8 Things Missing From Star Wars: The Force Awakens

1. More Depth To Han & Kylo's Relationship

One of the best parts of The Force Awakens is Kylo Ren's family ties to Han and Leia. The step-by-step reveals are all handled with sincerity and respect to the over-arching mythos, from Snoke's casual name drop of Han being Kylo's father, to the weight and gravitas attached to Han's bellowing of Kylo's real name - Ben - across the chasm at Starkiller Base. This, of course, all leads to Han's death at the hands of his son, as Kylo finally steps across the threshold (once and for all?) into the dark side. Yet the feeling can't be avoided that Han and Kylo are father and son in name only. Again, the film lacks the ability to provide us with context as to their relationship; we never see Han and Leia as parents, attempting to raise their son; we only see them as failed divorcees whose son ran away from home. Of course, there is a thematic link to the original trilogy there, as it's not like we saw Vader bouncing baby Luke on his knee. But that's because he was unaware the boy was alive. With Han, Leia and Ben Solo, the opportunity exists for us to have some sort of flashback to the latter's childhood, where we could gain some much needed insight into Solo-Organa family life. That said, flashbacks have never really been Star Wars' style; but if Rey can have an annoying, mystery-inducing vision of being abandoned on Jakku, then surely we could've had a similar moment with Kylo. If anything, it would've provided a nice parallel to Rey's traumatic abandonment if we caught glimpses of the Artist Formerly Known as Ben Solo enjoying a happy childhood with a great family. I'm holding out for more background on this family dynamic in Episode VIII... with maybe one last little opportunity for a flashback featuring everyone's favourite smuggler. A guy can dream.