It’s a long limb I’m about to go out on, but this branch is gigantic and definitely supports my weight. So let’s talk about Rey and about Kylo Ren. Let’s talk about Skywalkers and midi-chlorians. Let’s talk about how the Force “awakened” and what that means for the galaxy.
[Spoilers for The Last Jedi, of course.]
The Last Jedi’s final frames are not concerned with anyone “of note” in their galaxy. He’s a poor, enslaved child on Canto Bight who is now sporting Rose’s resistance ring. He reaches for a broom to sweep up, and the broom flies to his hand from a distance—he has the Force. He stares off into the night sky, much like Luke Skywalker stared into a Tatooine sunset decades before. He sees a shooting star. In effect, the end of Episode VIII wants its audience to acknowledge a shift in the galaxy: the Force is changing. When the new tide rises, perhaps no one will be barred from it.
This sense that “the Force belongs to everyone now!” has resonated with fans for good reason. Though there was never anything stopping sentient beings in the Star Wars galaxy from being Force-sensitive, there were many structures in place that prevented people from learning about that sensitivity and using it. Prior to Order 66, if you wanted to know about the Force, you had to be given to the Jedi Order by your parents in infancy. There weren’t many other avenues open to those whose parents made a different choice for them, who had the abilities but none of the knowledge. You could become a Sith apprentice, or maybe you were lucky enough to be born on a rare planet possessing a large Force-wielding population like Dathomir, but that was pretty much it.
Then the Jedi Order was wiped out by the Galactic Empire and being Force-sensitive was a liability, something to hide; the Emperor dispatched Inquisitors to seek out the remaining Jedi and find any Force-sensitive children to make certain that they never reached their full potential.
After the Rebellion deposed the Emperor, there was still the question of what would happen to a galaxy that continued to produce Force-users with very few educators to pick up the slack. Luke claims that he had a school of roughly a dozen students, plus his nephew, but those numbers don’t account for the ten thousand Jedi that had existed during the height of the Republic and other sensitives besides. Which means that there is basically an entire lost generation of people with Force-wielding capabilities just hanging around. Out there, somewhere.
So why is Rey the one that the galaxy needed? Why her specifically? We might already have our answer…
The title of Episode VII prompted some confusion for fans—the Force is awakening? Was it asleep? Is it somehow morphing? Supreme Leader Snoke made mention of this in the film, telling Kylo Ren, “There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?” It’s likely that he was referring to Rey, the young woman who suddenly appeared on the galactic stage out of nowhere with a whole lot of Force mojo despite zero training. This seems even more likely when she explains to Luke Skywalker why she has come to find him on Ahch-To in the next film: “Something is inside me has always been there. But now it’s awake.”
In other words, Rey has always had some inkling that the Force was within her, but it suddenly flipped into overdrive. Her power is expanding, as her understanding of this strange sense has magnified. Rey isn’t just any old Force-sensitive being in their galaxy; her abilities are baffling to everyone who knows about the Force. Snoke belittles Kylo Ren after their fight on Starkiller Base, taunting him for being bested by “a girl who had never held a lightsaber.” Luke is mortified by the power Rey displays when he tries to give her a lesson. He tells her that he’s seen that raw strength once before—in his nephew—and he knows now to be afraid of it. Many fans assumed that this power in Rey was the result of a secret lineage, that we would learn she was either Luke or Leia’s child by The Last Jedi. Instead, the film offered us a different answer; Rey’s parents are no one special at all. They sold her and left her alone on Jakku, where she lived the majority of her life until now. So where did Rey’s awakened abilities come from?
To figure it out, we have to go back to Anakin Skywalker.
Here’s the deal: Anakin Skywalker has a conversation with Chancellor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith in which Palpatine tells him a Sith legend about Darth Plagueis the Wise, a dark side-user so powerful that he figured out how to use the midi-chlorians to create life. We’re left with the distinct impression that Plagueis was Palpatine’s Sith master, and that he killed the man after gaining that knowledge for himself. Palpatine’s midi-chlorian manipulation is ostensibly what created Anakin Skywalker; his mother explains to Qui-Gon Jinn that Anakin has no father, that she became pregnant without a partner. Anakin is the result of a Sith Lord using special knowledge of the Force to create an unnatural birth.
As a result, Anakin is also incredibly powerful. In fact, he might be more powerful than any other Force-wielder living, at least in terms of access to the Force. The happenstance of his birth results in him possessing an unusually high midi-chlorian count—even higher than Yoda’s, the most powerful Jedi of the era. He has the ability to podrace when no other human can, he sees things before they happen, and what he lacks in wisdom over the years, he makes up for in sheer brute might. While many Jedi have a better understanding of the Force, no one has the raw talent of Anakin Skywalker. And that unbridled strength is what seals the fate of the Jedi Order in the long run; when Anakin goes over to Palpatine’s side, the two become unstoppable.
Anakin Skywalker is prophesied to be the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force, and he ultimately does through his children. After entering into a forbidden marriage, the twins that he and Padmé Amidala have are responsible for eradicating the Sith and bringing true harmony to the galaxy. Luke says as much to Rey in The Last Jedi; following the Emperor’s demise, there were years where the Force was finally balanced.
But then Ben Solo grew into his power.
This is the crux of the problem. While Luke Skywalker may have become a legend for correcting the cosmic imbalance, the Skywalker family is not destined to bring anything but pain into the universe. It’s important to remember that the Skywalkers were ultimately a lineage of Force-users that came into being without the Force’s input. Palpatine created Anakin to his own particular specifications, made him more powerful than anyone so that he could wield a mighty Vader-shaped hammer when he finally took over the galaxy. That power continued down his bloodline when it was only meant to benefit one horrendously evil man.
