STAR WARS: A CHARACTER STUDY OF BB-8
As soon as the premiere of "The Force Awakens", complaints surfaced that the film was nothing more than a fan-servicing copy of "A New Hope." It's a legitimate complaint. An evil dictatorship uses a planet-killing weapon to seize control of the galaxy. After the Jedi Order is wiped out, an unassuming orphan from a desert planet who discovers his/her unrealized inner power. The rebellion led by a feisty princess destroys the weapon after the two opposing forces fight over a little robot that contains valuable data. The formula is obvious. Even I struggled to see past the formula, taking several viewing to strike the core of the story. Only then, did the crucial differences become evident.
Those differences begin with the adorable droid containing crucial information. In "A New Hope", R2-D2 contains a blueprint for the super-weapon, while BB-8 carries the map to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The entire Resistance depends on the return of the Last Jedi. However, BB-8 carries something far more valuable beneath the surface.
He carries a riddle, one so intriguing that Commander Kylo Ren, who is wholly devoted to the apprehension of the droid, cannot resist the opportunity to solve it. Even as the droid is within his grasp, the story takes an abrupt, confusing turn when Kylo chooses the poor scavenger over the droid he obsesses over.
Why does he do this?
Because of a riddle that he cannot solve. Yes, he wants the map, and Rey has it. What he truly wants to know is how a girl of Rey's profession could so easily lure classified information from a defensive, frightened droid. The information he desperately wants but does not have.
"We have the rest, recovered from the archives of the Empire. We need the last piece. Somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You. A simple, solitary scavenger. How is that?" (Kylo Ren, The Force Awakens, pg 226)
Answer: Kindness breeds trust, which breeds loyalty.
Kylo Ren's tackless interrogation of Rey portrays a snobby, entitled prince looking down on another person supposedly beneath him. What if he addresses her status, because of its relevance to the riddle. The purpose of a scavenger is the dismantling and destruction of machines. She is the kind of person that a droid should mistrust and fear the most. Instead, he learns to trust her so much that he offers up the information at the nod of her head.
This statement is not one of judgment or superiority. He identifies her as a destroyer of machines. It is her most basic job to dissemble droids, computers, and ships. How, then, could she win the trust of a droid to the point where he voluntarily offers her the information Kylo is so desperate to obtain. He indeed finds this scenario a perplexing puzzle.
The unusual relationship between Kylo and Rey's begins with profound curiosity. She perplexes him, not because of her connection to the force. Instead, he is confused about how Rey could so easily accomplish a mission he could not achieve, even with every resource of the First Order available.
This puzzle symbolizes the primary difference between Kylo and Rey. Between the dark and the light. Kylo's approach to obtaining the droid is through utter brutality. It is a "quick and easy path." Because of this, people resist him. Rey's approach, on the other hand, is through compassion and patience. She takes her time to EARN BB-8's trust. She even suffers for it. At the end of the day, her method produces results. Kylo's does not.
For Kylo to achieve redemption, he must solve this puzzle. Rey must answer his initial inquiry. How did she convince the droid to show her the map? Why is her method more productive than his?
He sees Rey in a unique kind of way, indeed.
The difference between "A New Hope" and "The Force Awakens" begins with the messengers: R2-D2 and BB-8. R2D2 trusted no one. He forms no attachments, not even to Luke. The message appears on accident and lies about its origin. He never strays from the mission: find Obi-Wan Kenobi. He shows the message to no one else.
BB-8 is a naive, little droid. As loyal to his master as he is to the mission. By the time he meets Rey, he is vulnerable and frightened. He is afraid of the big, empty world of Jakku. Her simple act of saving him makes him loyal to her. He rarely leaves her side. He follows her everywhere she runs, because he is certain she will always protect him.
He also represents the innocent residence of our favorite galaxy far, far away. If Kylo can learn to understand the motivations of the droid, then he can learn to apply that logic to other parts of the galaxy. That kindness produces more cooperation than tyranny. Compassion, understanding, loyalty, and love. These are the redeeming qualities of the light side. The Light is more effective than the Dark.
The answer to the riddle can lead to the redemption of Kylo Ren.
