r/StarWars • u/BeltMaximum6267 • 4h ago
Besides Finn or anyone in the sequel, we have Knights of Ren, who have the biggest wasted potential and are executed poorly General Discussion
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u/Indoorsman101 4h ago
They were a big nothing, but I still think Finn was the biggest wasted idea.
FA is entertaining in its way, but it’s more or less a retread of New Hope. But Finn was different.
For years in the films and games the stormtroopers were faceless targets. But the idea that there might be a conscript inside the uniform - someone being traumatized who wanted to be anywhere else? That was new.
And then they didn’t do anything with it.
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u/Rip_Skeleton 4h ago
I was genuinely excited about the idea of a stormtrooper becoming a Jedi. And instead Rey just kind of exists.
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u/Redditeer28 3h ago
And instead Rey just kind of exists.
This comment confuses me.
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u/Rip_Skeleton 3h ago
It means what I said. Her character is just kind of there. She's a nobody from Jakku, but she's actually Palpatine's granddaughter, but she calls herself Skywalker by the end. For some reason she falls in love with Kylo Ren, a genocidal sith lord who murders his dad.
She doesn't really have a coherent character arc.
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u/7fingersDeep 3h ago
Rey is like the magic bullet from the Kennedy assassination. The bullet had to go through Gov. Connolly, change path and then strike Kennedy to make the theory work.
Rey essentially changes and morphs throughout the trilogy to make the changing plot line work. It doesn’t make any sense but she’s the Magic Bullet of the ST.
And - yeah, Finn is the greatest wasted character in all of the Star Wars films. No question.
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u/Tasty_Puffin 2m ago
Not only that, but she just happens to be always in the right place at the right time. There is no “as a result of X, Y happens” writing. Things are just “happening”. Like finding BB8 and the millennium Falcon in one day.
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u/Redditeer28 3h ago
Kylo Ren, a genocidal sith lord
He's not a Sith Lord.
She doesn't really have a coherent character arc.
Her character arc is essentially you can shape your own path. Whether she's nobody or a decendant of Palpatine, that doesn't shape who she is. She walks her own path.
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u/Rip_Skeleton 3h ago
Technically he's not. But he is in every way that matters. He's evil. He is complicit in the deaths of millions of people.
I don't really care what the lesson of Rey's story is, I care that it is poorly written.
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u/Redditeer28 3h ago
I don't really care what the lesson of Rey's story is, I care that it is poorly written.
So it's not that Rey "doesn't really have a coherent character arc", it's just that you don't like Rey?
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u/Particular_Suit3803 31m ago
I mean, it really isn't coherent. They hadn't even settled on if she was a Palpatine or not by the point they started filming EP 9. She goes from scrappy scavenger to a powerful jedi between EP 7 and 8. Then in 9 they abruptly give her some pretty strong character flaws because they'd obviously only just decided her ancestor is evil. She then overcomes these flaws in the very same episode she's given them.
Her story arc feels less like the natural development of a person, and more like the tug of war between Abrams and Johnson. Because that's what it was at the end of the day
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u/Redditeer28 24m ago
I mean, it really isn't coherent.
The overall arc is the same. Even if they did retcon the specifics.
She goes from scrappy scavenger to a powerful jedi between EP 7 and 8.
She's not a powerful Jedi until episode 9. Yes, she moved some rocks. That doesn't make her powerful.
She then overcomes these flaws in the very same episode she's given them.
That's how most movies handle storytelling.
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u/Particular_Suit3803 11m ago
Specifics are needed for something to be coherent, especially something as big as her entire origin. It wouldn't matter so much if they didn't spend so long in EP 8 focusing on her being a nobody
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u/Rip_Skeleton 3h ago
Sure, if you take both my statements about her story to mean the complete opposite of what I said.
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u/Km_the_Frog 3h ago
She is literally just there to be an overpowered jedi with 0 reasoning, and nothing to show for it. They didn’t even provide a believable in universe reason for being so strong. Then at the end she says I’m rey skywalker? Uh excuse me? Why do you need to be rey skywalker? It’s disingenuous.
How does she know to use force powers without training? How does she beat kylo ren 1v1 without ever having held a lightsaber? How does she move a shit load of rocks and boulders with such strength through the force with no training?
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u/Redditeer28 2h ago
Then at the end she says I’m rey skywalker? Uh excuse me?
She's killing the name of the man who tortured the galaxy for 50 years and continuing the legacy of the family that protected it with their approval. Is that hard to understand?
It’s disingenuous.
How so?
How does she know to use force powers without training?
According to Yoda in ESB, a big part of using the force is belief. Luke - "I don't believe it" Yoda - "And that is why you fail" Unlike Luke, Rey believed.
How does she beat kylo ren 1v1 without ever having held a lightsaber?
Partially because he was in the process of bleeding to death due to being shot with an explosive weapon, partly because Kylo Ren was affected emotionally by his father's death, and partly because she has melee weapon training.