The galaxy got lucky with Luke and Leia. Anakin’s children did not embody the flaws of their father—the Skywalker twins were both deeply motivated by selfless love, loyalty, and a desire to help others. They were capable of shepherding the galaxy into an era of peace because peace is what they sought. But like legends of old, the good ruler is only useful while they sit on the throne. Eventually someone else will take their place, and that person is liable to be worse, and then all that hard work is erased, the status quo restored. That return to form is precisely what we see in Ben Solo. Whatever Luke’s mistakes were in training him, Ben was predisposed to this path, like his grandfather before him. And his desire for power at the expense of all others is throwing the galaxy out of whack again.
So the Force Awakened. And it selected someone to eradicate the Skywalker line for good.
The Force has different components: the Cosmic Force and the Living Force. The Living Force is the Force that exists inside all living things, while the Cosmic Force is what binds the galaxy together. According to the Force Awakens Visual Dictionary, the Cosmic Force essentially went a little dormant following the defeat of Palpatine, and it was harder for those with Force-sensitivities to detect its presence. But there was turbulence in the galaxy and it awakened again, helping those with latent Force abilities to recognize their powers. Including people like Rey and that little kid with the broom.
And what was the turbulence? Oh… just another Skywalker threatening to plunge the galaxy into darkness again.
The fact that Rey has a power clearly equal to Kylo Ren’s speaks volumes. Rey didn’t recognize her abilities until the Cosmic Force woke up, and when it did, she was drawn into a story much older and larger than herself. The Force chose her, not in a prophetic sense, but a practical one—and this can be true whether you view the Force as a sentient deity, or as a metaphysical aspect of the universe that is unconsciously doing the cosmic equivalent of introducing an antibody to expel a virus. It selected a random orphan of no importance to anyone and imbued her with the power to stop a line of Force-wielders who never should have existed in the first place. The Force is done letting the galaxy try to work things out for itself. It’s employing its own corrective.
The fact that Rey might simply be a castaway with no connection to others is incredibly important to her part in this story. After The Force Awakens, fans were keen to point out the similarities between Rey, Anakin, and Luke, all of them children who grew up on desert planets, hoping for better lives. But Rey’s early life was decidedly different from the Skywalker boys in one particular way: she never had a true home. Her very first friend was Finn, another person with no past and an uncertain future. Rey is the perfect candidate for this job because her life is unmoored, and she is searching for purpose. She answers this call without question because she has nothing else to do or be, even moreso than Luke at the beginning of his own journey. Compared to him, Rey is a laser beam, tightly focused on a target. She has so little to lose that it doesn’t occur to her to hesitate in taking up this mantle.
And all the while the Force is tweaking at her. Making it clear that she has this power, making her curious about it, making her want to use it. Rey isn’t just a very special Force-user with a very special destiny. She is the sword of the Cosmic Force, here to bring the galaxy true balance for the first time in an age.
Kylo Ren should be terrified.
Emmet Asher-Perrin still feels really bad for all the Skywalkers, since it’s not like they were going for this lot in life. You can bug her on Twitter and Tumblr, and read more of her work here and elsewhere.
I hope this is true. I fear JJ isn’t capable of being this deep.
First of all, this is great and along the lines of things I was thinking about but hadn’t really bothered to articulate. I’m definitely a big fan of ‘Rey is nobody’ and I hope it sticks (I really hope JJ doesn’t feel the need to turn it into some twisty turny thing with brand new reveleations). I love the idea of the Cosmic Force re-awakening to face the new imbalance and picking another ‘nobody’.
That said, I kinda disagree with the sense of fatalism about the Skywalker line, that it needs to be completely wiped out. And I don’t really like stories hinging on people being predisposed to evil simply because who they are, and I’m especially not comfortable with declaring that certain people shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Interestingly, in the (not part of this canon) book Darth Plagueis, Anakin is actually implied to be created by the Force itself as a response to Plageuis/Palpatine’s manipulations – ANAKIN is the self corrective action of the Force. And once Palpatine realizes that he has a serious oh shit moment and knows he has to get to him first.
But yes, in general it does seem like the Skywalkers on the whole have not been great for the galaxy. I believe Kylo could have gone either way (as Anakin could have), but it’s your choices that decide who you are ;) To quote another dodgy wizard…
I don’t like the idea of Rey as the Force’s chosen one (practical or not), since one of the big themes of TLJ seems to be that there shouldn’t be any chosen ones, that we shouldn’t put our faith in legends.
And that is exactly why I don’t like the new trilogy. It cancels out EVERYTHING that’s gone before in order to replay the same old themes.
You want to talk about TLJ on the internet? ARE YOU NUTS? …j/k. I agree 100%, there is a very Zen aspect to the Cosmic Force, that it is constantly seeking to find and keep balance within the chaos that is the Living Force. Just as the Universe gave birth to all life, so it seems the Cosmic Force must constantly monitor it’s squabbling offspring, the Dark Side and The Force. It seems likely the Cosmic Force *needs* both Kylo and Rey to be true to their own bad and good selves. but only after destroying Snoke together as a team; the Cosmic Force simply won’t stand for anyone implementing a massive imbalance in the Force! *which to me seemed a very Highlander-like “There can be only One!” plot device to point out the moral grey area where ambition and pride reside.
Where did this idea come from that Palpatine created Anakin? I have never even seen the theory, even in legends continuity. Shmi’s virgin birth was supposed to be a Jesus parallel, what with the whole chosen one prophecy, and I thought the force was God, not Palpatine.
@3 – i agree to an extent, but I think the Star Wars universe, with its mysticism and the Force which…if not sentient, at least has some kind of guiding influence…there’s always going to be some kind of concept of a person being ‘called’ or set on a path to do a particular thing. I think what TLJ is at least saying though, is that this is not something that only the Jedi get to do, or that only Skywalkers get to do.
In a sense, it’s very Biblical (and I’m sure other religions can also point out parallels) – in Jewish/Christian theology there are a lot of stories where the chosen one (for a particular goal) is always some shepherd, the last son, a refugee, a foreigner…all the way down to the Incarnation taking place amidst a humble family of nobodies in a backwater province (“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there!”) and of course various saints who also have their own humble beginnings.
