One element from J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens has been on my mind, since the first time I watched it and throughout my subsequent viewings. This is the film's weakest story element, the character of Rey. This is not to say that Rey is a weak individual. On the contrary, Rey is a strong willed scavenger, pilot and fighter. Throughout the film Rey appears indestructible. Though she lands herself in two bad situations, accidentally releasing the rathtars and getting herself kidnapped by Kylo Ren, her single minded determination gets her out of these problems with little difficulty. Rey even teaches herself about the force and is able to harness this unseen power that she had little to no knowledge of. This is what makes Rey a weak character. She appears to have no flaws.
This is often a primary point I highlight, when I converse with friends about The Force Awakens' best and worst story elements. As the most memorable Star Wars protagonists' all have flaws that lead them into irreversible turmoil (Luke's trust in his own power led to him losing his right arm, Obi-Wan's vainglorious pursuit to become a Jedi master made him neglectful of his Padawan's training, Finn's fear of standing up and fighting for what is right leads to him almost abandon his friends), it seems fitting that Rey should also have a character flaw. If Rey has a character flaw it will give her more humanity as a person, believability as a fictitious character and credibility as a worthwhile role model.
I have been watching and rewatching and talking with people about The Force Awakens with the hope that I will find Rey's possible character flaw. I have had no success. Now my search concludes, Daisy Ridley, the actress playing the character of Rey, has given her answer. In an interview with comicbook.com Ridley was asked what her character's biggest flaw is. Ridley quickly responded, "I don't think she has a flaw." Ridley says Rey's lack of flaws is a good thing. In her interview Ridely stated, "I was actually having this discussion with my dad, because I was like, you know, people go to the hair dresser to get their hair done, people go to the gym to get their bodies done. You can always work on your stuff, just if you can't see it. You can work on jealousy or anger or whatever it is...So I don't think that's a flaw, I think it's room for growth." Ridley also went on to say that one of Rey's possible flaws, her stubbornness, is not a hindrance for Rey or any other character in Star Wars. Ridely stated, "I think anything that might be the thing that people go *scoffs* with kids, if they're stubborn, if they're willful, serves her very well in this film. So I don't think that's a flaw."
Of course, Rey's character has to have a flaw, as no human is or ever will be perfect. Since Rey's character is destined to fail in certain areas of her life, where are her failures? If she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to, where does she fall short?
Perhaps Rey's greatest flaw comes from the fact that she has yet to fall short. Perhaps because Rey has yet to fail herself or others in a horribly irreversible way, she believes she cannot fail. She is able to continue to believing in this flawed view of herself, because it is more than supported by her circumstances. Any disaster she has gotten herself into, she has made it out with relative ease. If Rey's character is without flaws, then she cannot represent humanity, be a believable fictitious character or be a credible role model like many of the other Star Wars characters surrounding her.
Though it is unfortunate that Rey's character is a weak story element in The Force Awakens, her character has time for development. My hope is that in Star Wars' next installment, The Last Jedi, Rey will be illustrated as an imperfect human being in need of help, growth and rescue, like all human beings.
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