In identifying the main characters I also listed The Resistance as protagonist, and First Order as antagonist because it seemed to me that the human characters and Snoke are really emissaries of these two mega-characters. Looking at it this way allows for multiple main characters around which one can build specific episodes - what makes Star Wars and LOTR mythic, vs other franchises (eg, Superman, Batman) where the main character is static while the conflicts change. Still thinking about this...

Lots of similarities and contrasts between the Luke and Rey characters. Similarly, both are separated from their parents at a very young age, and have a longing to have completion about their family. Rey and Luke experience isolation to some degree. Both have a natural aptitude with repairing technology and are excellent pilots, and become unexpected sources of support for their causes. Both are overseen in their teen years by a protector figure. Luke had Ben, and the character who buys Rey's salvage. (I may be mis-remembering but thought he was in Rey's montage as that role?). Different - In terms of Force ability, there's really no comparison. What takes Luke 3 films to accomplish (with direct mentoring from Jedi Masters), Rey picks up such advanced techniques quickly and intuitively. In addition, Rey gets a big download of information by holding Luke's saber, but Luke never seemed to get Force osmosis this way? For continuity of older characters, especially Luke and Han, did not sit well with me. It's not a matter of just getting Force Awakens to gel with the feel of Return of the Jedi, it has to do with having character arcs that feel logical. What appeared in the 30 year gap, is that Han and Leia had a child who went to the Dark side, and Han retreats back to his life as a smuggler, effectively leaving Leia on her own with the Resistance and dealing with their son? And Luke's involvement was to hide in secret for three decades? It creates a big gap in the character arcs that felt unexplained. Why have the men turned away from their prior heroism? But clearly this is the story of the new characters. And they're well done. Finn is quite charming, definitely a trickster. He even convinced BB-8 into going along with his ruse as an important figure in the Resistance. I really like the idea that Rey is spontaneously learning about the Force. One of the core parts of Star Wars is how the Force is always seeking balance. Here the imbalance seems the Dark Side has a mentor (Snoke) and a student (Kylo Ren), while the Light Side only has Luke left. So there's a logic to the natural awakening of the Force in Rey as a re-balancing. Kylo Ren is such a meaty, conflicted character, just mesmerizing. After all the prior stories of "falling to the Dark", it was great seeing Kylo Ren's struggle being the uncomfortable pull towards the Light. This supports Scott's great point about the Force being a trickster, able to move between good and evil very fluidly. That Kylo's training in the Force is incomplete is well visualized by his rough and inelegant light sword, as well as his emotional outbursts, with their messy effects. Kylo works as a great mirror for Rey. Though on opposing sides of the struggle, they are in similar situation in terms of the Force. Their powers appear organically, not totally under control, and they have little context to understand the dynamics. That they are both using the Force in creative ways makes Rey and Kylo come alive. The idea of The Resistance/1st Order being huge sorts of characters themselves makes a lot of sense to me. They serve as a political mirror of the balancing of the spiritual (Force). Maybe the entire universe is a trickster in a sense.