@6 – I personally don’t find Anakin to be a Jesus parallel at all. The virgin birth isn’t really unique to Christianity in and of itself. Nor do I find that the Force meshes well with a Judeo-Christian view of God. And I’ve definitely heard the Palatine created Anakin theory many times before (although, at least in the Legends canon, the Darth Plagueis book I mentioned comes the closest to explaining where Anakin comes from, and it’s basically the Force’s saving throw against their machinations).
Also, kindly please stop posting so much awesome Star Wars content on this site because it’s starting to interfere with my work ;)
@Magnus
Rey was the first to reach Luke & sense a special kinship with him. With force sensitives on the rise again it will all equal out. She may just be the “first” among many.
I really hope the story arc goes this route. Thank you, Emmet Asher-Perrin!
@6, you may need to turn in your nerd card. The clear implication of the prequels is that Anakin was created by either Darth Plagueis or his apprentice, Darth Sidious. The combination of the virgin birth story in part 1 with the legend that Palpatine told Anakin in part 3 is clear.
Generally I like the idea that Rey is the result of the Force taking corrective action to rebalance itself after being unnaturally manipulated to create Anakin. But I’m not sure I like the idea of a sentient, self-guiding Force that chose Rey specifically. Suppose it’s the result of a random stochastic process; the Force is active and awakening in many people, and Rey just happens to be the first one to come to the galaxy’s notice. (After all, there is a strong tendency for lottery winners to think they were “chosen” somehow by fate, destiny or a higher power, when all that happened is that millions of people played and one got lucky. From the outside, you can see the millions of losers, but from the inside, you feel “chosen”.)
On the other hand, if Rey is randomly the most powerful of the new Force-sentives, why show up specifically on Jakku and specifically when Kylo Ren is there. Or maybe that’s a manifestation of the quantum observer effect, otherwise known as the Voldemort effect. Voldemort made the prophecy come true by attacking Harry instead of ignoring it so the kid grows up differently. Maybe Kylo Ren’s presence on Jakku created such a ripple in the Force that Rey became “chosen” because she was the one who was close enough to the epicenter to be “activated.”
Well, if it gets things back to the way the Force was in the 1977 movie, I’m happy. I never cared for treating it as a character that chooses people, destiny, chosen ones, blah, blah, blah. It’s simply an elemental thing in that universe, something that people use for good or bad or something in between. Doesn’t need meaning.
@@.-@ – princessroxana: TLJ most definitely does not replay the same themes.
@9 – madmonq: There’s a difference between first and chosen.
Uhmm. The very same movie (Revenge of the Sith), has Sidious explaining to Anakin that the power to create and preserve life (the very power he tempted the young man with) “belonged to my master alone.” He added some sort of ‘Together we shall rediscover it’ such verbiage, but it is clear right there in the movie that Sidious couldn’t possibly be the one to cause Anakin’s little immaculate conception. If anyone caused it, it was Plagueis.
Furthermore, Snoke himself explains the reason for the Awakening, when he tells Kylo & Rey that he had told Kylo that as he grew in strength his light-side opposite would manifest in the force. Snoke thought that it would be Skywalker, but revealed that he was wrong, it was Rey.
@13 – Anakin was not immaculately conceived ;) Totally different concept. Has nothing to do with sex or the lack thereof being involved in the conception of said child. (Mary was immaculately conceived, and her parents definitely had sex).
“So the Force Awakened. And it selected someone to eradicate the Skywalker line for good.”
Huh? So you’re saying she’s here to kill Luke and Leia?
I’m assuming she means Ben.
@12, seems to me the new trilogy used a reset button to recreate the problems of the Original Trilogy and is only slightly twisting the themes of same. YMMV.
Great analysis. :-)
princessroxana: Have you seen TLJ yet?
Lisamarie beat me to it. It’s in the non-canon “Legends” category now, but back when that was still on-going the Darth Plagueis book nixed the idea that either Plagueis or Palpatine was responsible for creating Anakin (or any other Sith heir) through the Force. I think it’s more thematically appropriate that they failed, too – it fits with the Dark Side being treacherous while promising your heart’s desire, eternal life being something that the Sith want but can never get (unlike the Jedi Masters who figure out how to become Force Ghosts), and the Sith becoming more and more powerful with each hidden generation until they finally produced someone like Palpatine (Palpatine is so powerful that he can fight Yoda to a standstill).
By all means kill all the Skywalkers who bring doom just by their existence. They must be a genetic impurity we don’t want contaminating the rest of the universe. What a great theme for a movie these days!
Apparently the original shooting script for Revenge of the Sith did include a line where Palpatine outright tells Anakin that he created him with the Force. But that was later removed, indicating that either Lucas thought it was too blunt or didn’t like the idea that Palpatine created Anakin after all and changed it.
What is the natural state of the galaxy? Is it peace and prosperity? Or is it conflict and war? In my mind the couple decades of the former after the defeat of Palpatine are the anomaly here.
Luke’s lecture to Rey on the nature of the Force supports this: balance is life, and death. Pleasure, and pain. Etc.
In that view, of course everything is getting undone. That’s how Life works.
Whenever I spend any time thinking about it, I come to the conclusion that most of the people in the Star Wars universe would be better off if nobody had access to Force powers. Sure, it’s a great mechanic for producing cinematic heroes and giving them dramatic battles to fight, but TLJ is right to point out that this doesn’t do much for the average person living in that universe.
The movies try to tell us that certain powers belong to the Light Side (mind control, among other things), and others are the province of the Dark Side (force lightning). Yet others (telekinesis) seem to be neutral and open to everyone. What’s missing from this is that any of these powers can be used for evil by anyone willing to hurt other people.
Rogue One showed us the heroism that can be found in normal people. Maybe our new heroes will come to realize that Force magic grants people abilities that aren’t particularly reassuring to those of us without them.
@14
Please elaborate. Your last comment broke my processor. My flip flops are constantly reset. I’ve read it several times, is there a typo in it?
