The first time I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens I walked out of the theater excited, happy, but also confused. The whole movie was great, I thought, except for one scene. One scene didn't fit.
"The hug"
After Chewbacca, Rey, and Finn returned from Starkiller Base (sans Han Solo), Chewbacca helped with Finn, but Rey stood beside the Millenium Falcon. From the bystanders awaiting the ship's return emerged General Leia Organa. Leia walked past Chewbacca and embraced Rey.
At first this didn't make sense. Chewbacca and Han Solo had been friends for over 40 years, Leia was Han's former lover, Chewie and Leia have a history as friends, Leia knew Han was killed, so why did they not mourn together immediately?
The scene bothered me until the second time I saw The Force Awakens. Then I looked at the scene from a totally different angle.
On two separate dates in August 1943, General George S. Patton, one of the most decorated and esteemed generals in American history encountered two US military members facing "shell-shock", or as we call it today "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder". These two young soldiers were in medical treatment centers despite not having any physical injuries. When General Patton asked them what was wrong, both answered that they couldn't fight any more. As a battle hardened officer commanding troops during a World War, Patton refused to accept that answer. In both incidences, Patton slapped the soldier, yelled at him, and in the second incident, threatened to shoot him if he didn't rejoin his unit. From the History Channel:
From what we know about Rey, before joining Finn and BB-8, she hadn't been off Jakku since arriving as a child. She hadn't been shot at, hadn't had to fight a Sith knight, never handled a lightsaber, and never been involved in the detonation of a planet. And it is very possible she had never seen anyone close to her killed and had another friend near death.
For Chewbaccca, the only thing new was the death of Han. He was an old hand at battle, having experienced war and its tragedies since the days of the Clone Wars.
After they landed on D'Qar, emotion probably hit Rey like a brick wall. Gone was the adrenaline of combat. Like the soldiers under Patton, Rey was tired, hurt, and confused.
Like a great military officer should, General Organa saw past her friends and saw someone standing by herself, someone she did not recognize (although there may be some inferred Force bonding). Most importantly, General Organa saw someone who might be suffering from the first symptoms of PTSD.
And the general hugged the young soldier.
Of course there was time for Leia and Chewbacca to mourn, and I'm sure they did. I'm also sure Luke felt Han's death from where he was. And I'm sure Leia and Luke will have a moment to mourn, whether on screen or in a backstory.
But at that immediate moment, it was Rey who needed support more than anyone else.
JJ Abrams shouldn't apologize for that scene. It wasn't "a mistake". From a military perspective, it was exactly what should have happened.
