Day: April 18, 2016

Finally.

L finally got to watch The Force Awakens Sunday. I believe that she thought it was worth the wait.

We had a pretty busy weekend, so I was worried we would have trouble squeezing it in. But we popped it into the player after breakfast yesterday and were able to knock it out before her first soccer game of the season.

I have been very guarded about spoilers ever since I saw the movie in December. If she, or any of the other girls, asked a question about whether this character was in it, or if that character died, I always refused to answer. I figured she picked up some insight at school, but for the most part, she seemed to be watching relatively spoiler free. Especially concerning the biggest moment of the film.

She loved all the new characters. She won’t say if she had a favorite yet, but she thought both Rey and Finn were pretty cool. BB–8 made her laugh. She thought it was cool that there were female storm troopers, too. And she giggled each time one of the old characters popped up. Especially Chewbacca, which is her favorite. She was very happy that the Wookie had a big part.

In fact, she was due for a new fish[1] and when we bought one on Saturday, she named it Chewbacca.

The whole time we were watching I was dreading the big scene. (Ok, it’s been almost five months so I figure it’s ok to drop spoilers.) How would she react to Kylo Ren killing Han Solo? At C’s softball practice Friday, I was talking to a dad about that exact scene. He’s been reluctant to let his first grade son watch only because of that scene. I honestly didn’t think it would have a huge impact on L. She tends to separate TV/movie myth from reality pretty well. And she doesn’t have the same connection with the original characters a lot of us grownups who were shaken by that scene had.

I think she did ok. She didn’t say anything, react negatively, or even get quiet after that scene. I, on the other hand, had kind of a tough time with it. It was a shock when I saw it the first time, and I felt more disbelief than anything. This time, knowing it was coming, man, it got a little dusty in our basement.

I say I think she did ok because after the movie she threw herself on the couch and started crying. She’s getting some molars and had been complaining of mouth pain for a few days. And that’s what she said was making her cry. But who knows, maybe she was a little overwhelmed by the movie as a whole or that scene in particular.

Last night I asked her what her favorite part was. She said, “Mmmmm, the whole thing.” And she asked how long until the next movie comes out. And she is waiting for our next free night to watch all the DVD extras.