The “Immaculate Conception” is a Catholic concept that Mary, from the moment of her conception, was kept sinless and free of original sin by God’s intervention so that she would be a proper mother/vessel for the birth of God’s Son. Mary is the immaculate one.
(Protestants’ mileage may vary.)
The Virgin Birth is the doctrine of Incarnation (“made flesh”).
#24 — Tarkin and Hux didn’t need Force powers to give the order to destroy entire planets. And Finn didn’t need a magical space wizard to tell him it’s bad to slaughter innocent villagers. Evil and good seem to carry on just fine without the Force.
Could it be the Jedi and Sith are just normal people with magic tricks?
@27 Both received those orders from Force-wielding tyrants and it is implied that Force-wielding heroes were needed to save the day. Up to this point, the universe seemed like it wanted to sell us that Force users occupy the top slots at both extremes of morality.
Grizzled Luke wants us to think about whether organizing Force users and telling them they have a special role to play is a good idea. And it’s one I like. It’s a sign that the universe is maturing.
#28 — I don’t think Tarkin required any orders to blow up a planet. He seemed eager and delighted to use the Death Star. You don’t need hokey religions and ancient weapons to do evil, or good.
It’s kinda similar to comic book superheroes and mutants and magic, and if those types of things DO exist, do they have some obligation/responsibility to use their powers for good/humanity. I love stories about them. I would not want to live in an actual world that had them.
I think just as Rian Johnson jettisoned many of J. J. Abrams’ plot devices in TLJ (such as who is Snoke, who are Rey’s parents, etc.) Abrams is very likely to retcon Johnson’s. Isn’t it likely that a murderer of children and a patricide like Ren is also a liar? Thus Abrams can make Rey a Skywalker (or a Kenobi, etc.) if he wants.
@31 – that’s actually what kinda bothers me on a meta level regarding this trilogy. Even though the OT had different directors, George Lucas (whatever your opinion on him) was behind it all. And yes, he did also change his mind about various things so even this isn’t the best example, but at least he had some kind of unifying vision. I worry that this is just going to turn into each director wanting to get their pet ideas/styles into their movie.
Are there other types of stories? They’d be really boring. Happiness, plenty, security, love and peace don’t generate story as far as I know, except in contrast with the alternative. Story is generated by striving to gain, or recover, those things, not from the actual experience of them.
@28
Well put. I especially like the term “force users”. The Force isn’t the problem. It’s all user error.
@19, I haven’t seen either movie. Spoilers made it clear they were not my cup of tea but I’m not criticizing anybody who does like them. Enjoy, sorry I can’t join you.
I think your theories are fascinating! I like the idea of the Cosmic Force changing who has access to it. It even fits with what Snoke says, “Darkness rises and light to meet it.”
So here are my thoughts. You think the Force is choosing her to eradicate Kylo. What if it’s choosing her to balance him? The yin to his yang. I don’t buy Snoke’s I connected you line about why Ben and Rey are now Force-skyping. In the novelization of TFA, it mentions that they feel a connection during Kylo Ren’s interrogation of Rey. Snoke even seems surprised about Rey — “she resisted you?” Then at the end of the movie, we see that the connection still exists between them after Snoke’s death. I think he was trying to manipulate the connection between them once he senses it. Considering how close TLJ follows TFA timeline-wise it also makes sense that while they are recuperating and still that the connection Force bond begins to intensify alongside Rey’s abilities.
I’m thinking Rey will have to face a choice in 9 of either destroying Kylo or helping him find redemption as she is the light to his darkness.
I’m writing this late. So I hope my thoughts are making some sense.
I would like this to be true.
Small correction though. Rey’s very first friend was BB8.
Thank you Emmet Asher-Perrin. even if I don’t like the – use them and then dump them attitude in order to get fresh meat for the power players, that was some deep thinking, giving me hope that maybe there is more nowadays in that far far away galaxy, than a good soundtrack, good CGI and a new lightsaber ( a silly one I must say).
I’m subscribed to several SW articles, and most of them (all maybe?) are your doing. thank you. This is all just great
@32 – Lisamarie: This trilogy has Kathleen Kennedy, who worked with Lucas. It also has the Lucasfilm Story Group. And given the firing of the Solo directors because they wanted to do their own thing, I’m pretty sure directors and scriptwriters can do what they want… as long as it fits the vision Lucasfilm can.
@34 – chuck: Garbage In, Garbage Out.
@35 – princessroxana: Okay.
@36 – tangle: That the connection existed before doesn’t mean Snoke didn’t foster it, and that once amplified, it can’t stay that way after Snoke died. And I don’t think Kylo can be or deservs to be redeemed, not without actually paying for his crimes… and I don’t mean with a heroic sacrifice or some bullshit like that.
@37 – Lucerys: BB-8 was the first individual she cared about, but you’ll notice that except specific people like Luke and Poe, people in the Star Wars films don’t care about droids like real people. More than once in this film Finn and Rose are about to escape or try to, without caring about BB-8’s fate. Who, I must add, saves them twice.
Very interesting to think of Rey as ‘balancing out’ Kylo. Does that mean that the Light Side called to her because Ben fell to the Dark Side? If so, would a virtuous Ben Solo have called forth a Dark Side Rey to destroy him (going with the ‘the galaxy wants rid of the Skywalker line idea). It makes Snoke’s line about how the balance calls forth an opposite number make a lot more sense.
@39 – that’s very true, I forgot about that particular firing, thank you for reminding me.
@40 – maybe? I personally don’t care for that idea since I think it takes away some of Rey’s agency, and the one thing I do really disagree with in this article is the idea that the Force is actively trying to snuff out the Skywalker line. Plus, my own way of thinking about balance has to do more with fighting against unrivaled darkness, so I think if Ben Solo HAD been virtuous, there wouldn’t have been as much of a lack of balance in the first place.
I always felt that Anakin did bring balance to the Force. It is just that the Jedi Order were too arrogant to realize it was them who was causing the imbalance. All the cultivating and the initial rejection of Anakin by them because he didn’t fit their conditioning ends up dooming them. Course, then it swings the other way when the Empire goes to wipe out the Jedi.
