Act I:
Luke has been training Rey in the ways of the force for several years in the high cliffs of the Jedi temple. Rey is learning the ways of the Force, but Luke is troubled by her immense power and inability to control her passions. Luke reveals that he is her father. She asks questions about her mother, but Lukes answers are evasive. Luke notes that Kylo Ren killed her when he turned to the dark side. Luke sees the anger rising in her and ends their training for the day.
Captain Phasma, trying to redeem her failures at Starkiller Base, teams with a mysterious shadow figure to set a trap for the Skywalkers. Phasma, the Shadow, Luke and Rey battle through the Jedi Temple in the cliffs. Luke cuts off the bio-mechanical arm of the Shadow while Rey and Phasma tumble through a window down a precipice and plunge into the ocean. Luke moves to eliminate the Shadow and has a shocking realizationthe Shadow is a simulacrum of his dead wife, Mara Jade. Luke is stunned and can not kill her, allowing her and Phasma to escape.
(Note:If you think Im just pulling this out of my ass, Im not. This plot directly rhymes with events in Attack of the Clones and mirrors events in Empire Strikes Back. These events introduce the mystery and set the stage for the events in Act II: a flight to safety; the investigation of a mystery; and the capture and rescue by our heroes. Review the Key Elements at the top of this article.)
Act II:
Luke contacts Leia and they discuss the appearance of Mara Jade. They are both shocked at the re-appearance of Lukes dead wife and agree Rey must be protected. Its too dangerous to risk her falling into the dark side. Rey isnt happy about being shunted away again and resents her father and aunt. Poe is assigned to protect Rey and they retreat to safety, setting the stage for their romance.
The Republic figured out the First Order is a major threat and declared war after the destruction of the Hosnian system by Starkiller base. Finn worked with Leia, Poe and the Republic to hunt down the First Order and they are on the run. Finn, now a military hero, volunteers to accompany Luke to investigate Mara Jade and her strange biomechanical nature.
We see Kylo Ren training with Snoke when Captain Phasma and Mara Jade return from their failed assassination attempt. Jades arm is already growing back. Kylo Ren is perturbed by Jade, but its not clear why. Snoke discusses how their new alliance will enable them to defeat the Republic. Kylo Ren does not trust their new friends and says they should trust in the Force. Snoke dismisses his concerns and General Hux consults with his secretive allies.
During their journey and from discussions between Poe and Rey, we learn that Lukes romance with Mara Jade and their child was the catalyst for Ben turning to the dark side. Ben felt like Luke betrayed the Jedi code by taking one of his older Jedi pupils as a wife. It was then that Snoke appeared and taught Ben the truth about his grandfatherthat Anakin had been the Sith lord Darth Vader, a fact that Luke, Leia and Han had hidden from him.
Snoke convinced Ben that the jedi were corrupt. Ben joined the Knights of Ren, a group of clones still trying to execute Order 66. He became their leader and they slaughtered Lukes Jedi academy. Snoke killed Mara Jade while she was protecting young Rey. Luke almost killed Snoke with a lightsaber strike to the head but Snoke escaped with Kylo Ren. A distraught Luke had Rey hidden on Jakku with his old friend Lor San Tekka to watch over her (along with the map, which Tekka was to give to Rey when she was older).
During the journey, Luke realizes that Finn is force sensitive, and gives him some basic lessons in the Force. They meet up with Lando Calrissian, now an arms dealer. Landos hot, cocky daughter named Chance catches Finns eye and their affection smolders. Lando and Chance tell Luke and Finn about the arrival of a new species in the galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong, who have become secret allies of the First Order.
Lando relates stories about the First Order and Yuuzhan Vong becoming allies. With information from Lando, Luke, Chance and Finn infiltrate the First Order base and discover Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma and Mara Jade, who was saved from the edge of death by Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology and is now their agent. Luke confronts Mara Jade, but she betrays him with the help of the Yuuzhan Vong. Luke and Finn are captured and Kylo Ren decides to use them as bait to attract his cousin. Chance escapes to warn the Resistance.
(Ready for your sex secrets?) Meanwhile Poe and Rey are falling in love. Rey confesses her resentment at being squirreled away and suffers a series of disturbing visions. The Yuuzhen Fong and First Order discover them and chase them through an asteroid field. Rey taps into the power of her anger to defeat them. She uses the dark Force mind reading power she learned from Rey to find out where Finn and Luke are being held.
Reys passions rise and we can see the beginning of her descent into the dark side. Luke is intensely disturbed, both by his perception of Rey falling to the dark side, the mystery of his dead wifes re-appearance and his realization that the Yuuzhan Vong are outside the Living Force.
Poe and Rey rush off to the First Order base to save Finn and Luke. Chance informs Lando of the capture and location of the First Order base, and he works with Leia, Chewbacca and the Republic to coordinate an attack.
Act III:
The Resistance discovers the First Order base in a barren wasteland and launches a major ground attack against them and their Vong allies. Reys quick thinking destroys a main element of the enemys defenses and the Resistance presses their attack. Rey and Poe rescue Luke, but Finn is taken away by Captain Phasma (and frozen in carbonite, ha!) for re-education. Rey impulsively presses ahead and confronts Mara Jade and Kylo Ren alone.
Rey kills Mara Jade by beheading her with a lightsaber, but the Force impact stuns her. Kylo Ren is now more powerful than Rey, having fully embraced the dark side, and defeats her by taking her hand. However, he does not kill her, but reveals that she just killed her own mother. She is distraught that neither Luke or Leia told her, and Ren uses this to tempt her to the dark side. He tells her that the Jedi are corrupt and she should join him.
But while Rey is overcome with emotion, Luke appears and defeats Kylo Ren, forcing him to run away. Rey picks up her mothers severed head and swears vengeance. Poe arrives to comfort her.
The First Order and their Yuuzhan Vong allies retreat. However, a final scene shows Kylo Ren and Snook discussing the upcoming conflict. In the background, a First Order fleet is dwarfed by a massive Yuuzhan Vong invasion force. General Hux notes how their new allies will turn the tide of the battle and Snoke tells of a vision he had where the Yuuzhan Vong will transform the balance of the Force.
Luke, Lando and Leia discuss their worries about Rey and the arrival of their new enemies. The movie closes with Poe and Rey at a secret retreat together passionately embracing.
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