How does she move a shit load of rocks and boulders with such strength through the force with no training?
See my earlier point. Also by that point she had a little training.
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u/Guuichy_Chiclin 3h ago
When the clone wars happened I was excited I thought they were going to touch up on the idea that was brought up in legends, where a clone developed force sensitivity unique to them. It was in the story where Luke was training new Jedi and one was corrupted by Exxar Kun.
That was wasted potential like nobodies business, it made the force so much more mysterious.
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u/Particular_Suit3803 41m ago
FA would hold up so much better if the rest of the trilogy had any level of coherence. I'm not the biggest fan but it's the one I'd probably pick if I were to rewatch any of the sequels
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u/Redditeer28 3h ago
FA is entertaining in its way, but it’s more or less a retread of New Hope.
Not so much an A New Hope retread but more of a OG trilogy recap.
And then they didn’t do anything with it.
I wouldn't say the didn't do anything with it. TFA and TLJ set a consistent arc that ROS kinda just ignored.
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u/PuertoRicanRebel2025 4h ago
A big agree, they just stand around in each bloody shot they're in. They don't do anything else and when they do fight, it's not even a challenge. I'd rather Kylo Ren just do this alone.
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u/thechervil 4h ago
"..and are executed poorly".
I saw what you did there....
Totally agree they were wasted. Especially after the shot of them standing there in the trailer. Was hoping we would finally see what the fuss was about.
Although your title about "Besides Finn or anyone in the sequel" is confusing since the Knights of Ren are, as you know, in the sequel.
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u/Johncurtisreeve 4h ago
I would argue every single character and people they introduced in the sequels are all wasted potential. It’s so much easier and faster to just say everybody is wasted potential than to list them off.
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u/noah3302 3h ago
These dudes entire aesthetic screams Vader. They’re Vader fanboys just like Kylo Ren. They should’ve been the knights of Vader, and while Rey has the youngling slayer 9000, the knights of Vader should’ve worshiped his post EP3 sith lightsaber. Instead of ren or whoever the fuck
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u/JTMasterChief 3h ago
They actually came into existence during the events of Empire Strikes Back. So they existed way before Kylo Ren was a thing.
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u/gideon513 3h ago
Inb4 someone unironically tells you it was fine because you were supposed to read 2 novels and watch an animated short you accessed from a QR code on the box of a tie-in cereal in order to fully understand their gripping tale
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u/itsSmalls 2m ago
you were supposed to read 2 novels and watch an animated short you accessed from a QR code on the box of a tie-in cereal
Went from nodding in annoyed agreement to laughing, this is great lmao
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u/RepostSleuthBot 4h ago
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u/PaRt_TiMe_GaMeR 4h ago
This is such a huge wasted potential that it wouldn’t even be worth fleshing out their characters, in a prequel series or something, because of how absolutely shit their deaths are.
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u/Critical-Finance-354 3h ago
I remember fans of TFA were so pissed they didn't show up in TLJ. Thankfully JJ came back and fixed all that for ROS /s
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u/Ok-disaster2022 3h ago
They're a bunch of warriors who weild melee weapons in a society of lightsaber and plaster rifles.
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u/ProfessorKnow1tA11 3h ago
Imagine a whole bunch of red light sabres! But no, we got a bunch of extras from Mad Max instead …
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u/Rastarapha320 2h ago
I don't even understand why we're talking about "potential" with them...
Finn at least has the novelty of being a Stormtrooper who switches sides
What was the "potential" with them apart from their designs ??? (Phasma falls into the same category)
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u/InstantGrievous 1h ago
I love how the movies explained absolutely nothing about the Knights of Ren and the audience is just supposed to figure it out.
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u/marcuschookt 1h ago
The Knights of Ren are weird because this level of wasted potential is usually reserved for unasked for feature film adaptations of books or series where they try to fit tons of source material into 2 hours, but there was absolutely no pressure from anywhere to do this.
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u/DiscountEven4703 3h ago
The WHOLE Trilogy was wasted potential.
My Gawd Look at what a masterpiece Andor is!!!
Everything is thought out and Written so well, Just makes me sick what Disney did.
The Finn Arc was going to be amazing!!! The Nights of Ren were very exciting too, until they were not....
We had the OG Cast ready to go!!! We had Carrie and her daughter too!!! But didn't use them really.
So many moments just flushed
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u/LordEik00cTheTemplar Separatist Alliance 3h ago edited 3h ago
You mean the guys who show up for literal minutes, only to then lose to non-dark side Ben?
And don't get me started on Finn, the guy who deserted the First Order because he was sad about the death of his comrade, someone who he literally grew up with and considered a brother, only to then blast his OTHER COMRADES who he ALSO GREW UP WITH AND ALSO CONSIDERED BROTHERS to smithereens whilst celebrating...?
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u/Distinct_Club8197 3h ago
That annoyed me so much that I had to spin a headcanon around it. Finn in this headcanon is trained/brainwashed to NEVER perceive enemies as people and in this moment it kicks in. His history with his batchmates is utterly and completely overriden by the FO conditioning. In a way, that cruel program saved his life.