I think Luke only gets involved because Obi-Wan Kenobi is keeping an eye on him. It really could have been anyone who could have risen up, but because he was around Kenobi, he gets wrapped up in all of this.
Luke is right to doubt the Jedi path, given it was their mistakes that lead to the rise of the Empire and the great evil they represent. But, now the torch is passed to someone who has no baggage and can decide for herself what the right way to go is.
When Rey and Kylo were Force-skyping (thank you @36!) I immediately got a rush and assumed they *were* twins, or related, or…. something.
But since TFA premiered, I couldn’t jive that with the belief that Leia or Luke or Han would ever leave a kid alone like that. Maybe Rey was a young classmate who was saved and hidden after the academy massacre? Before I read this piece, I wasn’t super open to the fact that Rey *was* actually a nobody. Surely Kylo Ren lied to complete his seduction. I think that’s why some people are so pissed off: The previous movies have conditioned us to come to these types of conclusions. A surprise twin! The heroes spring out of nowhere to save the day!
Now that I’ve read through this and all the comments here, I’m excited to see it going this way. The Force is always balancing itself — it’s almost scientific! I’ll try not to get too attached to any one theory, lest I become one of the disgruntled (who refuses to watch the movies but still somehow has time to comment on all the message boards to let us know how upset they are).
Question: If Rey is nobody, who is the Max Von Sydow character keeping an eye on her at the start of TFA?
PS: I think the movies make it clear that the Jedi were tracked down and assassinated to (near-) extinction, no? I don’t think we’re supposed to believe that there are still thousands out there.
I don’t think anyone needs to turn in their nerd card. I don’t spend any time on Star Wars fansites, have read only one Star Wars novel since about 1996, but I have several friends that are that into the series. I think most fans thought is was some jesus parallel. I would hardly describe myself as a casual fan, I’ve watched every movie in the series multiple times, and I can say with conviction that at no time did I consider the possibility that palpatine or plageious (sp??) created Anakin. I did consider it rather ridiculous, and chalked it up to another epic fail of Lucas’ where the prequels are concerned.
Most fans hate the prequels with a passion, and I certainly do. Their only saving grace were the lightsaber battles, clearly the best in the entire series thus far, even though much of those scenes were cgi. The two new movies far bested those prequels, despite the fact that Lucas intended episodes 7 – 9 to take place in a future time after Luke, Leia and Han were all gone. I thought TFA was all right, surely a step up from the dreadful prequels, and as for The Last Jedi, I didn’t like the portrayal and role of Luke at all, in fact, I almost hate what they’ve done to my favorite character from the original trilogy.
That said, in my opinion (one not shared by all,) The Last Jedi is, by far–and I’m not talking like, a kilometer here, I’m talking by an AU–the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogy. I’ll be going to see it again for sure in the weeks ahead, and call me a sucker if you like, it to me matters not (yoda speak )
Lucas never intended for the sequels to take place long after the OT heroes were gone. In fact, Luke training a female apprentice in a backwater planet is from his notes.
At the end of the movies, Rey will reach past the furthest reaches of reality and appear in abrilliantly lit white room where a single, white hooded monk sits at a desk writing with a quill.
She will ask “Have you been causing all this? Are you the Force?”
The figure with a thready voice will say, “Yes. It was me.”
“But why?”
And the Monk will turn around, pull back his hood to reveal himself as George Lucas and say “Because I wanted to make a whole boatload of money and have fun doing it. And it worked, too.”
Or that’s how I see it going down, anyway.
I think the writer missed the point of the prequels and TLJ.
Vader did bring balance to the force. Not his kids. The Jedi was overpowered, controlling, dictating the galaxy by proxy. Unbalancing the force.
Despite the Jedi creed, their very existence is power over the galaxy. It was inevitable that the Jedi council would end up dictating the galaxy.
Vader took out the Jedi and destroyed their future bringing balance to the force.
In original series there were roughly 2 Jedi vs 2 Sith. At the end of RoTJ, there was only 1 Jedi (of note) – Luke. A Sith has to rise. Then Luke tried to train Jedi – unbalancing the force. It was inevitable a disciple of Luke would turn.
Per TLJ, the Force is neutral. Neither good nor evil.
Luke attempting to bring back the Jedi by training a new generation caused the rise of the new Sith. Thus Rey was called into action, perpetuating the struggle.
Luke and Yoda understood that the Jedi as it was has to end. Even Ben recognized this as he calls for the end of all things old (Jedi and Sith). Seeking only to bring order to the galaxy.
There would have been no Episode IX if Rey had join Ben as both the Jedi and the Sith would have ended. Rey would have tempered the First Order, changing it and Kylo Ren (back to Ben). By refusing to join and chosing to become a Jedi – Ben would inevitable become a Sith ensuring more Star Wars to come.
Given the medievalistic nature of society in Star Wars, are we looking at a dynastic marriage at the end of Episode IX, to bring peace to the galaxy (and spawn another generation of heroes and villains for X, XI, XII, etc.)?
After all, if we now know Rey is not related to Kylo Ren …
And when Kylo Ren is vanquished … the force is out of whack yet again until Rey goes? One would think the force would have some longer term thinking here.
@43 — I don’t think Lor San Tekka (the Max von Sydow character) was keeping an eye on Rey; he was just guarding the thumb drive with the map to Luke. Rey just happened to live in a relatively nearby scavenging outpost.
“She is the sword of the Cosmic Force, here to bring the galaxy true balance for the first time in an age.”
I can’t help but see the comparison to Jaina Solo being the prophesied “Sword of the Jedi.” Before TLJ, I actually had a theory that Rey and Ben were siblings, and that the Jacen/Jaina conflict from the “Legacy of the Force” series had been re-purposed in the new canon. That’s pretty much out the window at this point, but I like Emmet Asher-Perrin’s idea better anyway.
