camellia-cook:

toawaterfowl:

fluffycakesistainted:

Could be what’s been discussed lately about that scene, that it’s mainly viewed and told from Ben’s POV. And Ben in that scene is triggered and scared and “uncomfortable” would be an understatement. It’s not meant to be a typical climactic villainous breakdown, where they’re in full ham mode, practically begging the audience to giggle at and revel in their upcoming defeat by the hero(es). Hades near the end of Disney’s Hercules comes to mind, lol. Because Ben isn’t that typical villain. And with him nominally being “the villain” but also a main protagonist whose POV is integral, it can cause a cognitive dissonance in some viewers.

Really what’s going on in that scene is equivalent to–but on a fantastical, operatic scale–if two estranged relatives who had a serious falling-out and subsequent long-time beef with each other both showed up to some family event, one with the explicit purpose of confronting the other, and everyone is just looking on like, Uuuuuhhh what’s gonna happen here? We’re not gonna have to end up calling the cops, are we? 😬 So yeah, that’s definitely tense and uncomfortable. Especially since we aren’t “family”, we’re looking in on this highly intense and intimate stand-off from outside, so it can feel almost voyeuristic. Hence that “I should be looking away” feeling.

Personally though, I don’t feel any of those things, I absolutely love the Crait “duel”, it’s now one of my top favorite scenes in Star Wars ever. Probably because I eat Skywalker family drama and angst up with a spoon. Also because it’s a parallel/inverted parallel to Obi-Wan vs Anakin in Revenge of the Sith (which I went on at length about here). Also because it’s incredibly layered and achingly beautiful in that it’s a big ol’ visual, cinematic metaphor for Ben’s oncoming healing and redemption. And Luke capping the whole thing off with, not goodbye, but basically, I’ll see you later. And calling him “kid” on top of it. Adorable. That outro always makes me smile. 🙂 In fact, that’s now my all-time favorite Luke moment. 

Ben’s meltdown in the shuttle is executed to ring extremely uncomfortable, methinks, precisely because it’s a private moment. It’s a moment of vulnerability and stress when a person needs space and emotional safety – and there are too many eyes up close. It’s a moment that needs not take away from a person’s dignity in the eyes of his subordinates, yet we know it probably will. I kinda stan the shuttle personnel, who are unphased and pretty chill. Hux is the one drawing attention to the fact that Ben is falling apart, however, in part, I think, because Hux tools is uncomfortable and wants it to STOP. When Ben steps down on Crait it seems he’s past self-consciousness, he doesn’t care who’s watching anymore – so he stomps and screams, and runs and all but spits in Luke’s face.

The entirety of Kylo Ren’s existence makes me feel like I ought to look away—except possibly when he’s in his mask. I think this is down to Adam’s acting ability, as every bit of Kylo’s body language and tone SCREAMS genuine and extreme psychological distress. You can feel that this character is character is right on the edge of losing his shit entirely and just collapsing in a screaming heap on the ground, unresponsive, nonfunctional.

The scene where confronts Rey and Finn after killing Han in TFA is the same. I DO look away, I cringe when he smacks his hand into the wound on his side—it’s such a visceral gesture, it’s the sort of thing I’ve seen people do when they’re incoherent with emotional pain. Reaching for physical pain as a kind of grounding. Hitting themselves, pulling their hair—it’s the same kind of thing, and it hurts to watch, whether it’s in real life or a movie.

For me, watching Kylo Ren at Crait reminds me of the times when I’ve been so hurt and angry that I couldn’t think, couldn’t calm myself, couldn’t do anything but attempt to somehow give voice a pain so massive that it defies expression. Or, worse, when I’ve seen someone else is such a state—which is terrifying, because they’re so unpredictable and so given to lashing out.

It’s just unpleasant to watch someone hurt that much, regardless of whether you like them, and regardless of whether they’re real.