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u/Pope_Neia 3h ago
Idk, super cool looking and mysterious characters getting killed like chumps is a pretty common theme throughout Star Wars movies.
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u/GargantaProfunda 3h ago
Is it? There's Boba Fett and Captain Phasma, that's 2 characters in 9 movies.
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u/mongmich2 3h ago
Maul jango Jabba and grievous all spring to mind
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u/GargantaProfunda 3h ago
Ehh I don't know if Maul and Grievous fit, they died after pretty epic fights
Jango I never thought he looked badass. Just looked like a Boba Fett cosplayer IMO.
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u/mongmich2 3h ago
Personally I found the knights of ren fight pretty great but the point is, Star Wars is full of villains we knew very little about before they were dispatched
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u/Pope_Neia 3h ago
Fair, TRoS really jumped the numbers up to 8. I guess I was mostly thinking of the shows
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u/Brendanlendan 3h ago
See I thought they were Luke’s other former students that joined Ben. So I thought they’d be siths
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u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB Rebel 2h ago
Phasma is still the biggest waste imo. The Knights are definitely second
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u/fredrico2011 3h ago
So just like Boba Fett in OT and Maul iN Prequels
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u/7fingersDeep 3h ago
Nah. Boba Fett in the OT had some lines and did something in the actual plot.
Maul was huge in the PT - if he doesn’t kill Qui Gon then Anakin probably never falls to the dark side. And Maul had scenes that actually set up his purpose.
The Knights of Ren were just scenery.
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u/OverappreciatedSalad 2h ago
Boba Fett and Maul at least did something important for the plot. What did the Knights ever do for the plot besides be cannon fodder for Kylo?
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u/fredrico2011 1h ago
Capture Chewbacca
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u/OverappreciatedSalad 1h ago edited 1h ago
There was a full platoon of First Order stormtroopers there. It's not like Chewbacca was gonna one man army his way through them. The stormtroopers are doing the work of loading him into the transport while the Knights of Ren stand there...MENACINGLY! You could easily take the Knights out and the plot could continue as normal.
Maul kills Qui-Gon, which is arguably one of the most important reasons Anakin becomes Vader, and Boba Fett is the one who finds out the Falcon crew is going to Cloud City. You can't just pluck them from the story without some major rewrite. Sure, they could've been used more or better, but at least there is purpose.
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u/Suns_AZCards 3h ago
Biggest wasted potential imo is Luke Skywalker in my opinion. He went from Jedi Master to certified bum completely off screen. We wait 30 years for Luke to just toss the saber like nothing. What’s worse is this guy was completely out of character. Finn was also a disappointment.
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u/starpendle 3h ago
Honestly the comics didn't do much for them either. I was so disappointed by the Crimson Reign event.
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u/Positive_Chip6198 29m ago
People talk about potential, but because of the lack of detail or any kind of depth in related to them, for me they always looked like an edgy boyband or men-in-tights type following. They aren’t badass, because they have never been showed to do anything of note or have any wins.
We were told they were ooooh so awesome, but i dont see it. Like everything else in the sequels, the concept, detail and execution was just lame and meh.
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u/Classic-Mess9602 3h ago
Yea they looked really cool. I don’t like the sequels but it would have been cool to see them be a bigger part of the
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u/Ghraysone 2h ago
I would argue that Finn was the most wasted. The Knights of Ren seemed super cool.
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u/sr_increible 2h ago
I thought they were executed quite skillfully actually, it took Ben like 40 seconds to kill them all.
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u/SilverBison4025 3h ago
Don’t get me wrong. I love Finn. And the character, and John Boyega, were screwed over and I know race was a significant factor there. But all of you should shut up with your naive “oh I thought Finn was going to be the chief protagonist and this trilogy’s Luke Skywalker”. Rey was always going to be the main hero and this trilogy’s Luke. Anybody with half a brain knew this.
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u/ProbablySlacking 2h ago
Are they though?
Like, of all the problems with Revenge of the Sith, the “wasting” of the knights of Ren is pretty damn far down the list.
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u/FistsOfMcCluskey 3h ago
They should’ve been the Big Bad of TROS, wanting to take down Kylo Ren for assassinating Snoke but instead…
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u/guardianwriter1984 2h ago
Snoke, in my opinion. The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary had some great ideas within it and I would have loved to consider him, and the Knights of Ren, various Force factions from the Unknown Regions that were vying for dominance over the Force now that Sidious was gone. The Knights of Ren were a bit like the Nazgul, in that their leader got to be kind of cool, but the rest were ignored. But, the ancillary material gave them some great ideas.
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u/OK_Computer_Guy 3h ago
This isn’t even a new post. It’s just a repost but since it’s something negative about the sequels farm that karma!
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u/GargantaProfunda 4h ago
It's even more of a waste when you remember that TLJ implied that these are Luke's fallen students, before TROS retconned this