Still, as much as I enjoy the new films, I wish Disney/LucasBooks had continued to produce novels in the Legends/Mirror Universe line. I can’t be the only one who wanted to see what adventures the galaxy still held in store for Jaina, Jag, Tahiri, Ben (Skywalker), Zekk, Vestara, Allana, and the rest of the “new” generation.
@51 – hoopmanjh: Yeah, and also, I don’t think that was a map to LUKE, just (part of) a map to Ach-To, the place Luke had been searching for. Someone people question why Luke, who wanted to be apart from the world, would leave a map. Ignoring the fact that he could have wanted to be found at first, it’s not a map to him, it’s a map to the place he was looking for. That’s why one part was in R2, and another part had to be found by Lor San Tekka.
@52 – Mithrin: I think they will produce more Legends fiction in the future. Marvel, DC, Star Trek, etc, all have stuff being published in several universes.
Enjoyed reading the theory and all the comments folks.
I really need need to get to a second viewing of the TLJ, butmy first impression of course was I loved it. A couple hours went by and then I thought, “wait, what the heck is IX going to be”, didn’t seem to be much really to work with to me.
I was definitely dissatisfied with Rey being a nobody, not for the fact that she’s not a Skywalker/Kenobi but because there was so much build up, clues, and that wonderful forceback scene (I must’ve watched it 100 times), plus the hours of reading people’s opinion on whom she may be related to after TFA. Hopefully we’ll gef a better explaination from JJ even if she is a nobody.
Speaking of the forceback scene, I’ve seen no one on any site complain or even mention the fact that the Knights of Ren were not referenced at all!! I thought we would be seeing some badassery by then in this movie
Snoke thing bothers me the most, he was a big mystery and obviously very powerful, just no way he could be vanquished so easily. Hell his guards were more of an adversary than he.
Someone mentioned above something I wondered after this film too. Are we headed for a forbidden love type of story between Rey and Kylo? I couldn’t ignore the feeling as I watched what I thought was an obvious callback to Revenge of the Sith as Kylo extends his hand to Rey to join him, a la Anakin to Padme before heading Mustafar.
After Kylo Ren embraced being Supreme Leader, and Rey rejected joining him, having them have a “forbidden love” would be pretty stupid.
Oh, and Snoke was basically as powerful, menacing, and mysterious as Palpatine… whose name we’re never even told in the movies.
“The clear implication of the prequels is that Anakin was created by either Darth Plagueis or his apprentice, Darth Sidious. The combination of the virgin birth story in part 1 with the legend that Palpatine told Anakin in part 3 is clear.”
Hell no. Maybe it’s “clear” in the old EU, by ejecting some book or comic about Plagueis/Sidious doing their thing on Tatooine, but it was not clear in the movies themselves. What was said in the movies was that Anakin was born without a father. That’s it. The implication was the Force conceived/created/made/put Anakin in Shmi’s womb, to be a Chosen one from some prophecy. Kenobi’s final cry to Anakin before leaving him to die in hot lava (some pity, that. And some great decision making too) was all about that.
@56/nosiwoda (and others): The “clear implication” derives from Palpatine’s meaningful looks and vocal inflections during key moments of his discussion with Anakin. Since the primary source material for Star Wars was and is film, this audiovisual component arguably should be given more narrative weight than any tie-in novels—even before getting into arguments about which EU stories do and do not constrain canon. Of course, whether this implication regarding Anakin’s origins is true remains debatable because we never get any further information from a more reliable narrator. Only more information regarding why a more definitive statement never made it into the final cuts can provide that clarity (and yet still wouldn’t impact our understanding of the story unless a clarification makes it onto the screen in Episode IX).
The entire notion that the Skywalkers were actively shaped via the Force for specific purposes was always a bit problematic. Even the introduction of the midichlorians, another controversial attempt to provide a detailed on-screen explanation where none was really required, doesn’t have the same potential to back the writers into narrative corners. It seems to me that giving Rey a mundane background, along with showing Force sensitivity in a small stable boy (not to mention Chirrut’s milder Force sensitivity in Rogue One), was a smart choice, ensuring that the Force is a more neutral aspect of nature rather than something actively pushing certain people to particular destinies. Even the notion that Rey’s abilities were ‘awakened’ as a counterbalance to Snoke and/or Kylo implies more of a natural feedback loop than it does active consciousness.
Magnus:
Even a cursory google search will turn up dozens of quotes and examples that make it obvious the Story Group has no real authority over the main trilogy. They certainly didn’t develop the storyline for the trilogy ahead of time as a group. Rian Johnson said he got to decide that Rey was “no one from nowhere” and that JJ hadn’t decided that during writing TFA. He also said that killing Snoke was decided by himself during a rewrite after filming had started, because it made for a stronger story, and that he didn’t have to green light that with anyone else. That’s a pretty major change.
The story Group exists to make sure the extended media plays nice and ties in to the existing media and the new trilogy, and to retcon or explain anything that doesn’t fit as the new trilogy progresses.
Its definitely possible that the Story Group has more control over things like Rogue One and Solo. But for Solo, it wasn’t the story they fired the directors over, it was the actual directing. Kasdan was complaining to Kennedy almost from day one that they weren’t shooting the Space Opera he had written, but were shooting an improvized buddy cop movie.
” But for Solo, it wasn’t the story they fired the directors over, it was the actual directing. Kasdan was complaining to Kennedy almost from day one that they weren’t shooting the Space Opera he had written, but were shooting an improvized buddy cop movie.”
Difficult to tell how you are meaning that. I certainly think doing Solo as a buddy cop movie would have been a travesty. I’m not sure there’s any way for this movie to be well received by fans regardless, however.
I’m not saying no one will like it, but the response will probably be 50/50 and break along the same lines as TLJ. I think trying to recast Han Solo is bound to be… Unsatisfying… For many fans, regardless of how good the movie is.
How it will be viewed in 20 years? Totally different story. I think having Howard reshoot gives it a better shot of not feeling irrelevant and dated in 20 years, though.
