at a setup, she just came out of nowhere. But she was a different character than the other leaders: she was cold, stoic, analytical, and calculating, showing the  intellectual side of the Resistance. Her humanity was revealed, however, when she said “I really like [Poe].” It was awesome when she fired the ship, and interesting because you were asking yourself what she was operating with. Either way, she acted bravely, and I liked how for a short term character, she was developed quickly.

            Mr. Ditullio: I loved how the entire time you’re wondering, is she a traitor? But you eventually realized that wasn’t the case at all. I enjoyed the way they kind of faked the audience out.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Eh. For how important her role became, I think her character should have been developed earlier in the movie.

Q: What did you think of the new character Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran)?

            Mr. Christiansen: I’m ambivalent because she is a development of the casino scene, which I hate so much (except for the little kid who was a Jedi at the end). She was an obvious attempt to make a social and political statement, but I liked her, and hopefully she will be developed more later.

            Mr. Ditullio: I loved her character development and how they showed the tech savvy side of her. I also loved how she’s a not big fighting hero and that shows how any one of us can be a hero, but I didn’t like the love triangle they were setting up between Finn, Rose, and Rey.

            Mr. Faulhaber: I thought she was great!  Another solid Rebel.

Q: What’s your OTP?

            Mr. Christiansen: If we’re talking power couples, I wonder, could Hux form alliance with Rebels to get rid of Kylo? I would also love to see an accord between soul of Kylo and soul of Rey and the accord between the dark and the light. If we’re talking romantic relationships then Poe and Rey.

            Mr. Ditullio: Poe and BB-8.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Poe and BB-8.

Q: How would you rank all the episodes, 1-8 and Rogue One?

            Mr. Christiansen: The Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, Return of the Jedi, Rogue One, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and in reverse order of absolute suckitude: The Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars, and The Phantom Menace.

            Mr. Ditullio: Don’t do that to me.

            Mr. Faulhaber: 5, 8, Rogue One, 6, 7, 3, 4, 2, 1.

Q: What was your favorite scene?

            Mr. Christiansen: My favorite visual was when Snoke gets cut in half and Rey grabs the lightsaber. The scene that had the best power factor was the silence when Holdo goes through the First Order ship, but the scene that had the most movie fun was Kylo and Rey “whooping ass.”

            Mr. Ditullio: My favorite scene was when Luke walks out of the lasers Kylo Ren fire at him and once you know Luke’s not really there, you notice the little details like how Luke has no footprints in the salt. And when Kylo Ren orders Hux to fire the lasers at Luke: “Which ones?” “All of them!” Then, “Do you think you got him?”

Mr. Faulhaber: The end with Luke. He finally saved everyone else instead of others always saving him.

Q: Who do you think Snoke is?

            Mr. Christiansen: I do not think he’s Darth Vader, because in Return of the Jedi, his ghost was shown as light-side Anakin. But in the books, you can’t fly around Endor because where Palpatine died there was a black hole, so it could be him. But it also could be Darth Plagueis, the former Sith Lord and Palpatine’s trainer. I really have no idea, but I do know that you don’t want to base the whole universe on two families.

            Mr. Ditullio: At this point, no one. I would’ve thought that he was somebody huge but with the way they handled him in Episode 8, they threw away the character.

            Mr. Faulhaber: I don’t really care. He’s dead.

Q: What do you think will happen to Leia?

            Mr. Christiansen: I have no idea, but here’s how I would do it: I would open the next episode with the funeral of Princess Leia, acknowledging Carrie Fisher’s death. It would separate it and move the story forward, since Luke gave his life to let rebellion continue and since then Leia has led us, but now she’s gone.

            Mr. Ditullio: Hopefully not free floating through the vacuum of space… I think she’s going to be taking more of a backseat and you’re gonna see a power transition as she’s trying to pass leadership on to the next generation. You already saw that at the end when Leia was like “What are you looking at me for?” when Poe was giving orders.

            Mr. Faulhaber: I think the next movie will take place 5-10 years after The Last Jedi, so they will simply say in the opening scroll that Leia has died.

Q: Do you think Rey’s parents are really nobodies or was Kylo Ren lying?

Mr. Christiansen: I have no idea.

Mr. Ditullio: Judging by the way they did all the major plotlines in Episode 8, I don’t think he’s lying.

Mr. Faulhaber: I hope they are nobodies. The odds of her coming from someone we know is pretty slim if you consider the whole galaxy.

Q: What are your opinions on Luke Skywalker’s death?

            We unfortunately ran out of time to ask Mr. Christiansen this and the next question due to his thoughtful responses.

            Mr. Ditullio: I have mixed opinions: I hate to see a beloved character go down, but the way he went down was very much on his own terms, and I thought it was very Yoda–like.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Necessary and appropriate.

Q: Should Kylo be redeemed?

            Mr. Ditullio: I hope not, because if they do then they’re just replaying Episode 6.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Still unsure.

Q: What was your favorite thing and least favorite thing about the film?

            Mr. Christiansen: I hated the slapstick comedy aspect of it, but I did love seeing it with Mr. Faulhaber because it was so much fun. The theater environment was amazing with everybody clapping when the Lucasfilm logo came on screen and again when the crawl came up.

            Mr. Ditullio: My least favorite thing was, again, Leia floating through vacuum of space, and my favorite was the introduction of new characters mingling with our beloved characters to help advance the storyline.

            Mr. Faulhaber: Least favorite – Leia flying through space. Favorite – Rey’s spunk throughout the entire movie. She’s a beast.

Personally between us (Molly and Nellie), we really enjoyed the movie overall, and would place it in the top half of our rankings of the Star Wars films. We especially liked the throne room scene, and Molly won’t shut up about the lightsaber splitting. We also loved the dramatic effect of the complete silence of the scene when Vice Admiral Holdo drove the ship into the First Order star destroyer. We’re looking forward to see how JJ Abrams will return to conclude the trilogy as the focus shifts to the new trio, Kylo Ren, and Rose.

**If you are interested, we have also included a link to making a milkshake based on Luke’s green-milk :)**