It’s no secret that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a controversial film. Probably one of the most divisive films of the franchise. 

Ask any fan and they’ll give you one of a dozen reasons. They didn’t like Luke’s story arc, the space chase was stupid, Canto Bite was preachy, Rose and Finn’s love story was unnecessary, they didn’t like Admiral Holdo, and so on. 

They may tell you all of those reasons. 

But what if I told you all of that was a secondary plot to the story? It’s all subplot. 

The real reason The Last Jedi upset so many fans was marketing and genre. 

I can hear you now. But Amanda, it’s Star Wars. What do you mean genre? Isn’t it a space opera? 

It probably should have been. 

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a gothic romance and everything else is a subplot. 

I’ll give you a minute to let that sink in. 

And I'm not the first person to talk about this. When the movie first came out, there were a slew of articles and blog posts about it. I've pulled a lot of my comparisons from https://www.tumblr.com/unexpectedreylo/173427781158/modern-gothic-romance-the-sequel-trilogy If you choose to interact with this creator, be nice, no bullying. I mean it.

Now that you’ve picked your jaw up off the floor, let me explain. There are elements required of any romance story, and the details get finer when you narrow down the subgenre. 

Firstly, for any romance, you must have a romance. Now, some of you may be pointing to Finn and Rose, but again, that’s subplot. The real romance is between Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey. 

Some of you are nodding along. “Of course,” you say. “Totally obvious.” 

Others are looking at my blog post like I just wrote that paragraph in Sanskrit. Just stay with me. 

There’s a tension between the two main characters throughout the film. Moments of awkward shyness where they’re afraid to say anything, their fingertips brushing together across light years, and there’s the moment in the elevator before meeting Snoke. Adam Driver and Rian Johnson debated on whether or not Ben would kiss Rey in the elevator. They ultimately decided against it, but romance fans feel the pull. 

I bet if I filled a room with Star Wars fans and I asked fans who didn’t like TLJ to stand on one side and the fans who loved it to stand on the other, the room would divide one side mostly male and the other side mostly female. 

That’s not to say it’s toxic male fans that hated the film. I’m not suggesting that at all. What I mean is, women probably picked up on the romance while a majority of men didn’t. The whole film probably felt off to a great many men watching and they couldn’t put their finger on why. Meanwhile, the women in the audience, who have been hard-coded by society to crave romance stories, immediately vibed with the film. 

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s explore what makes The Last Jedi a gothic romance. 

We’ve already established the romance. The next thing we need is setting. Gothic romances typically have a dark setting. Think mansions, libraries, castles, churches, monasteries, etc. 

Most of the scenes between Ben and Rey take place on either star destroyers with their darkened interior, dim lighting, black paint, etc or on Ach-To a literal monastery. Lots of grays, dingy colors, dark caves, the sea. 

Next, let’s talk about our main characters. 

Gothic romances notably have what’s known as a Byronic hero for the male main character. Named for Lord Byron due to his common use of similar heroes through his works, Byronic heroes are characterized as brooding men who are cynical, proud, moody, and reject societal norms. Sound like anyone? 

In addition, the lead male character comes from a family of means who has fallen from grace either due to a loss of wealth or a loss of reputation. They are cursed. In the case of Ben Solo, his family has lost its reputation due to the revelation that Anakin Skywalker, his grandfather, and Luke and Leia’s father, was Darth Vader. They immediately lost trust and credibility in the galaxy. 

This curse is usually the source of the male lead’s sour, moody disposition. 

The female lead is usually a young woman from a family of low or little means. They may have lost their wealth or never had it to begin with. She is commonly an orphan. 

Are you seeing the connections yet? 

She comes to the formerly prestigious family as some sort of help. Maid, governess, assistant, cook, etc. Rey comes to the Skywalker/Organa family as a resistance fighter from no family, looking for a place to call home. 

Our humble female lead is usually the one to break the family curse or help them restore their name. 

I know, it’s a bit patriarchal, but these stories date back to the nineteenth century. I’m sure there’s some great gender-swapped gothic romances out there and if anyone has recommendations, I’d love to hear them. 

Finally, when talking about gothic romances, there’s one last element we can’t leave out. 

Ghosts. 

This is Star Wars. You want ghosts? We’ve got force ghosts. They’re everywhere. From Vader’s helm whispering to Ben, Yoda’s ghost appearing to Luke, and Luke projecting his image across the galaxy to save his sister one last time. 

So there it is. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a gothic romance. And that, I would argue, is why it split fans so much. Yes, I’m sure people had issues with all the subplot, but the reality is, they got tricked. They went in expecting a space opera or at the very least a war story and they got gothic Pride and Prejudice in space. 

And I love The Last Jedi. It’s my favorite Star Wars film. In part because of the romance, but also because Rian Johnson managed to subvert expectations so well. It felt fresh and new for the franchise. 

But I also understand why it didn’t resonate with fans. Whatever their reasons. It’s all valid. Not everything is for everybody and making the second film in the new trilogy a romance probably wasn’t the best call. There’s room in Star Wars for all kinds of genre films. War, comedy, adventure, space opera, spy thriller, and yes, even romance. But maybe not in the main branch of the series?