Ultimately, The Force Awakens was the story of Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren, but the underlying purpose of the film was driven by the quest to find where in the galaxy far, far away Luke Skywalker had disappeared to. Yet, for not appearing in the entire film until the last 30 seconds (and after 30 years away from the big screen), it was completely crushing.

When Rey, and all of the possibilities about who she might really be, handed Luke his lightsaber–the one his father had wielded as a Jedi Knight, the same one Obi-Wan took with him from Mustafar and gave to Luke years later, the lightsaber Darth Vader cut along with his son’s hand on Cloud City, the one that ultimately ended up with Maz Kanata, who in turn said it was calling to Rey–it carried the weight and tragedy of generations of Skywalkers.

This video from Christopher Sherwood, title “Path of a Lightsaber,” puts the history of that important lightsaber together, to highlight just why we (well I trust I wasn’t the only one okay) were as emotional as Rey and Luke during that moment.

“I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father.” That line instantly ruins me anytime I hear it, but when it is set against Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting at the end of Revenge of the Sith I really fall apart.

Han’s simple question of how in the world Maz Kanata got Luke’s lightsaber (“A good question for another time.” Agreed!) is a sneakily great moment in The Force Awakens. Then of course there’s the lightsaber ignoring Kylo Ren and going to Rey and oh hey I’m tearing up AGAIN.

Okay, we still have two more Star Wars films to go to learn who Rey is, where Luke has been, and why that lightsaber chose her. Whatever the answers, they will come at the end of a long, tortured, but rewarding path.

So long as Maz Kanata does actually tell us how she got it. We definitely need that answered.

How do you think Maz got it? Give us your best theory on that particular path of this lightsaber.

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Images: Lucasfilm