Something that struck me about the characters was that they were all asking the question "where do I belong?" The theme of the movie (I thought i mentioned this earlier but that comment seems to have disappeared). Rey wonders where she came from and who her parents are, but she's been left behind, as much as she wonders where she came form, how can you shake the idea that if they left her, she doesn't belong there? And while she manages to survive on Jakku, she doesn't really thrive there, and she knows something has to change. Finn, the runaway Stormtrooper, he should know exactly where he belongs. He has the suit, he has the orders, even his name is a place in line. FN-2137. How can you not know where you belong? Between FN-2136 an 2138. But he can't just keep his head down and do as he's told, he has this moment of revulsion, of fear, and has to break out of there. An without that order to his life, he's a blank slate and he wants to make up for the misdeeds he's done in the past. I think Finn is the Attractor because of his attraction to both Rey, who he sweeps up into his troubles, as well as how he imprints on Poe, who's sort of the guideline for the person Finn wants to be. Let me talk about Poe. I love Poe (I love all three of these characters, they're just adorable together). He knows exactly who he is: expert Rebel pilot, all around dashing hero good guy, generally unflappable and generous ("that's my jacket. keep it."). His parents were part of the Rebel Alliance, he grew up at the knee of Star Wars, knew what he wanted, took it and excelled. That's why he's not in that much of the movie. He serves as Finn's mentor and inciting incident. Poe is Finn's mentor, and Han is obviously Rey's. But he's also questioning where he belongs. He left the Resistance and got up to his old tricks, he doesn't doubt his skills as a Captain or Pirate, but as a father and husband. He's not needed back at the Resistance because they need his abilities to shoot down the Starkiller (like they did for the Death Star), he's needed because Leia needs him, because his son needs him. And that's what makes his death so powerful, he ends up where he belongs, with his son. Kylo Ren knows where he wants to be: on the right side of Snoke. But he's conflicted, he still has good in him. I think he's the Trickster (giant Snoke could qualify as the Nemesis because even though we don't know much about him, he knows he's evil). Every time Kylo takes his helmet off, we're reminded he's a human being, dealing with issues. He wants to be the faceless mask, the leader of the Knights Of Ren, an avatar of something more powerful than himself, and I think this struggle is going to be the core of the new Trilogy. And let's be honest, they say it's a trilogy but I'm certain we'll get an Episode X. Even Luke Skywalker debates where he belongs. He was the last of the Jedi, and becomes a teacher to a new generation. And completely screws it up. Like Han, he's opted out because he worries that his contribution to the universe will make things worse. I also want to say how much I like the fact that the characters, especially the new three, are all born out of Star Wars fandom in a funny way. Poe is the kid who grew up on Star Wars and not only got to do it, but does it brilliantly. He's the ascended ubergeek. Rey reminds me of the Little Mermaid in some ways (especially with that giant walker, it's like her grotto of forbidden objects). She grew up dreaming of the Jedi but never thought it could happen to her. And Finn? Well, there's tons of fans who dress as Stormtroopers, why wouldn't the movie take the mask off one of them and follow him around? And Kylo Ren? How many fans dress up as Darth Vader? How many militant computer geeks are out there trying to be trolls and assholes online? Lots of them try to be untouchable agents of destruction, but they all have a little nugget of humanity in them that they either have to embrace or destroy.

It'll be interesting how they re-canonize Luke after he apparently just threw his hands up and ran away since his abandonment of training young Jedi left only the dark side to wield "the force." My impression is that Kylo Ren was the main bad apple of the young who went to the dark side. I don't think it's really clear what happened to the other young Jedi Luke was training. Presumably at least some became the Knights of Ren, but maybe not all. And of those who did turn, maybe not irrevocably.

Did anyone else notice that in the multi-montage of Rey's memory, that the ship that left her on Jakku an orphan looked a lot like the Millennium Falcon? They crammed a lot of character backstory in that montage!

I assume that Luke's students either became Knights Of Ren or were slaughtered. I'd have to rewatch and analyze the flashback to gain more insight, but that's how it seems to me. I assume that Snoke has the other Kngihts Of Ren doing stuff in other parts of the galaxy. If Kylo turns to the light side, then he'll need to take on his former compatriots, so they need to be established. Luke, I think, will resist training Rey for as long as possible, not wanting to risk corrupting another student, and she's going to have to push him to do it.

Lots of interesting thoughts here. I like David's point about Kylo Ren's struggle and the parallels between him and Daisy. And blueneumann's point about "Where Do I Belong?" is a really interesting way to assess everyone. Plus as many people have stated, the new generation uses and mixes many traits of characters of the originals, which is cool. I thought overall the new characters were a real strength of the film. I really liked all of them pretty much. Hux to me was the weakest since he seemed most one-dimensional, but I trust that he could evolve as the series progresses. They seem to be setting up a conflict between him and Kylo Ren, which I think will be interesting. I think Rey and Finn are great new hereos. It was cool that their dynamic didn't turn into a flat romance or one existing solely to be saved by the other, but rather something more mutual and deeper. When you factor in the strong casting, it's clear that JJ Abrams has a gift for developing compelling ensembles. I'm excited to see where all of these characters, new and old, go on their journeys from here.