Not really into Star Wars but I do enjoy them on a simple level.
I’ve not read all the fan theories, but for what it’s worth, throwing my two cents in.
To me, it’s clear that Rey is the force that has manifested into a human body.
The big clue (which no doubt every Star Wars fan would have noticed I’m sure) is that when she looked into the mirror in TLJ, she saw herself when she wanted to see her parents.
She was never born… she self manifested.
This explains why she needs no training because she is the force personified. It is doubtful the parents she remembers are her true parents. More likely than not, they found her and traded her.
Snoke (who I’d bet my last dollar on is not dead) is the manifestation of the dark side of the force and self created the same way. He has no doubt been around for ages. In order to bring balance back to the force, Rey had to come into existence.
This was something that Anakin was meant to do, but either he was not the one of the prophecy or he was corrupted.
I’m also a fan of the Darth Jar Jar theory and believe that it makes sense that he was just another manifestation of Snoke.
@62 – for what it’s worth, I had the same crazy thought when she just saw herself – that she was another vergence in the Force.
That said, I have a feeling they were going for something a little more mundane (the answer being that she is who is important, not necessarily her bloodline). But it would be interesting as it would basically make her another version of Anakin, although Kylo’s obsession with Vader didn’t really come into play in this movie (possibly due to him trying to move on and separate from his family ties which is an interesting parallel to Rey).
Wow. This is the first time this mish-mosh of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi actually make sense, and even ties in some questionable material from the prequels (I, II, III), all while making sense with the originals (IV, V, VI). I agree with some other comments that the writers of TFA & TLJ probably didn’t have it quite this worked out (one could only hope), but this explanation might actually make me enjoy the new movies!
I love the idea that Palpatine created Anakin, which would explain how he becomes so twisted since he was not a natural creation. I love this proposed meaning of the Force awakening to Rey, essentially “an antibody to expel a virus.” I also loved the idea of the Jedi from the originals (I grew up with this stuff), but if the renewed franchise is (clearly) going another direction, at least this explanation allows it all to make sense. So, thank you Emmet Asher-Perrin for breathing some life into this new Star Wars direction with your excellent notions!
Here are a few questions tumbling around my head…not sure which post is the best one, but since they are Force related, I guess they’ll go here:
1)I would really like to know when and where Luke learned the name ‘Darth Sidious’ and the extent of his plans. How much does he know? Does he know that he was behind the Clone Wars? I LOVE that they put that in there just because prequel references make me peversely happy, but I really do wonder. Would it have been before his exile? Were there records on other temples somewhere, or some remnants of the Coruscant temple? Did he have other Force ghost encounters we don’t know about? Because I really don’t think anybody knew who ‘Darth Sidious’ was except for himself, Vader, maybe Yoda (I don’t remember if Yoda uses his name in Revenge of the Sith at the end…I think he does?) and I think that’s it. It’s not clear how much Mas Amedda et al really knew. But at any rate, I doubt it’s just public knowledge that they put in the history books!
2)One thing that does grate on me a little bit, and I can see why some people are a little resistant to Rey – there’s a scene where Luke tells Rey she went ‘straight to the Dark’ and didn’t even resist it. But what does that mean? We never see Rey do anything remotely Dark that I can remember, aside from holding hands with Kylo Ren. But even that was based on trying to help him find a way back to the light, and when he asks her to join her, she doesn’t strike me as even a little bit tempted (which is fine, I’m fine with heroes who aren’t all conflicted all the time). Even her ‘dark side cave’ is more about her confusion and stress over resolving her parentage and where she comes from, and but I don’t see why that was considered ‘dark’, at least according to what we currently know of the Dark Side. Unless it is just a healthy preoccupation with the past instead of being mindful of the present. I just wonder if this will come up in the future.
3)Speaking of Kylo, I wouldn’t mind more illumination on him. I find myself curious about what initially drove him to the dark – how did Snoke manipulate him, what was he after, why was he so obsessed with Vader, and is he still obsessed with Vader? Or is that part of his letting go of his past? But the thing is, he really hasn’t let go. He says he has, but he still strikes me as very consumed by and defined by all the things he can’t get over, all the people he thinks have wronged him, a need to destroy everything and start over. Is it really just typical teenage angst over either real or perceived parental neglect combined with immense power and an idea (perhaps encouraged by Luke himself as part of his folly) that his bloodline marks him as something ‘special’ and he feels entitled to something. There was a scene where Rey asks him why he hated his father, but he admits he didn’t hate him. He’s also unable to kill his mother when it comes down to it. So I still find myself with more questions than answers about his motives. Does he sympathize with the First Order ideologically, or is it just a convenient vehicle for him to destroy and control things, or it just happens to be Snoke’s thing? (It kind of reminded me of movies like American History X where the real villain is the guy in charge of the neo Nazi party who basically lures various angry/dissatisfied young men (and women) into the group and feeds into whatever it is they’re looking for.)
I wonder if in the end the answer will basically be that for all his desires to destroy everything, burn it all down, and move on to something new, he’ll eventually realize that he won’t actually be ‘happy’ until he finds peace/balance within himself and figures out who he actually wants to be (in a way, I think this is what Luke is trying to tell him at the end), and also takes responsibility for himself. If he will even be able to do that by this point is another story. Although now that I think about it, I’m having kind of Assaj Ventress parallels, as she is another character (albeit with a much different and more difficult background) who was used by Sith for various purposes until she finally forged her own path. He seems very desperate/vulnerable in the moment he begs Rey to join him, so one wonders if deep down he knows he’s being used and is looking for somebody he thinks he can actually connect with meaningfully (in a very twisted way).
@65 — For your first question, I assumed that, yes, Force Ghost Yoda filled him in on some of the prequel-era history. And yes, Yoda did say, “Darth Sidious” when he went to confront the Emperor in the Senate chamber.
The prequel trilogy was so bad that I’ve suppressed all memory of it. So I’m glad that you’ve explained what the heck is going on and how Rey’s story relates to what has gone before. Thanks, Emily!
