Although there’s a lot in Rebel Rising that doesn’t 100% resonate with me in terms of Jyn’s character, I found the exploration of the bond between Saw Gerrera and Jyn incredibly moving. I’m undecided on whether Jyn wanted to see Saw as a second father (or if Saw could ever accept seeing himself that way), but they were, in some ways, each the first person the other truly saved.
Reece didn’t speak, so Jyn continued. “I still think of that cave. It was so dark. I waited for so long. When I’m scared, it sometimes feels like I’m back there.”
“Trapped inside a cave inside your mind,” Reece said softly.
Jyn nodded in the dark. “But Saw always comes,” she said.
Saw’s eyes were watery and seemed tired as he shifted his attention to Jyn. “If you’ve got no one left, it doesn’t matter as much what happens to you. There’s a sort of fearlessness in being alone. But when you start to love someone else… It’s ironic.”
“What is?” Jyn asked softly.
“You find out that you have so much more to fight for, but it becomes that much more dangerous to fight at all.”
“Saw means something to a lot of people,” Maia said when Jyn didn’t answer her. “I heard about him as a hero of Onderon, from my godfather, Lux. Staven’s family was saved when Saw organised a supply run past Imperial blockades to feed them. Saw fought in the Clone Wars; he’s fought in battles since then. He’s half legend.”
Jyn sniffed.
“But,” Maia added, “while Saw means something to all of us, you mean something to him.”
