Rey vs...: A discussion on effective use of the Force in combat.
Posted: 2018-09-05 11:20pm
So, I was thinking recently about Rey, and how her powers match up to various other Star Wars characters. And for all the fuss over Rey's abilities, it occurs to me that she is actually not really high-end in what she can do. In how fast she's learned it, yes, and she probably will be on the level of a Skywalker or a Palpatine or a Yoda one day. But not yet. In particular, I would point to one glaring absence in her skillset as of TLJ: combat telekinesis.
In Star Wars, the nature and use of the Force, and various characters' abilities with it, is portrayed somewhat inconsistently. However, one thing that is fairly consistent is that the ability to effectively, reliably use telekinesis in combat is reserved for the most powerful characters. In the films, the only persons to do so are Vader, Palpatine, Dooku, and Yoda. Three experienced Sith Lords (one of them the fallen Chosen One) and a Jedi Grand Master with 900 years' experience. Other characters use it occasionally (Kenobi, Luke, and Asohka all come to mind, as do Darth Maul and Assaj Ventress), but not to the point that they rely on it extensively in combat. And even these characters are generally among the more skilled fighters. Various reasons have been offered for this- Jedi unwillingness to use the Force as a weapon is one that I've seen in the past, as is the degree of concentration required to use the Force under the pressure of combat. I think the latter one is more likely- we do see Jedi use (generally non-lethal) combat TK, but generally only the more capable ones. And the concentration issue would fit with Grievous's training in the (now non-canon) Clone Wars shorts, where Dooku stresses the need for surprise and intimidation when facing Jedi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKgv6xyY5MM
But whatever the reason, this ability seems to be largely confined to the most power Force users. The films bear this out repeatedly, beyond which characters are shown to use combat telekinesis extensively: in their duel in Attack of the Clones, Dooku and Yoda (among the most powerful Force users in the galaxy) duel at first exclusively with the Force, and only resort to sabers as a sort of tie-breaker upon finding themselves too evenly-matched. In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine is the sole OT Force user never to use a light saber. The old Legends EU backed this up at times as well. The (also now non-canon, sadly) novel Dark Lord has Palpatine comment along the lines of "The Sith have grown beyond the need for light sabers, but we continue to use them, if only to humiliate the Jedi." And in the Thrawn Trilogy, the Jedi Master C'baoth never uses a light saber, relying entirely on mind control, telekinesis and lightning in combat. So it seems that relying heavily on combat telekinesis is fairly consistently a high-end power, perhaps even a yardstick by which true mastery of the combative aspects of the Force can be somewhat reliably measured.
Which brings us to Rey. At no point, to the best of my recollection, has she used combat telekinesis on-screen whatsoever, unless you count the two times that she tried to pull Anakin's lightsaber to her- both of which cases involved moving a single small object, when she was not under direct attack. Her confrontation with Snoke, meanwhile, shows her as almost completely helpless against telekinetic attacks, in probably the most lopsided fight between two major Force users in canon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOTQy10pi0
Now, its possible that after her breakthrough with the rocks at the end of TLJ, Rey will demonstrate combat TK in the next film. But at present she has demonstrated neither the ability to use it, or to defend against it.
So my question is: leaving aside character shields/pure luck/intervention by the Will of the Force, is there any major villain from a prior Star Wars film or series who Rey could take in a fight, one-on-one? Who is the strongest opponent she would actually stand a reasonable chance of beating? I've included the following villains in the poll in order of their level of power and skill (as I perceive it):
-Jango Fett.
-The Inquisitor (season one of "Rebels").
-General Grievous.
-Assaj Ventress.
-Darth Maul.
-Count Dooku.
-Darth Vader.
-Darth Sideous/Emperor Palpatine.
And my honest conclusion is that she would likely be seriously challenged by any individual on this list save perhaps Jango (who has no Force powers) and the Inquisitor, and that she would almost certainly loose to Dooku, Vader, and Palpatine (all of whom have shown extensive proficiency in combat telekinesis), although it is just possible that youth and raw power could allow her to overwhelm Dooku much as Anakin did on the Invisible Hand, or Vader as Luke did in RotJ*, if she went all-out (likely drawing on the Dark Side) and managed to close to saber range. If they simply hit her with TK (or lightning) from range, on the other hand, she'd have little or no chance. This is not a point against Rey as a character ("power levels" and combat skills have little or nothing to do with character quality), nor an attempt to assert that she is weak in the Force (obviously untrue). Just an interesting perspective on her abilities in comparison with prior films, and how that reflects the difference between a neophyte Force user (of any innate strength) and the true mastery that comes with greater experience and discipline.