The way the article explains the story arc, reminds me greatly of the last season of Buffy, especially the last episode. Surely, I’m not the only one?
@65 – #2 Something occured to me recently when re-watching another show about the empowerment of women. I realised that the main character in that show, a woman, wasn’t merely fighting evil, kicking its @ss and being its equal in that way – in the end she transcends it. It is actually literally said in the show that her own power stems from the very demons she fights, so from the dark side. So, I was thinking, wht if Rey can be more than just a balance to the dark side, its equal in strength. What if she can transcend it? Star Wars has always very much been about good versus evil. I would be absolutely thrilled if the writers would now take the story one step further, and a female nobody can rise above that fight and not only fight monsters, but turn monsters into men.
Rey is not meant to “destroy” Kylo/Ben. The two of them are meant to bring balance to the Force by forging a path that walks the line between light and darkness. The recurring theme throughout all of the Star Wars movies is the need for balance. You cannot have balance if only one side exists. If Rey kills Kylo/Ben, then another dark sider will rise up to take his place. It’s a neverending cycle; that’s the whole point of Rey’s description of what she feels when Luke tells her to reach out (“…darkness….light….violence….peace….life….death…that brings new life. ..”).
Rey and Ben will need to find a way to co-exist and achieve the balance that is needed. That’s why they’ve been given a powerful Force bond, equal power, and obvious romantic feelings for each other. (Their connection and romantic future were established by JJ Abrams in TFA; he’s not going to scrap that in Episode IX. If you missed the romantic undertones between them in TFA, I highly recommend you Google “Death and The Maiden” by Ohtze. It’s a long, well written meta that dissects the romantic tropes used in TFA). They are meant to put an end to the war that has been going on between the Light side and the Dark side and usher in a new generation of Force users who use BOTH sides of the Force equally, thus maintaining the balance they’ve achieved for generations to come.
No. Just no. The Dark Side IS imbalance.
As I see it the Dark Side is entropy, a very necessary part of existence but one that must be passive, when it becomes active, a weapon in the hands of a force user, it causes imbalance.
It seems clear that Rey’s job is to ‘save’ Ren. All he needs is the love of a good woman. Bleck.
This article is a mess, One has to bend themselves into theoretical/non-canonical pretzels for any of this to make sense. This whole notion that the galaxy every “gets lucky” goes against everything…the force always finds balance or rather, it swings back and forth past balance. Though…the whole concept of balance doesn’t seem to understood by anyone).
The force is in everybody yes: but no, everybody can’t all of a sudden use it just because Kylo said we have to throw out the Jedi and the Sith…and because Rey is all-powerful with no guidance whatsoever. Should we be expected to believe that Star Wars is going to abandon the Jedi? Rey has the books…the Jedi will be back.
The only thing we know is that the rules of the Star Wars universe went out the window for a full film. I hope it’s just a hiccup. But…I’m a hater so unless Kylo Ren was lying about Rey’s parents…I”m peacing out.
Uh huh. Well here’s my response to that:
https://disneystarwarsisdumb.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/what-would-happen-if-everyone-could-use-the-force/
The sequel series makes it clear that everything Luke, Leia and Han did in the first trilogy was a failure or worse. And that’s why I don’t like it.
Please keep the tone of the discussion civil–the full Moderation Policy can be found here.
Its great to see theorie and try to intepret the confusion, but r. johnson was on a mission, it was very clear and he did it quite well. He wanted to break away from whatever the force was previously and make it a power ANYBODY can harness. Luke: “The force does not belong to the Jedi”. The boy at the end of the movie was a nobody, the point johnson is making is that anybody can use the force. That is why Luke doesn’t matter or any Jedi going forward. Now IF this logic was used in the Marvel Universe that would ruin it. But I think it will be great to see everyone and anyone who wants to use the force have it. Everyone will have all kinds of awesome powers and I can’t wait to see and get past the atrocity that the skywalkers were!
Luke Skywalker DID NOT bring balance to the Force. His father, Anakin Skywalker did. Or have you forgotten?
This is just Disney’s version of the Chosen One arc. And quite frankly, it comes off as less original. How disappointing.
Lucas has already PROVEN THIS. Where in the hell have you been?
This is what’s wrong with Star Wars nowadays. The so-called “fans”. If you didn’t have a high enough midichlorian count – no matter what you did, you could not be a Jedi. You had to be BORN force-sensitive. So yes there were rules in place that barred people from being NOT BORN force sensitive from becoming a Jedi – the fact that they can’t use it. This is why Finn fighting Kylo Ren with a lightsaber is so ridiculous. The force augments speed, reflexes and strength to superhuman levels. This is why people who do not know the lore of SW should not be writing or directing these movies. They’re fake fans, people who claim to be Star Wars geeks but aren’t and just end up ruining the whole SW universe. Get the Revenge of the Sith novel and read the fight between Windu and Palpatine. To Anakin they looked like purple and red blurs moving, as if they were both wielding 20 lightsabers at once. A person who was not force sensitive could NEVER fight a force user even in hand to hand combat unless that force user vowed to not use the force during the fight and why would they do that. As for the injury to Kylo being an excuse. Force users can use the force to heal themselves quicker and as a pain suppressant. This is how Anakin was able to keep himself alive after having three of his limbs cut off and being burned to a crisp. His hatred and pain augmented the Dark Side in him and the force kept him alive. Wow. This is what the Star Wars fandom has become. Disney has utterly destroyed the Star Wars lore. Now everyone gets a trophy(gets to use the force)!!! Smh.
This is why I find Disney’s interpretation of the Force so erroneous and frustration. Did Abrams or Johnson or Kennedy actually believe there were “rules” on why some people were Force sensitive and some weren’t? Some people were born with the ability to be Force sensitive and some weren’t. This is all due to the will of the Force. No “rules” had anything to do with this. I can’t believe the current Lucasfilm production company could be this stupid.