Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Undoes Three Rey Scenes (& Makes Them Better)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals that Rey is the granddaughter of Palpatine, which undermines three previous sequel trilogy scenes.
Rey’s true heritage is revealed in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which undermines three scenes from Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the process. Rey is part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s ensemble cast, and her journey towards Jedi Knighthood and rebuilding the Jedi Order is a key plot point in all three films. The Last Jedi tried to subvert expectations by establishing Rey as being related to no notable Star Wars characters (after years of speculation among fans regarding her heritage) and establishing a romantic subplot with Kylo Ren, but The Rise of Skywalker undid the meanings of these moments.
The Last Jedi is one of the most divisive entries in the Star Wars saga, pleasing many viewers with its seemingly original plot and character development while offending others with its lack of understanding of the franchise’s lore and having an overabundance of meta-commentary. Star Wars fans spent years theorizing who Rey’s parents (or grandparents) might be, and the decision to make her related to nobody felt like a cheap and empty attempt to simply be unexpected, rather than tell an interesting story. Rey’s romance with Kylo Ren, similarly, felt out of place to viewers, given their lack of chemistry and Kylo Ren’s blatantly abusive behavior towards Rey.
The Rise of Skywalker’s Palpatine reveal undermined three key scenes in The Last Jedi. The first was Rey’s vision in the cave, which visually communicates that Rey herself is the key to resolving her feelings of confusion and lack of identity. The second was Rey and Kylo Ren’s hand touch scene, establishing their newfound bond. Finally, after the death of Snoke and his guards, Kylo Ren reveals that Rey’s parents were “nobodies” and that she came from nothing. The apparent freedom given to Rey’s character by detaching her from other Star Wars characters is removed by her Palpatine heritage, but this might not be a bad thing as the saga has actually repeatedly explored this concept in previous installments. By contrast, making Rey a complete anomaly actually removes her from the emotional heart of the story and limits her narrative potential in relation to other characters.
One motivation behind making Rey a “nobody” might have been to say that Star Wars heroes, particularly Jedi, don’t need to be part of a special bloodline, such as the Skywalker family. The problem with this idea, however, is that the franchise has already established time and again that bloodlines were never necessary for heroism or Force power, as the numerous Jedi and Sith of the prequel trilogy came from all walks of life, from royalty to the humblest of backgrounds. Removing Rey’s connection to the rest of the Star Wars franchise ruins much of her dramatic story potential by keeping her at a distance from the franchise’s heroes or villains.
Rey and Kylo Ren’s hand touch, while perhaps partially motivated by establishing a connection between the two as kindred spirits, was ruined by the inappropriateness of their budding romantic relationship, which director and writer Rian Johnson confirmed. Throughout The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren emotionally isolates Rey, preventing her from forming a meaningful relationship with her potential mentor, Luke Skywalker, and gaslighting her constantly. After murdering Han Solo in front of Rey not long after attempting to invade her mind to torture her in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the hand touch and its meaning were in poor taste.
This problem is significantly exacerbated in the throne room scene, where Kylo Ren tells Rey that she "comes from nothing” and that she is “nothing,” but not to him. This line was perhaps Kylo’s most blatantly abusive moment in the film because whether or not Kylo Ren was correct (before The Rise of Skywalker’s retcon), he was trying to convince her that he’s the only person who values her, and he clearly never had her best interests in mind. By undoing these three scenes in The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker allowed for more inventive storytelling for Rey and (mostly) moved past a worryingly problematic romantic subplot.