#rey-poe

It’s not off the table, and it shouldn’t be brushed under the rug. I’ve seen antis say that any chemistry or similarity to hanleia in Poe and Rey’s meeting was purely coincidental, but that’s just not true. Poe and Rey’s meet cute was either foreshadowing or purposeful misdirection.

The meeting was planned carefully. It was planned to be as it was since The Force Awakens, as a version of it was reportedly shot, but cut from the film. It did, however still make it to the novelization of The Force Awakens:

The novelization has more overt romantic undertones. It begins with a hug between Poe and Rey. A clear indication of a possible romance. The awkwardness after is even more telling. It’s notable that the rest of the room is hugging at random; Poe and Rey are completely within societal norms hugging in this situation. There should be no need for awkwardness.  Moving forward, we see that Rey likes Poe’s face. There could not be a clearer sign of attraction. She thought he was handsome. From this, it’s easy to conclude that attraction is the cause of the awkwardness between the two.  It’s also important to note that this is a popular romantic trope.  

Now, with romance already on the reader’s mind, they chose to use the words “I know,” the most romantic phrase in all of Star Wars. This is something they knew that audiences would pick up on immediately and connect it to Han and Leia’s romance. As Han and Leia were the central romance of the original trilogy and have since become one of the most iconic romantic relationships in pop culture, any comparison or parallel is a big deal. This line also directly connects to the phrase “I love you,” one of the most emotionally charged phrases possible, deepening the romantic subtext in a way other parallels to Han and Leia wouldn’t on their own. There’s no way that that word choice was an accident. Something to the effect of “So I’ve heard,” would have been another dialogue option, even a more natural dialogue option, but they decided on “I know.”

It’s significant that this scene didn’t change much from the novelization of The Force Awakens to The Last Jedi. It shows this scene was carefully planned and, even though the circumstances and timing of Poe and Rey’s meeting have drastically changed, it was important that it happened as planned. The fact that the phrase “I know” stayed in the meeting for so long and made it to The Last Jedi indicates that this particular phrase was important to the meet cute, and potentially important to Poe and Rey’s relationship. There’s no way they could have kept that phrase for so long without realizing what it implied. It’s no coincidence, even if that’s a common phrase.

With the overt romantic undertones in the novelization, it’s no stretch to say the chemistry between Isaac and Ridley is purposeful. The tone of the meet cute remains the same from the novelization of TFA to The Last Jedi. Their smiles and interested expressions are making up for the fact that we don’t have insight into the character’s thoughts in the movie: we can’t hear that Rey likes Poe’s face, so Daisy Ridley has to do her best to portray that.

The meeting we see in The Last Jedi has a more subtle romantic subtext. Their hug is cut, but in the shots proceeding we see others hugging, so the we’re still subconsciously thinking romance. In The Last Jedi, Rey and Poe are brought together another way: through BB8. This lends itself to another romantic trope. As Poe and Rey have both been the caretaker of and responsible party for BB8, shippers and nonshippers have come to think of them as parents to the droid. Placing them in this position, even before they meet, connects Poe and Rey in a very intimate way.

Perhaps the most important indicator of a potential romance is where the scene occurs in the film. It’s near the end, mirroring the first “‘I love you’ ‘I know’” exchange between Han and Leia. This isn’t by happenstance, nor is it the only example of mirroring The Empire Strikes Back to occur in the film. Finn and Rose are betrayed in the second act of The Last Jedi, just as Han and Leia were betrayed by Lando Calrissian in the second act of The Empire Strikes Back. The chronology of this film was meticulously planned. We are supposed to think of Han and Leia when we see the Damerey meet cute.

As further evidence of a potential Damerey romance, we know Poe wears a necklace with, his mother, Shara Bey’s wedding ring, “waiting to share it with the right partner.” This indicates that Poe will be involved in a romance in Episode IX. Though the reason he has the ring is Carrie Fisher’s desire for more jewelry in Star Wars, this detail is too specific to be ignored. The ring will come into play at some point. While I’m not discounting the possibility that Poe’s romance could be with Finn, or a new character, the odds that Finn and Rose will become a couple, paired with the romantic posturing for Damerey leaves a distinct possibility that Rey could be “the right partner.”

To make Damerey work, they’d have to give it a strong focus in Episode IX for it to be believable in comparison to other potential couples that have spent more time together in the first two films (Reylo, Stormpilot, Finnrey, Finnrose, etc), but with the compatibility of Rey and Poe as characters, and Ridley and Isaac’s chemistry, it’s possible.

Damerey Biker/Journalist AU

Rey is a young journalist working for the Coruscant Times. In the process, she searches for her family, trying to find out why they left her when she was just a baby. Poe Dameron is a member of the local biker gang who meets Rey in a bar. Something about the girl seems familiar - she reminds him of his dead best friend Ben Solo’s little cousin - but that’s impossible, because Rey Skywalker is dead. The name is just a coincidence. Still, he’s unable to stop himself from looking after her as a way of honoring his friend’s memory. 

My Tumblr Crushes:

swnews

tfa

rey-poe

jynandor

dawnofthedusk

jedifinn

wynonasrider

queenis

therebelcaptainnetwork

I finally had the time to screen-shot through. It’s sexual tension done right and very gracefully in my opinion. How I wish we got this. 

The romance is done steadily, embedded in characters’ and their relationship development. Nothing is rushed and nothing comes out of the blue. The whole angst/drama is Rey trying to find her way as a Jedi, including her love for Poe. She makes him to leave because literally moments before she feels Finn’s pain through the force - she can’t take more pain from the people she loves. There are also many fulfilling moments for Poe, Leia is so proud of him. No slapping, no ridiculing.

It rhymes perfectly with PT (especially with Anakin and Padmé lovestory), OT and the story we were set up for in TFA. Leia acknowledges there’s something between Rey and Poe too and they behave like a couple even before they get together. They’re fucking called a couple and lovers.

Just read the thing. It’s pure Damerey-fest.

Below I pasted the moments in chronological order. Look out, I’ve pasted what feels like half of the script.

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Kill me. Please, I beg you. We deserved all of this and to think I was happy for JJ to come back. The only upside is that those ideas can be still used in the books, as Colin might have written this with story group.

Those two scenes are better than the entire TROS and I’m not sorry for saying this??? I know Trevorrow’s script is not perfect, and even those two kisses feel cliche-ish and corny. But you know what? In the wake of “subverting expectations” and “shock values” in entertainment...