*I would personally assess Rey's overall abilities as being roughly comparable to RotJ Luke, at this point, although stronger or weaker in some particular areas.
Edited because I forgot to add the poll before posting.
In Star Wars, the nature and use of the Force, and various characters' abilities with it, is portrayed somewhat inconsistently. However, one thing that is fairly consistent is that the ability to effectively, reliably use telekinesis in combat is reserved for the most powerful characters. In the films, the only persons to do so are Vader, Palpatine, Dooku, and Yoda. Three experienced Sith Lords (one of them the fallen Chosen One) and a Jedi Grand Master with 900 years' experience. Other characters use it occasionally (Kenobi, Luke, and Asohka all come to mind, as do Darth Maul and Assaj Ventress), but not to the point that they rely on it extensively in combat. And even these characters are generally among the more skilled fighters. Various reasons have been offered for this- Jedi unwillingness to use the Force as a weapon is one that I've seen in the past, as is the degree of concentration required to use the Force under the pressure of combat. I think the latter one is more likely- we do see Jedi use (generally non-lethal) combat TK, but generally only the more capable ones. And the concentration issue would fit with Grievous's training in the (now non-canon) Clone Wars shorts, where Dooku stresses the need for surprise and intimidation when facing Jedi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKgv6xyY5MM
But whatever the reason, this ability seems to be largely confined to the most power Force users. The films bear this out repeatedly, beyond which characters are shown to use combat telekinesis extensively: in their duel in Attack of the Clones, Dooku and Yoda (among the most powerful Force users in the galaxy) duel at first exclusively with the Force, and only resort to sabers as a sort of tie-breaker upon finding themselves too evenly-matched. In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine is the sole OT Force user never to use a light saber. The old Legends EU backed this up at times as well. The (also now non-canon, sadly) novel Dark Lord has Palpatine comment along the lines of "The Sith have grown beyond the need for light sabers, but we continue to use them, if only to humiliate the Jedi." And in the Thrawn Trilogy, the Jedi Master C'baoth never uses a light saber, relying entirely on mind control, telekinesis and lightning in combat. So it seems that relying heavily on combat telekinesis is fairly consistently a high-end power, perhaps even a yardstick by which true mastery of the combative aspects of the Force can be somewhat reliably measured.
Which brings us to Rey. At no point, to the best of my recollection, has she used combat telekinesis on-screen whatsoever, unless you count the two times that she tried to pull Anakin's lightsaber to her- both of which cases involved moving a single small object, when she was not under direct attack. Her confrontation with Snoke, meanwhile, shows her as almost completely helpless against telekinetic attacks, in probably the most lopsided fight between two major Force users in canon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOTQy10pi0
Now, its possible that after her breakthrough with the rocks at the end of TLJ, Rey will demonstrate combat TK in the next film. But at present she has demonstrated neither the ability to use it, or to defend against it.
So my question is: leaving aside character shields/pure luck/intervention by the Will of the Force, is there any major villain from a prior Star Wars film or series who Rey could take in a fight, one-on-one? Who is the strongest opponent she would actually stand a reasonable chance of beating? I've included the following villains in the poll in order of their level of power and skill (as I perceive it):
-Jango Fett.
-The Inquisitor (season one of "Rebels").
-General Grievous.
-Assaj Ventress.
-Darth Maul.
-Count Dooku.
-Darth Vader.
-Darth Sideous/Emperor Palpatine.
And my honest conclusion is that she would likely be seriously challenged by any individual on this list save perhaps Jango (who has no Force powers) and the Inquisitor, and that she would almost certainly loose to Dooku, Vader, and Palpatine (all of whom have shown extensive proficiency in combat telekinesis), although it is just possible that youth and raw power could allow her to overwhelm Dooku much as Anakin did on the Invisible Hand, or Vader as Luke did in RotJ*, if she went all-out (likely drawing on the Dark Side) and managed to close to saber range. If they simply hit her with TK (or lightning) from range, on the other hand, she'd have little or no chance. This is not a point against Rey as a character ("power levels" and combat skills have little or nothing to do with character quality), nor an attempt to assert that she is weak in the Force (obviously untrue). Just an interesting perspective on her abilities in comparison with prior films, and how that reflects the difference between a neophyte Force user (of any innate strength) and the true mastery that comes with greater experience and discipline.
*I would personally assess Rey's overall abilities as being roughly comparable to RotJ Luke, at this point, although stronger or weaker in some particular areas.
Edited because I forgot to add the poll before posting.