I first off want to apologize for my absence from all forms of social media and some delays in Rebels Reactions releases. The last two weeks have been extremely crazy for me and culminated in the laying to rest of a friend and co-worker today. Outside of work and home, no one has really known whats been going on as I sat and reevaluated my life, where I am, where I could be, the decisions made, and where to go from here. I’m not the best at talking my feelings out, my wife can attest to that. This is my only outsource for the moment. This is how I can pay my respects and come to grips with the reality of the situation and move on with my life.
A lot has been going around the internet lately about how J.J. Abrams said he made a mistake with the whole Chewie not hugging Leia after Han was killed. Instead she hugged Rey, someone she had never met, or so we believe. There has been a lot of criticism and J.J. even apologized for this.
But after dealing with the sudden loss of my friend over the past week, I have to disagree.
J.J. Abrams…..you got it right.
Chewie was obviously busy with the injured Finn when the Falcon arrived back at the Resistance base, and while others celebrated the victory, there stood Rey, crying and seemingly distraught over the loss of someone she grew very close to very quickly, and worried about the injuries to her friend. Remember that Rey, Finn, Han, and Chewie have been together since just after Rey and Finn escaped Jakku with the Falcon. These are the three people she knows after leaving Jakku. They were willing to sacrifice themselves for her when she was being held on Starkiller Base. One died in front of her eyes, another severely injured, both at the hands of the same person, Kylo Ren.
She was legitimately grieving.
My silence really started when I got the news from another co-worker on my team that Jenn had been killed in a car accident while driving to work one morning. A driver drifted over into on coming traffic, clipped a semi and hit my friend head on.
My friend and the other driver died instantly.
Today as I type this, we had her memorial service. My whole team was there. We met Jenn’s father for the first time, her sisters and extended family. We cried. We laughed. We swapped stories. We reminisced about when we first met her, and the last time we saw her. This was someone I sat next to five days a week and was like a sister.
My grief is similar to that of Rey’s as in she never got to say good-bye to Han Solo. I never got to say good-bye to Jenn. If I had known that last Wednesday was going to be the last day I saw her, what would my team and I had done differently? If Rey knew that she wasn’t going to see Han again…what would she have done differently? What would she have said? Would the plan have changed?
So it’s my belief that J.J. got the movie right. He made the right decision in the way the movie was shot. Rey was in more dire need for that hug than Chewie was. That’s my opinion.
Do yourself a favor. Find your friends, your loved ones, and anyone you hold dear, and let them know how much you care. Let them know they are loved. Do something fun with them. You never know when things will end.
This piece is dedicated to my co-worker and friend, Jenn Connor. I still can’t believe you’re gone. You will be truly missed.
If you have any comments or questions, you can leave them below or email me at aharris@coffeewithkenobi.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @taharris121079.
May the Force be with you, always.
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