Bloodline is the first novel to be released after The Force Awakens, which means it has
the ability to provide us more information about the state of the galaxy and our main
characters in the six years prior to the film.
It’s also been revealed that the director of Episode VIII, Rian Johnson, gave the author
Claudia Gray some hints and connections for his upcoming film.
So this video will be covering what we learned about The Force Awakens and speculate about
what we could possibly see in Episode VIII based on the book.
Obviously spoilers for Bloodline are ahead.
First up, let’s talk about the Solo family.
As I said, the book takes place six year before The Force Awakens.
Han and Leia are still together, and Ben has not yet fallen to the Dark Side at the age
of 23.
He is with Luke, but they are both not easily able to communicate with Leia.
Han works as a manager for a racing team, and Leia is of course a senator.
They don’t get to see each other often.
They obviously still love each other, but I can absolutely see the strain on their marriage.
Han wants to travel the galaxy, and Leia is too dutiful to leave the Senate in the sorry
state it’s in.
Neither acts like they want out, but the I can totally see the loss of their son being
the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The major revelation of the book is the galaxy learning that Leia’s father was Darth Vader.
We as readers learn that Ben didn’t know that, and he didn’t exactly find out in
the best way.
I’d be willing to bet this leads him towards a dark path of trying to learn more about
his grandfather.
Additionally doubt is cast on Luke and people fear his potential to turn into another Darth
Vader.
More immediately, we learn why Leia is no longer with the Senate, and even viewed as
a pariah by most of the galaxy.
The fact that she had knowledge of her parentage and hid it from her peers causes most of them
to distrust her.
So when Leia warns the Senate about the dangers of an attack, they writer her off as a warmonger,
which leads her to form the Resistance with pilots and staff she knows she can trust.
While I’m on the subject of Vader and Leia, I want to jump back to A New Hope, because
Leia actually discusses her torture on the Death Star.
In the film it’s offscreen and implied, but we don’t know exactly what happened.
Well we get some details in the book and it sounds rough.
More intense than I imagined, actually.
And jumping back to A New Hope reminds me of something else.
Leia’s on again off again British accent has been the target of jokes before, but there
is actually now an in-universe reason for it.
Leia recalls using a pompous accent to mock Tarkin when they met on the Death Star.
It’s a flimsy excuse and one that doesn’t exactly hold up, but I think it’s fun that
Gray took the time to rationalize it.
Okay, last thing that’s not Force Awakens-related I want to mention is that Leia’s actions
on Vrogas Vas are mentioned.
That storyline happened in the Star Wars and Darth Vader comics and it’s totally awesome
to see stories pulling from and validating the entire Star Wars canon and not just the
films.
Okay back to answering some Force Awakens mysteries, we explore why Leia decided not
to go with Luke and Ben to train as Jedi.
It again comes down to duty.
The Force is totally alien to her, and she feels she will be more use as a senator than
a Jedi.
However she does take note of some moments of intuition and believes the Force is guiding
her.
So there is still a connection there.
As for the Millennium Falcon, Han has lost it at this point, but we don’t get any extra
information as to how.
The final thread I want to follow is corruption in the Senate and the First Order, which I
think is what will tie into Episode VIII.
I for one was disappointed to not spend much time with the New Republic in The Force Awakens.
The First Order just hits the reset button on the galaxy with Starkiller Base.
Well Bloodline gives a lot of insight into how the New Republic operated, but also raised
some interesting questions that I think will be addressed in the next film.
The Senate operated well under Mon Mothma for a good long while, until she grew ill
and had to step down.
Although she is still alive at least during Bloodline.
Without her leadership the Senate fell into the same patterns of bureaucracy and ineptitude
that the Old Republic did.
They split into two parties called Populists and Centrists.
Leia and the other Populists wanted planets to have most of the control over their own
affairs while Centrists wanted more centralized power.
To Leia, that setup would be dangerously close to an Imperial-type government.
Not surprisingly some of the Centrist senators flat out want a return of the Empire.
They are actively supporting the First Order, which is still a secret at this point.
To prepare the galaxy for their arrival, the senators are also funding smaller militaries
and criminal organizations to attack the New Republic and make the First Order’s takeover
quick and easy.
Leia thwarts one of those groups, and seems to cause a delay for the First Order that
will last six years until The Force Awakens.
That’s when they use Starkiller Base to destroy the Senate.
But what about all their supporting senators?
Did the First Order just kill them all too?
The Force Awakens makes it seem like the New Republic was wiped out completely, but I’m
thinking Episode VIII will reveal the survival of some senators.
Namely some corrupt, First Order-supporting senators.
Maybe the First Order will have a lot of power in the galaxy thanks to the backing of what
remains of the New Republic leadership.
If I have to make a guess about how Bloodline ties into Episode VIII, I think that’s it.
The survival of the worst of the worst senators providing political support for the First
Order.
But what do you think?
Let me know your guesses in the comments, or talk about other connections that I missed!